Noelia García is provisional number 1 in the MIR 2024 exam. This Medicine graduate from the Autonomous University of Madrid has achieved a total of 190 hits and 10 misses in her first attempt at the MIR exam.. In a first interview with this newspaper, García revealed his preferences regarding the specialty: “I have always wanted to do Dermatology or Endocrinology and Nutrition and I am still hesitating.”. I need to talk to more residents and see what appeals to me the most.. I don't know the hospital either, but I know that I want to stay in Madrid.”

García has prepared with the MIR Asturias academy, which will have managed to train the number 1 candidate for the third consecutive year if these results are confirmed in the final lists. This doctor began preparing in the sixth year of her degree starting in December 2023, opting for the academy's 17-month intensive course. He highlights that in the simulations he obtained more than 180 net, “but at the academy they had told us not to believe it”.

THE IMPORTANCE OF REST

What have you done differently from the rest? “We all study and dedicate many hours and a lot of effort to studying, but I think that just as important as studying is to respect rest, both at night and going out to get some fresh air, do some sports, refresh the mind and not just be studying” , reflects the candidate. “If you are tired you are not going to perform the same and it is something that I have always kept in mind. Just like high-performance athletes, they spend many hours training a day, but the rest of the time what they do is rest and do everything possible to optimize their rest and give their best the next day, when preparing for an opposition like the MIR exam, same. “You have to work hard and study hard, but you have to rest so you can repeat it the next day.”

She explains that she has distant relatives in the healthcare world, both doctors and nurses, but that of her immediate family she is the first to get the bug.. “When I was in high school and they asked me what I wanted to be, I wasn't sure.. In fact, in the list I made for Evau, my first options were Medicine, Biochemistry or Economics.. But in the end, thinking a little about what job I saw myself doing for most of my life, doctor was one in which I saw myself being happy.. “There was no further reasoning, I could have chosen something else, it was not something vocational in the sense that I could only be a doctor.”

He acknowledges that the first years were quite hard with the change from high school to university and with basic subjects rather than clinical content: “You still saw yourself very far from the performance of Medicine, studying something that you were not very interested in and that you did not have many facilities”. Furthermore, during the third year, with the pandemic, he believes that the training suffered a lot, especially in the practices, “which had to be recovered at the beginning of the fourth year and in fits and starts”. However, he highlights that “all these obstacles are being overcome and I am glad that I persevered even though several times, especially in first and second year, I considered changing careers, because I didn't see that so much suffering was worth it.”

She confesses that, apart from the practices and mandatory seminars, she barely went to class, so her study has been based on notes and reference manuals: “It was more profitable for me to study it alone at home than to go to college.”. For me, being in class was a very passive way of studying, it was not profitable.. “I realized that I arrived home and it was as if I hadn't been there, I didn't remember anything, so I had to change my method.”

He chose the MIR Asturias academy because the manuals, having summaries, illustrations and test questions, seemed to be the most complete.. In addition, it highlights that it is the academy with the most simulations, “and they are longer but you have less time to do them than in the MIR exam. This overtraining makes you feel looser on the day of the MIR. Immediately after the Saturday simulation you have a 4-hour correction class, which means that the reasoning you have used is fresh.”.

IMPRESSIONS FROM THE MIR 2024 EXAM

Regarding the exam on January 20, García points out that it was “similar to others that we had done at the academy, in the sense that the questions were about familiar concepts that we had already worked on and that have appeared two or more times in previous calls [the so-called repeMIR in the jargon of the academy]”. Yes, it was longer than previous exams, although he acknowledges that he was able to finish on time because at MIR Asturias they train with tests of 225 questions and 4 hours long, compared to the 210 questions and 4 and a half hours of the official exam.

Regarding his future, he points out that he is still hesitating between two specialties that he liked since college, and in which he had the opportunity to rotate for an additional month during sixth year.. Regarding Dermatology, he highlights that “even though it is a medical-surgical surgery, the surgeries are not very complex and I like that it has something more manual, like biopsies, even though it scares me because I am a little clumsy, but I have been told that those things They train and I don't worry about that.”.

From Endocrinology he explains that the part of Clinical Nutrition catches his attention. Furthermore, he highlights both are specialties that “personally interest me and in the long term they can offer me a good quality of life.”

Drugs to treat erectile dysfunction, including Viagra, may be associated with a lower risk of Alzheimer's disease, a study of nearly 270,000 men with the disorder revealed.. The study, published by Neurology, does not prove that these drugs reduce the probability of Alzheimer's, it only indicates an observed association, as its authors make clear.

Although the association ends in nothing, the mere possibility that there are already drugs with potential benefit for Alzheimer's disease is an “encouraging result and justifies more research,” says the author of the work Ruth Brauer, from University College London, in the United Kingdom. , who highlights that “we desperately need treatments that can prevent or delay the development of Alzheimer's disease.”

If the suggested association is finally demonstrated, phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors, drugs that constitute a pillar in the treatment of erectile dysfunction, could also be used in the neurodegenerative disease. These medications work by dilating blood vessels to allow more blood to flow.

