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According to Cornell University study, excessive heat worsens both chronic and acute malnutrition in newborns and young children in low-income nations, potentially reversing decades of progress.

The findings were reported in the Journal of Environmental Economics and Management. A study of more than 32,000 West African children ages 3-36 months that linked survey and geocoded meteorological data spanning more than 20 years discovered that average heat exposure increased the incidence of stunted development from chronic malnutrition by 12% and low weight from acute malnutrition by 29%.

According to the researchers, if the average global temperature rises by 2 degrees Celsius, which scientists warn is likely in the absence of significant reductions in carbon emissions, the average effect of heat exposure on stunting would nearly double, wiping out gains made during the study period (1993 to 2014).

The findings are concerning, according to the researchers, because temperatures in West Africa are rising and are predicted to continue for several decades. And the consequences of acute and chronic malnutrition in childhood, which have been related to greater death rates as well as poorer education and income levels in adulthood, are permanent.

“We’re talking about children at a very young age that will have changes for the rest of their lives, so this is permanently scarring their potential,” said Ariel Ortiz-Bobea, an associate professor and applied agricultural economist at Cornell. “What we are doing to reduce global poverty is being eroded by our lack of action on climate.”

Ortiz-Bobea and John Hoddinott, a Cornell professor of food and nutrition economics and policy, co-authored “Heat exposure and child nutrition: Evidence from West Africa,” which was published in the Journal of Environmental Economics and Management.

Sylvia Blom, a Cornell Ph.D. graduate who is currently a postdoctoral research associate at the University of Notre Dame, is the paper’s primary author.

The researchers suggest that strategies to prevent child hunger will need to account for higher programme demands during periods of extended heat exposure.

Meanwhile, over the research period, increased incomes, infrastructure, and child care practises helped lower stunting by 5.8 percentage points on average among the five West African nations.

“While this progress has been welcomed in West Africa and in other low- and middle-income countries, it’s occurring against the backdrop of rising temperatures and an increased likelihood of extreme weather events,” Hoddinott said. “Our work suggests these rising temperatures risk wiping out that progress.”

According to a recent study from Thomas Jefferson University, lead poisoning affects over 3,500 genes in the hippocampus, an area of the brain critical for learning and memory.

The study also underscores the potential importance of early childhood education in decreasing the repercussions of lead poisoning by showing that providing animals with stimulating environments early in life can reverse the majority of these genetic changes. The study’s findings were published in the journal ‘Scientific Reports.’

“Children who live in housing stock built before 1978, the year in which lead was banned as an ingredient in paint, are at high risk of being exposed to lead from lead dust or chipping and peeling lead-containing paint in their homes,” said a senior author Jay Schneider, PhD, professor of Pathology, Anatomy and Cell Biology at Thomas Jefferson University.

“Recent estimates suggest that there are at least a half million children in the U.S. with blood lead levels at or above amounts that can adversely affect cognitive function. Our work demonstrates that by providing an enriched early life environment, the adverse effects of lead on the brain may be minimized or potentially reversed, emphasizing how important early childhood interventions may be.”

Together with lead author Garima Singh, PhD, a research assistant professor in the Department of Pathology, Anatomy and Cell Biology and colleagues, the authors looked at rats that were exposed to lead from birth to the time of weaning, at 21 days of age. “Our experiments aimed to replicate conditions of human lead exposure,” said Dr Singh. “21 days of age for rats is the equivalent to an age of about 2-3 years in humans, which is commonly when lead exposure occurs. That is because crawlers and toddlers are likely to put many things in their mouths including paint chips or toys covered in dust from deteriorating lead paint.”

For 21 days, the lead-exposed animals were separated into two different housing conditions: ones that were either enriched or ones that lacked stimulation. The so-called enriched cages had more social activity, with a total of 6 rats, together with chew toys and various things to climb on and burrow through that were changed twice every week for novelty. The non-enriched cages were smaller, only held 3 animals and did not contain any additional stimulation. “We now know that stimulating social environments are as important for rodents as they are for human children, in terms of cognitive and behavioural health and with effects on physical health as well,” said Dr Singh.

