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Drugs like magic mushrooms and LSD can act as powerful and long-lasting antidepressants. But they also tend to produce mind-bending side-effects that limit their use.

Now, scientists report in the journal Nature that they have created drugs based on LSD that seem to relieve anxiety and depression – in mice – without inducing the usual hallucinations.

“We found our compounds had essentially the same antidepressant activity as psychedelic drugs,” says Dr. Bryan Roth, an author of the study and a professor of pharmacology at UNC Chapel Hill School of Medicine. But, he says, “they had no psychedelic drug-like actions at all.”

The discovery could eventually lead to medications for depression and anxiety that work better, work faster, have fewer side effects, and last longer.

The success is just the latest involving tripless versions of psychedelic drugs. One previous effort created a hallucination-free variant of ibogaine, which is made from the root bark of a shrubby plant native to Central Africa known as the iboga tree.

“It’s very encouraging to see multiple groups approach this problem in different ways and come up with very similar solutions,” says David E. Olson, a chemical neuroscientist at the University of California, Davis, who led the ibogaine project.

An unexpected find

The new drug comes from a large team of scientists who did not start out looking for an antidepressant.

They had been building a virtual library of 75 million molecules that include an unusual structure found in a number of drugs, including the psychedelics psilocybin and LSD, a migraine drug (ergotamine), and cancer drugs including vincristine.

The team decided to focus on molecules that affect the brain’s serotonin system, which is involved in regulating a person’s mood. But they still weren’t looking for an antidepressant.

Roth recalls that during one meeting, someone asked, “What are we looking for here anyway? And I said, well, if nothing else, we’ll have the world’s greatest psychedelic drugs.”

As their work progressed, though, the team realized that other researchers were showing that the psychedelic drug psilocybin could relieve depression in people. And the effects could last a year or more, perhaps because the drug was helping the brain rewire in a way that was less prone to depression.

“There [were] really interesting reports about people getting great results out of this after just a few doses,” says Brian Shoichet, an author of the study and a professor in the pharmaceutical chemistry department at the University of California, San Francisco.

So the team began refining their search to find molecules in their library that might act the same way.

Ultimately, they selected two.

“They had the best properties,” Shoichet says. “They were the most potent, and when you gave them to a mouse, they got into the brain at the highest concentrations.”

The two molecules were also “extremely effective” at relieving symptoms of depression in mice, Roth says.

How to tell when a mouse is tripping

Scientists have shown that a depressed mouse tends to give up quickly when placed in an uncomfortable situation, like being dangled from its tail. But the same mouse will keep struggling if it gets an antidepressant drug like Prozac, ketamine, or psilocybin.

Mice also kept struggling when they got the experimental molecules.

But they didn’t exhibit any signs of a psychedelic experience, which typically causes a mouse to twitch its nose in a distinctive way. “We were surprised to see that,” Roth says.

The team says it needs to refine these new molecules before they can be tried in people. One reason is that they appear to mimic LSD’s ability to increase heart rate and raise blood pressure.

But if the approach works, it could overcome a major obstacle to using psychedelic drugs to treat depression.

Currently, treatment with a psychedelic requires medical supervision and a therapist to guide a patient through their hallucinatory experience.

That’s an impractical way to treat millions of people with depression, Shoichet says.

“Society would like a molecule that you can get prescribed and just take and you don’t need a guided tour for your trip,” he says.

Another advantage of the new approach is that the antidepressant effects would occur within hours of taking the drug, and might last a year or more. Drugs like Prozac and Zoloft often take weeks to work, and must be taken every day.

Drugs based on psychedelics “take us a step closer to a cure, rather than simply treating disease symptoms,” Olsen says.

Since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2018 that states could legalize betting on sports, California — with 40 million people and numerous professional teams — has been the great white whale, eluding gambling companies and casino-hosting tribal communities. At stake is $3.1 billion in annual revenue, according to one industry consulting firm.

It’s little surprise, then, that voters will face not one but two ballot propositions this fall aimed at capturing California’s sports betting market. Although neither appears to have strong public support, gambling addiction experts are worried about one far more than the other.

Proposition 26, supported by some of the state’s largest tribal casino owners, would permit sports betting, but only within existing brick-and-mortar establishments that already offer gambling and at horse-racing venues. By contrast, Proposition 27, designed and funded by such national corporate gambling sites as DraftKings, FanDuel, and BetMGM, would legalize online sports betting, essentially opening the door for people to bet on games — and the athletes and plays within them — whether they’re sitting in the bleachers or on a couch.

