Medical Watch Digest for October 9

Making Kids More Social

There is a simple way to make kids more social and it all has to do with parental interactions.

Young children who are close to their parents are more likely to grow up more pro-social.

University of Cambridge researchers studied 10,000 kids to determine the long term impact of the earliest relationships and future mental health.

Young people who had warm and loving relationships with their parents at age three had fewer mental health problems during early childhood and adolescence and also displayed socially desirable behaviors like empathy, helpfulness, generosity and volunteering.

Running Away from Depression

It may be possible to run away from depression.

Researchers from the European College of Neuro Psycho Pharmacology wanted to see if exercise could rival anti-depressants for relieving symptoms in those suffering with depression and anxiety.

They found not only did exercise relieve depression, it provided physical benefits and did not cause the same side effects as medication therapy.

After 16 weeks, study participants who ran had better mood and felt better overall.

But the dropout rate was much higher for the exercise group suggesting for prolonged depression management, patients find taking a pill easier, even when it carries side effects.

Bipolar Bracelet

Wearable devices can track all sorts of physical health metrics and now scientists say they have found a way to monitor mental health, specifically bipolar disorder.

A bipolar bracelet detects changing electrical signals in the skin linked to manic or depressed moods.

By constantly tracking physiological biomarkers associated with mood changes, researchers, presenting their work at the ECNP Congress say they hope the wearable may one day be able to diagnose patients, determine potential triggers and provide more rapid and personalized treatments.