The researchers looked at changes in the expression of genes from the part of the brain involved in memory – the hippocampal region. They found that the expression levels of over 3,500 genes were affected by the lead exposure, either abnormally churning out more or less of their gene products. “These data show for the first time that at a genome-wide level, a large number of hippocampal genes involved in various biological processes and functions are affected by lead exposure and further modified by an enriched environment,” said Dr Schneider. In rats exposed to lead, the genes affected were among those involved in memory and nerve signalling pathways, and also those involved in brain development.\

However, approximately 80 per cent of the gene expression changes induced by the lead exposure were reversed in the group of animals that lived in the stimulating environment until day 55, which is roughly equivalent to adolescence in humans. Additionally, the animals living in the non-enriched environment had memory deficits while the animals living in the enriched environment did not.

“We know that there is no safe level of lead exposure for children,” said Dr Schneider. “Lead can damage the brain and derail normal brain development. However, our work suggests that it may be possible to mitigate the widespread adverse effects of lead on the young brain by providing adequate access to stimulating, interesting environments and activities in early childhood and perhaps longer. Unfortunately, these kinds of resources are often not available to the population most at risk for lead poisoning, that is, children who are growing up in impoverished or low socioeconomic environments.”

Although more study is needed in this area, Drs. Schneider and Singh concur that the relevance of early intervention programmes with environmental enrichment cannot be emphasised.

Dr Poonam Khetrapal, Regional Director of the Globe Health Organization’s South-East Asia Region, stated on Monday that the world is experiencing the unexpected resurgence of Monkeypox.

When asked why Monkeypox is getting so much attention right now, Poonam Khetrapal remarked, “Cases of Monkeypox are being reported from numerous nations.” Many of them had never seen Monkeypox before. The surprising worldwide and regional spread of this illness suggests that it may have been circulating below the detection of monitoring systems. It is plausible that persistent human-to-human transmission, whether direct or indirect, went undiscovered for some time.”

According to a new study, young men who had a bad diet noticed a substantial improvement in their depressive symptoms when they transitioned to a healthy Mediterranean diet.

Depression is a widespread mental health problem that affects about 1 million Australians each year. It is a major risk factor for suicide, which is the largest cause of mortality in young people. The 12-week randomised control experiment was just published in the peer-reviewed American Journal of Clinical Nutrition by experts from the University of Technology Sydney.

The study was the first randomised clinical trial to investigate the influence of a Mediterranean diet on depressive symptoms in young males, according to lead researcher Jessica Bayes, a PhD candidate in the UTS Faculty of Health (aged 18-25).

“We were surprised by how willing the young men were to take on a new diet,” Bayes said. “Those assigned to the Mediterranean diet were able to significantly change their original diets, under the guidance of a nutritionist, over a short time frame.”

“It suggests that medical doctors and psychologists should consider referring depressed young men to a nutritionist or dietitian as an important component of treating clinical depression,” she said.

The research contributes to the developing subject of nutritional psychiatry, which seeks to investigate the impact of specific nutrients, foods, and dietary patterns on mental health. The study’s diet included a variety of colourful vegetables, legumes and wholegrains, oily salmon, olive oil, and raw, unsalted almonds.

“The primary focus was on increasing diet quality with fresh wholefoods while reducing the intake of ‘fast’ foods, sugar and processed red meat,” Bayes said.

“There are lots of reasons why scientifically we think food affects mood. For example, around 90 per cent of serotonin, a chemical that helps us feel happy, is made in our gut by our gut microbes. There is emerging evidence that these microbes can communicate to the brain via the vagus nerve, in what is called the gut-brain axis.

“To have beneficial microbes, we need to feed them fibre, which is found in legumes, fruits and vegetables,” she said.

Approximately 30% of depressed individuals may not react satisfactorily to traditional therapies for major depressive disorder, such as cognitive behaviour therapy and antidepressant drugs.

