The five most-read stories on Scope this week were:
Fibromyalgia – living with a controversial chronic disease: Inspire contributor Marijke Vroomen Durning, RN, shares her experience of what it's like to live with fibromyalgia - a disease that's been slow to gain acceptance as a chronic illness.
Protein known for initiating immune response may set our brains up for neurodegenerative disorders: A protein associated with the immune response may predispose older adults to neurodegenerative diseases, a Stanford-led study has found. The protein, C1q, gradually accumulates in the brain as humans age—first concentrating in the same brain regions affected in the early stages of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. C1q is known to work with other proteins to weed out synapses in the developing brains of children, suggesting a similar function in adult brains.
Study shows bigger breakfast may help women with PCOS manage symptoms: A study of women with enlarged cyst-filled ovaries, a condition called Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS), may be able to manage their symptoms better by making breakfast the biggest meal of the day. Researchers found that women with PCOS who ate big breakfasts had lower insulin resistance, lower testosterone levels and higher rates of ovulation.
The mystery surrounding lung-transplant survival rates: An October article in the San Francisco Chronicle offered a look at the challenges facing lung transplant patients and explored why a significant number don’t live beyond the five-year mark, despite improvements in survival rates.
Stanford study: Higher tobacco taxes associated with reduced alcohol consumption: A recent study found that increases in tobacco taxes were associated with lower alcohol consumption among certain groups of people suggesting that an increased tobacco tax may simultaneously reduce smoking and alcohol consumption.