It would not be the first therapeutic repositioning of these drugs: sildenafil, the active ingredient in Viagra, was originally developed for pulmonary arterial hypertension and angina pectoris.. The notable side effect detected in the patients who received it marked the new direction of this pill, which we all already know.

However, before reaching that point, as Ruth Brauer points out, “more research is needed to confirm these findings, learn more about the possible benefits and mechanisms of these medications, and analyze the optimal dosage.”. Therefore, it justifies conducting “a randomized controlled trial with male and female participants to determine whether these findings would also apply to women.”

WHAT IS THE IMPACT OF THE USE OF DRUGS ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF ALZHEIMER'S?

The association between these drugs and a lower risk of Alzheimer's was seen by reviewing the medical records of 269,725 male participants with a mean age of 59 years who had recently been diagnosed with erectile dysfunction; The men did not have any memory or cognition problems at the beginning of the study. They were followed for an average of five years, in which 55% of participants who were prescribed ED medications were compared to 45% who had no prescriptions.. During the study, 1,119 people developed Alzheimer's disease.

Among participants who took the drugs, 749 developed the disease, corresponding to a rate of 8.1 cases per 10,000 person-years (person-years represent both the number of people in the study and the amount of time that each person is followed in the study). Among those who did not take the medications, 370 were diagnosed with Alzheimer's, corresponding to a rate of 9.7 cases per 10,000 person-years.

The research adjusted for other factors that could affect the rate of Alzheimer's disease, such as age, smoking and alcohol consumption.. They found that people who took erectile dysfunction medications were 18% less likely to develop Alzheimer's than people who did not.

The association was stronger in those who wrote more prescriptions during the study period. One of the limitations of the work is that it is based on prescription records, but the researchers are not certain about the participants' use of those prescriptions, a fact highlighted by Ivan Koychev, principal clinical investigator of the UK Dementia Platform, from the University of Oxford: “The study is limited by the challenge of establishing causal relationships in epidemiological studies. “In addition, these types of drugs are often taken as needed, so it is difficult to know how much was actually taken and how often.”

The researcher, however, points out to SMC of the United Kingdom that the reduction in the risk of Alzheimer's is greater as there are more prescriptions, and also “in people with risk factors for heart disease (high blood pressure, diabetes), which suggests “that the effect may be due to neuroprotection through vascular mechanisms.”

The evaluations of other experts collected by SMC of the United Kingdom also indicate that although there is no conclusive evidence that relates the drugs to a lower risk of Alzheimer's, the results do support more research.. “These types of drugs are worth continuing to study in the future,” says Tara Spiers-Jones, president of the British Neuroscience Association and professor at the UK Dementia Research Institute at the University of Edinburgh.

WHAT IS THE ROLE OF NITRIC OXIDE?

Another of these experts, Francesco Tamagnini, a neurophysiologist at the School of Pharmacy at the University of Reading, introduces nitric oxide into the hypothesis, whose role “in the consolidation, encoding and retrieval of memory has been known for some years.”

“Nitric oxide intervenes both peripherally in erectile function (by mediating vasodilation) and centrally in cognition, by modulating neuronal function. For example, it has been observed that nitric oxide-dependent transmission is necessary for perirhinal cortex-dependent visual recognition memory,” as shown in some of their published research.

“Theoretically, it is possible that promoting nitrergic transmission could improve memory function, but the question remains whether the observed association is describing a direct effect.”. This is a great study, but more strong evidence is needed to prove a mechanism of action. “It could be that it exerts a therapeutic effect by directly affecting neurons (if the drug is able to cross the blood-brain barrier) and/or by increasing blood flow, but both hypotheses must be tested.”

Cars have “gained” an average of 250 kilos in the last three decades. And they continue to grow length, height and width, at a rate of one centimeter every two years, according to a recent study by Transport & Environment (T&E).. SUVs, a motorized version of the American “Super Size Me”, have set out to conquer European cities precisely in the era of sustainable mobility.

Paris has rebelled against the trend and has decided to lead “the fight against self-obesity”, in the words of the environmental councilor Frédéric Badina-Serpette, who has criticized “the inexorable increase in the weight and size of the vehicles that circulate on the cities”.

Parisians have voted in favor of tripling the parking fees for these cars that weigh more than 2,500 kilos in their most cumbersome versions, which are considered the second cause of the increase in CO2 emissions in the last decade and which pose serious problems of occupation of public space and road safety.

The controversial measure was approved on February 4 in a referendum that had a low turnout (5%) and was very tight, with the support of 54.55% of the votes.. But the idea went ahead, promoted by the mayor of the capital Anne Hidalgo, as part of a series of initiatives to reduce traffic and make a city “more livable.”. Last year, after another popular consultation, electric scooters were eliminated in Paris.

18 euros per hour of parking

Starting in September, visitors entering the city with a car weighing more than 1.6 tons (two tons in the case of electric ones) will have to pay 18 euros per hour to park in Paris and 12 euros if they do so in Paris. the peripheral districts. According to the city council, this supplementary pricing will affect 10% of vehicles and will provide around 35 million euros of extra income for municipal coffers.

