Gender differences in salaries of researchers
Posted by on June 19, 2012 - 9:42am

Female physician researchers make less money than their male counterparts, researchers found.      Among recipients of National Institutes of Health (NIH) career development awards, the average reported annual salary was $167,669 for women and $200,433 for men, according to Reshma Jagsi, MD, DPhil, of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, and colleagues.

Even after adjustment for differences in specialty, academic rank, leadership positions, publications, and research time, there remained an absolute difference of $13,399 per year between the sexes, the researchers reported in the June 13 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

The study, which is consistent with a previous study of life sciences researchers, "provides evidence that gender differences in compensation continue to exist in academic medicine, even among a select cohort of physician researchers whose job content is far more similar than in cohorts previously studied, and even after controlling extensively for specialization and productivity," they wrote.

"Efforts to investigate the mechanisms by which these gender differences develop and ways to mitigate their effects merit continued attention, as these differences have not been eliminated through the passage of time alone and are difficult to justify."

In 2009 and 2010, Jagsi and colleagues mailed surveys to all 1,729 recipients of NIH K08 and K23 career development awards issued from 2000 through 2003 who were alive and had an identifiable mailing address. The response rate was 71%.

Men were more likely than women to be married, have children, and hold administrative leadership positions. The male researchers also had a higher average number of publications and work hours.

Women were more likely to be in the lowest-paying specialties (those paying less than $175,000 per year) and less likely to be in the highest-paying specialties (more than $300,000 per year).

Accounting for those differences did not entirely eliminate the pay disparity between the sexes, which, if extrapolated over a 30-year career, would result in a shortfall of more than $350,000 for women.

All other factors remaining equal, the female researchers in the study would be expected to make $12,194 more per year if they were male. "This unexplained disparity accounted for 37.4% of the total observed difference by gender," the authors wrote.

They speculated about some of the reasons women are paid less than men, including the possible influence of parental status. Even women without children in the current study, however, were shortchanged.

It is also possible, the authors wrote, there are differences in values between men and women. Perhaps men place a greater value on pay and women place more emphasis on living in a more desirable area, even if it means taking a smaller salary, they suggested.

But the disparity could be explained, at least partly, by gender bias and discrimination, according to the authors.

Recently the Institute for Women's Health Research at Northwestern hosted Dr. Molly Carnes from the U of Wisconsin to speak on this topic and many of her research finding also suggest gender bias.  To read the synopsis of that lecture, click HERE and go to the May 15 lecture notes.
Source reference:
Jagsi R, et al "Gender differences in the salaries of physician researchers" JAMA 2012; 307: 2410-2417.

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High blood pressure at mid age may raise risk for heart attacks and stroke
Posted by on June 16, 2012 - 6:58am

A hike in your blood pressure during middle age significantly raises the risk of having a heart attack or a stroke during your lifetime, according to new Northwestern Medicine research. The study offers a new understanding on the importance of maintaining low blood pressure early in middle age to prevent heart disease later in life.

Men and women who developed high blood pressure in middle age or who started out with high blood pressure had an estimated 30 percent increased risk of having a heart attack or stroke compared to those who kept their blood pressure low.

Previous estimates of a person’s risk of cardiovascular disease were based on a single blood pressure measurement. The higher the blood pressure reading, the greater the risk. The new Northwestern Medicine study expands on that by showing a more accurate predictor is a change in blood pressure from age 41 to 55.

The study is published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

“We found the longer we can prevent hypertension or postpone it, the lower the risk for cardiovascular disease,” said lead author Norrina Allen, assistant professor of preventive medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. “Even for people with normal blood pressure, we want to make sure they keep it at that level, and it doesn’t start increasing over time.”

“There hasn’t been as much of a focus on keeping it low when people are in their 40’s and 50’s,” Allen added. “That’s before a lot of people start focusing on cardiovascular disease risk factors. We’ve shown it’s vital to start early.”    People that maintain or reduce their blood pressure to normal levels by age 55 have the lowest lifetime risk for a heart attack or a stroke.

Men who developed high blood pressure in middle age or who started out with high blood pressure had a 70 percent risk of having a heart attack or stroke compared to a 41 percent risk for men who maintained low blood pressure or whose blood pressure decreased during the time period. Women who developed high blood pressure had almost a 50 percent risk of a heart attack or stroke compared to a 22 percent risk for those who kept their blood pressure low or saw a decrease.

Men generally have a 55 percent risk of cardiovascular disease in their lifetimes; women have a 40 percent risk.

The research was supported by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute.

By Marla Paul -- NU health sciences editor

Bisphosphonate use may increase risk of esophageal cancer
Posted by on June 13, 2012 - 1:10pm

The esophageal cancer risk with bisphosphonate bone drugs may be a bigger problem than thought, particularly with use of alendronate (Fosamax), an adverse event surveillance study suggested.  Overall, 128 cases of bisphosphonate-associated esophageal cancer were reported to the FDA's adverse event reporting system (AERS) from 1995 through 2010, Beatrice J. Edwards, MD, of Northwestern University and colleagues found.

That risk appeared disproportionate with alendronate, the group reported in an abstract presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology held in Chicago recently. That particular bisphosphonate accounted for 75% of the esophageal cancers seen with bisphosphonates in the FDA database -- 6.4 times more than with any other drug in the class.

"Our analysis of FDA AERS identifies a larger number of cases of esophageal cancer than previously described, and a significant safety signal with alendronate use," they noted. "Increased awareness and vigilance is needed for patients receiving oral bisphosphonate therapy."

A 2009 FDA analysis had pointed to 23 such cases with alendronate since initial marketing in 1995.   At that time no other oral bisphosphonate had any reports of a link to esophageal cancer in the adverse event reporting database, though a handful of cases with risedronate (Actonel), ibandronate (Boniva), and etidronate (Didronel) had been reported in Europe and Japan.

A subsequent British registry study suggested elevated risk with prolonged use of oral bisphosphonates, but an FDA advisory panel cited a lack of solid evidence.

Edwards' group updated the analysis of adverse event reports received by the FDA by searching the AERS database for terms related to esophageal cancer in combination with all drug names for bisphosphonates over the period from 1996 to 2010.    The esophageal cancer events they found associated with bisphosphonate use were 96 cases with alendronate, 14 with risedronate, 10 with ibandronate, seven with zoledronic acid, and one with pamidronate (Aredia).

Barrett's esophagus was listed in three of the cases, which led the researchers to recommend avoiding oral bisphosphonates for patients with this risk factor for esophageal cancer and also for those with persistent mucosal abnormalities.

"Esophagitis has been associated with oral bisphosphonates," Edwards' group noted. "Erosive esophagitis and persistent mucosal abnormalities have been noted with crystalline material (similar to ground alendronate)."

Playing helps kids grow
Posted by on June 8, 2012 - 3:02pm

My daughter teaches dance to preschool children and recently I went to observe one of her classes.   I was really surprised to see that some of the children could not follow a simple dance movement pattern and could not jump on one foot.   Their inability to concentrate and follow directions was also concerning though I certainly am not a child development expert.  On the other hand, preschoolers can work complicated electronic equipment and iphones.   I found this article that further explores and addresses my concerns and ask for comments from our readers on their observations.

What would childhood be without time to play? Play, it turns out, is essential to growing up healthy. Research shows that active, creative play benefits just about every aspect of child development.

Play is behavior that looks as if it has no purpose,” says NIH psychologist Dr. Stephen Suomi. “It looks like fun, but it actually prepares for a complex social world.” Evidence suggests that play can help boost brain function, increase fitness, improve coordination and teach cooperation.

Suomi notes that all mammals—from mice to humans—engage in some sort of play. His research focuses on rhesus monkeys. While he’s cautious about drawing parallels between monkeys and people, his studies offer some general insights into the benefits of play.

Active, vigorous social play during development helps to sculpt the monkey brain. The brain grows larger. Connections between brain areas may strengthen. Play also helps monkey youngsters learn how to fit into their social group, which may range from 30 to 200 monkeys in 3 or 4 extended families.