“Nearly all our participants stayed with the program, and many were keen to continue the diet once the study ended, which shows how effective, tolerable and worthwhile they found the intervention.”

On world hepatitis day today, here are some facts about liver, causes of hepatitis, symptoms, diagnosis and prevention of the disease complications.

According to WHO, Liver cancer is the fastest growing cancer in the World currently and a person is dying every 30seconds from hepatitis related illness. The risk of Liver cancer increases by at least 100 times if you have viral Hepatitis. It is estimated that over 2 billion population throughout the world are infected with viral Hepatitis and it is at least 50 to 100 times more infectious than HIV infections yet the Viral Hepatitis sadly gets less importance compared to other infections.

World Hepatitis Day takes place every year on 28^th July to bring the world together under a single theme to raise awareness of the global burden of hepatitis especially with more focus on viral hepatitis and to influence real change.

What is Liver and what does it do?

Liver is the largest organ in the human body which performs more than 500 vital functions. All the food that we eat including carbohydrates, fats, minerals gets metabolised in the Liver after getting absorbed from the intestines. It produces important proteins which help in clotting of the blood. Liver along with kidneys work like a filter removing all the toxins and acids from the body. It also plays a crucial role in maintaining adequate sugar levels in the body and also acts like a storage organ.

What is hepatitis?

 Hepatitis means inflammation of the liver which if unchecked will lead to significant permanent damage to the Liver and life risk. The most common causes of Liver damage are Viral Hepatitis (mainly B,C), fatty Liver and alcohol. Along with these there are more than 100 different causes of Liver damage which will lead to Cirrhosis (end stage Liver disease).

Why is it important to know about Viral Hepatitis?

Hepatitis B directly has been causing 10 lakh deaths every year for the last few decades. It is estimated that around 200 crores population is currently or previously infected with Hepatitis B and around 35 crore population is currently infected and carrying this Hepatitis B virus.

Around 75% of these infected people are in Asia and Africa. People with Hepatitis B have 100 times more risk of developing Liver cancer compared to people who do not have Hepatitis.

Similarly Hepatitis C is estimated to be present in 18 crore populations worldwide and most often cause long-term significant damage to the Liver leading to irreversible cirrhosis and Liver cancer. In fact 2 out of 3 Liver cancer deaths are related to Viral Hepatitis.

What are the symptoms and signs of hepatitis?

Liver is such a brilliant organ that it copes until it is at least more than 80% damaged and by the time symptoms appear it is often too late, hence Liver is like a silent killer.

9 out of 10 people don’t even know that they have the virus and often it gets picked up whilst doing routine testing for other reasons.

Common symptoms they present with are Jaundice, tummy swelling, leg swelling, blood vomiting or black stools, confusion and drowsiness. These symptoms appear only when the Liver is significantly damaged.

How can I get checked if I have the virus?

Detection of these viruses is with a simple blood test, which is widely available. Once these viruses are detected then the Liver specialist will evaluate the stage of the virus and also the amount of the damage that has happened to the Liver. Based on these we can offer further treatment.

Are there any treatments available?

If recognised early, Hepatitis is treatable and sometimes curable too. We can arrest the progression to cirrhosis by early recognition of these viruses and early commencement of the medications.

There are excellent medications available now to completely cure the Hepatitis C. You just need to take one tablet a day for generally 3 months with almost 99% chance of completely curing the virus therefore eradicating the risk of future Cirrhosis and Liver cancer.

Also Read: Sensor helps in early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s of up to 17 years in advance: Study

For Hepatitis B also there are excellent medications to control the virus. Of course there are excellent vaccinations available for Hepatitis B and A.

We at Apollo Hospitals have been running dedicated Liver clinics specifically designed to treat and cure these deadly viruses. We have the state of the art equipment and expertise to identify and treat these viruses with excellent cure rates.