Each measure would likely increase instances of problem gambling and gambling addiction, but mental health experts say the sheer ease of online betting — on scores, player point totals, the number of penalties in a game, and almost everything else connected to a sporting event — increases the chance for trouble.

“You don’t get addicted to full-season fantasy football; you get addicted to in-game betting,” said Dr. Timothy Fong, a psychiatrist and co-director of the UCLA Gambling Studies Program. “Instead of one bet on the Rams-Chargers game, I now can make an infinite amount right from my phone.”

Sports betting is already legal in some form in 36 states and Washington, D.C., and calls to gambling hotlines spiked in Michigan, Connecticut, New York, and other states after they allowed that form of gambling. The National Problem Gambling Helpline Network reported a 45% increase in year-over-year inquiries in 2021, when 11 states went live with some new form of sports betting.

Although gambling addiction doesn’t involve the ingestion of drugs or chemicals, it does involve the stimulation of regions of the brain the same way that other addictive disorders do. The American Psychiatric Association classifies gambling as such, placing it in the same category as tobacco, alcohol, cocaine, cannabis, and opioids. Research shows that mesolimbic dopamine, which provides the brain feelings of reward and pleasure, is released in larger quantities in pathological gamblers than in people in control groups. Gamblers get hooked on that reward.

For many states, the lure is obvious: tax revenue. In 2020, Pennsylvania collected $38.7 million from gambling — three-quarters of it generated by mobile sports betting. California’s nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office estimates the state will collect hundreds of millions in tax dollars each year, but likely not more than $500 million annually, if Proposition 27 passes. The office pegged state revenue from Proposition 26 at tens of millions of dollars a year. Some of that money would come from taxing 10% of sports bets at racetracks, and some could come from tribal casinos, which would need to renegotiate compacts with the state.

For weeks, Californians have been bombarded by competing ads in what’s become the nation’s most expensive ballot-initiative fight, at $400 million and counting. The fight may have turned voters off. A recent poll by the UC-Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies found 42% of likely voters opposed to Proposition 26, compared with 31% in support. Support for Proposition 27 was even smaller, with 53% of likely voters opposed and only 27% in favor.

Both ballot measures offer limited new resources to help people with gambling problems or addictions, and neither requires the state to improve tracking or treatment.

The authors of Proposition 26 included a provision to direct 10% of the sports betting revenue from horse-racing tracks to the state Department of Public Health, with some of that money set aside “to prevent and treat problem gambling,” according to material furnished to KHN by supporters of the initiative. But racetracks have been in decline for decades, and their share of sports betting would be the smallest slice of the pie. Additionally, the amount that could be generated from tribal casinos is uncertain because it would depend on whether new compacts require additional payments and direct money to treatment programs.

Kathy Fairbanks, a spokesperson for the Vote Yes on Proposition 26 campaign, noted that tribes already contribute roughly $65 million a year to the state Gambling Control Commission, which funds the Office of Problem Gambling. “Prior to tribes getting casino gambling in California 20-plus years ago, there was no dedicated funding for problem gambling,” Fairbanks said. California has had racetrack wagering since the 1930s, and the lottery started in 1985.

Proposition 27 would require participating companies to pay 10% of gross gambling revenues to the state. Of that, 85% would be designated for homeless and mental health programs, including those for problem gambling.

Nathan Click, a spokesperson for the Yes on 27 campaign, said the initiative would enact “the strongest problem gaming safeguards for online sports betting in the country” and would require each authorized gambling platform’s employees to be trained on how to spot problem gambling.

But psychologists say that online betting is immediate, accessible, and nearly effortless. Anyone with a phone, tablet, or computer can get started with a credit card. And there’s virtually no limit on the bets that can be placed on a single game, even while the game is being played.

“People don’t become addicted to Mega Millions,” Fong said. “They become addicted to scratchers, with more bets per minute.”

One way the gambling industry entices people to keep playing is through promotional credits that essentially allow them to begin betting without spending their own money. Rick Benson, founder of Algamus Gambling Treatment Services, said “free play” offers are not just common in casinos but are also heavily marketed by websites and on social media, potentially luring new gamblers into thinking they have nothing to lose.

That makes Proposition 27 a bigger concern. Researchers at McGill University and the Oregon Research Institute found that online gaming is a gateway to behavioral disorders, including problem gambling, marked by continued gambling despite negative consequences in a person’s life, or full addiction, which is uncontrollable. Gambling can lead to ruinous results, such as bankruptcy, mental health and family issues, and substance use.

Because Proposition 26 restricts betting to casinos and racetracks, it could moderate the activity. “Studies have shown that gambling participation is in some ways tied to access,” said Robert Jacobson, executive director of the California Council on Problem Gambling. “The rates of participation go up once people are within 50 to 60 miles of a casino.”

Still, how Proposition 26 would affect gambling prevalence isn’t clear because the provision also clears the way for tribal casinos to add Las Vegas-style games, such as roulette and craps.

It’s also not understood how big of a problem gambling addiction is in California, mostly because the state’s Office of Problem Gambling has not updated its data since 2006. In August, a state audit declared that the office, which has an annual budget of roughly $8.5 million, “has not effectively evaluated its programs.” The office doesn’t know how many California residents are experiencing or have recently experienced gambling-related issues.

Addiction researchers, however, believe the problem has remained consistent, with about 4% of residents experiencing either problem gambling or gambling addiction. That equates to about 1.6 million Californians who may have a gambling issue, although the number could be much higher because fewer than 1 in 10 people with gambling disorders seek treatment.

The two initiatives would amend the constitution so the legislature could create new sports betting laws. State agencies would then have to come up with regulations for implementing sports betting, which, the experts say, could be gamed by gambling interests.

“The votes,” Jacobson said, “are only the front end of the activity.”

This story was produced by KHN, which publishes California Healthline, an editorially independent service of the California Health Care Foundation.

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The global coronavirus pandemic disrupted almost everything about our lives, from how we work and go to school, to how we socialize (Zoom happy hours, anyone?!), and ultimately strained trust in many of the overarching systems we depend on, from health care to government.

New research suggests it may have changed Americans’ personalities, too, and not for the better.

Typically, major personality traits remain fairly stable throughout life, with most change happening in young adulthood or when stressful personal life events occur. It’s rare to see population-wide personality shifts, even after stressful events, but in a new study in the journal PLOS One, psychologists found just that in the wake of the pandemic.

The researchers had previously found a small, counterintuitive change in personality early in the pandemic: They found a decrease in neuroticism, the personality trait associated with stress and negative emotions. In the current study, they were curious if they would find different personality changes in the second and third year of the pandemic.

“And we did. There was a completely different pattern of change,” says study author Angelina Sutin, an assistant professor of behavioral sciences and social medicine at the Florida State University College of Medicine.

In the later period of the pandemic, the researchers noted significant declines in the traits that help us navigate social situations, trust others, think creatively, and act responsibly. These changes were especially pronounced among young adults.

Sutin hypothesizes that personality traits may have changed as public sentiment about the pandemic shifted. “The first year [of the pandemic] there was this real coming together,” Sutin says. “But in the second year, with all of that support falling away and then the open hostility and social upheaval around restrictions … all the collective good will that we had, we lost, and that might have been very significant for personality.”

Maturity interrupted?

To measure the changes, Sutin and her team analyzed surveys from three time periods: once pre-pandemic, before March 2020, once in the early lockdown period in 2020, and once either in 2021 or 2022. All the responses came from the longitudinal Understanding America Study, organized by University of Southern California.

The surveys gathered results from a widely-accepted model for studying personality, the Big Five Inventory, that measures five different dimensions of personality: neuroticism (stress), extroversion (connecting with others), openness (creative thinking), agreeableness (being trusting), and conscientiousness (being organized, disciplined and responsible).

While these traits don’t typically change radically throughout a lifetime, there’s a general trend for young people to see a decrease in neuroticism as they mature, and an increase in agreeableness and conscientiousness. Sutin calls this trajectory “development towards maturity.” But the study findings suggest a reversal of that pattern for younger adults as the pandemic dragged on.

Between the first stages of pandemic lockdown in 2020 to the second and third years of the pandemic in 2021 and 2022, the researchers found that extroversion, openness, agreeableness and conscientiousness all declined across the population, but especially for younger adults, who also showed an increase in neuroticism.

Joshua Jackson, an associate professor of psychology at Washington University in St. Louis, who studies the factors responsible for personality change and was not involved in this study, says that finding was significant.

“Younger individuals have less resources, they’re less established in their social context, in their jobs and friends,” he says. “So any sort of disruption, they’re the ones that are going to have this fewer number of resources to ride out the storm.”

Sutin notes that even in more normal times, young adults are more likely to see change in their personality. But in the pandemic, “all the normal things that younger adults are supposed to do were disrupted: school, socializing, work.” Although older adults were at greater risk from the virus, their lives were “in a much more stable place in general,” Sutin says.

These particular personality changes in young people have the potential for negative long-term impacts, too, says Jackson. “[Agreeableness and conscientiousness] are characteristics that are associated with success in the workforce, and in relationships,” he says.

The study authors concur, writing that high conscientiousness is associated with higher educational achievement and income and lower risk of chronic diseases. Neuroticism is linked with risky health behaviors and poor mental health.

Long-term personality change or ‘short-term shock’

The personality changes documented were not huge, but they were equal to the typical amount of personality change normally found in a decade of life, and they were seen across race and education level.

Jackson says the fact that the findings were seen across the population point to just how unprecedented the pandemic has been.

“The general rule is that life events don’t have widespread impact on personality,” he says. For that reason, Jackson hopes further study will determine whether the personality changes this study found will sustain over a lifetime or be more of a “short-term shock.”

It’s worth noting that the changes are relatively modest in scope, says Brent Roberts, a professor of psychology at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign who studies continuity and change in personality across adulthood, and was also not involved in the study.

With a personality shift across population in these areas, “there’s going to be a slight elevation of some of the negative outcomes … predominantly related to mental health and health,” Roberts says.

And though the findings are significant at a population level, they’re probably not reason for any individual alarm. So before you go blaming your bad mood on the pandemic, remember that personalities are typically resilient long-term.

“It’s not a simple question of either people being fixed and not changing at all, which is clearly wrong, or being rudderless ships battered about by the winds of change — it’s something in between,” says Roberts. Overall, the environmental changes we’ve experienced over the past few years aren’t likely permanent either, which means the psychological consequences might very well change again, too.

The study had some limitations. For one thing, it didn’t have a control group to compare results — there wasn’t a group of people who didn’t live through the pandemic for comparison in this case. And Roberts says it’s hard to tease out what, exactly, over the past few years had the biggest impact on these shifts in personality.

The COVID crisis could have been the main driver of personality change, but other societal changes or reckonings we experienced in the same time frame – the mass shift to virtual school and work, increased economic stratification, the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, or the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement, for instance.

Or it could be related to economic stress and “long-term disparities that are occurring in our society,” Roberts says.

“It’s been pretty clear from a lot of surveys, especially the younger folks feel a lot less hope for their future economic viability. … And if that’s the case, then, there’s your alternative for why you see this subtle decrease in these kinds of personality traits that are often related to feeling connected to and effective in society.”

And perhaps the findings are the result of more than one thing at the same time. The other group that showed significant personality trait change, for instance, were Hispanic/Latino respondents, who, Sutin points out, bore the brunt of the pandemic in more ways than one, “both in terms of being more vulnerable to the illness and the more severe consequences of also being on the front lines [as essential workers].”

Either, or both, of which might have taken a toll on personality in the population.

Maggie Mertens is a freelance journalist in Seattle who writes about gender, culture, health, and sports.

When Trevor Freeman tilts into his backswing and sends a golf ball sailing, there’s nothing to suggest his blood cells aren’t shaped like everyone else’s.

Nor does his busy life fit in with stereotypes about limitations imposed by sickle cell disease.

Along with earning a varsity letter at East Kentwood High School, he competes in extracurricular golf tournaments. He likes math. He’s learning to drive. He likes listening to music and hanging out with friends.

And while sickle cell disease can sometimes cause him pain and fatigue, Trevor has become an expert in his own right when it comes to managing his symptoms and care.

“I don’t have many problems or much pain,” Trevor, 16, said. “And when I do, I just take some Tylenol and go to sleep. It doesn’t affect me much, and I can still do things I want to do.”

That’s been his family’s goal since his diagnosis—to help him care for symptoms without treating him like he’s fragile.

“We never say, ‘No,’” Antoinetta, his mom, said. “We don’t shatter dreams. We just keep them realistic.”

A complex diagnosis

Doctors diagnosed Trevor with sickle cell disease, an inherited red blood cell disorder, at birth.

While Antoinetta knew she was a trait carrier, her husband, Roger, was adopted, so his status wasn’t clear.

“When the nurse came in to tell me, she was shaking. She was so nervous,” Antonietta said. “I just looked at her and said, ‘He has sickle cell, doesn’t he?’ And she was so relieved that she didn’t have to tell me.”

The couple had been ready for the diagnosis.

