Brains, Volcanoes, and Blood Tests

Brain Difference Found in Children with ADHD  

Do you or someone you know have ADHD? Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a chronic condition that affects millions of people throughout the world. Symptoms typically begin in childhood, and it has thus far been diagnosed primarily through questionnaires and behavioral observations.  

Hoping to improve this inherently subjective and often challenging means of diagnosing this condition, researchers at Yale used brain imaging data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study, where children who have ADHD, and children without it were both imaged. An entire brain analysis was conducted on over seven thousand 9 to 10 year olds. The researchers found a few key differences—kids with ADHD were found to have narrower frontal cortices (responsible for decision making, reasoning, attention, and memory), narrower white matter (a system of neural connections) and different memory, alertness, and auditory processing. The team was able to use their findings to train a machine learning algorithm that could be used to diagnose ADHD from brain images, eliminating the subjectiveness of previous methods of diagnosis. Their findings reveal that ADHD is more than just a behavioral disorder—removing some of the stigma attached to it. The algorithm is a fantastic development that will make a difference in the lives of many.

Locklear, M. (2022, November 23). Neuromarker for ADHD could improve diagnosis of the disorder. YaleNews. Retrieved December 3, 2022, from https://news.yale.edu/2022/11/23/neuromarker-adhd-could-improve-diagnosis-disorder

Blood Test for Multiple Cancers

Doctors advocate that their patients get regular screening for common cancers—colonoscopies for colon cancer and mammograms for breast cancer. These tests can be both intolerable and inconvenient. President Joe Biden recently declared multi cancer early detection tests (MCEDs) to be prioritized by the Cancer Moonshot Initiative (a coalition to progress our knowledge of and potential treatment of cancer).

MCED tests work to detect different cancers by focusing on identifying trace amounts of tumor DNA in our bloodstream. The DNA found holds details on the kind of tissue it is from, including if it is cancerous or not. Cancer blood tests exist, however they can only be used to detect advanced-stage cancers, so MCED tests, which hone in on a “molecular barcode” may become the future of cancer detection and diagnosis. This could significantly reduce the number of cancer deaths by detecting cancers much earlier than being done so today. On top of that, the testing would be much more comfortable than colonoscopies, mammograms, biopsies and more.

Colin Pritchard Professor of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology. (2022, October 31). A blood test that screens for multiple cancers at once promises to boost early detection. The Conversation. Retrieved December 4, 2022, from https://theconversation.com/a-blood-test-that-screens-for-multiple-cancers-at-once-promises-to-boost-early-detection-191728?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Weekly+Highlights++November+6+2022+-+2457424603&utm_content=Weekly+Highlights++November+6+2022+-+2457424603%2BCID_3c8a0d5250e27baa9a9c84e1aaeaef86&utm_source=campaign_monitor_us&utm_term=A+blood+test+that+screens+for+multiple+cancers+at+once+promises+to+boost+early+detection

Erupting Volcano After 40 Years

Mauna Loa on the Big Island of Hawaii, the largest active volcano on Earth, is now erupting after remaining dormant for almost 40 years. In the past, Mauna Loa tended to erupt on average every seven years.

According to Ingrid Johanson, a geophysicist at the U.S. Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory in Hilo, Mauna Loa had been exhibiting indications of an impending eruption for the past seven years. When they first started to notice signs, there had been an increase in local earthquakes and land deformation which meant the magma below the ground was in motion. These indications grew over the past few months, until Mauna Loa finally erupted again. As of right now, the awakened volcano is not endangering surrounding communities, but volcanologists are watching it closely in case the flow of lava changes and starts to head towards populated areas.

Gramling, C. (2022, December 1). Hawaii's Mauna Loa volcano is erupting. here's what you need to know. Science News. Retrieved December 4, 2022, from https://www.sciencenews.org/article/hawaii-mauna-loa-volcano-erupting-what-you-need-to-know

Does Pregnancy Change the Brain?

We know that pregnancy affects the body long term and can make a woman prone to certain diseases, but it was unknown until recently that pregnancy can actually affect the brain. A recent study looked to discover how giving birth alters the white matter microstructure (the network of nerve fibers in the brain), neural metabolite concentrations (markers for things like neuronal and axonal integrity and excitatory transmission, among others), and neural network organization (the network of neurons, which send electrical signals).

They found that there was reduction in the gray matter of pregnant women compared to non-pregnant women, there was an increase in the Default Mode Network (DMN) connectivity in pregnant women, and they found no significant difference in the white matter microstructure and neural metabolites. This study shows that pregnancy causes changes in the neural architecture and network organization, especially in the DMN, of the brain. This might indicate the change in self-awareness and actions when transforming to a mother. The findings also suggest there is a relation with mother-infant bonding. That’s pretty crazy to think about!

Hoekzema, E., van Steenbergen, H., Straathof, M. et al. Mapping the effects of pregnancy on resting state brain activity, white matter microstructure, neural metabolite concentrations and grey matter architecture. Nat Commun 13, 6931 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-33884-8