In patients who have developed advanced Liver disease, we have been treating them with excellent outcomes and in patients who need Liver transplant as the only mode of survival, we have been doing them at our centre successfully for nearly 10 years.

The theme of World Hepatitis Day 2022 is “I can’t wait” to raise the awareness among masses. It is strongly recommended that all of us get checked for these deadly silent killing viruses and if negative then let us get vaccinated.

In fact WHO goal is to make the HEPATITIS FREE WORLD BY 2030 and it is achievable by all of us doing our part in coming forward, getting checked and treated if positive or vaccinated if negative. And we all know that prevention is better than cure.

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A sensor detects misfolded protein biomarkers in the blood. This allows for the detection of Alzheimer’s disease before any symptoms occur. The researchers seek to get it ready for the market.

The findings from the immuno-infrared sensor were published in the journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association. A comparison study published in the same journal on 2 March 2022, in which the researchers employed complementary single-molecule array (SIMOA) technology, lends credence to this finding.

Alzheimer’s disease has a 15 to 20-year symptom-free interval before the first clinical signs appear. A study team using an immuno-infrared sensor created in Bochum is able to detect indicators of Alzheimer’s disease in the blood up to 17 years before the first clinical symptoms arise. The sensor detects the protein biomarker amyloid-beta misfolding. As the disease advances, this misfolding results in distinctive deposits in the brain, known as plaques.

“Our goal is to determine the risk of developing Alzheimer’s dementia at a later stage with a simple blood test even before the toxic plaques can form in the brain, in order to ensure that a therapy can be initiated in time,” says Professor Klaus Gerwert, founding director of the Centre for Protein Diagnostics (PRODI) at Ruhr-Universitat Bochum. His team cooperated for the study with a group at the German Cancer Research Centre in Heidelberg (DKFZ) headed by Professor Hermann Brenner.

The team published the results obtained with the immuno-infrared sensor in the journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association on 19 July 2022. This study is supported by a comparative study published in the same journal on 2 March 2022, in which the researchers used complementary single-molecule array (SIMOA) technology.

Early detection of symptom-free people with a high risk of Alzheimer’s disease

The researchers looked for possible Alzheimer’s biomarkers in blood plasma from participants in the ESTHER trial in Saarland. The blood samples were collected and frozen between 2000 and 2002. The test participants were between the ages of 50 and 75 at the time and had not yet been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. The current study compared 68 people who had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease over the 17-year follow-up to 240 control subjects who had not been diagnosed. The researchers, led by Klaus Gerwert and Hermann Brenner, wanted to see if there were any indicators of Alzheimer’s disease in the blood samples at the start of the study.

Also Read: Heart patients require mental support at every age: Study

The immuno-infrared sensor was able to identify the 68 test subjects who later developed Alzheimer’s disease with a high degree of test accuracy. For comparison, the researchers examined other biomarkers with the complementary, highly sensitive SIMOA technology — specifically the P-tau181 biomarker, which is currently being proposed as a promising biomarker candidate in various studies. “Unlike in the clinical phase, however, this marker is not suitable for the early symptom-free phase of Alzheimer’s disease,” as Klaus Gerwert summarises the results of the comparative study.

“Surprisingly, we found that the concentration of glial fibre protein (GFAP) can indicate the disease up to 17 years before the clinical phase, even though it does so much less precisely than the immuno-infrared sensor.” Still, by combining amyloid-beta misfolding and GFAP concentration, the researchers were able to further increase the accuracy of the test in the symptom-free stage.

The Bochum researchers hope that an early diagnosis based on the amyloid-beta misfolding could help to apply Alzheimer’s drugs at such an early stage that they have a significantly better effect — for example, the drug Aduhelm, which was recently approved in the USA. “We plan to use the misfolding test to establish a screening method for older people and determine their risk of developing Alzheimer’s dementia,” says Klaus Gerwert. “The vision of our newly founded start-up betaSENSE is that the disease can be stopped in a symptom-free stage before irreversible damage occurs.”