But the nurse encouraged them to prepare for the challenges ahead.

For the first year of Trevor’s life, Antoinetta “lived on pins and needles.

“I was at the doctor’s with him for every little thing,” she said. “One day, I sat back and said, ‘I have to do this differently.’”

With some prayer and perspective, she formed a new attitude.

“I realized the Lord gave me this child to give him the best life possible,” she said. “And I realized that if I treat him as if something is wrong and he has a disability, so will everyone else.”

At that moment, she said, “Team Freeman was formed. We decided we wouldn’t say no, but let him explore and do everything that he wants to do.”

Sickle cell symptoms

Trevor’s relatively mild symptoms underscore what experts say is one of the most important things to understand about sickle cell disorders: They can be incredibly varied.

“It’s a very heterogeneous disorder,” said Matthew Pridgeon, MD, who specializes in pediatric hematology-oncology at Spectrum Health Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital. “It’s an umbrella term we use for several different conditions.”

All types of sickle cell disease are inherited.

Healthy blood cells are round and they carry oxygen easily throughout the body.

In sickle cell, they become hard and sticky. They take on a telltale C shape, like farm tools known as sickles.

These cells die early, creating an ongoing shortage of red blood cells. They can clog small blood vessels, causing pain and other serious complications, such as infection and stroke.

“The clinical courses of each can vary in severity, and even within each type, while there may be a general pattern, there’s considerable variety,” Dr. Pridgeon said. “It presents in many different forms.”

Trevor has an alpha-cell gene mutation, which the doctor said “tempers his sickle cell disease and makes him more likely to thrive.”

But while Trevor has had fewer crises than many patients with sickle cell, that doesn’t mean his challenges haven’t been intense.

At age 8, Trevor was hospitalized with pneumonia and a temperature of 104 degrees.

“They couldn’t break his fever, and they had to give him a blood transfusion,” Antoinetta said.

Amid that, Trevor had looked at her and said, “Just tell God I’m not done here yet. I’ve got a lot of things to do.”

At that moment, she said, “I realized I could lose my son.

“Now, I tell him every day that it’s a blessing to wake up with him, to talk to him, to see him,” she said. “We know he’s doing great now, and hope that continues. But with this disease, that can change tomorrow.”

Managing care

Treatment can include hydroxyurea, a medication that makes red blood cells bigger and better-behaved, Dr. Pridgeon said.

Trevor is doing so well, he recently decided to go off the medication. It’s important to point out that Trevor—not his parents—made that call, Dr. Pridgeon said.

The push toward autonomy is essential to raising kids with chronic health conditions, Dr. Pridgeon said.

“We want to teach children, especially as they move through adolescence, to step into the role of advocating for themselves,” he said.

Antoinetta said she has tried to take a back seat at medical appointments, so Trevor can learn to steer his care.

And while Trevor may drive the bus, the entire family is on board.

After Trevor’s birth, they learned his dad also has a sickle cell trait, as do both of Trevor’s sisters, Achante’, 23, and Kennedy, 14.

“So out of the five of us, four are trait carriers and one has the full-blown disease,” Antoinetta said.

The Freemans have relocated often, so they’ve become strong advocates and educators, Antoinetta said.

“We’ll meet the staff and principal at a new school, so everyone knows what to look for and to make it easy for him to discreetly say to a teacher, ‘Hey, I’m not feeling well,’” Antoinetta said. “We want him to feel safe and comfortable without calling attention to himself.”

And they hope his dreams—attending the University of Michigan on a golf scholarship and playing professionally someday—come true.

Trevor first picked up a club at age 7.

He was selected to attend First Tee’s Game Changers Academy this year, based on an essay he wrote about the importance of diversity in golf.

“We’ve made it our model to make sure that he lives a prosperous, blessed life and that he doesn’t feel that his disease hinders him,” Antoinetta said.

That’s important, Dr. Pridgeon said.

Many people have stereotypical ideas about how difficult sickle cell can be, imagining patients are always in pain and living with considerable limitations.

And, conversely, people too often make assumptions that, since a child has a milder form, “that they will always be doing well,” Dr. Pridgeon said.

The goal: Respect that each patient is on their own journey.

“We walk with them throughout that, helping them succeed at the things that they want to do,” Dr. Pridgeon said. “We are doing what we can to minimize risks and catch any medical complications as early as possible, so we can get things under control as soon as we can.”

For some, the prospect of regular, vigorous exercise is cause for excitement. It’s a path to improved health and it can deliver endless benefits in the way of energy, mood and vitality.

