Different types of alcohol can have distinct effects on the drinker’s mood.

The holidays are coming, and for some, they might be bringing alcohol with them. A new study shows that different types of alcohol affect your mood in various ways. With this research, scientists analyzed the influence of different types of alcohol such as beer, wine, and spirits on the drinker’s mood. The team monitored how people might feel after consuming these either in public or at home.

Different Types of Alcohol, Different Reactions

To conduct this study, the team behind it made use of data gathered by the Global Drug Survey. This is the biggest worldwide online survey about illicit drugs and alcohol use. It included questions on alcohol consumption and the moods linked to different types of alcohol. Some of the emotions that were analyzed in this survey included feeling confident, tired, tearful, ill, aggressive, restless, relaxed, energized, and sexy.

For their study, the researchers looked at responses from almost 30,000 survey participants aged between 18 and 31. These came from 21 countries and mentioned that they had drunk different types of alcohol over the last year. The findings showed that while spirits are linked to negative feelings, red wine is connected to more positive ones. More than 50 percent of participants mentioned that they felt relaxed after drinking this type of alcoholic beverage.

When drinking spirits, people can develop feelings of aggression. Spirits such as vodka, tequila, and whiskey are more likely to cause an angry mood compared to wine and beer. The researchers mentioned that it is important to understand how different types of alcohol affect your attitude and how you can control it.

Alcohol Differences, but Also Different People

An important thing that should be taken into consideration, point out the researchers, is the difference between the participants. The gender, level of education, age, and the country of origin have a significant impact on the results. The team noted that spirits could cause different moods for different ages. For instance, among young adults (18 to 24 years old), this type of alcohol was associated with feelings of energy, sexiness, and confidence.

When it comes to gender, women were more likely to associate different types of alcohol with varying moods while men were more inclined to link them with aggression. The level of alcohol-dependency also had a meaningful impact on the study. Those who were considered heavy drinkers were more likely to associate different types of alcohol to aggression than those who were low-risk consumers.

Also, people who are considered heavy drinkers were five times more likely to associate energy with different types of alcohol compared to those who drank less often. This shows that people who abuse alcohol sometimes believe that alcohol is the one that brings them energy and helps them develop positive feelings, say the researchers.

Despite the fact that the study doesn’t show explicit evidence that can link certain moods to different types of alcohol, it did demonstrate the effects of drinking wine, spirits, and beer on a person’s feelings. Researchers mentioned that other factors could also influence these while drinking. For instance, advertising, the place where they drink, the period of time, and the concentration of alcohol from their beverage.

Detailed study findings are available in a paper in the journal BMJ Open. 

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Brain cells take the brunt of it when it comes to sleepless nights as they become rather sluggish.

Sleep deprivation can literally slow down some of the neurons in our brains, claims the team behind a new study that set out to study the effects of a lack of slumber on the human body. The researchers reached these results after studying the brains of twelve participants.

The Sluggish Response of the Sleep-Deprived Brain Cells

Research was conducted on a rather unusual basis, as the patients involved were being evaluated before surgeries meant to correct severe epilepsy. A significant number of studies targeting patients with this condition keep the participants awake to trigger a seizure.

So the current study did almost the same thing, but with a different purpose. The researchers set out to take a closer look at the brains of sleep-deprived people and were thus able to do so. By placing wires in their brains, specialists can pinpoint the starting place of a seizure. At the same time, they also have access and can monitor hundreds of cells, even across more than just a day.

For the study, the participants agreed to categorize images of either people, animals, or places. Each image corresponds to a specific area of the brain and led to distinctive patterns in the brain cells’ electrical activity.

“These are the very neurons [that] are responsible for the way you process the world in front of you,” states Dr. Itzhak Fried, one of the study authors and a neurosurgery professor part of the University of California, Los Angeles.

Four of the study participants were asked to stay awake all night, and then recategorize images. This showed that the sleep-deprived patients’ brain cells were rather ‘sluggish’.

Dr. Fried said that “The responses are diminished, and they are smeared over longer periods of time”.

The researcher continued by pointing out that because of this, brain cells may be finding it harder to communicate. In turns, this might also lead to changes in the perception and even the memory.

Detailed study methods and findings are available in a paper in the journal Nature Medicine.

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The FDA advises caution and moderation when consuming black licorice, today and in general.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a warning before one of the biggest candy and sweets-eating holidays of the year. FDA officials advised caution when consuming treats for Halloween and especially warned against the excessive and extended consumption of black licorice.

Black Licorice on FDA’s Black List?

The FDA starts its warning by stating that “As it turns out, you really can overdose on candy—or, more precisely, black licorice.”

