Many of the service members who experience traumatic brain injuries in Iraq and Afghanistan are at risk for long-term health problems such as depression and dementia, but it is unknown how high those risks are, according to an Institute of Medicine report released Thursday, the

Leading researchers and clinicians from the field of neuromodulation assembled today at the 12th annual meeting of the North American Neuromodulation Society (NANS), continuing until December 7 in Las Vegas, NV.

Medical students frequently suffer from depression, especially during their internship years. New research published in the open access journal BMC Medical Education reveals the extent of the problem and features a detailed analysis of the symptoms and sufferers. Sergio Baldassin, from the ABC Regional Medical School, Brazil, led a team of researchers who carried out a study on 481 medical students in the private medical school near the São Paulo state capital.

The January issue of European Urology, the official journal of the European Association of Urology published by Elsevier, will feature new recommendations on late-onset hypogonadism (LOH), recently formulated by major scientific organizations. LOH is a clinical and biochemical syndrome associated with advancing age and characterized by typical symptoms and a deficiency in serum testosterone levels.

“Overall, we found that the St. John’s wort extracts tested in the (29) trials were superior to placebos and as effective as standard antidepressants, with fewer side effects,” says lead researcher, Klaus Linde, of the Centre for Complementary Medicine in Munich, Germany.

More than half of the population show some lowering of mood in the winter due to lack of bright light. Dr. Simon Young at McGill University has shown that some of the beneficial effects of bright light work through the serotonin system. He has also shown that average daily exposure to bright light in the winter in Canada is less than half an hour.