For those who struggle with depression and anxiety, however, the notion of physical activity can feel overwhelming.

But research has shown that even slight reductions in sedentary behavior can positively impact mood in the short-term and in the long run.

So what’s a good start?

Less than 10 minutes of exercise each day can have a positive impact on mental health, according to Allyn Richards, PhD, a clinical psychologist with Spectrum Health.

“While formal exercise is a recommended activity to combat depression and anxiety, any form of movement can help,” Dr. Richards said. “It could be gardening or housework. Even getting up and walking around during TV commercials.”

Fight the avoidance cycle

The challenge? Depression and anxiety can make it difficult to engage in physical activity.

These conditions can lead to feelings of fatigue, decreased motivation, reduced interest in activities and increased self-doubt, which can make the idea of exercise feel daunting.

It can be especially overwhelming when there are expectations to work out for extended periods of time, or at a high intensity.

Dr. Richards said this can lead to avoidance, which is often a hallmark of depression and anxiety. Avoidance provides short-term relief and reinforces inactivity, but it can contribute to worsened mood in the long-term.

A person with depression or anxiety can get stuck in this avoidance cycle. It makes it harder to experience the reward of exercise—and harder to increase feelings of motivation.

“Often, we wait to feel motivated to do something,” Dr. Richards said. “But when depressed or anxious, it is harder to experience feelings of motivation.”

A possible solution: Find ways to change the negative reward for not exercising into a positive incentive.

This often comes down to taking some action, Dr. Richards said.

“The secret is that, once action is taken, motivation and positive feelings are more likely to follow,” she said.

Getting started is usually the hardest part.

Start slow, for a short duration.

“I often encourage people to identify the smallest amount of activity that they feel willing to try, even if that is starting with one minute,” Dr. Richards said.

Planning can help.

Write out how to do a particular exercise or activity. Identify when and how you will fulfill the plan. Some people may find it helpful to put the exercise or activity plan on their daily schedule.

“The more you can reduce barriers to engaging in a plan or getting started, the better,” she said. “For example, if you’re going to exercise after work, put on your workout shoes just before you leave work so there is less need to stop and have to re-start action once you get home.”

Set reachable goals

Try to stay realistic in setting goals and meeting them, Dr. Richards said.

Your activity doesn’t have to be perfect. Break free from the all-or-nothing attitude.

“Focus on progress, not perfection,” she said. “Focusing on a full exercise regimen can be overwhelming. Something is always better than nothing. Also, making the activity fun and enjoyable can make it feel less like a chore.”

Another tip: Add a social component to the activity.

“Find an accountability partner,” Dr. Richards said. “We sometimes find it easier to honor our commitments to others than to ourselves, so making a plan to exercise with a family member or friend can be helpful.”

A group activity such as a fitness class might work for some people, she said.

Going too fast and intense at first can result in negative feelings after a workout. Feeling sore and fatigued after a workout doesn’t reinforce doing the exercise again.

For some people, a low-intensity activity helps clear the mind. A walk may be less overwhelming, and there are fewer barriers to getting started.

No matter what you choose, remember: It’s the start of a good beginning.

Every morning, Pamela and Gordon Love sit on their porch, drink coffee and watch the sun rise over Croton Pond.

They have done this since their retirement eight years ago.

But these days, it’s even more special.

“We sit there and we talk and laugh,” Pamela said. “And then all of sudden we think about Gordon having this new gift of life. And then we sit there and cry and cry.

“Just this morning, we were talking about our kids and, I looked over, and he had tears going down his face.”

The Loves are overflowing with gratitude for the gift that came their way on Dec. 30, 2021—a heart transplant for Gordon, 70.

He became the 184th person to receive a heart transplant through the Spectrum Health Richard DeVos Heart and Lung Transplant Program, which began in 2010 at the Spectrum Health Fred and Lena Meijer Heart Center.

A genetic disease

Gordon first became a heart patient around 14 years ago when he was seeing a doctor for knee surgery.

An EKG found that Gordon’s heart was in V-fib—ventricular fibrillation, or irregular heartbeat. Instead of scheduling knee surgery, Gordon set up an appointment with a cardiologist.

At that time, he was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy, a heart disease that can lead to heart failure.

Doctors told Gordon it’s a genetic disease, likely passed down from someone in his family.

Suddenly, things started making sense.

