Editor’s note: This article originally appeared in the Spring 2013 University of Minnesota Medical School magazine, Medical Bulletin. The complete article can be found here.

On a chilly Minnesota evening last December, 16-year-old Tiffany Cowan sat uncomplainingly in Room 242 of the University of Minnesota’s Masonic Memorial Building as two graduate students from the University’s Brain Plasticity Laboratory carefully attached a series of wires to her scalp and right arm.

Cowan, with the consent of her parents, had volunteered to participate in one of the lab’s studies, which was examining the safety of using transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) as a treatment for children with congenital stroke. tDCS is a type of painless, noninvasive brain stimulation that delivers a low (battery-powered) and persistent current to specific areas of the brain through small electrodes. Experimental studies have suggested that it may help adult stroke victims regain some function of their limbs. This is among the first to investigate whether it may help children, too.

Older Americans dealing with high levels of psychosocial distress are at higher risk for stroke according to new research led by Susan Everson-Rose, Ph.D., M.P.H., associate director of the Program in Health Disparities Research at the University of Minnesota.

The study, published in the American Heart Association journal Stroke, followed more than 4,000 people aged 65 and over who were participants in the Chicago Health and Aging Project.

To arrive at their results, researchers identified 151 deaths from stroke and 452 events that led to first-time hospitalization as a result of a stroke. Researchers found that those with the most psychosocial distress had three times the risk of death from stroke and a 54 percent increased risk of first hospitalization compared to those least distressed.  Furthermore, the risk of distress climbed with age.

We’re talking cats here.

People love their pets. Some people love their pets to an almost excessive amount. But when you consider the fact that owning a pet can add years to your life, a cat can quickly seem like a smart investment.

According to a study that followed more than 4,000 cat owners, led by executive director of the Minnesota Stroke Institute at the University of Minnesota, Adnan Qureshi, M.D., the presence of cats results in a significantly lower risk of death by heart attack or stroke.

Cat owners “appeared to have a lower rate of dying from heart attacks” over 10 years of follow-up compared to feline-free folk, Qureshi said in an interview with U.S. News.

The 30 percent reduction in heart attack risk “was a little bit surprising,” he added. “We certainly expected an effect, because we thought that there was a biologically plausible mechanism at work. But the magnitude of the effect was hard to predict.”

This may not come as a surprise to cat owners who have experienced the unconditional love a feline companion can offer, but, cats, by nature, can alleviate stress and anxiety, which has the potential to reduce the risk of heart attack.

Although this type of companionship can potentially help you live longer, it does have a serious risk of cute overload.

Dr. Bernadette Gillick was recently awarded a variety of grants to fund her upcoming study on the use of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation in Pediatric Hemiparesis, a form of non-invasive brain stimulation for children that can help combat damage to the brain’s nerve endings caused by stroke.