There is precise communication across brain areas during sleep-By listening in on the chatter between neurons in various parts of the brain, scientists from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have taken steps toward fully understanding just how memories are formed, transferred, and ultimately stored in the brain--and how that process varies throughout the various stages of sleep.
Their findings, reported in the February 26 issue of the journal Neuron, may someday even help researchers........Go to the Neurology news blog (Added on 2/26/2009 6:24:20 AM)
Physical therapy effective for low-back ache A new review article reported in the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons should help convince a number of patients with low back pain to consider physical treatment as a first line of therapy for their condition, as per the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA). The review, published in February 2009, recommends that in most cases of symptomatic lumbar degenerative disc disease, a common cause of low back pain (LBP),........Go to the Rheumatology news blog (Added on 2/26/2009 6:20:59 AM)
The genes you inherit and your risk of strokeA new statistical model could be used to predict an individual's lifetime risk of stroke, finds a study from the Children's Hospital Informatics Program (CHIP). Using genetic information from 569 hospital patients, the scientists showed that their predictive model could estimate an individual's overall risk of cardioembolic stroke -- the most common form of stroke -- with 86 percent accuracy. The findings are published in the recent issue of........Go to the Neurology news blog (Added on 2/26/2009 6:11:59 AM)
Goserelin improves survival in breast cancerGoserelin, a lutenizing hormone-releasing hormone agonist, reduces the long-term risk of disease recurrence and deaths in premenopausal women with early breast cancer who did not take tamoxifen, as per trial data published in the February 24 online issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
Systematic reviews have shown that lutenizing hormone-releasing hormone agonists, including goserelin, reduce the risk of disease recurrence........Go to the Breast-cancer-blog (Added on 2/25/2009 6:25:42 AM)
Yoga benefits breast cancer patientsWomen undertaking a ten week program of 75 minute Restorative Yoga (RY) classes gained positive differences in aspects of mental health such as depression, positive emotions, and spirituality (feeling calm/peaceful) in comparison to the control group. The study, published recently in a special issue of Psycho-Oncology focusing on physical activity, shows the women had a 50% reduction in depression and a 12% increase in feelings of peace and........Go to the Breast-cancer-blog (Added on 2/25/2009 6:21:06 AM)
Diabetes can lead to postpartum depressionBOSTON, Mass. (Feb 23, 2009) Postpartum depression is a seriousand often undiagnosedcondition affecting about 10 to 12 percent of new mothers. Some of the causes might include personal history of depression, stressful life events, and lack of social, financial or emotional support. Left untreated, it can have lasting negative effects not only on the mother but on her child's development.
In the first study of its kind, researchers at........Go to the Psychology news blog (Added on 2/25/2009 6:19:26 AM)
Determining Risk for Pancreatic CancerIn the latest clinical trial for a technique to detect pancreas cancer, scientists found they could differentiate cells that are malignant from those that are benign, pre-malignant, or even early stage indicators called mucinous cystic lesions.
Pancreas cancer is dangerous to screen for, yet deadly if ignored. The pancreas is extremely sensitive--biopsies can lead to potentially fatal complications--but with few symptoms, the cancer is........Go to the Pancreatic cancer blog (Added on 2/25/2009 4:55:24 AM)
Drug could help drinkers stay soberA drug prescribed for male and female infertility and menstrual disorders could hold the key to a more effective therapy for alcoholism, as per a research studyby scientists at the UCSF-affiliated Ernest Gallo Clinic and Research Center.
The study showed that "alcoholic" rodents, when injected with the drug cabergoline, decreased their alcohol consumption and alcohol-seeking behavior and were less likely to relapse.
Cabergoline, which is........Go to the Research news blog (Added on 2/23/2009 10:08:07 PM)
Enzymatic Activity and Alzheimer's Disease(Mainz, Gera number of, 23 February 2009) In a project involving the collaboration of several institutes, research researchers of the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz have succeeded in gaining further insight in the functioning of endogenous mechanisms that protect against the development of Alzheimer's disease. It was observed that the activity of the enzyme α-secretase is mainly responsible for the protective effect.
"In the........Go to the Neurology news blog (Added on 2/23/2009 10:02:58 PM)
Number of fast-food restaurants and stroke riskThe risk of stroke increases with the number of fast-food restaurants in a neighborhood, as per research presented at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference 2009.
