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It’s natural to be afraid after something scary or dangerous happens. When you feel you’re in danger, your body responds with a rush of chemicals that make you more alert. This is called the “flight or fight” response. It helps us survive life-threatening events. But the brain’s response to frightening events can also lead to chronic problems. This can include trouble sleeping; feeling on edge…, What is Trauma?, “Most people associate post-traumatic stress symptoms with veterans and combat situations,” says Dr. Amit Etkin, an NIH-funded mental health expert at Stanford University. “However, all sorts of trauma happen during one’s life that can lead to post-traumatic stress disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder-like symptoms.” This includes people who have been through a physical or sexual assault,…, Biology of Traumatic Stress, Researchers are looking into what puts people at risk for PTSD. One team, led by Dr. Samuel McLean, a trauma expert at the University of North Carolina, is investigating how post-traumatic stress symptoms develop in the brain. They will be following 5,000 trauma survivors for one year. “We’re enrolling people who visit trauma centers immediately after a trauma because evidence suggests that a lot…, Coping With Trauma, How you react when something traumatic happens, and shortly afterward, can help or delay your recovery. “It’s important to have a coping strategy for getting through the bad feelings of a traumatic event,” Tuma says. A good coping strategy, he explains, is finding somebody to talk with about your feelings. A bad coping strategy would be turning to alcohol or drugs. Having a positive coping…, Finding Treatments, “While we currently diagnose this as one disorder in psychiatry, in truth, there’s a lot of variation between people and the kinds of symptoms that they have,” Etkin says. These differences can make it difficult to find a treatment that works. Etkin’s team is trying to understand why some people’s brains respond to treatment and others do not. “PTSD is very common. But the variety of ways that it…

Did you know that the virus that causes “cold sores” or “fever blisters” on or around the mouth can also infect other areas of the body? The infection is caused by the herpes simplex virus. And it’s very common. Most people with herpes infection don’t even know it. They may not have symptoms or not notice them. For people who do have symptoms, a herpes infection may show up as one or more…

Have you heard the advice to exercise, choose a healthy diet, keep a lean weight, never smoke, and limit alcohol? Researchers wanted to find out whether people who follow this advice live longer than those who don’t. So, they compared lifespan and other data from thousands of adults with all five of these healthy habits to those without. People in the healthy habits group got at least 30 minutes…

NIH wants to speed up research and improve health. That’s why we’re asking adults to join the All of Us Research Program. We hope that 1 million or more people nationwide will share their health information with the program. This will help researchers gather data that reflects the country’s diversity. All of Us aims to build a resource to help discover how to stay healthy and manage disease in…

During midlife, a woman’s menstrual periods grow further and further apart. At some point, they stop completely, and she can no longer get pregnant. This is because the ovaries aren’t releasing eggs and making [qtip:hormones|Substances sent through the bloodstream to signal another part of the body to grow or react a certain way.] like estrogen anymore. After 12 months without a period, a woman…, Midlife Transition, Typically, menopause occurs between ages 45 and 55. This means women can expect less frequent periods and other symptoms at some point during their 40s. But it’s different for every woman. There’s no lab test to predict when in life it will start or how easy it will be. Along with unpredictable periods, a woman may have other symptoms—both physical and emotional. Hot flashes, poor sleep, and mood…, Waves of Heat, Hot flashes are a common symptom during the midlife transition. Many women have these for several years after menopause. Some experience hot flashes for 10 or more years. A mild hot flash feels like being embarrassed, Joffe says. “There’s a wave of heat sensation that rises to your head and chest, and sometimes you look red, feel hot, and then it’s gone.” A not-so-mild hot flash can make your…, Restless Nights, During midlife, women may start having trouble sleeping because of changes in hormone levels. Hot flashes and night sweats can also cause women to wake up. “In people who have hot flashes at night, their sleep is disrupted throughout the entire night. It’s like a ripple of a sleep irritation throughout the whole night,” Joffe says. A woman may feel tired the next day as a result. The medicines…, Rollercoaster Moods, During perimenopause, many women become irritable or feel moody. Some may feel sad and anxious and unable to enjoy things as much as they used to. If a woman has these symptoms day after day for at least 2 weeks, she may be dealing with a clinical depression. “There is a two- to three-fold risk of depression during perimenopause,” says NIH psychiatrist and researcher Dr. Peter J. Schmidt.…, Midlife Well-Being, The midlife transition is a phase of life that brings gradual changes. Many women don’t have problems during this transition. You can make midlife your time for optimizing well-being by eating well, exercising, and getting quality sleep. The healthier you are at midlife, the more successful you’ll be combating age-related changes and diseases. “We see it almost like a window of opportunity where…

Zits. Pimples. Spots. Whatever you call it, acne can cause discomfort and embarrassment. This skin condition affects most people at some point during their lives. About 4 out of every 5 people experience acne outbreaks between the ages of 11 and 30. Acne starts in the skin’s oil glands. The hair on our bodies comes out through canals from these glands called follicles. Oil glands make oils that…

Many people lose some of their hearing as they get older. Experts say that, of those over the age of 75, about half have hearing loss. Not being able to hear well can make it hard to communicate. That can affect relationships with loved ones, friends, and coworkers. A new study shows that women who have a pattern of healthy eating have a lower risk of hearing loss than women who don’t eat well. A…

Are you thinking of trying an herb to improve your health? Find out about the uses, effectiveness, and possible side effects of herbal products before you try them. NIH’s new app, “HerbList,” has the herb info you need in an on-the-go package. Use the app to explore what the science says about over 50 common herbs and herbal products. It features an alphabetical list of herbs with a picture of…

A brain injury-related protein may one day help doctors know when they can safely send young athletes with concussions back into the game. Millions of sports-related mild brain injuries, or concussions, happen in the U.S. each year. Returning to play before you’re fully recovered can be dangerous. It raises the risk for long-term symptoms like headaches, dizziness, and problems with mental…

When you lose the use of a limb, even the simplest of daily tasks can turn into a challenge. High-tech devices can help restore independence. New technologies are even making it possible to connect the mind to an artificial limb. These artificial limbs are called bionic [qtip:prosthetic devices|Devices that replace a body part.]. “To get back some of that lost function, you need some sort of…, Prosthetic Control, Traditional prosthetic devices use a body-powered harness to control a hand device. These are easy to use. With a shrug of your shoulder, the prosthetic hand or hook opens. With the release of your shoulder, the prosthesis closes. Through the feel of the cable tension across your shoulders, you know whether the prosthesis is open or closed without looking at it. Newer, motorized hands are not as…, Two-Way Communication, To regain a sense of wholeness, a person with a bionic limb needs to do more than control the device. They also need to “feel” what it’s doing. New bionic devices can send sensation from the device back to the brain. This allows a person with a bionic device to feel like they are using their own limb. “The most important thing about the research that we’re doing is this sense of wholeness,” says…, Wearable Robots, Research teams are also trying to help people who have lost the use of their legs. By wearing a robotic device called an exoskeleton, some people with leg paralysis have been able to regain the ability to walk. A group led by Dr. Thomas Bulea, a biomedical engineer at the NIH Clinical Center, created a wearable exoskeleton for children with cerebral palsy. Cerebral palsy is a brain disorder that…, Finding the Right Device, “What I try to emphasize to people is that there are a lot of potential tools and technologies at our disposal to try and make people better, and they should explore them and consider embracing them,” Langhals says. Many types of prosthetic devices are now in development. If you’d like to find a clinical study to help test one, you can search for one in clinicaltrials.gov, a database of both NIH-…