The Parisian example will be followed by the Lyon city council, led by Grégory Doucet, a prominent member of Europe Ecology. Starting in June, the third largest French city introduces new tariff sections (something like “parking by weight”) in order to “better share public space.”

The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, in the midst of a crusade against pollution in the British capital, has warned that he will verify the “effectiveness” of the Paris measure and would be willing to copy it if it works. “SUVs take up a lot of space, they also generate road safety and emissions problems,” acknowledged Khan, who however lacks the powers to implement a similar measure throughout the city.

Khan has, however, referred to the steps in that direction that districts such as Westminster are taking, which have decided to review street parking rates based on vehicle emissions.. “SUVs should have no place in our cities and it is very sensible to take a toll for having these “monsters” stored on our streets,” declared Caroline Russell, representative of the Green Party in the London Assembly.

The situation in Spain

In Spain, sales of SUVs surpassed those of conventional cars for the first time in 2020 and today they occupy 60% of the market. Given the ubiquity in the cities of the heirs of all-terrain vehicles and 4x4s, in 2021 the General Directorate of Traffic sent the city councils an update on the width, height and length of the vehicles, so that they could establish rates. parking in restricted areas based on the space they occupy (and not just the label on the windshield).

No Spanish city has so far taken a step comparable to that of Paris. In some cities, such as Madrid, different rates are applied depending on the level of pollution, which can increase up to 100%, but the increase in rates does not take into account the size of the vehicles.

According to a recent study by the Walking Cities Network, 68% of public space on our streets is occupied by cars, compared to 32% for pedestrians.. “The trend is to recommend that the right to park in a public space be progressively avoided,” warns Ana Montalbán, technical secretary of the network that already brings together more than 80 cities.

From his point of view, “motorized mobility and sustainability run in opposite directions.. Cities have undertaken a detoxification process, and this trend collides with the development of increasingly voluminous cars due to market logic, of creating new needs based on a supposed version of comfort,” emphasizes Ana Montalbán.

“People are driving almost “armored” in these vehicles designed more for work in the countryside or risky sports than for urban mobility,” says the architect and urban planner.. “Their vision creates an impression of power and feelings of threat to people walking or cycling.”

The NGO WWF considers that SUVs are “an aberration” for global warming, as they are heavier and more voluminous than a normal car.. Greenpeace warns that the SUV boom is serving to neutralize all the progress on climate change by car manufacturers that had opted for electrification.

“The shift towards heavier and less efficient vehicles is behind the increase in oil consumption and emissions,” warned the International Energy Agency in a devastating report in 2023. If the more than 330 million SUVs in circulation were a country, they would rank sixth in the world for emissions close to 1,000 million tons of CO2 in a year.

The latest wave of climate activism is precisely the group Tire Extinguishers, spread across a dozen European countries and Canada. The “Tire Extinguishers” have already acted in some Spanish cities, with radical actions to “deflate” SUVs, in protest of their environmental impact and the space they occupy on the streets.

It was a tactile resurrection. «When one of the researchers placed the sensor on his own body, I was able to feel the heat of another person again with my phantom hand, it was a very strong emotion, like reactivating a connection with someone». It is told by Fabrizio, a 57-year-old resident of Pistoya (Italy), with an amputated hand.

Thanks to a sensorized prosthesis, Fabrizio has once again felt his lost touch, a bionic touch, with which he was able to manually discriminate and classify objects at different temperatures and different materials with his eyes covered.. But also to feel the bodily contact of other humans again.

This is the first time in history that scientists have managed to incorporate natural temperature sensations into an artificial limb.. A technology designed by the Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies in Pisa (Italy) and the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), in Switzerland, whose scientific results have just been published by the journal Med (Cell Press).

«Temperature is one of the last frontiers to return the sense of touch to robotic hands. And for the first time we are very close to returning the full palette of sensations to amputees,” says Professor Silvestro Micera, from the Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies and EPFL, and co-lead author of the study.

Sensory feedback is one of the most important steps in allowing people with an amputation to interact with their environment. Building on previous findings about phantom thermal sensations, researchers have developed a device they have named MiniTouch, which allows amputees to perceive temperature, transmitting thermal information from the fingertip of the prosthetic hand to the amputee's residual arm.

And the most curious thing is that the device uses electronic components available to anyone on the market, and that its installation does not require surgery.. “This is a very simple idea that can be easily integrated into commercial prostheses,” adds Silvestro Micera.

“By adding information about temperature, touch is more similar to that of a human,” says Dr.. Solaiman Shokur, from the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne. “Having the ability to feel it will enhance the amputees' embodiment: the feeling that this hand is truly mine.”

Until now, thermal sensations have been ignored in neuroprosthetics research, although there is increasing evidence of their importance for everyday life. “We believe that amputees could recover temperature sensations that go far beyond the detection of hot or cold objects,” says Jonathan Muheim, researcher and doctoral student at EPFL.

The test phase was carried out at the Inail Prosthetic Center in Vigorso di Budrio (Bologna) with the collaboration of Dr. Emanuele Gruppioni (INAIL) and his team. The device was simply integrated into the patient's prosthesis, and fixed to a point on the stump itself, producing thermal sensations in the person's phantom index finger.

Using the MiniTouch, Fabrizio was able to discriminate between three visually indistinguishable bottles containing cold water, two of them, and hot, a third, with an accuracy of 100%, whereas, without the device, his accuracy was only 33%.. The MiniTouch device also improved its ability to accurately and quickly sort metal cubes of different temperatures.. “It's true that you need a certain level of dexterity with robotic hands to reach their full potential,” says Solaiman Shokur.

The device also improved Fabrizio's ability to distinguish between human arms and prosthetics blindfolded: from 60% without the device to 80% with the device.. Several amputees who participated in the initial trials confessed that the ability to rediscover bodily contact with another person was undoubtedly the most important benefit of the system.

“Our goal now is to develop a multimodal system that integrates sensations of touch, perception and temperature,” says Shokur.. “So people can tell you, 'this is soft and hot,' or 'this is hard and cold.'”. A technology that is already being tested in the laboratory. The team has been working since 2014 to add benefits to the prostheses.

The next step will be to prepare the device for home use, and integrate thermal information from multiple points of the phantom limb to allow people to differentiate thermal and tactile sensations in the index finger and thumb to help them grip a hot drink; while with the sensor on the back of the hand they could feel when another person touches their hand.

After the initial commotion caused by the announcement by magnate Elon Musk about his brain implant, called Telepathy, the real intentions of the study must be detailed.. Its design, although there are still no details on ClinicalTrials (the website that registers clinical trials), as some experts point out, does have the green light from the FDA to be carried out.

The little that has emerged so far from the system is advertised on the Neuralink website. It includes the details of the pillars of its system: the implant, the surgical robot and the application.. The study responds to the acronym PRIME, Precise Robotically Implanted Brain-Computer Interface, a precise interface implanted through robotic surgery.

What are brain-computer interfaces (BCI)?

Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) are systems that decode predicted motion signals from brain activity to control external devices such as computers.

What is the purpose of the study announced by Elon Musk?

This is the first human study to evaluate the initial safety and effectiveness of the N1 (a BCI implant), the R1 (a surgical robot), and the N1 user application (BCI software) to enable people with paralysis to control external devices.

What does the study for which Neuralink is looking for volunteers entail?

During the study, as stated on the company's website, Robot R1 will be used to surgically place the N1 implant in a region of the brain that controls movement intention.

Participants will be asked to use the N1 implant and the N1 user application to control a computer and provide feedback on the system.

Once surgically placed, the N1 implant will be cosmetically invisible. It records and transmits brain activity to allow you to control a computer.

The N1 implant records neuronal activity through 1,024 electrodes distributed in 64 threads, each thinner than a human hair.

The R1 surgical robot was designed to operate reliably and insert the N1 implant into the appropriate region of the brain.

Neuralink has created an application that decodes movement intention from brain signals recorded by the N1 implant, allowing you to control a computer with your thoughts.

How long will the trial last?

Approximately six years in total will be invested in this research.

When will it be possible to use it in patients?

As José del R explains. Millán, professor of the Brain-Robot Interfaces Area at the Federal Polytechnic School of Lausanne (EPFL) and director of the CNBI (Center for Neuroprosthetics and Institute of Bioenergineering) at the University of Austin (Texas, USA), “Neuralink has a clinical protocol approved, but the objective is mainly to demonstrate the safety of the implant and the robotic procedure to perform the surgery.

“There is a long way to go before implanted brain interfaces are available to the vast majority of patients,” adds Millán.

With the BCI it will be possible to recover motor functions in addition to communicating with other objects?

Grégoire Courtine, a neuroscientist at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), explains that “Neuralink has now joined the growing number of companies developing thought-reading BCI devices that are in human trials.”. “There is an opportunity to link these BCI devices with our spinal cord stimulation technology to restore movement after paralysis.”

Courtine leads a multidisciplinary team that has made great progress in this field. “Combining a BCI with ONWARD's ARC therapy creates a 'digital bridge' between the brain and spinal cord that can restore walking or arm movement in a person with spinal cord injury.”

In this sense, the neuroscientist comments that “currently, Neuralink has only implanted a chip in the brain. “To restore movement after a spinal cord injury, it is also necessary to implant technology near the spinal cord to deliver electrical therapy.”

Regarding these advances, he details that “we have already linked our neurostimulation platform with the CEA-Clinatec BCI device to recover movement after paralysis.. And he expresses his offer to be able to “do the same with the Neuralink device.”

What options do patients have as the new generations of BCIs arrive?

Millán details that “in the meantime, and even then, the option is a non-invasive brain interface that has already demonstrated its validity for people with high degrees of motor disability, for example, quadriplegic people who mentally drive their own wheelchair or patients with hand paralysis due to a cerebral infarction (stroke) and regain mobility (at least partially).

