People on antidepressant drugs can have impaired driving skills, a small U.S.A. study suggests. To estimate the possible impact antidepressant drugs could have on driving performance, the research squad asked sixty folks to “drive” a computerized version of a car in a course of study that mimicked real-world conditions.

North Dakota University determined that those on high dose anti-depressant courses had more mediocre driving skills. But it wasn’t clear whether it was the pills or the de facto condition that induced the impairment and researchers said a more macroscopic study was now needed.

The participants were split between those who were not on medicine, those taking a low dose course and other people on a high dose.

Lead researcher Dr Holly Dannewitz said: “There is obviously more work to do on this. We need a much larger study, but there certainly seems to be some sort of link.

“I think people who are depressed, especially those on anti-depressants, should be aware of this if they are driving or doing anything that relies on concentration and reaction skills.”

Dannewitz pronounced that her future exercise would involve patients who are diagnosed with clinical depression but not on antidepressants. In this way, her team can ascertain whether it’s the depression, or medicines applied to treat it, that are at the root of the concentration problems.

Although most women are told to examine their breasts every month for lumps, new research confirms that the practice – on its own – may do more harm than good. Self exams, and those by healthcare providers, actually produce an increase in benign biopsies, but don’t get the patient into treatment earlier or save her life.

Experts say there is no evidence that rigorous monthly “self-examination” reduces breast cancer deaths and it can lead to unnecessary biopsies.

In fact, the often-recommended monthly chore may even do more harm than good, according to the group’s analysis of a pair of studies of nearly 400,000 Chinese and Russian women.

“Data from two large trials do not suggest a beneficial effect of screening by (BSE) but do suggest harm in terms of increased numbers of benign lesions identified and an increased number of biopsies performed,”

concluded the authors in Tuesday’s issue of The Cochrane Library. “At present, screening by breast self-examination … cannot be recommended.”

The study focuses on two studies – a 2003 study of over 120,000 Russian women and a 2002 study of over 266,000 Chinese women. While the Chinese study provides the stronger evidence – the Russian study was conducted amid the fall of the Soviet Union – both suggest that self-examination can actually pose potential harm in the form of increased benign biopsies, while no evidence can be found for potential benefits.

The study does not suggest that women should not perform the exams themselves, or have medical professionals perform them, but the authors write, “that the lack of supporting evidence from the two major studies should be discussed with these women to enable them to make an informed decision.”

Despite recommendations against self-examination in the UK, charity Breakthrough Breast Cancer said there were still likely to be many women who believed this was the right way to check their breasts.

The headlines on the front page of the New York Times for Monday, March 31, tell the story of Eric Hall, a 24-year-old American veteran of the war in Iraq, and about the life he led after his return home from his tour of duty. In his article “Tracking a Marine Lost at Home,” Damien Cave writes about how Mr. Hall disappeared and eventually died in the woods of Southwest Florida after experiencing a “flashback” in which he feared Iraqi insurgents were surrounding him…

Source:The Often Long Journey Home From War: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder