Disorder

Scientists have identified genomic variants that cause disabling pansclerotic morphea, a rare inflammatory skin disorder characterized by severe skin lesions and poor wound healing, leading to deep scarring. They discovered that patients have an overactive version of the STAT4 protein, which regulates inflammation and wound healing, and found a potential treatment using a drug, ruxolitinib, that targets the inflammatory pathway. The drug, a Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitor, was observed to dramatically improve symptoms in…

The National Eating Disorders Association has taken an AI chatbot offline for using “off-script” language and giving weight loss advice to those afflicted by eating disorders. The situation afflicting Tessa was chalked up to “bad actors” tricking the AI into saying things it shouldn’t have. “This was not how the chatbot was programmed, and X2AI/Cass’ arrangement was to run the Body Positive program with zero opportunity for generative programming,” NEDA CEO Elizabeth Thompson said in a comment to TheWrap,…

Tessa is provided by the health tech company X2AI, now known as Cass, which was founded by entrepreneur Michiel Rauws and offers mental health counseling through texting. Rauws did not respond to questions from WIRED about Tessa and the weight loss advice, nor about glitches in the chatbot’s responses. As of today, the Tessa page on the company’s website was down. Thompson says Tessa isn’t a replacement for the helpline, and the bot had been a free NEDA resource since February 2022. “A chatbot, even a highly intuitive…

AI chatbots aren’t much good at offering emotional support being—you know—not a human, and—it can’t be stated enough—not actually intelligent. That didn’t stop The National Eating Disorder Association from trying to foist a chatbot onto folks requesting aid in times of crisis. Things went about as well as you can expect, as an activist claims that instead of helping through emotional distress, the chatbot instead tried to needle her to lose weight and measure herself constantly.Caleb McLaughlin Wants to Play Static…

The National Eating Disorder Association (NEDA) was forced to take down its Tessa chatbot after it “may have given information that was harmful and unrelated to the program”, according to an Simply put, the AI chatbot was intended to help people dealing with emotional distress, but instead just made things worse by offering dieting advice and urging users to weigh and measure themselves. Multiple users and experts in the field of eating disorders have experienced the issues first hand, claiming that the bot didn’t…

A little-known and poorly understood sleep disorder that occurs during the rapid eye movement, or REM, stage of sleep has been garnering attention for its role in foreshadowing neurodegenerative brain diseases such as Parkinson's disease and dementia with Lewy bodies.The disorder, known as REM sleep behavior disorder, or RBD in the medical field, affects around 1 percent of the general population worldwide and about 2 percent of adults over 65.The Conversation talked with Anelyssa D'Abreu, a neurologist who specializes…

Celine Dion has cancelled all 2023 and 2024 dates on her "Courage" world tour due to her ongoing struggle with a rare neurological disorder called Stiff-Person Syndrome, reports `Variety`. These dates had been rescheduled from 2022. Making the announcement on Instagram, quoted by `Variety`, the pop star said on Friday: "It is with tremendous disappointment that we have to announce today the cancellation of the Courage World Tour. I`m so sorry to disappoint all of you once again. "I`m working really hard to build back my…

A recent study found that owning a dog or cat could negatively impact sleep quality, with dog ownership associated with higher odds of sleep disorders and cat ownership linked to an increased chance of experiencing leg jerks.A new study published in the CABI journal Human-Animal Interactions indicates that your beloved pet dog or cat could be causing you to have less peaceful sleep than those who enjoy long, undisturbed rest.Led by Dr. Lauren Wisnieski from Lincoln Memorial University, USA, the study concentrated on pet…

The National Eating Disorder Association has disbanded its long-running, telephone helpline. NEDA has fired the small group of human staff that coordinated and ran the helpline, effective June 1. In lieu, the nonprofit plans to offer people seeking help access to an AI-powered chatbot named “Tessa” next month, as reported by NPR on Wednesday and confirmed by NEDA to Gizmodo over phone and email.Twitter Is Shifting Right | Future TechStaff were informed of the change, and of their firing, just four days after they…

Depression is a complex mental health disorder characterized by persistent feelings of sadness, hopelessness, and a lack of interest or pleasure in activities. Studies estimate that approximately 264 million people of all ages experience depression, making it one of the most prevalent mental illnesses globally.Clinical depression is a common psychiatric condition with often devastating consequences. A new study in Biological Psychiatry, published by Elsevier, enhances our fundamental understanding of the brain’s neural…