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How ‘Brain Hacking’ Could Help Fight Alzheimer’s, Depression and More

By Susannah Cahalan — 2020

Millions suffer from conditions without known causes. Some contend with constant pain, many live with unrelenting mental anguish. None of them know why. Now a groundbreaking theory of brain illness — presented in a thrilling new book by science journalist Donna Jackson Nakazawa called “The Angel and the Assassin” (Ballantine Books) — offers big answers by pointing to the tiny packages called microglia.

Read on nypost.com

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Microglia: A New Target in the Brain for Depression, Alzheimer’s, and More?

As a science journalist whose niche spans neuroscience, immunology, and human emotion, I knew at the time that it didn’t make scientific sense that inflammation in the body could be connected to — much less cause — illness in the brain.

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Advice on Dire Diagnoses From a Survivor

With each diagnosis, knowing her life hung in the balance, she was “stunned, then anguished” and astonished by “how much energy it takes to get from the bad news to actually starting on the return path to health.”

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Coping with Depression and Disability

Often, disabled people have their disability treated, but they don’t have their emotional or spiritual needs addressed.

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Supporting a Spouse Through a Health Challenge

If you have suddenly been put into the role of caregiver, what should you do—and how can you stay strong while you do it?

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Chronic Illness and Relationships

When romantic partners are caregivers.

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The Beauty in Mental Illness

Look more closely and you’ll see.

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Male Depression and Anxiety in Athletes

Michael Phelps, the most decorated athlete in Olympic history with 28 medals, has acknowledged that after the 2012 games, his longtime depression was so overwhelming he thought about killing himself.

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Experimental Treatments Changed the Course of the AIDS Epidemic; We Need the Same Approach to Mental Illness Today | Commentary

Demand from patients seeking help for their mental illnesses has led to underground use in a way that parallels black markets in the AIDS pandemic. This underground use has been most perilous for people of color, who face greater stigma and legal risks due to the War on Drugs.

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We’re Just Scratching the Surface of the Modern Environment’s Effect on Brain Health

Donna Jackson Nakazawa on Microglial Cells and Nature's "Neat Evolutionary Trick".

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The Tiny Brain Cells that Connect Our Mental and Physical Health

A new understanding of long-overlooked cells called microglia is challenging the assumption that body and brain function are completely independent.

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EXPLORE TOPIC

Neuroscience