Furthermore, Millán explains that in the same way that the technology behind brain implants advances, “that is also the case with non-invasive brain electrical activity recording systems such as the electroencephalogram, which in the near future will allow brain interfaces to be used in a way continuous and with minimal external assistance”.

Homo sapiens reached northern Europe at least 45,000 years ago and coincided with Neanderthals for thousands of years before their extinction.. It is one of the main conclusions of the research that an international team of scientists has carried out at the Ilsenhöhle site, in the town of Ranis (Germany) and that provides information about the first modern humans to cross the Alps.. This is a multidisciplinary study that has combined field work, DNA analysis, proteinomics, radiocarbon dating and isotopic analysis.. Their conclusions are detailed this Wednesday in three articles that appear in the journals Nature and Nature Ecology and Evolution.

The German site was excavated for the first time in the 1930s. Recently, researchers have reexamined all the sediment layers and reached depths that those early investigations had not been able to access.. There they have found stone tools similar to those found in several sites spread across the continent – such as Moravia (Czech Republic), Poland and the United Kingdom – that correspond to a type of lithic industry called the Lincombian-Ranisian-Jerzmanowskian (LRJ) culture.. A technology that appears at the transition of the Middle and Upper Paleolithic.

The new work has also made it possible to recover human and animal fossils. Thanks to previous dating, it was already known that the Ranis site was at least 40,000 years old, but without identifiable bones it had not been possible to clarify whether the tools had been made by Neanderthals or Homosapiens, or if both species had inhabited the place..

Now, the new findings show that “Homo sapiens created this technology and that it had already reached the north 45,000 years ago,” says Elena Zavala, one of the first authors of the article published in Nature, currently a researcher at the University of California at Berkeley. , after having passed through the Institute of Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig (Germany). “These are some of the first Homo sapiens in Europe.”

In addition to the new excavations, the team also reviewed bone fragments obtained in Ranis in previous work, present for decades in various collections of German institutions, among which human remains were identified.. “We were able to confirm that several skeleton fragments belonged to H. sapiens and that several of the new ones shared mitochondrial DNA sequences – even fragments – with individuals from previous excavations,” explains Elena Zavala. “This indicates that they belonged either to the same individual or were maternal relatives, which links these new findings with those from decades ago.”

By comparing the DNA with other samples found across the continent, Zavala discovered that most of the fragments were genetically related to the skull of a woman who lived 43,000 years ago in another cave in Zlatý k, in the Czech Republic.. And one of them, with a fossil found in Italy.

The combination of human, animal and environmental samples allowed dating and analysis through different methods, not only genetic. The researchers also extracted proteins from the bones, a method that allows identification in the absence of DNA. Another important objective was to obtain remains of the sediments of the site, especially the layers where the tools were found.. Therefore, in addition to searching for human bone fragments, the team also extracted ancient mammal DNA from sediment samples to complete a zooarchaeological analysis.. In addition, tool marks on animal bones also serve to demonstrate the presence of humans in different periods.

Cutting-edge technology

Although they were found very fragmented, the bones were well preserved and allowed scientists to apply new genetic and proteinomic analysis techniques.. These analyzes allowed us to demonstrate that the Ranis cave was used by small groups of humans for short periods of time (at other times it hosted large carnivores, such as hyenas and cave bears).. Also that the sapiens who used the refuge consumed meat from various animals, such as reindeer, woolly rhinoceros and horses.

Radiocarbon dating was then applied to complete the chronology of the cave's occupation, confirming that the humans who used the shelter are some of the first Homo sapiens to inhabit the continent.. On the other hand, analyzes of the isotopic signature in stones and bones allow us to better understand climatic conditions and the environment through chemistry.. Thus, they have shown that at the time the stone tools were manufactured, a very cold continental climate predominated in the region, with open steppe landscapes, similar to those found today in Siberia or northern Scandinavia.

In this way, by applying different methods, the articles published this Wednesday describe not only the Homo sapiens fossils from Ilsenhöhle, but also part of their diet, way of life or the environmental conditions they found.. For example, they moved in small groups, shared their environment with other large carnivores, and made elaborate stone tools.. Furthermore, the finding supports the idea that even these first groups of sapiens that dispersed throughout Eurasia already had a certain capacity to adapt to climatic conditions such as those that existed north of the Alps.

Sore throat is a common ailment that affects both children and adults. It can be caused by various factors such as viral infections, allergies, exposure to tobacco smoke, or bacterial infections. While most sore throats are not serious, they can be uncomfortable and interfere with everyday activities like swallowing and speaking. Fortunately, there are multiple ways to alleviate the discomfort and find temporary relief.

Bacterial infections are responsible for about 10% of sore throats in adults and 30% in children. In such cases, antibiotics may be necessary for treatment.

Exposure to cold temperatures without proper protection can also lead to a sore throat. The cold, dry air of winter can dry out the throat’s mucosa, causing inflammation and pain. Breathing through the nose whenever possible helps warm and humidify the air before it reaches the throat.