Both monkeys and humans live in highly complex social structures, says Suomi. “Through play, rhesus monkeys learn to negotiate, to deal with strangers, to lose gracefully, to stop before things get out of hand, and to follow rules,” he says. These lessons prepare monkey youngsters for life after they leave their mothers.

Play may have similar effects in the human brain. Play can help lay a foundation for learning the skills we need for social interactions. If human youngsters lack playtime, says Dr. Roberta Golinkoff, an infant language expert at the University of Delaware, “social skills will likely suffer. You will lack the ability to inhibit impulses, to switch tasks easily and to play on your own.” Play helps young children master their emotions and make their own decisions. It also teaches flexibility, motivation and confidence.

Kids don’t need expensive toys to get a lot out of playtime. “Parents are children’s most enriching plaything,” says Golinkoff. Playing and talking to babies and children are vital for their language development. Golinkoff says that kids who talk with their parents tend to acquire a vocabulary that will later help them in school. “In those with parents who make a lot of demands, language is less well developed,” she says. The key is not to take over the conversation, or you’ll shut it down.

Unstructured, creative, physical play lets children burn calories and develops all kinds of strengths, such as learning how the world works. In free play, children choose the games, make the rules, learn to negotiate and release stress. Free play often involves fantasy. If children, say, want to learn about being a fireman, they can imagine and act out what a fireman does. And if something scary happens, free play can help defuse emotions by working them out.

“Sports are a kind of play, but it’s not the kids calling the shots,” says Golinkoff. It’s important to engage in a variety of activities, including physical play, social play and solitary play. “The key is that in free play, kids are making the decisions,” says Golinkoff. You can’t learn to make decisions if you’re always told what to do.

Some experts fear that free play is becoming endangered. In the last 2 decades, children have lost an average of 8 hours of free play per week. As media screens draw kids indoors, hours of sitting raise the risk for obesity and related diseases. When it comes to video games and other media, parents should monitor content, especially violent content, and limit the amount of time children sit.

There’s also been a national trend toward eliminating school recess. It’s being pushed aside for academic study, including standardized test preparation. “Thousands of children have lost recess altogether,” says child development expert Dr. Kathryn Hirsh-Pasek of Temple University. “Lack of recess has important consequences for young children who concentrate better when they come inside after a break from the schoolwork.”

Many kids, especially those in low-income areas, lack access to safe places to play. This makes their school recess time even more precious. In response to these changes, some educators are now insisting that preschool and elementary school children have regular periods of active, free play with other children. The type of learning that happens during playtime is not always possible in the classroom. School recess is also important because of the growing number of obese children in the United States. Running around during recess can help kids stay at a healthy weight.

Play also may offer advantages within the classroom. In an NIH-funded study, Hirsh-Pasek, Golinkoff and their colleagues found a link between preschoolers’ math skills and their ability to copy models of 2- and 3-dimensional building-block constructions. Play with building blocks—and block play alongside adults—can help build children’s spatial skills so they can get an early start toward the later study of science, technology, engineering or math.

“In a way, a child is becoming a young scientist, checking out how the world works,” says Hirsh-Pasek. ”We never outgrow our need to play.” Older children, including teens, also need to play and daydream, which helps their problem-solving and creative imagination. Adults, too, need their breaks, physical activity and social interaction.

Without play and recreation, people can become isolated and depressed. “There’s therapeutic value in helping patients maintain what’s important to them,” says Gregory. “When you are physically and socially active, it gives life meaning.”
Source:  NIH
Therapy by smart phone?
Posted by on June 6, 2012 - 2:55pm

Brooding in your apartment on Saturday afternoon? A new smart phone intuits when you’re depressed and will nudge you to call or go out with friends.

It’s the future of therapy at a new Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine center where scientists are inventing web-based, mobile and virtual technologies to treat depression and other mood disorders. The phone and similar projects bypass traditional weekly therapy sessions for novel approaches that provide immediate support and access to a much larger population.

“We’re inventing new ways technology can help people with mental health problems,” said psychologist David Mohr, director of the new Center for Behavioral Intervention Technologies and a professor of preventive medicine at Northwestern’s Feinberg School. “The potential to reduce or even prevent depression is enormous.”

“These new approaches could offer fundamentally new treatment options to people who are unable to access traditional services or who are uncomfortable with standard psychotherapy,” Mohr added. “They also can be offered at significantly lower costs, which makes them more viable in an era of limited resources.”

The goal is for the center to become a national resource, offering a library of intervention technologies that will be available to other researchers.

Among the center’s projects:

A REALLY SMART PHONE READS YOUR MOOD

A smart phone spots symptoms of depression by harnessing all the sensor data within the phone to interpret a person's location, activity level (via an accelerometer), social context and mood.

Are you making phone calls and getting e-mails, or are you home alone ruminating for hours? If the phone – which learns your usual patterns -- senses you are isolated, it will send you a suggestion to call or see friends. The technology, which still is being tweaked, is called Mobilyze! and has been tested in a small pilot study. It helped reduce symptoms of depression.

The new phone offers a powerful new level of support for people who have depression and intervenes to help them change their behavior in real time.

“By prompting people to increase behaviors that are pleasurable or rewarding, we believe that Mobilyze! will improve mood,” Mohr said. “It creates a positive feedback loop. Someone is encouraged to see friends, then enjoys himself and wants to do it again. Ruminating alone at home has the opposite effect and causes a downward spiral.”

Darren Gergle, associate professor of communication studies in the School of Communication, is a co-investigator on the project.

Also in the works at the National Institutes of Health-funded center: a virtual human therapist who will work with teens to prevent depression; a medicine bottle that reminds you to take antidepressant medication and tells your doctor if the dosage needs adjusting; a web-based social network to help cancer survivors relieve sadness and stress.

by Marla Paul is the health sciences editor at Northwestern

Less couch time means fewer cookies
Posted by on June 6, 2012 - 6:36am

Simply ejecting your rear from the couch means your hand will spend less time digging into a bag of chocolate chip cookies.

That is the simple but profound finding of a new Northwestern Medicine study, which reports simply changing one bad habit has a domino effect on others. Knock down your sedentary leisure time and you’ll reduce junk food and saturated fats because you’re no longer glued to the TV and noshing. It’s a two-for-one benefit because the behaviors are closely related.

The study also found the most effective way to rehab a delinquent lifestyle requires two key behavior changes:  cutting time spent in front of a TV or computer screen and eating more fruits and vegetables.

“Just making two lifestyle changes has a big overall effect and people don’t get overwhelmed,” said Bonnie Spring, a professor of preventive medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, and lead author of the study published in Archives of Internal Medicine.

“Americans have all these unhealthy behaviors that put them at high risk for heart disease and cancer, but it is hard for them and their doctors to know where to begin to change those unhealthy habits,” said Spring. “This approach simplifies it.”

With this simplified strategy, people are capable of making big lifestyle changes in a short period of time and maintaining them, according to the study.

Spring wanted to figure out the most effective way to spur people to change common bad health habits: eating too much saturated fat and not enough fruits and vegetables, spending too much sedentary leisure time and not getting enough physical activity.

She and colleagues randomly assigned 204 adult patients, ages 21 to 60 years old, with all those unhealthy habits into one of four treatments. The treatments were: increase fruit/vegetable intake and physical activity, decrease fat and sedentary leisure, decrease fat and increase physical activity, and increase fruit/vegetable intake and decrease sedentary leisure.

During the three weeks of treatment, patients entered their daily data into a personal digital assistant and uploaded it to a coach who communicated as needed by telephone or email.

Participants could earn $175 for meeting goals during the three-week treatment phase. But when that phase was completed, patients no longer had to maintain the lifestyle changes in order to be paid. They were simply asked to send data three days a month for six months and received $30 to $80 per month.

“We said we hope you’ll continue to keep up these healthy changes, but you no longer have to keep them up to be compensated,” Spring said.