Even though the sensor is still in the development phase, the invention has already been patented worldwide. BetaSENSE aims to bring the immuno-infrared sensor to market and have it approved as a diagnostic device so that it can be used in clinical labs.

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Many people born with heart abnormalities display resilience and a great quality of life; nonetheless, they may endure a variety of health-related psychological and social issues throughout their lifetimes.

A new scientific statement examines the psychological and social obstacles that persons born with heart abnormalities face from infancy through maturity, as well as the sorts of mental health therapy that may be useful. The declaration argues for the integration of mental health specialists into interdisciplinary teams that offer medical treatment to children and adults with congenital heart abnormalities, which is more widespread in cancer care than cardiac care.

Congenital heart defects (CHD) occur when a person is born with structural heart or blood vascular abnormalities.

To resolve these difficulties, surgery and catheter procedures are frequently necessary. The majority of CHD patients survive into adulthood, with adults currently outnumbering children among the more than 2.4 million CHD patients in the United States. A surgical operation, on the other hand, does not cure CHD. People may require many procedures and specialty heart care throughout their lifetimes, particularly if they were born with complicated cardiac abnormalities.

“Decades of research describes the psychological and social stressors and challenges that can present across the lifespan for people with CHD,” said Adrienne H. Kovacs, Ph.D., chair of the writing committee for the scientific statement and a clinical psychologist who specializes in working with people who have CHD. “It’s long overdue that we move beyond awareness to action and providing more resources and expert mental health care for people living with CHD.”

A scientific statement issued by the American Heart Association is an expert overview of current research that may impact future guidelines. A companion scientific statement issued by the Association in 2011 addressed cognitive delays and other neurodevelopmental consequences in children with CHD. This is the first declaration, however, to outline the psychological and social problems from infancy to maturity, as well as to assess age-appropriate mental health therapies to promote quality of life.

Also Read: Study links cells to brain tumor growth and recurrence

The American Heart Association’s scientific statement provides an expert evaluation of current research that may influence future guidelines. The Association produced a complementary scientific statement in 2011 that addressed cognitive deficits and other neurodevelopmental implications in children with CHD.

However, this is the first proclamation to identify psychological and social difficulties from infancy to adulthood, as well as to evaluate age-appropriate mental health interventions to improve quality of life.

The statement summarizes the psychosocial impact of CHD during various stages of life:

Infancy: Infants may be subjected to frightening or unpleasant treatments, and they may be away from caretakers and family for lengthy periods of time for surgery or other hospitalisation. As a result, newborns with CHD may be hypersensitive to light and sound, have difficulties eating and sleeping, or exhibit severe anxiety and distress, as well as developmental abnormalities.

Childhood: Additional hospitalizations and operations may occur, resulting in less opportunities to play or attend school, as well as developmental delays. As a result, children with CHD may become socially distant, exhibit anxiety or depression symptoms, struggle in school, or exhibit violence or hyperactivity.

Adolescence — As teens transition from paediatric to adult care, they may experience health difficulties while striving for independence, extending their social networks, and taking on greater responsibility for managing their health care. Adolescents with CHD may experience social difficulties, become angry, rebellious, or frustrated, or have body image issues in response. They may also engage in harmful habits or fail to adhere to health guidelines.

Adulthood — During adulthood, there may be new or worsening heart symptoms, recurrent surgeries or other cardiac treatments, and CHD can have an impact on income, job, insurance, and family planning possibilities. Adults with CHD may struggle with interpersonal connections, further education, or work as a result. They may also have difficulty taking care of their own health and grow concerned about death and dying.

“It’s completely understandable to have a psychological reaction to living with a congenital heart defect. The condition presents numerous challenges throughout the lifespan and may include unexpected news — such as a person realizing they can no longer physically manage the demands of their job, or learning that there are significant risks to pregnancy,” said Kovacs. “Many people with CHD have tremendous resilience in the face of these challenges. At the same time, we want to normalize psychological reactions and increase the prevalence of care for psychological well-being to help people with CHD experience a full and healthy life.”