Gordon’s oldest brother died of a massive heart attack at the age of 33 while tap-dancing on Broadway. His second-oldest brother had a heart transplant years ago. He had been told his great-grandfather died suddenly at age 42.

“I was involved in athletics in college and did a lot of strenuous things, like wrestling and football,” Gordon said. “I’m probably lucky I didn’t go down.”

After that first visit, doctors implanted a defibrillator in Gordon’s chest, designed to detect and correct life-threatening irregular heartbeats. It delivers electric shocks to restore a regular heart rhythm.

“Every month I was having 12 to 18 arrhythmias,” he said. “It was correcting them, and I never felt it that much.”

But in 2021, his heart started to deteriorate, with more arrhythmias and becoming enlarged.

“The left side of my heart started to deteriorate more and more. I noticed I was getting weaker and having more shortness of breath,” he said. “I just kind of kept plugging along.”

In fall 2021 he fell ill. He was hospitalized in November and again in early December, after the right side of his heart went into A-fib (atrial fibrillation) for 29 hours.

“We put him on medications to make his heart stronger, and it just wasn’t enough,” said Ryan Grayburn, DO, a Spectrum Health cardiologist who serves as medical director for the transplant program.

On Dec. 13, the team of cardiologists recommended him for transplant.

On Dec. 17, while awaiting transplant, doctors put an axillary balloon pump in Gordon to help his heart pump more blood, Dr. Grayburn said.

‘It’s a blessing’

Gordon and Pamela will never forget Dec. 29.

Gordon’s stepson, Bryan Anderson, works as a physician assistant for Spectrum Health cardiothoracic surgery.

Doctors on the transplant team told Bryan they’d found a heart for his father. They let him pass along the good news.

“He came in and the team was with him,” Gordon said. “He said, ‘We found you a heart.’ I told him, ‘Come on, don’t be joking with me.’ His mask was on so I couldn’t tell if he was grinning. He said, ‘Seriously, we found one.’”

Gordon can’t share the story without getting emotional.

“It was pretty amazing,” he said. “It’s a blessing. We just thank God because I think He orchestrated it. That’s the way I feel about it.”

The transplant happened that night and was completed in the wee hours of Dec. 30.

But Gordon would have to fight one more time.

Immediately after the transplant, Gordon had what doctors call primary graft dysfunction. Dr. Grayburn said it’s not common, and there’s no definitive reason it happens in some transplant patients.

“You sew the heart in and it just does not start beating the way it should,” Dr. Grayburn said. “It’s not rejection. It just happens, and we don’t always know why.”

But they did know the treatment.

They immediately placed Gordon on ECMO, or extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, a heart-lung machine that pumps blood outside of the body and sends oxygen-filled blood back in.

Gordon did well on ECMO, Dr. Grayburn said. They also administered medications to stimulate the heart.

On Jan. 5, he came off ECMO and the ventilator.

Sitting by his side was his son, Brandon, who’d flown in from Oregon.

Only one family member could be in the room at a time because of COVID-19 precautions.

Pamela had made sure it was Brandon that day.

Gordon tells the story this way: “I just remember waking up, and I felt pretty good. I looked over to the right and there’s Brandon. When he was a little kid, I would put my hand on his head and say, ‘You’re a good boy.’ So, I asked him to come over, and I put my hand on his head, and I told him that.”

Hobbies and grandkids

Gordon now lives for more moments with his six children and 14 grandchildren.

Soon, he and Pamela will be great-grandparents.

After being released from Spectrum Health Butterworth Hospital, Gordon went home, and physical therapists and occupational therapists worked with him there. He also did some outpatient cardiovascular rehabilitation at Spectrum Health Gerber Memorial Hospital.

He’s now doing everything he can to rehabilitate and take advantage of the second chance at life he has been given.

A lifelong athlete and coach of wrestling and football for 15 years, being physically fit has helped his recovery.

He’s continuing to work out in his home gym.

Gordon worked in many professions throughout his life—first as a carpenter for his father’s construction business, then as a builder in the construction business and finally as a building trades teacher for Martin and Otsego Public Schools, as well as in the state of Wyoming.

Later, he taught and worked as a placement coordinator for Kent Career Technical Center.

For many years, he did remodeling work on the side.

He’s retired now, looking forward to getting back to his wood-working hobby.

He made a live-edge table for his youngest daughter. His oldest wants one, too.

“I think she will get her table now,” Gordon said.

Dr. Grayburn said it’s gratifying to see Gordon doing so well.