The results over the next six months amazed Spring. “We thought they’d do it while we were paying them, but the minute we stopped they’d go back to their bad habits,” she said. “But they continued to maintain a large improvement in their health behaviors.”

About 86 percent of participants said once they made the change, they tried to maintain it. There was something about increasing fruits and vegetables that made them feel like they were capable of any of these changes,” Spring said. “It really enhanced their confidence.”

“We found people can make very large changes in a very short amount of time and maintain them pretty darn well,” Spring said. “It’s a lot more feasible than we thought.”

The research is supported by  National Institutes of Health grants.

Source:  Marla Paul, NU health sciences editor

"Biggest Loser" Reality TV highlights an option for diabetics!
Posted by on June 4, 2012 - 11:32am

Interesting research on the outcomes of "The Biggest Loser" reality TV show highlight important news for diabetics! According to Robert Huizenga, MD , the medical advisor for the show, diabetic and prediabetic contestants were off medications within a few weeks of starting the intensive exercise regimen that are part of the intervention.    The contestants who were part of the study, averaged about 5-6 hours of TV watching a day and they were exercising about 120 minutes per week BEFORE they went on the show.   The exercise regimen while on the show comprised about 4 hours of daily exercise that included intense aerobics and resistance training for 2 hours and another 2 hours of moderate aerobics.

The study consisted of 17 men and 18 women who were followed for 24 weeks; 17 participants had normal glucose tolerance, 12 had prediabetes; 6 had diabetes.  The mean weight was 315 lbs!

Within one week biomarkers for those with prediabetes/diabetes improved significantly.   A positive change in blood pressure was almost immediately noticed and everyone was off their blood pressure medications within 5 weeks!

Interestingly, by week 5, "all diagnostic criteria for prediabetes, diabetes, and hypertension were absent in each participant, despite discontinuation of all diabetes and hypertension medications," according to the study.

Huizenga and colleagues found that at 24 weeks, the percentage of body fat decreased from 48% to 30%, which Huizenga said is "somewhat more than is lost with Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery."    He found that the participants tended to sit less after going through the program.

At the end of the program, participants are told to exercise for 90 minutes a day for the rest of their lives. Huizenga said he is often told by those listening to him that a daily 90-minute exercise regimen is impossible because everyone has such busy lives.  He replies,  "It's about setting priorities. Time is not the issue; priorities are the issue."

Primary source: American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists
Huizenga R, et al "Rapid resolution of diabetes related risk markers and hypertension in morbidly obese individuals with an exercise-centric intense lifestyle intervention" AACE 2012; Abstract 1330.

 

Women's reaction to reproductive health debate
Posted by on June 2, 2012 - 6:30am

With women’s reproductive health reemerging as a heated issue this year in policy debates and news reports, this month’s Kaiser Health Tracking Poll assesses women’s perceptions and reactions to that attention and its potential impact on the upcoming presidential election.

Three in ten women (31 percent) overall believe that there is currently a “wide-scale effort to limit women’s reproductive health choices and services, such as abortion, family planning, and contraception” in the U.S.  A larger share (45 percent) say there are some groups that would like to limit women’s reproductive health choices and services but it is not a wide-scale effort, while others volunteer that no such effort exists (7 percent) or decline to offer an opinion (17 percent).  Women who say they are liberals (49%) are far more likely than women who say they are conservatives (18%) to perceive a wide-scale effort to limit services.

For many women, women’s reproductive health issues resonate on a personal level, with 42 percent reporting that they took some action in the past six months in reaction to something they’ve seen, heard or read.  This includes attempting to influence a friend or family member’s opinion (23 percent), donating money to a non-profit working on reproductive health issues (15 percent), and contacting an elected official (14 percent).  Fewer say they’ve changed their mind about who to vote for, donated to a political candidate or group, or contacted a media outlet.