Approaches to mental health care, according to the statement, may include self-care strategies such as relaxation techniques and hospital-based or online support groups; psychotherapy such as talk therapies for individuals, couples, families, or groups; and medication therapy in which a medical team can determine appropriate, heart-safe medications for depression or anxiety.

The declaration strongly supports the inclusion of mental health practitioners in CHD specialised care teams. Integrated mental health care normalises emotional reactions to health issues, minimises stigma, promotes prompt access when health problems develop, and provides integrated care across the multidisciplinary health care team.

According to one study, tumors are made up of a variety of cell types, both malignant and benign. The particular complexity of the cells found inside brain tumors has been a distinguishing hallmark of the illness, making therapy extremely difficult. Although scientists have long known about the diversity of cells that make up a brain tumor, and how the formation of these tumors has relied on the concept that the cells are static, immobile, and typically stable.

However, researchers from the University of Michigan’s Department of Neurosurgery and the Rogel Cancer Center revealed that these aggressive tumors include highly active cells that migrate throughout tissue in complex patterns.

Furthermore, accumulations of these elongated, spindle-like cells present throughout the tumor, known as ‘oncostreams,’ serve as the foundation for malignant cell activity, defining how tumors develop and infiltrate normal tissue. According to Pedro Lowenstein, M.D., Ph.D., Richard C. Schneider Collegiate Professor of Neurosurgery and principal author of this study published in Nature Communications, brain tumors are persistent because of their structured growth.

“Brain tumors are highly lethal, with less than 5% of patients living beyond five years,” he said. “Unfortunately, reoccurrence is what eventually kills patients. They receive surgery for their initial tumor, but the tumor always comes back within 12 to 18 months,” he said.

Also Read: Multiple diagnoses are the norm for mental illness in recent study: Research

Lowenstein and his team, including Maria Castro, Ph.D., also found that overexpression of Collagen 1, a protein produced by tumor cells, is essential to the growth and function of these structures.

“When we eliminated Collagen 1 production from tumor cells, the animal models with brain tumors lived much longer. This step removes oncostreams from tumors and reduces tumor aggressive behavior because the tumors need Collagen 1 to move in the specific way we discovered,” said Lowenstein.

Lowenstein says this structure is likely present in other types of cancer, too. “Once people recognize that there are dynamic areas of the tumor, and that they’re related to tumor growth, eventual invasion and death, people will likely locate oncostreams in other tumor models,” he said.

The researchers worked with Todd Hollon, M.D., assistant professor in the Department of Neurological Surgery at Michigan Medicine, and Sebastien Motsch, Ph.D., associate professor of mathematics at Arizona State University, to develop artificial intelligence algorithms to recognise the structures in tissue.

“Essentially, we showed images to a computer and the computer eventually learns to recognize oncostreams,” Lowenstein explained.

Dismantling oncostreams through the removal of Collagen 1 could represent a novel therapeutic target to treat lethal brain tumors. “This research proves the crucial importance of continuing to investigate the complicated extracellular matrix,” notes Andrea Comba, Ph.D., research investigator and first author of the study.

“Based on this discovery, we propose targeting tumor collagen to disrupt oncostreams, and as novel therapy for the treatment of brain glioma,” she said.

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More than half of those who have one mental condition will get a second or third later in life. Three-quarters or more have four or more.

As a result, patients may find their therapy challenging and may have emotions of misfortune and discouragement. The study’s findings were published in the journal Nature Genetics.

However, a comprehensive new study of 11 major psychiatric diseases sheds fresh light on why comorbidities are the rule rather than the exception when it comes to mental illness.

“Our findings confirm that high comorbidity across some disorders in part reflects overlapping pathways of genetic risk,” said lead author Andrew Grotzinger, an assistant professor in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience.

According to him, the discovery might eventually pave the road for medicines that target many psychiatric diseases at once, as well as assist modify the way diagnoses are delivered.