Classic remedies like mint or eucalyptus candies provide temporary relief by increasing saliva production and lubricating the throat. However, their effectiveness is limited. Similarly, herbal or honey candies may offer temporary relief through throat lubrication, but their effects are brief.

Pharmacy lozenges contain elements that can relieve sore throat symptoms. Unlike candies, lozenges should be taken according to the recommended dosage.

Gargling with salt water can help moisten the throat and eliminate potential infection remnants. Honey, known for its healing properties, can also be an effective option for reducing throat irritation and inflammation.

Throat sprays with antiseptic, antibacterial, and anti-inflammatory properties can provide relief. These sprays are applied directly to the throat using an applicator.

A sharp, throbbing, continuous headache. The Royal National Academy of Medicine (RANM) defines migraine as a disease of unknown cause, with familial predisposition and female predominance.. For almost 120,000 Spaniards it is the suffering of a pain that cannot be seen and for which there is no cure..

That 4% of the Spanish population suffers from some type of chronic primary headache and experiences this headache more than 15 days a month.. They coexist, as the RANM points out, with a disease characterized by attacks of pulsating headache, unilateral or bilateral, lasting several hours..

But this process is not limited to pain, but is also accompanied by hypersensitivity to stimuli (smells, noises, light), nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, pale skin and great general discomfort.. How does it originate? At the moment there are many exogenous or environmental factors and other endogenous factors that act as triggers of migraine and modify its frequency and intensity..

Regarding how to anticipate and know when a migraine is going to appear, a group of US researchers have analyzed the data of 477 people who, through a mobile application, recorded their moods, energy levels and the appearance of migraines four times a day. day for two weeks.

Morning seizures were associated with poorer self-rated sleep quality and less energy the day before.. Stress and high-energy states were linked to afternoon headaches, adds the study, which is published in the journal Neurology..

Address migraines and their triggers

Migraine is often underdiagnosed and untreated, and even when treated, it can be difficult to treat in time and find strategies to prevent attacks.. This new work looks at ways to more accurately predict when a migraine will occur by using mobile apps to track sleep, energy, emotions and stress to improve the ability to prevent attacks..

For Jesús Porta-Etessam, president of the Spanish Society of Neurology (SEN), it is “another study to be able to collect data” that serve in the consultation to know more and better when and why patients suffer seizures..

The study published in the scientific journal has some limitations, such as the small number of patients and the “subjectivity” in the recording of data by the patients.. “More data are needed, including more patients and with a longer follow-up to be able to conclude that these findings are similar in all patients with migraine,” Pablo Irimia, a neurologist specializing in the diagnosis and treatment of headaches at the Clinic, told SMC. university of Navarra.

Despite this, both Irimia and Porta-Etessam find it useful for patients in predicting the onset of attacks and learning to manage their migraine.. “Knowing the triggers prepares them so that they can take preventive measures and thus avoid the crisis or start treatment for the episode much earlier,” says Irimia..

How do stress or lack of sleep influence the onset of migraine?

The study found that perceived poor sleep quality, as well as lower-than-usual sleep quality the night before, were associated with an increased risk of migraine the next morning.. A lower-than-usual energy level the previous day was also associated with headache the next morning..

Those factors did not lead to an increased risk of migraine in the afternoon or at night. The only predictors of an afternoon or evening headache were higher stress levels or having above-average energy the previous day.

“These different predictive patterns of morning and later headaches highlight the role of circadian rhythms in headache,” says study author Kathleen R.. Merikangas, of the National Institute of Mental Health and the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. “The findings may give us insight into the processes underlying migraine and help us improve treatment and prevention”.

477 people between 7 and 84 years old participated in the study, including 291 women. Using a mobile app, participants were asked to rate their mood, energy, stress, and headaches four times a day for two weeks.. They also rated their sleep quality once a day and used a sleep and physical activity monitor.. Almost half of the participants had a history of migraine and 59% had at least one morning headache attack during the study.

People with a poorer perception of sleep quality were, on average, 22% more likely to suffer a headache attack the next morning. A decrease in self-reported usual sleep quality was also associated with an 18% increase in the likelihood of experiencing a headache attack the next morning.

Likewise, a reduction in the usual energy level the previous day was associated with a 16% greater chance of having a headache the next morning. Higher average stress and higher-than-usual energy the previous day were associated with a 17% greater chance of experiencing a headache the following afternoon or evening. After accounting for sleep, energy, and stress, neither anxious nor depressed mood was associated with headache attacks.

The number of euphemisms we use to mention a concept is often directly related to the degree of obscurantism surrounding that issue.. We use veiled formulas to refer to what we do not want to name, what is intimate, what is secret, what is offensive or what is hidden.. We do it, for example, with menstruation.

Try to compile all the ways we have in Spanish to talk about periods. “I'm sick”, “I'm unwell”, “in those days”, “my cousin has come”, “with the woman in red”, “the communist tenant”… The countless list, similar to what can be made in other languages, shows the taboo that continues to surround a phenomenon that, on the other hand, is very everyday.. Half the population bleeds once a month for about half their lives.. But tampons are still quietly requested from the colleague next door at work.