For now, female voters (like male voters) continue to focus on the economy above all else as an election issue, with several other issues (including health care generally) rising above women’s reproductive health.  Six in ten women voters name the economy and/or jobs as the issue they’d most like to hear about from candidates, compared to just 5 percent who name women’s health or other women’s issues (including abortion).  To the extent this becomes a voting issue, female registered voters give President Barack Obama a clear advantage over presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney: more than half say they trust the president more to “look out for the best interests of women” and to make decisions about women’s reproductive health in particular, while closer to a quarter pick Governor Romney.

Other findings from the poll include:

  • The share of the public with a favorable view of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) dropped 5 percentage points this month, with unfavorable views now outnumbering favorable ones by a small margin (44 percent versus 37 percent).
  • The idea of defunding the law, as discussed by some members of Congress, is as unpopular now as it was a year ago, with roughly six in ten (58 percent) saying they disapprove of cutting off funding as a way to stop some or all of the law from being put into place, and about a third (32 percent) saying they approve of this strategy.

The poll was designed and analyzed by public opinion researchers at the Kaiser Family Foundation and  was conducted May 8-14, 2012, among a nationally representative random digit dial telephone sample of 1,218 adults living in the United States.

The Kaiser Family Foundation, a leader in health policy analysis, health journalism and communication, is dedicated to filling the need for trusted, independent information on the major health issues facing our nation and its people.

Circadian cycle can impact women trying to have babies
Posted by on May 31, 2012 - 6:05am

A new study shows that the biological clock is not the only clock women trying to conceive should consider. The circadian clock needs attention, too.

Epidemiological studies have shown female shift workers, such as nurses, and female flight attendants who work on long-distance east-west routes (i.e., those with constant jet lag) have fertility and menstrual issues. They are habitually out of sync with the external light cycle. But the role circadian rhythm disruption may play in their reproductive problems is a poorly studied area.

Research led by Northwestern U. circadian rhythm expert Fred W. Turek now draws a clear line between disrupted circadian rhythms and reproductive physiology. Turek and his colleagues are the first to show that if you disrupt the circadian clock environmentally in mice, with repeated changes in their light-dark cycles, there are problems with pregnancy outcomes.

And the effect can be dramatic. The researchers found evidence suggesting the severity of circadian disruption may be linked to the severity of pregnancy disruption: mice subjected to advances of the light-dark cycle had greater circadian clock disruption and lower reproductive success. This group’s pregnancy success rate was only 22 percent.

The study was published today in the journal PLoS ONE.

“Our results have important implications for the reproductive health of female shift workers, women with circadian rhythm sleep disorders and/or women with disturbed circadian rhythms for other reasons,” Turek said.

“If you disrupt your internal rhythms, there will be negative consequences -- that is very clear,” said Keith Summa, first author of the paper and an M.D./Ph.D. candidate working in Turek’s lab. “Our results suggest people should consider their biological rhythms for optimal health.”

The repeated shifting of the light-dark cycle shifts the biological clock throughout the body. This environmental disturbance is more relevant to shift workers and those frequently flying across time zones, the researchers note, than genetic disruption of the circadian clock, which also negatively influences reproductive function.

Turek, Summa and their colleague and co-author Martha H. Vitaterna studied three sets of normal laboratory female mice, all who had recently mated. The study was conducted over the course of 21 days, the duration of a typical pregnancy.

One set was a control group of 12 mice that experienced normal days of 12 hours of light, followed by 12 hours of darkness. The two other groups, of 18 mice each, also experienced days of 12 hours of light and 12 hours of darkness. But the phase-advanced group had its 12 hours of light start six hours earlier every five days. The phase-delayed group had its light start six hours later every five days. (There were a total of four phase shifts over the duration of the study.)

The researchers monitored the mice throughout the gestation period to count the number of full-term pregnancies. The results surprised them.

In the control mice, 90 percent of the matings led to full-term pregnancies. But in the phase-delay group, the pregnancy success rate was 50 percent, while in the phase-advanced group, it was only 22 percent.

“We were surprised at how dramatic the effect of manipulating the light-dark cycle was, especially in the phase-advanced group,” Summa said. “We expected a negative effect from the circadian clock disruption, but not this much.”

