Treatment with VR proven effective against psychosis
A study from the University Medical Center Groningen shows that people with psychosis benefit from therapy with Virtual Reality (VR).
During therapy sessions, people with paranoid ideas can practice how to deal with everyday situations. For example, standing in line at the supermarket. That can make people with psychosis anxious because people are looking at them and talking to them.
Therapists guide their patients to reduce their fears in a safe way. UMCG psychiatrist Wim Veling is enthusiastic about the treatment. “People need an average of 15 percent fewer sessions with VR, which shows that the therapy works faster,” he says in a press release.
Veling wants to introduce the treatment at the mental health care institution. He is also looking at whether AI can automate the treatment. In some sessions, no psychologist is needed at all. However, patients must indicate that they want an automated treatment.
Extra ultrasound can prevent oxygen deficiency during childbirth
An extra ultrasound can offer a solution for pregnant people in the last phase of their pregnancy. In some cases, it is difficult to feel whether the baby is still moving well in the womb. With an extra measurement, gynecologists can better assess whether they should induce labor so that the baby does not experience oxygen deficiency.
Often it is not serious if the baby moves less. It could be that the baby is lying differently. In other cases, it may be that the baby has an oxygen deficiency, writes the University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG). Then the pregnancy is artificially induced to protect the baby.
Currently, expectant parents have to go to the hospital if they are worried. Among other things, research is then carried out into the growth of the baby and the amniotic fluid.
Instead, the researchers have now looked at the effects of an extra ultrasound. They examined the resistance in the blood vessels of the umbilical cord and the baby’s head, writes the UMCG. With these results, they can better assess how the baby is doing and whether the placenta is working properly.
The first malaria medicine for babies and young children has been approved
The first malaria medicine for babies and young children has been approved. In the coming weeks, the medicine will be distributed in African countries where the disease occurs. Malaria is a disease that you can contract from a mosquito from the (sub)tropics.
Children up to 4.5 kilos have so far been treated with medicines intended for older children. There was a risk of overdose. The liver functions of young children are not yet fully developed and their bodies process the medicines differently.
According to an estimate by the World Health Organization (WHO), almost 600,000 people died from malaria in 2023. In 76 percent of the deaths, it concerned children under the age of five.
The pharmaceutical company Novartis says it will largely offer the medicine without profit in places where the disease is common.
British man goes viral for knocking over stone piles and helps nature with this
A British man from Derbyshire county is spreading awareness about nature in a special way: he is knocking over stone piles along hiking trails in the Peak District nature reserve.
Stuart Cox is also known as the Peak District Viking because of his huge beard. According to him, the stone piles, as in the photo below, are bad for nature.
The stones are taken from an old wall by hikers. Not only does history disappear, but also the habitat of insects and small animals. Peak District National Park Authority tells the BBC that the stone piles are “detrimental” to the area.
Cox already has more than a million views for his video. He thinks it is important that he makes more people aware of the nature around hiking trails. He is also contacting the owner of the nature reserve. Cox would like to repair the historic wall.