Reaching out to support a person when they’re under stress is always a good idea. In fact, a new study suggests that support could be especially important for someone whose genetic quality makes them more likely to develop depression. The study shows the importance of social support to buffer the risk r of developing depression symptoms in general.

The study uses data from two very different groups of people under stress: new doctors in the most intense year of training， and older adults whose beloved ones recently died. The finding shows greatest impact of social support in those with highest risk scores for depression.

Compared to other groups of individuals in the study who had low depression risk scores, the doctors and widows with higher risk scores had higher rates of depression after they lost social support, but also had lower rates of depression when they gained social support during stressful times.

Sen, who is the director of the Eisenberg Family Depression Center adds that even as genetic research reveals more of the DNA variation(变异) related to depression vulnerability, learning how that variation leads to depression is crucial. “Further understanding the different genetic maps associated with sensitivity to loss of social support, lack of sleep, excessive work stress and other risk factors could help us develop personalized guidance for depression prevention,” he said. “In the meantime, these findings reaffirm how important social connections, social support and individual sensitivity to the social environment areas factors in well-being and preventing depression.”

Besides, the data used in the study is based on people of European origin, which limits the ability to generalize the findings to people of other backgrounds. Sen noted that additional work is being done to collect scores based on depression-related genetic characteristics in other populations including people of East Asian and African blood.

Have you ever anxiously looked for your glasses only to find out they are on your nose all the time? Maybe you’ve struggled to keep your focus, or feel like you’re walking in a dream. The good news is you are not alone and there’s a name for this feeling: brain fog.

Brain fog feels like it takes hours to complete a 10-minute task or that you’re struggling to listen and understand what is being said. It is not a medical condition or a diagnosis (诊断). It’s simply a term to describe the inability to remember and concentrate on things, use logic, or solve problems. Some people with brain fog experience problems with speech and language; it can be hard putting their thoughts into words and finding the right words, and their speech might be slow and confused.

Everyone can experience brain fog if you have poor sleep habits and are getting less than 7 hours of sleep each night. Secondly, the lack of enough vitamin and the eating of certain unhealthy foods, like alcohol and caffeine, play a role in brain function and can be one of the causes of your brain fog symptoms (症状). Additionally, high levels of stress, or long-term stress, can cause a series of health problems, including brain fog.

If you’re wondering how to get rid of brain fog, I have good news: you can get rid of it by making a few lifestyle changes. First, you need to change your diet. If you are experiencing brain fog, there is a good chance your diet is the cause of your brain fog. Besides, just attempt to relieve your stress. It’s important to make time every day for doing activities you love to get away from the stress, such as exercise, taking baths or meditating with an app on your phone. Also, you shall get enough sleep since studies show that quality sleep can make you eat more healthy and get rid of your brain fog.

A man with advanced Parkinson’s disease (帕金森氏症) is now able to walk almost normally again thanks to electrodes implanted (电极植入) in his spinal cord (脊椎), researchers said on Monday. The medical first was achieved by Swiss researchers who had previously pioneered similar breakthroughs to help disabled people walk again.

“This could be a game-changing technology to help bring back movement in people with advanced Parkinson’s,” said David Dexter, research director at Parkinson’s UK.

Marc Gauthier, the 62-year-old patient who lives in France, has suffered from the brain disorder for about 30 years. Like more than 90 percent of people with advanced Parkinson’s, Mar c has had great difficulty walking. What are known as “freezing” experiences — during which patients are unable to move for a limited time, putting them at risk of falling — are particularly awful, Marc told AFP.

Much remains unknown about Parkinson’s disease, making treatment difficult. But the disease can seriously affect the lives of patients, sometimes keeping them to bed or a wheelchair. So when the opportunity came to go through an operation in Switzerland, Marc gladly accepted the chance.

“Now I can do whatever I want,” Marc says. “I can go for a walk and go out shopping by myself.” He adds that he can now walk much more easily — he is even planning a trip to Brazil — but it still requires concentration, particularly when climbing upstairs.

The Swiss team, led by surgeon Jocelyne Bloch and neuroscientist Gregoire Courtine , implanted a complex system of electrodes called a “neuroprosthesis (神经假体)” at important points along Marc’s spinal cord. The neuroprosthesis was first tested on animals, and then implanted in Marc, who has used it for roughly eight hours a day over nearly two years.

The Swiss team has expanded their experiment to a group of six Parkinson’s patients, aiming to know how it could help others, given the disease affects people in different ways. However, treatment using the implant could be quite expensive, potentially limiting how many patients would have access.