“For us, that’s our gift … when we get a good outcome, and we have someone who is motivated and wants to use this new heart to get a second chance and do what they want to do in life,” he said.

Through tears, Gordon sends a message to the family of his heart donor: “I just want them to know I’m taking good care of it.”

If there is one thing that appears to be quite common among the elderly, it would be that they simply aren’t getting the nutrition they need to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Often, it’s because they cannot cook for themselves anymore, and other times it’s a matter of getting groceries in. Then there are those elderly people who have difficulty eating because of conditions like dysphagia. Here are some things you can do to ensure your aging parents are eating well.

Monitor Mealtimes

If at all possible, have someone available to monitor their mealtimes. It is essential to ensure they get ample nutrients through a good assortment of healthy foods. If you cannot be there with them to oversee what and how they are eating, it may be time to consider assisted living Trumbull CT. Mealtimes can be shared in common with other residents or taken in their apartments, but there will always be someone available to oversee mealtimes.

Be Their Shopper

If your aging parents can’t get out on snowy, icy roads, you can be their personal shopper. Make a weekly list to ensure they have everything they need on hand. It never hurts to have a backup supply of some of the most common staples in their cupboards just for situations like this. You may not be able to get out easily either!

Help with Food Preparation

Whether your elderly parents are living in a senior living residence or at home, the one thing you can do is help a bit with food preparation. Many working mothers use this strategy, allowing them to have healthy meals on the table 7 days a week. On one of your days off, make a couple of large casseroles that can be divided into meal-size portions and frozen. This way, they can take a meal out of the freezer, zap it in the microwave, and within minutes they can be seated with a deliciously healthy meal. Soups work well for this too. Simply freeze the leftovers, and that’s another meal highly appreciated on cold winter days.

Delight Them with Herbal Teas

While there are dozens of commercial herbal teas on the market, you can do better than that! Help them plant a small window herb garden they can access when cooking or for a nice, warm, herbal tea throughout the day. Some of the best herbs to grow in a window garden are peppermint, which can be used for tea but also help with digestive issues.

Even if you can’t personally be there with them to oversee what and how they eat, you can have someone else available to step up to the plate. This is why senior living residences are so important. With qualified staff on duty 24/7, you can be assured they are eating well and safely. The critical thing to remember is that their diet must consist of nutritious foods prepared for people in their advanced years.

Are Home Covid-19 Antibody Tests Accurate?

PCR or rapid antigen tests are of extreme popularity these days. They enable us to quickly check whether a person is sick of coronavirus in the present day or not. Yet, antibody test for COVID-19 also has their scope of application.

Let’s learn more about at-home antibody tests, their essential benefits over laboratory diagnosis, and how accurate they are.

What Are COVID-19 Antibody Tests?

COVID-19 antibody tests are also called “tests for past infection.” It’s because these are serology tests looking for antibodies formed due to the organism fighting an infection. They are indicated positive in one of two cases:

• A person was sick with COVID-19 2-3 weeks ago.
• A person had a vaccination against COVID-19 2-3 weeks ago.

They are typically recommended to make after a few weeks after infection vaccination. Just to confirm that it was coronavirus or that the vaccine worked. Besides, health care professionals use the information on the antibody test results in clinical practice to deliver treatment, for instance.

Benefits of COVID-19 Antibody Tests

Here are some ways in which antibody coronavirus tests are advantageous:

• It can be done at home. The best part is that you can order covid antibody test home from a local laboratory services provider. It is as simple as just scheduling an appointment and waiting for a nursing specialist to do the work without compromising your safety or testing accuracy.
• Do not require specific knowledge to perform. If you don’t mind taking a blood sample yourself, you can order an antibody kit online and conduct taking on your own. It’s not recommended, but since this option does exist, let’s refer to it as a benefit.
• Do not have contraindications. An antibody test is just taking a blood sample. So, no individual can have it even if it’s done in a non-controlled environment.

Now, let’s proceed with evaluating how accurate antibody testing is.

How Reliable At-Home COVID-19 Antibody Tests

The ideal conditions for COVID-19 antibody tests are three weeks after infection/ vaccination and taking a blood sample by a specialist. This way, the body already has enough antibodies in the blood to trigger the reaction, and the probability of some error or contamination of the blood sample is minimal.

Given these conditions, the accuracy or sensitivity of the COVID-19 antibody test is 94%. Remember that this is not lab testing. But even though, given that the PCR —“gold standard” of testing has the accuracy of 97.2% only, the results are pretty trustworthy.

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