When One Hand Really Doesn’t Know What The Other Is Doing

On The Way: Migraine Drugs That Hit The Headache Cause

April Dembosky/KQED Was A Nurse Right To Calls Cops On Woman Seeking Help For Postpartum Depression? Jessica Porten started feeling really irritable a few months after her second child was born. Something as small as a squeaking chair could send her into a rage. She thought it would be a good idea to see someone about how she felt and went to a women’s health clinic in Sacramento, Calif. Porten knew that irritability can be a symptom of postpartum depression. "I described maybe hitting myself or squeezing the baby too tight," Porten tells KQED’s April Dembosky. "But I was very adamant through the entire appointment that I was not going to hurt myself and I was not going to hurt my children." After that admission, the nurse who was talking with Porten called the police. They escorted Porten and her baby to the emergency room. Was that the right move?    Giant Ant for NPR Otherworldly Alien Hand Syndrome What if one of your hands had a mind of its own? Well, for some people that’s the reality. Karen Byrne's left hand has unbuttoned shirts and stubbed out cigarettes without her permission. It has even slapped her face. NPR’s Invisibilia podcast featured Byrne last summer, and now you can watch an otherworldly animation of her story. She developed what doctors call alien hand syndrome after brain surgery to treat her epileptic seizures. Invisibilia returns March 9. Until then, you catch up on past episodes on the podcast's page here.   Photographer is my life/Getty Images Progress On New Drugs To Prevent Migraines  Despite years of scientific searching, there isn't a drug on the market that stops migraines by targeting their underlying cause. But that could change soon, if the Food and Drug Administration approves new therapies that have the potential to turn migraine treatment on its head, writes Shots contributor Lauren Gravitz. Drugmakers have developed antibody-based medicines that block a key factor in the development of migraines. In clinical tests, the drugs reduced the number of days each month that people suffered from migraines. But the medicines, given as injections, are likely to be expensive, costing anywhere from $8,000 to $18,000 a year. Your Shots editor, Scott Hensley You received this message because you're subscribed to our Health emails. |  Unsubscribe  |  Privacy Policy | NPR 1111 N. CAPITOL ST. NE WASHINGTON DC 20002