Weekly Health Digest: Magic Mushrooms, New Covid-19 theories, Pandemic Thanksgiving, Health Insurance

A summary of important health news from the past week.

Magic Mushrooms May Help Cure Depression

By: Shawn Radcliffe

According to a new study, the psychoactive compound psilocybin found in magic mushrooms can relieve symptoms of major depressive disorder. Twenty-four people completed the study, which involved receiving two doses of psilocybin along with supportive psychotherapy. Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers reported that the participant’s depressive symptoms improved rapidly, with over two-thirds responding well to the treatment. Most researchers agree that psilocybin coupled with pre-treatment and post-treatment psychotherapy is highly effective at reducing depressive symptoms, but more research is required to determine the long-term safety of psilocybin treatment.

An Explanation for Some Covid-19 Deaths May Not Be Holding Up

By: Gina Kolata

Researchers and doctors across the globe studying Covid-19 have started to question the inflammation-based theory currently prevailing. Many patients who died from Covid-19 were found to have little or no virus left in their body, and scientists theorized that the damage done by the virus was caused by an immune overreaction. A major issue has come to light with this theory; IL-6, a well known inflammatory marker, is not raised or is slightly higher in patients who died from Covid-19. Anti-IL-6 drugs were found to be ineffective in treating Covid-19 patients in the hospital. Yet, it is hard to rule out the entire theory because dexamethasone, an anti-inflammatory steroid has been found helpful in treating seriously ill coronavirus patients. More research is necessary to clarify the physiological mechanisms behind the coronavirus.

How to have a safer- but not safe- pandemic Thanksgiving

By: Brian Resnick

Should Thanksgiving be canceled? Can the holidays be remote? These are questions we should be asking ourselves as the Thanksgiving holiday rolls around. For the past months of isolation, life has been anything but normal. We long to see our family and friends again for some much-needed social interactions. Covid-19 has made us rethink what really matters most, because even a simple family gathering can become a tragedy. Covid-19 can easily spreads within households, among people we deeply care about. So, it’s important to consider how important it is to celebrate the Thanksgiving holidays with our families, and if that risk is really worth it.

Check in on Health Insurance Open Enrollment

By: Joseph Burns

Between the period when open enrollment opened on November 1st, 2019 and closed on January 1st, 2020, around 11.4 million Americans signed up for health care during that time. While health care coverage and rates by state have not drastically changed, the future of health care is unknown. Unemployed or not, knowing your options before the January 1st deadline may come in handy in the upcoming year.