NYTimes: Coffee Linked to Lower Dementia Risk

   By NICHOLAS BAKALARDrinking coffee may do more than just keep you awake. A new study suggests an intriguing potential link to mental health later in life, as well.A team of Swedish and Danish researchers tracked coffee consumption in a group of 1,409 middle-age men and women for an average of 21 years. During that time, 61 participants developed dementia, 48 with Alzheimer’s disease.After controlling for numerous socioeconomic and health factors, including high cholesterol and high blood pressure, the scientists found that the subjects who had reported drinking three to five cups of coffee daily were 65 percent less likely to have developed dementia, compared with those who drank two cups or less. People who drank more than five...

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Canine Corner: Dogs as Therapists

By Stanley Coren, Ph.D. in Canine Corner On January 11, 2009 Mickey Rourke won the Golden Globe Award for best actor for his performance in Darren Aronofsky's "The Wrestler." When actors give acceptance speeches for such awards it is quite common for them to thank God and their family for the win, but Mickey Rourke thanked his dogs. If it had not been for the therapeutic effects of his relationship with his dogs, Mickey Rourke might not have been alive to accept this award. In the film, "The Wrestler," Rourke plays the part of Randy "The Ram" Robinson, a professional wrestler who is now well past his prime, holding on to the remains of a once-famous career, and presented with the opportunity for a comeback. These are circumstances that...

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FOXNews.com - Clinically Depressed Poodle Mauls Former French President Chirac

Thursday , January 22, 2009Former French President Jacques Chirac was rushed to a hospital after being mauled by his pet dog who is being treated for depression, in a dramatic incident that rattled the ex-president's wife.The couple's white Maltese poodle, called Sumo, has a history of frenzied fits and became increasingly prone to making "vicious, unprovoked attacks" despite receiving treatment with anti-depressants, Chirac's wife Bernadette said."If you only knew! I had a dramatic day yesterday," she told VSD magazine. "Sumo bit my husband!"Mrs. Chirac, 74, did not reveal where the former president was bitten, but said, "the dog went for him for no apparent reason.""We were aware the animal was unpredictable and is being treated with pills...

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Beyond Blue: I, Too, Have a Dream

Monday January 19, 2009I have a dream that one day I won't hold my breath every time I tell a person that I suffer from bipolar disorder, that I won't feel shameful in confessing my mental illness.I have a dream that people won't feel the need to applaud me for my courage on writing and speaking publicly about my disease, because the diagnosis of depression and bipolar disorder would be understood no differently than that of diabetes, arthritis, or dementia.I have a dream that the research into genetics of mood disorders will continue to pinpoint specific genes that may predispose individuals and families to depression and bipolar disorder (like the gene G72/G30, located on chromosome 13q), just as specific genes associated with schizophrenia...

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Uradiance: Survival Techniques for 2009

SURVIVAL TECHNIQUES FOR 2009 Breathe in the morning stars. Breathe out all the way down to the buried seeds. Shut up and listen. Sniff the present moment. Eat like a lion. Hug yourself like a sleeping cat. Move your spine to the music of wind. If you have wings, use them. If not, don't pretend. Let sap flow through the break where new life is grafted. Never close your wound. Let it be the eye you see me throu...

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