This invisibility of the period also affects the eyes of science and medicine, which have barely focused on the characteristics and anomalies of the menstrual cycle.. “It is an ignored phenomenon despite the great impact it has on millions of women,” denounce journalists María Zuil and Antonio Villarreal, authors of The Half That Bleeds (KO Books), a work that reviews how and why we have historically ignored the menstruation.

For decades, research has looked the other way when it comes to the menstrual cycle and, although there has been some progress in recent years, we still have not resolved such basic questions as why women, unlike other primates, discard your endometrium every four weeks; why some suffer terrible pain and others barely realize it or why the first period sometimes arrives at eight years old and on other occasions at 15.

A matter of life or death?

“These are questions that do not yet have a clear answer, and the worst thing is that we are still far from having one,” write the authors.. “A common reasoning is that periods, no matter how annoying or painful, are not fatal and that funding should be invested in those life-and-death areas, such as cancer.”. However, male baldness does not threaten the lives of its patients either and the funding allocated to this area of medicine multiplies not only that allocated to research on menstruation, but also that dedicated to alleviating malaria,” María Zuil recalls. and Antonio Villarreal.

The idea to address this lack of interest from science and medicine in everything related to menstruation arose in 2021. The journalists decided to collaborate from their different areas of specialization (scientific-medical Villarreal and social and data focus Zuil) first in a report that was published in 'El Confidencial' and had a lot of impact and, later, through this book for the who have counted on the testimony of 915 women, have reviewed the scientific literature and spoken with the main experts in the field.

“One of the reasons for starting to work on this issue was that as a result of the administration of the first doses of the Covid vaccine, many women began to indicate that they noticed changes in their periods,” recalls Zuil.. Science, at first, ignored those testimonies, in a “paradigmatic example of the bias that medicine has towards the female population and menstruation.”. And although, subsequently, the accumulated evidence on the side effects of the Covid vaccine became quite solid, it did not serve to change the clinical guidelines and start asking women what phase of the cycle they are in to try to administer the vaccine in a moment in the cycle that does not cause alterations.

“The problem is not only that there is hardly any research on menstruation, but there is also a disconnection between what is studied and what later reaches clinical practice, as has happened in this case,” says Zuil..

The danger of downplaying pain

This indifference of science towards everything related to menstruation has also had an impact “on women's perception of what is or is not normal with respect to periods,” says Villarreal.

We find an example with pain. «Considering it as normal is often a learning that has been inherited. Often the only references that women have are the experiences of their mothers, grandmothers or their closest circle, which what they convey is that they have endured it all their lives.. It is seen as something that must be endured, when it is not.. What the experts say is that it is not a symptom that should be normalized, but rather that we must investigate the possible causes of this pain and find a solution.

Unfortunately, on the other side of the consultation, menstrual pain is also often trivialized, which creates a dangerous cocktail.. The normalized perception of pain, together with the little attention that has traditionally been given to the symptom in the healthcare environment, has contributed to the fact that problems such as endometriosis continue to be disorders that are often diagnosed late and poorly, journalists point out.

Lack of knowledge about what constitutes a normal period or how the menstrual cycle occurs also contributes to the perpetuation of false beliefs and myths about periods.. In the book, Villarreal and Zuil review the historical roots of prejudices and hoaxes, some of which survive today.

«Perhaps in our environment some ideas such as that a woman who has her period cannot make mayonnaise because she cuts herself or that she should not shower or wash her hair are no longer so widespread.. Fortunately that is already disappearing,” says Zuil.. “But in Spain many false beliefs are still widespread, such as the one that says that you should not have sexual relations during menstruation.”

The myth that the period is synchronized in women who spend a lot of time together or that it is directly linked to the phases of the moon is also very popular.

The latter is a very widespread myth, “although there is no evidence to support that lunar cycles influence menstruation,” says Villarreal.. «An effect is attributed, however, to the number of hours of sunlight that a woman receives. The literature identifies two specific components: calcium and vitamin D3, which are not acquired through diet, but rather through exposure to the sun or through supplements,” the journalist clarifies.

Another mantra well established in popular knowledge refers to its duration: many people are convinced that the menstrual cycle has exactly 28 days.. But several recent investigations have revealed not only that cycles are much more variable than previously thought, but that the average duration is not exactly four weeks, but 29.3 days.

These are not the only hoaxes that circulate about the rule nor the most dangerous. We must not forget, both remember, that in some places in the world girls and women continue to be isolated during menstruation or that today some religions consider women who are on their period “impure.”. “That taboo remains there,” they emphasize.

