HEALTH

Guardian -  Being physically fit can lower the risk of dementia and delay someone developing it by almost 18 months by boosting brain health, research has found.Regular exercise is so useful for maintaining cognitive function that it can even help people who are genetically more predisposed to dementia to reduce their risk by up to 35%.

Medical Express -  In research published in Child Psychiatry and Human Development, a research team led by the University of Minnesota Medical School has found that Creativity Camp, a two-week arts intervention delivered as a day camp, had a positive impact on mental health and well-being in adolescents with depression. The idea behind the study is that engaging in the arts offers a pathway for exploring and expanding new ways of thinking, developing insights and sparking self-discovery.

"As a clinician, I am deeply aware of the urgent need for new treatment options for teens with depression. The findings in this report are promising, and I hope they will encourage more research investigating whether and how arts-based interventions like Creativity Camp can help adolescents with depression to recover and thrive," said Kathryn Cullen, MD, a professor at the U of M Medical School and child and adolescent psychiatrist with M Health Fairview. She is also a member of the Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain.