Category: Health and Medicine

2021-22, Health and Medicine

Investigating Interleukin-17 Activity: One Step Closer to Treating Crohn’s Disease?

Sooraj Shah ’24 About 3 million Americans have been diagnosed with Crohn’s disease, a type of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), with foreboding statistics indicating a rise in the disease’s prevalence. Crohn’s disease debilitates a patient through inflammation of the digestive tract, leading to severe pain and cramping in the abdominal area. The inflammation associated with the IBD is a response to invading pathogens by a … Continue reading Investigating Interleukin-17 Activity: One Step Closer to Treating Crohn’s Disease?

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2021-22, Health, Health and Medicine

Dancing: The Secret to Reducing Childbirth Pain

Peter Gillespie ’25 Birth is a psychologically traumatic experience for more than 40% of women. In fact, pain during labor has been linked to depression in the weeks after birth. Current methods to reduce pain predominantly focus on pharmacological and physical support, neglecting the psychologically taxing aspect of childbirth. To maximize comfort, it is vital to incorporate emotional support into pain relief for mothers as … Continue reading Dancing: The Secret to Reducing Childbirth Pain

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2021-22, General Psychology, Health, Health and Medicine

The Role of OCD in Oral Health of Affected Individuals

Thumyat Noe ’23 Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a mental health disorder characterized by disturbing thoughts and repetitive behaviors. Presentations of OCD include excessive cleaning and extreme fixation with symmetry or order. Psychiatrists treat OCD through prescribing antidepressants and selective serotonin uptake inhibitors. According to previous studies, mental health disorders can reduce oral health by increasing inflammatory biomarkers. However, OCD patients exhibit unique obsessions with cleaning … Continue reading The Role of OCD in Oral Health of Affected Individuals

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2021-22, COVID-19, education, Psychology, well-being

Discrimination During COVID-19 Exacerbates Academic Disconnect of Asian Students

Zhifei Zeng ’23 Since January 2020, the world has been suffering from a pandemic brought about by COVID-19. In addition to the direct health threat posed by the virus, a survey showed that the rate of racist and xenophobic attacks against Asians increased all over the globe, especially in the United States. In fact, the Stop AAPI Hate Reporting Center has reported 3,800 hate crimes … Continue reading Discrimination During COVID-19 Exacerbates Academic Disconnect of Asian Students

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2021-22, Health and Medicine

Novel Early Childhood Predictors for Eating Disorders Give Hope for Improved Treatment

Peter Gillespie ’25 Eating disorders are dangerous and severely impairing mental illnesses that have become extremely prevalent in our youth, affecting up to 13% of young women in particular. Previous studies have identified risk factors, such as sleeping habits and parental eating tendencies, but these findings are inconsistent and focus solely on adolescents, limiting their scope. Dr. Garbrielle Carlson at Stony Brook University researches risks … Continue reading Novel Early Childhood Predictors for Eating Disorders Give Hope for Improved Treatment

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Cancer

The Ketogenic Diet’s Effects on Cancer Patients

Thumyat Noe ’23 Researchers determined that diet plays a crucial role in increasing or decreasing the risk of cancer. For instance, previous studies show that high levels of insulin and glucose in the blood can increase the risk of colorectal cancer. Therefore, cancer researchers are interested in developing diets that can improve the well-being and prognosis of cancer patients. A ketogenic diet, which consists of … Continue reading The Ketogenic Diet’s Effects on Cancer Patients

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Health

Inhibition of Sterylglucosidase May Lead to Improved Class of Antifungal Agents

Robyn Rutgers ’24 Upon entering the lungs, the fungal pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans (CN) disseminates through the bloodstream and can cause life-threatening meningitis in immunocompromised patients. Currently, there are a number of major drawbacks in current antifungal agents such as high toxicity, limited availability, and a narrow spectrum of activity. Therefore, the development of new pharmacological agents is critical in combating fungal pathogens such as CN. … Continue reading Inhibition of Sterylglucosidase May Lead to Improved Class of Antifungal Agents

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Health and Medicine

Using Modified Guide Strands to Broaden Therapeutic Use of miRNAs for Breast Cancer

Ishmam Khan ’25 Triple-negative breast cancers (TNBCs) are a type of breast cancer that does not respond to traditional hormonal therapy. Despite TNBCs encompassing 10-20% of all breast cancers, TNBCs are significantly more aggressive than other breast cancers and have worse overall survival rates.  These cancers often offer patients a poor prognosis due to their high rates of proliferation and chemoresistance. A research group at … Continue reading Using Modified Guide Strands to Broaden Therapeutic Use of miRNAs for Breast Cancer

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Health

Pandemic-related Stress Overwhelms Pregnant Women Globally

Joyce Chen ’23 Within the past year, the onset and duration of the pandemic has wreaked havoc on the world. Aside from the detrimental effects on physical health, the virus has taken a significant impact on mental wellbeing. Many pregnant women have reported feeling heightened levels of stress at this time because they do not feel prepared to give birth and are afraid of their … Continue reading Pandemic-related Stress Overwhelms Pregnant Women Globally

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Health

Leisure Time or Lost Time: How Negative Beliefs About Leisure Exacerbate Mental Illnesses

Ayesha Azeem ’23 Although it is enjoyable to take breaks away from work and obligations, certain factors can undermine this enjoyment, like tracked or scheduled leisure time. Leisure provides people with a sense of control in life and can reduce the risk of depression. These benefits, however, may be less impactful in people who believe that taking time out for leisure is wasteful. Rutgers University … Continue reading Leisure Time or Lost Time: How Negative Beliefs About Leisure Exacerbate Mental Illnesses

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COVID-19

Nationwide RCT Single Session Interventions on Depression in Adolescents: COVID-19 edition

Daphne Siozios ’23 Once the coronavirus pandemic emerged, distress due to isolation caused an immediate surge in adolescent depression. While depression in youths was already regarded as the biggest psychosocial adversity prior to COVID-19, newfound disruption of social-emotional support because of direct seclusion resulting from the pandemic has led to elevated depression. By observing randomized controlled trials of brief, scalable interventions, it has been said … Continue reading Nationwide RCT Single Session Interventions on Depression in Adolescents: COVID-19 edition

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Health

Online Survey of the Impact of COVID-19 Risk and Cost Estimates on Worry and Health Behavior Compliance in Young Adult

Thumyat Noe ’23 The COVID-19 pandemic has led to major mental health consequences such as anxiety and non-compliance with health guidelines within the general population, especially among young adults. To effectively treat anxiety and encourage compliance with public health guidelines among young adults, it is important to understand factors that contribute to COVID-19 related anxiety as well as decision-making mechanisms that contribute to compliance with … Continue reading Online Survey of the Impact of COVID-19 Risk and Cost Estimates on Worry and Health Behavior Compliance in Young Adult

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