«In The Sound and the Fury, William Faulkner defined menstruation as the delicate balance of periodic impurity suspended between two moons. The purpose of this book is to make you see that it is neither delicate, nor in balance, nor periodic, nor impure, nor suspended between two moons,” summarize Zuil and Villarreal in this work that, remember, is not only aimed at those menstruate. “We know that the majority of people interested will be those who bleed every month, but we did not want to fall into the idea that menstruation only concerns those who have it,” emphasizes Villarreal.. “We also want them to talk about periods and know what it means and how it affects those who do not menstruate so that it stops being a silenced and forgotten topic,” agrees Zuil.. «There is no law that prohibits talking about your period, but in a conversation, premenstrual syndrome is not discussed with the same naturalness with which flu symptoms are discussed. There is something that continues to keep menstruation in a circle of intimacy, modesty and darkness. And this silence continues to hinder medical research around menstruation,” they conclude.

This Thursday, January 25, the first of the 12 full moons of 2024 takes place, among which we will find four “supermoons” and two eclipses. As in 2024, on January 25 of the year 2043, 2062 and 2396 there will also be a full moon, here we explain why.

Full Moons

The full moon occurs when the Earth is in a straight line between the Sun and the Moon.. At this moment, the lunar disk appears completely illuminated and with a very intense shine.. This practically vertical illumination makes it easy to locate the main features of the visible side of the moon, such as the seas and the largest craters.

On the night of the full moon, sunrise occurs at sunset and lunar sunset at sunrise. Although the full moon happens at a precise moment, we can see the lunar disk completely illuminated and very round throughout that night.

2024 lunar calendar

The average time between two full moons is called a “lunation” and, on average, is 29.53 days.. Therefore, a year (comprising 365 or, like this, 366 days) consists of 12.37 lunations. Some years (as happened in 2023) may have 13 full moons, but the most common thing is that a year contains twelve full moons, one in each month of the year.. That's what happens in 2024 and these are the dates of the full moons in each season:

• Winter: January 25, February 24,
• Spring: March 25, April 24, May 23
• Summer: June 22, July 21, August 19, September 18
• Fall: October 17, November 15, December 15

Two supermoons and two eclipses

In its elliptical orbit around the Earth, the distance of our satellite changes, reaching almost 407,000 kilometers at the times when it is furthest away (the apogee).. In its closest positions, its distance can drop to less than 357,000 kilometers (the perigee) and, therefore, on these occasions the Moon appears to us with a larger apparent size.

Although they are not official names in astronomy, we usually speak of a “supermoon” when the Moon is less than 360,000 kilometers from the Earth.. Similarly, a “minimoon” occurs when its distance from Earth exceeds 405,000 kilometers.

It must be taken into account that there is not a huge difference between a supermoon and a minimoon: it is, at most, a 14% difference in the apparent diameter of the lunar disk. Don't expect a supermoon to fill half the sky or anything like that.. However, it is an appreciable difference, and the supermoons have become a pretext to draw attention to our beautiful satellite.

During 2024, we will be able to enjoy two supermoons: the one on September 18 and the one on October 17. The ones on February 24 and March 25 will be minimoons.

During the full moon phase, lunar eclipses can occur.. In 2024, we will have two of them, but neither very spectacular. The first very subtle one (prenumbral type) will occur during the full moon on March 25. The second lunar eclipse of the year, which will be partial and very weak, will take place on September 18; only this will be visible from Spain.

Christian celebrations

The first full moon of spring is of great importance for Christians, as it sets the date of Easter Sunday.. As this year the full moon will take place on Monday, March 25, Easter Sunday will be on the 31st of this same month.. Therefore, March 29 will be Good Friday, a national holiday.

In fact, that first spring full moon determines the dates of Lent. Thus, the beginning of Lent, Ash Wednesday, is celebrated six and a half weeks before Easter Sunday; In 2024 it will therefore be February 14, coincidentally coinciding with Valentine's Day. And the six Sundays of Lent will be those that follow this Wednesday before Easter Sunday.

lunar cycles

Except February, each month of the year is longer than one lunation and each year has 12.37 lunations. Therefore, the dates of the lunar phases change from month to month and from year to year.. However, there are large cycles during which the dates of the lunar phases repeat. The most famous of these cycles is the one found by the Greek astronomer Meton (born around 260 BC).. This is a cycle with a period of 19 years, a value that is a common approximate multiple of the orbital periods of the Earth and the Moon and is equivalent to 235 lunations (with a difference of only about two hours).

If we start from a date, for example, the full moon on January 25, 2024 and follow this cycle, after exactly 19 years almost exactly 235 lunations will have passed and the full moon that makes the number 236 (the first of the following cycle, 19 years later) must also fall on the same date of the year. That is why there will be a full moon on January 25 in the years 2043, 2062, 2081, etc.

However, due to the small difference between the duration of 19 years and 235 lunations, there may sometimes be a difference of one day between the date of a lunar phase and the same after a period.

Naturally the Meto cycle is also a cycle of eclipses. There are other similar cycles that have been used throughout history, although less precise. Thus the octaeteris of 8 years (approximately 99 lunations) or the tritos of 11 years (approximately 136 lunations). Somewhat more precise is the 372-year cycle that provides the long-term recurrence of lunar phases.. Thus, we know that on January 25, 2396, the full moon will shine again.

Rafael Bachiller is director of the National Astronomical Observatory (National Geographic Institute) and academic of the Royal Academy of Doctors of Spain.