For The San Diego Union-Tribune COVID lockdown and teens The extended lockdown during the COVID pandemic resulted in significant adverse mental health effects for teens who necessarily attended school remotely for months or even years. It may have also physically affected their brains. Researchers conducting a longitudinal study of teens found that the brains of teen girls aged 4.2 years more than a model based on pre-pandemic brain data predicted they would. For boys, it was 1.4 more years than predicted. The scientists said chronic stress and adversity accelerate thinning of the cerebral cortex (responsible for things like language, memory, reasoning). It happens naturally with age, but in the case of lockdown teens, at rates faster than normal. The result suggests affected teens may be more vulnerable to neuropsychiatric disorders or even neurodegenerative disorders as they get older. (Adobe Stock) Maternity care deserts Hospitals and clinics that provide obstetric care are closing or eliminating those services at alarming rates. Between 2011 and 2021, at least 267 hospitals closed labor and delivery units, representing roughly 5 percent of the country’s hospitals. According to the March of Dimes, there are 1,104 counties in the U.S. where there is not a single birthing facility or obstetric clinician. There are more than 2.3 million women of reproductive age in these counties who gave birth to more than 150,000 babies in 2022. Women in these areas are at 13 percent higher risk of preterm birth. Mostly the closures are in rural areas, but not entirely. In California, for example, nearly 50 obstetrics departments have closed over the past decade. Seventeen were in Los Angeles County. (Adobe Stock) Body of knowledge In the microgravity of space, astronauts grow taller and their bodily fluids disperse more evenly, causing puffy faces and skinny legs. Muscles begin to atrophy due to lack of use.   Get me that. Stat! In 2023, there were 22.5 violent, nonfatal victimizations (rape, sexual assault, robbery, aggravated and simple assault) per 1,000 persons aged 12 or older in the U.S., a rate similar to 2022. The rate of violent victimization, excluding simple assault, for males decreases from 9.5 per 1,000 persons to 6.9 per 1,000. There were also decreases in reported cases of robbery victimizations, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics.   Stories for the waiting room In a survey of 1,000 people around the U.S., 75 percent of respondents said it was important to use artificial intelligence to minimize human errors and 71 percent said they would like AI to reduce wait times, reported STAT. Similar numbers of people said they were comfortable with AI notetaking during appointments and that AI should improve work-life balance for health care workers. Still, more than half of the respondents found AI to be “a little scary.” (Adobe Stock) Doc talk Synchronous diaphragmatic flutter — a hiccup, also known as a myoclonic twitch   Observation “Things not to say to someone with mental illness: Ignore it. Forget about it. Fight it. You are better than this. You are over-thinking.” — Indian writer Nitya Prakash   (Adobe Stock) Phobia of the week Haphephobia — fear of being touched   Medical history This week in 1958, the first coronary angiogram was performed, unintentionally, by Dr. F. Mason Sones, Jr., a pediatric cardiologist at the Cleveland Clinic. The diagnostic X-ray procedure uses dye injected to visualize blockages of the small nutrient arteries of the heart. Earlier studies using dogs had shown that the dye in coronary arteries caused heart fibrillation, so it was never tried on humans. While intending to dye a patient’s diseased vessels by injecting dye only near their openings, Sones accidentally inserted the catheter into a  patient’s coronary artery, releasing the dye in the artery. The expected heart fibrillation did not occur, indicating the dye could be used safely, especially in low amounts.   Self-exam Q: Why do many people laugh when they’re scared, like when watching a horror movie? A: There are two popular theories. The first posits that laughter is an inherently social signal to others. When we laugh fearfully, it’s an expression of submission that we pose no danger and want to avoid conflict. The second theory is just the opposite. Fearful laughter represents denial of fear. We’re scared, but we’re trying to convince ourselves and the people around us that we’re not. In either case, psychologists say the laughter is another example of emotional regulation, such as when we cry when we’re happy. It’s the brain trying to balance out our emotions.   Last words “Stopped.” — British surgeon Joseph Henry Green (1791-1863), who was measuring his own pulse when it … LaFee is vice president of communications for the Sanford Burnham Prebys research institute.