“If you had a cold, you wouldn’t want to be diagnosed with coughing disorder, sneezing disorder and aching joints disorder,” Grotzinger said. “This study is a stepping stone toward creating a diagnostic manual that better maps on to what is actually happening biologically.”

Grotzinger and colleagues from the University of Texas at Austin, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, and other collaborating institutions conducted the study by analysing publicly available genome-wide association (GWAS) data from hundreds of thousands of people who submitted genetic material to large-scale datasets like the UK Biobank and the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium.

They investigated genes linked to schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder, anxiety disorder, anorexia nervosa, obsessive-compulsive disorder, Tourette syndrome, post-traumatic stress disorder, problematic alcohol use, ADHD, and autism.

They also examined data collected by wearable movement monitoring devices and survey data recording physical and behavioural features.

Also Read: Covid case update: India reports dip in cases with 16,866 new cases logged in 24 hrs

The researchers then used fresh statistical genetic approaches to discover common patterns among illnesses.

They discovered that 70% of the genetic signal linked to schizophrenia is also linked to bipolar illness. This conclusion was striking since, according to current diagnostic criteria, physicians will not normally identify an individual with both.

They also discovered that anorexia nervosa and obsessive-compulsive disorder have a strong genetic architecture, and that those who have a genetic propensity to having a smaller body type or a low BMI (body mass index) have a genetic susceptibility to both diseases.

Not unexpectedly, because the two disorders are frequently associated, the study discovered a significant genetic overlap between anxiety disorder and major depressive disorder.

When the researchers analysed accelerometer data, they discovered that conditions that tend to cluster together also seem to share genes that impact how and when we move during the day.

Internalizing diseases, such as anxiety and depression, for example, have a genetic design related with reduced mobility throughout the day. OCD and anorexia appear to connect with genes related with more movement throughout the day, whereas psychotic diseases (schizophrenia and bipolar disorder) tend to correlate with excess movement in the early morning hours.

“When you think about it, it makes sense,” said Grotzinger, noting that depressed individuals often present as fatigued or low energy while those with compulsive disorders can have difficulty sitting still.

In all, the study identifies 152 genetic variants shared across multiple disorders, including those already known to influence certain types of brain cells.

For instance, gene variants that influence excitatory and GABAergic brain neurons — which are involved in critical signaling pathways in the brain — appear to strongly underly the genetic signal that is shared across schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

While much more needs to be done to determine exactly what the identified genes do, Grotzinger sees the research as a first step toward developing therapies that can address multiple disorders with one treatment.

“People are more likely today to be prescribed multiple medications intended to treat multiple diagnoses and in some instances those medicines can have side effects,” he said. “By identifying what is shared across these issues, we can hopefully come up with ways to target them in a different way that doesn’t require four separate pills or four separate psychotherapy interventions.”

Meantime, just understanding the genetics underlying their disorders may provide comfort to some.

“It’s important for people to know that they didn’t just get a terrible roll of the dice in life — that they are not facing multiple different issues but rather one set of risk factors bleeding into them all.”

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India recorded 16,866 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

On Sunday, the nation recorded 20,279 new infections. In the previous 24 hours, 41 people died and 18,148 people were rescued.

The active caseload in India is now 1,50,877. It has a daily positive rate of 7.03 percent.

Also Read: ‘Don’t panic’, says Delhi CM as Delhi reports first case of Monkeypox

Covid vaccine

According to the ministry, 16,82,390 doses were delivered under the Nationwide Vaccination Drive in the previous 24 hours, out of a total of 2,02,17,66,615 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses administered throughout the country thus far.

The Central Government is dedicated to speeding up and broadening the scope of COVID-19 immunisation across the country. The national COVID-19 vaccine campaign began on January 16, 2021.

The next phase of COVID-19 vaccine universalization began on June 21, 2021.

The immunisation campaign has been stepped up with the availability of additional vaccinations, advance awareness of vaccine availability to states and UTs for improved planning, and simplification of the vaccine supply chain.

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