They next looked at a separate group of females in the phase-delay and phase-advance protocol to see how the animals responded to the repeated phase shifts. The researchers found the phase-advanced animals required one to two days longer, on average, to return to normal rhythms. This suggests the magnitude of circadian disruption is associated with the severity of pregnancy loss.

The next steps, the researchers say, are to identify specifically the stage at which pregnancy is affected and to understand exactly how circadian disruption results in the observed adverse effects.

“We’ve made an interesting observation, but what’s causing the reduced fertility?” Summa said. “We would like to determine where exactly the phase shifts and internal rhythm disruptions are having an effect.”

The March of Dimes Foundation and the Institute for Women’s Health Research at Northwestern University (the sponsor of this blog) supported the research.

The paper is titled “Environmental Perturbation of the Circadian Clock Disrupts Pregnancy in the Mouse.”

Megan Fellman is the science and engineering editor. Contact her at fellman@northwestern.e

Fear of Spiders? Try tarantula therapy.
Posted by on May 26, 2012 - 9:04am

People with spider phobia handle tarantulas and have lasting changes in fear response!   A single brief therapy session for adults with a lifelong debilitating spider phobia resulted in lasting changes to the brain’s response to fear.  The therapy was so successful the adults were able to touch or hold a tarantula in their bare hands six months after the treatment, reports a new Northwestern Medicine study.

This is the first study to document the immediate and long-term brain changes after treatment and to illustrate how the brain reorganizes long-term to reduce fear as a result of the therapy. The findings show the lasting effectiveness of short-exposure therapy for a phobia and offer new directions for treating other phobias and anxiety disorders.

“Before treatment, some of these participants wouldn’t walk on grass for fear of spiders or would stay out of their home or dorm room for days if they thought a spider was present,” said Katherina Hauner, post-doctoral fellow in neurology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and lead author of the paper, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. “But after a two or three-hour treatment, they were able to walk right up and touch or hold a tarantula. And they could still touch it after six months. They were thrilled by what they accomplished.”

Fear of spiders is a subtype of an anxiety disorder called specific phobia, one of the most common anxiety disorders affecting about 7 percent of the population. Common specific phobias also include fear of blood, needles, snakes, flying and enclosed spaces.

The therapy involved gradually approaching the spider. Before the session, the participants were even afraid to look at photos of spiders. When they did, the regions of the brain associated with fear response – the amygdala, insula, and cingulate cortex – lit up with activity in an fMRI scan. Next, when asked to attempt to touch a tarantula in a closed terrarium or approach it as closely as possible, they were not able to get closer than 10 feet on average.

During the therapy, participants were taught about tarantulas and learned their catastrophic thoughts about them were not true. “They thought the tarantula might be capable of jumping out of the cage and on to them,” Hauner said. “Some thought the tarantula was capable of planning something evil to purposefully hurt them. I would teach them the tarantula is fragile and more interested in trying to hide herself. “

They gradually learned to approach the tarantula in slow steps until they were able to touch the outside of the terrarium. Then they touched the tarantula with a paintbrush, a glove and eventually pet it with their bare hands or held it.

“They would see how soft it was and that its movements were very predictable and controllable,” Hauner said. “Most tarantulas aren’t aggressive, they just have a bad reputation.”

Immediately after the therapy, an fMRI scan showed the brain regions associated with fear decreased in activity when people encountered the spider photos, a reduction that persisted six months after treatment.

When the same participants were were asked to touch the tarantula six months later, “they walked right up to it and touched it,” Hauner said. “It was amazing to see because I remembered how terrified they were initially and so much time had passed since the therapy.”

Hauner also could predict for whom the therapy would be most effective based on an individual’s brain activity immediately after the treatment. Participants with higher measurements of activity in brain regions associated with visual perception of fearful stimuli immediately after the treatment were much more likely to show the lowest fear of spiders six months later.

The research was supported in part by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke of the National Institutes of Health training Grant T32 NS047987,

By Marla Paul, health sciences editor NU.

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