After statistically controlling for demographic and socioeconomic factors, scientists found:
Residents of neighborhoods with the highest number of fast-food restaurants had a 13 percent higher relative risk of suffering ischemic strokes than those........Go to the Society medical news blog (Added on 2/20/2009 6:24:53 AM)
Breast feeding may reduce multiple sclerosis relapsesWomen who have multiple sclerosis may reduce their risk of relapses after pregnancy if they breastfeed their babies, as per a research studyreleased recently that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 61st Annual Meeting in Seattle, April 25 to May 2, 2009.
For the study, scientists followed 32 pregnant women with MS and 29 pregnant women without MS during each trimester and up to a year after they gave birth. The women........Go to the Society medical news blog (Added on 2/20/2009 6:22:10 AM)
What to do with those aspirin induced stomach ulcer?The occurence rate of low-dose aspirin-induced peptic ulcer seems to be increasing in Japan in conjunction with the increasing proportion of elderly individuals, in whom metabolic syndrome frequently develops. However, a therapeutic and prevention strategy for such peptic ulcers has still not been established.
A research team led by Dr. Satoshi Mochida from Japan addressed this question. Their study will be published on February 14, 2009 in........Go to the GI news blog (Added on 2/20/2009 6:13:36 AM)
PSA testing for older menCertain men age 75 to 80 are unlikely to benefit from routine prostate specific antigen (PSA) testing, as per a Johns Hopkins study reported in the April 2009 issue of The Journal of Urology
The scientists observed that men in this age group with PSA levels less than 3 nanograms per milliliter are unlikely to die of or experience aggressive prostate cancer during their remaining life, suggesting that the use of PSA testing in a number of........Go to the Prostate-cancer-blog (Added on 2/20/2009 6:04:32 AM)
Global warming and respiratory problemsHigh summer temperatures, pushed higher by global climate change, may bring with them a spike in hospitalizations for respiratory problems, as per an analysis of data from twelve European cities, from Dublin to Valencia. The data comes from the "Evaluation and Prevention of Acute Health Effects of Weather Conditions in Europe" (PHEWE), a multi-center, three-year collaboration between epidemiologists, meteorologists and experts in public health........Go to the Lung news blog (Added on 2/20/2009 6:00:02 AM)
Brain cancers linked to gene mutationsResearchers at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center and Duke University Medical Center have linked mutations in two genes, IDH1 and IDH2, to nearly three-quarters of several of the most common types of brain cancers known as gliomas. Among the findings: people with certain tumors that carry these genetic alterations appear to survive at least twice as long as those without them.
Further research on the genes could also lead to more........Go to the Cancer-blog (Added on 2/19/2009 6:18:18 AM)
Improving memory in Alzheimer's patientsA drug used in a type of hereditary metabolic disorder improved the memory of laboratory animals with Alzheimer's disease. The results of the project, developed by scientists of the Center for Applied Medical Research (CIMA) of the University of Navarra have been reported in the journal Neuropsychopharmacology.
The research project showed that the drug sodium phenylbutyrate, prescribed until now for patients with alterations in the urea........Go to the Neurology news blog (Added on 2/19/2009 6:01:17 AM)
Medication used for blood pressure control may be useful in brain tumorsA widely used blood pressure medicine appears to be the key to preventing brain function loss common after radiation therapy, as per a newly published study by scientists at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center. The findings offer the hope of an improved quality of life for cancer patients.
Using a rat model, the study drew on a hypothesis from prior studies that a compound similar to the anti-hypertensive drug losartan can prevent........Go to the Neurology news blog (Added on 2/19/2009 5:58:36 AM)
Cancer survivors more likely to be unemployedAn analysis of prior studies finds an association between being a cancer survivor and being unemployed, in comparison to healthy individuals, particularly for survivors of breast and gastrointestinal cancers, as per an article in the February 18 issue of JAMA
Long-term medical and psychological effects of cancer or its therapy may cause impairments that effect social functioning, including the obtainment or retention of employment. Almost........Go to the Cancer-blog (Added on 2/18/2009 6:23:07 AM)
Predicting recurrence in colorectal cancer(PHILADELPHIA) Findings reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association by scientists at Thomas Jefferson University show that the presence of a biomarker in regional lymph nodes is an independent predictor of disease recurrence in patients with colorectal cancer.
