Technology

Addicted to Facebook? Take This Test and Find Out

May 8, 2012

We all knew it was going to happen sooner or later. Researchers have developed a test to determine whether we’re addicted to Facebook. Dr. Schou Andreassen, a psychologist from Norway, has developed what she calls the “Bergen Facebook Addiction Scale” in order to test for the time-consuming addiction. Her research, the first of its kind, [...]

Electrical Brain Stimulation Eases Migraines Without Drugs

May 2, 2012

Pain from migraine headaches can be reduced — and possibly even prevented — by stimulating the brain with mild electric charges from a small portable device, according to a researcher at the City College of New York’s Grove School of Engineering. Transcranial direct current stimulation, or tDCS, sends an electrical current to the brain via [...]

Gout Facebook Group Boasts Largest Global Following

April 25, 2012

People living with gout apparently like to talk about it. With over 54,000 likes, the Gout Study on Facebook page has become the world’s largest online community on the subject of gout – a painful form of arthritis. The growth of that community, in just over a year, also reflects the increasing role and power [...]

TMS Magnetic Therapy Eases Depression and Pain

April 9, 2012

Cynthia Todd receiving TMS therapy from Dr. Todd Hutton.

Cynthia Todd has been suffering from chronic pain caused by Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD) for over a decade. The constant burning and aching sensation that is common with RSD left her severely depressed. “I wanted to die. I literally wanted to die,” Todd recalls. In desperation, she turned to Dr. Todd Hutton, a psychiatrist in [...]

TENS Advocate Shocked by Medicare Decision to Drop Coverage

March 15, 2012

One of the leading advocates of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) for chronic pain says he is “shocked and saddened” by a federal agency’s ruling that Medicare should no longer cover TENS for lower back pain. “It’s a sad situation. Many patients that can’t use TENS are going to take more medications, have more procedures, more [...]

Electric Brain Stimulation Can Cure the Blues

March 10, 2012

Stimulating the brain with a weak electric current is an effective treatment for depression and could have other health benefits, according to researchers in Australia. About half of the depressed people studied had substantial improvements after Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), while other participants said the treatment improved their concentration and eliminated chronic pain. Transcranial [...]

The Internet: Wiring Young People for Success or Failure?

March 7, 2012

Will young people who grow up in a hyper-connected world be deep thinkers and multi-taskers? Or will they be socially isolated nerds with short attention spans who crave instant gratification? Those are the two questions posed to experts in a Pew Research Center survey on the future of the Internet. The survey, which was done online, [...]

Scientists Develop “Barcode” to Measure Chronic Pain

February 28, 2012

Chronic pain is notoriously challenging for doctors to diagnose and treat, because patients tolerate and describe their pain differently. The National Institutes of Health uses six different pain scales to measure pain, ranging from the smiley faces of the Wong Baker Pain Scale to monitoring a patient’s grunts and grimaces. All six scales are highly subjective. [...]

“Moodoff Day” Raises Awareness of Smartphone Addiction

February 27, 2012

An Australian non-profit has struck a small blow against the pervasive use of smartphones. For five hours on Sunday morning, people around the world stopped using their phones to text, call, email or browse the Internet. How many participated in “Moodoff Day” on February 26th may never be known, but organizers say they had supporters in [...]

Online Program Can Ease Migraine Pain

February 21, 2012

Researchers say an online interactive program can help people overcome chronic pain from migraine headaches. A total of 185 participants completed a study which tested a free online program available at painACTION.com, a website designed to help people learn how to manage their pain. Compared to people in a control group, participants who used the [...]

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