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This new finding on depression could affect the way you raise your child
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New research suggests that bipolar disorder and depression may be linked. Here's how that could affect your children. - photo by Herb Scribner
New research from the University of Michigan found that fuzzy thinking a commonly reported feeling among those suffering from depression, where one's thinking is fuzzy or less sharp is both a symptom of those with depression and bipolar disorder, which suggests that bipolar disorder and depression could be the same diagnosis, rather than two separate ones, according to Medical News Today.

This could affect the way parents raise their children, as 5.7 million American adults are diagnosed with bipolar disorder and 17.6 million suffer from depression each year. Children who grow up in families where parents have depression or mental health issues often have emotional, physical and mental developmental struggles.

To discover the link between bipolar disorder and depression, University of Michigan researchers measured how well 150 healthy women, 266 women diagnosed with depression and 202 women diagnosed with bipolar disorder sustained information while taking a test. The study only used female participants to control for gender.

The women with depression and bipolar disorder showed similar struggles retaining information, which told researchers that bipolar disorder and depression may be linked.

"In all, we show a shared cognitive dysfunction in women with mood disorders, which were pronounced in the cognitive control tests and more nuanced in scans," lead author Kelly Ryan said in a press release. "Traditionally in psychiatry we look at a specific diagnosis, or category. But the neurobiology is not categorical we're not finding huge differences between what clinicians see as categories of disease. This raises questions about traditional diagnoses."

More diagnoses of depression or bipolar disorder could affect families as children from families who have these symptoms often have trouble in their physical, mental and emotional development.

For example, children who grow up with bipolar parents will more often display risky sexual behavior, among other psychosocial issues, according to Psych Central. Children with bipolar parents are also 14 times more likely to develop bipolar disorder than kids who come from families without those disorders, CNN reported.

Research says that in general, parents sometimes pass their anxiety and stress issues often known to cause or be symptoms of depression onto their children. A new study from a team of researchers from the United States, Great Britain and Sweden found that children who are raised in environments where parents have anxiety and stress will pick up on those traits and also suffer from those issues as they grow up.

In fact, Emily Hales of the Deseret News reported last year that 65 percent of children with anxiety disorders had parents with similar mental health issues. This has, over time, led to an increase in depressed adolescents, too.

But as the U.K.s National Health Services suggests, these studies are more evidence that parents can use to educate themselves about neurological disorders that could also impact their children. Education can help those parents find help, which would ultimately benefit their children.

Dr. Robert Freedman, a journal editor, told the NHS that, Parents who are anxious can now be counseled and educated on ways to minimize the impact of their anxiety on the child's development."
Its toxic: New study says blue light from tech devices can speed up blindness
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A new study from the University of Toledo found that blue light from digital devices can transform molecules in your eyes retina into cell killers. - photo by Herb Scribner
It turns out checking Twitter or Facebook before bed is bad for your health.

A new study from the University of Toledo found that blue light from digital devices can transform molecules in your eyes retina into cell killers.

That process can lead to age-related macular degeneration, which is a leading cause of blindness in the United States, according to the researchs extract.

Blue light is a common issue for many modern Americans. Blue light is emitted from screens, most notably at night, causing sleep loss, eye strain and a number of other issues.

Dr. Ajith Karunarathne, assistant professor in the UT Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, said our constant exposure to blue light cant be blocked by the lens or cornea.

"It's no secret that blue light harms our vision by damaging the eye's retina. Our experiments explain how this happens, and we hope this leads to therapies that slow macular degeneration, such as a new kind of eye drop, he said.

Macular degeneration is an incurable eye disease that often affects those in their 50s or 60s. It occurs after the death of photoreceptor cells in the retina. Those cells need retinal to sense light and help signal the brain.

The research team found blue light exposure created poisonous chemical molecules that killed photoreceptor cells

"It's toxic. If you shine blue light on retinal, the retinal kills photoreceptor cells as the signaling molecule on the membrane dissolves," said Kasun Ratnayake, a Ph.D. student researcher working in Karunarathne's cellular photo chemistry group. "Photoreceptor cells do not regenerate in the eye. When they're dead, they're dead for good."

However, the researchers found a molecule called alpha-tocopherol, which comes from Vitamin E, can help prevent cell death, according to Futurism.

The researchers plan to review how light from TVs, cellphones and tablet screens affect the eyes as well.

"If you look at the amount of light coming out of your cellphone, it's not great but it seems tolerable," said Dr. John Payton, visiting assistant professor in the UT Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. "Some cellphone companies are adding blue-light filters to the screens, and I think that is a good idea."

Indeed, Apple released a Night Shift mode two years ago to help quell blue lights strain on the eyes, according to The Verge. The screen will dim into a warmer, orange light that will cause less stress on the eyes.