In then continues by advising moderation when consuming this treat, no matter the age. People over 40 should especially pay attention when eating this type of licorice. Reportedly, eating it for two weeks or more might land the consumer in the hospital with arrhythmia or an irregular heartbeat.

As it is, black licorice’s effects can be felt at any age, if one eats too much at a time. The FDA recommends that anyone that has been consuming excessive amounts of this treat and seems to have an irregular heartbeat should stop eating the sweet immediately. They should also contact their medical provider or seek medical attention.

This licorice can also seemingly interact with some herbs, dietary supplements, and medication, so people looking to consume it might want to consult a professional beforehand.

Black licorice’s effects were linked to one of the sweetening compounds in its composition, glycyrrhizin. Derived from licorice root, this can seemingly cause a fall in the body’s potassium levels. Because of this, some people might have arrhythmia, while others may experience high blood pressure, swelling, or lethargy, among others.

According to the FDA warning, some medical journals found a link between black licorice and health problems in people aged 40 or older that were also known to have high blood pressure and/or heart disease.

As it is, trick-or-treaters and people looking to enjoy Halloween can eat black licorice without a problem, just not too much, as moderation should be the main target when eating any type of candy or sweets today and the following weeks.

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A new analysis just linked the peak hair loss searches with seasonality.

A study team noticed an interesting trend when analyzing Google searches for “hair loss”. They noted that the volume of such searches tends to peak during the summer and fall, in both hemispheres. Because of this, the researchers pointed to the possibility of there being a so-called “human shedding” period.

Hair Loss Linked to Seasonality?

The analysis looked at data from eight countries around the world in between 2004 to 2016. Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and India, are some of the selected countries. The team decided to use only English-speaking countries to avoid language-based confusions.

According to the results, the hair loss search volume peaked during the summer, and the fall came in second in both of the globe’s hemispheres. However, the researchers point out that such searches do not necessarily point to the users’ experiencing hair loss.

In countries in the Northern Hemisphere, the study team defined the summer seasons as being June, July, and August with the Fall ones being September, October, and November. Countries in the Southern Hemisphere are precisely the opposite, as the Northern summer is the Southern Winter.

The research team pointed out that these study parameters help back up the findings of previous studies.

They “back up the results of smaller studies involving patients that showed greater [hair loss] in the summer months,” according to Dr. Shawn Kwatra. He is the senior study author and a Johns Hopkins Medicine dermatology resident.

The researchers point out that such studies indicated a possible link between seasonality and losing hair. Namely, they found higher rates of “telogen” hairs in the summer and the lowest ones in the winter. Telogens are hair in the final stages of growth, and also the most likely to fall out.

However, the study team of this latest analysis underlines that the hair type is probably just one of the varied possible reasons for the seasonal hair loss. According to them, the UV index, which returns the strength of the outdoors ultraviolet rays may also be an influencing factor.

A study paper is available in the British Journal of Dermatology.

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An Italian was sweating blood in a case of hematohidrosis, a rare condition.

A newly released study presents the very strange case of an Italian woman that sweats blood from her forehead and hands. She was diagnosed with having hematohidrosis, an incredibly rare condition.

Sweating Blood, and the Condition Attached to This, Still Controversial

Italian doctors reported meeting with the very odd case of a 21 years old woman that came in because she was sweating blood from her head and hands. Perspiration is a normal and very much needed process of the human body that helps it regulate its temperature.

In the case of the Italian woman, she reported having a three years long story of spontaneously perspiring blood from her forehead and face in general, as well as her hands. The sweating episodes were one to five minutes old.

She did not appear to have any cuts or lesions. Blood and skin tests also did not reveal any abnormalities or problems that might explain the bleeding. Instead, the patient presented symptoms of anxiety, self-isolation, and depression. She also claimed that she chose to isolate herself out of fear of having blood sweating episodes in public.

The specialists examining her diagnosed their patient with a very rare condition, hematohidrosis. So the Italian woman was treated with beta blockers and also anti-depressants. According to the study paper, although the medicine helped reduce the bloody perspiration, these couldn’t be stopped altogether.

The case was presented in a study paper published in the Canadian Medical Journal and accompanied by a commentary analysis.

Hematohidrosis and Its History

The accompanying commentary pointed out that the majority of the documented cases of hematohidrosis affected women. However, an exact cause for this condition is not known.

Allegedly, the appearance of this condition might be tied to hysteria or other such psychiatric conditions. There are no medical reports to tie any death to this condition.

Some also regard this condition with skepticism, although the research team points out that such episodes “persist at a steady and possibly rising rate” so the doubts seem rather unfounded.

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