Detection of the biomarker, guanylyl cyclase 2C (GUCY2C), indicates the presence of occult metastases in lymph nodes that may not have been identified by current cancer........Go to the Colon-cancer-blog (Added on 2/18/2009 6:15:29 AM)
Iron overload in alcoholicsAlcohol and iron are believed to have a synergistic effect in the development of liver injury. Furthermore, alcohol enhances iron absorption. Primary hemochromatosis is a genetic disorder, mostly resulting from mutations in the HFE gene, with a disturbance in the iron metabolism which leads to iron accumulation that may eventually result in liver disease. However, data regarding an association between iron metabolism, HFE mutations and........Go to the Cancer-blog (Added on 2/18/2009 6:08:03 AM)
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New piece in Alzheimer's puzzleYale scientists have filled in a missing gap on the molecular road map of Alzheimer's disease.
In the Feb. 26 issue of the journal Nature, the Yale team reports that cellular prion proteins trigger the process by which amyloid-beta peptides block brain function in Alzheimer's patients.
"It has been a black box," said Stephen M. Strittmatter, senior author of the study and the Vincent Coates Professor of Neurology and director of Cellular........Go to the Neurology news blog (Added on 2/26/2009 6:26:05 AM)
Your location and availability of healthy foodThe availability of healthy food choices and your quality of diet is linked to where you live, as per two studies conducted by scientists at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Scientists examined healthy food availability and diet quality among Baltimore City and Baltimore County, Md., residents and observed that availability of healthy foods was linked to quality of diet and 46 percent of lower-income neighborhoods had a low........Go to the Weight watcher's blog (Added on 2/26/2009 6:15:24 AM)
Retinal "Dark Cells" ImaginedA layer of "dark cells" in the retina that is responsible for maintaining the health of the light-sensing cells in our eyes has been imaged in a living retina for the first time.
The ability to see this nearly invisible layer could help doctors identify the onset of a number of diseases of the eye long before a patient notices symptoms. The findings are reported today's issue of Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science.
"Our goal is........Go to the Ophthalmology news blog (Added on 2/26/2009 6:07:09 AM)
Smoking and socioeconomic inequities in lung cancerEuropeans with the least education have a higher occurence rate of lung cancer compared with those with the highest education. However, smoking history accounts for approximately half of this risk, as per a research studyin the February 24 online issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
Prior studies showed that individuals with a lower socioeconomic status have a higher risk for developing lung cancer. Some studies have also........Go to the Lung-cancer-blog (Added on 2/25/2009 6:27:30 AM)
Stress among vetsVeterinarians frequently suffer psychosocial stress and demoralization linked to heavy workloads. Research published in BioMed Central's open access Journal of Occupational Medicine and Toxicology analyses the extent of the problem and reveals a complex relationship with binge drinking, tobacco consumption and drug use.
A team of scientists co-ordinated by Melanie Harling, from the Institution for Statutory Accident Insurance and Prevention........Go to the Psychology news blog (Added on 2/25/2009 6:22:25 AM)
An angry heart can lead to sudden deathBefore flying off the handle the next time someone cuts you off in traffic, consider the latest research from Yale School of Medicine scientists that links changes brought on by anger or other strong emotions to future arrhythmias and sudden cardiac arrests, which are blamed for 400,000 deaths annually.
The studyled by Rachel Lampert, M.D., associate professor of medicine at Yale School of Medicine, and reported in the Journal of the........Go to the Heart-watch-blog (Added on 2/25/2009 6:17:20 AM)
Do experiences or material goods make us happier?Should I spend money on a vacation or a new computer? Will an experience or an object make me happier? A newly released study in the Journal of Consumer Research says it depends on different factors, including how materialistic you are.
Even though conventional wisdom says choose the vacation, authors Leonardo Nicolao, Julie R. Irwin (both University of Texas at Austin), and Joseph K. Goodman (Washington University, St. Louis) say the answer........Go to the Psychology news blog (Added on 2/24/2009 6:13:31 AM)
Are women more generous?Why would women give more to the victims of Hurricane Katrina than to the victims of the Indian Ocean tsunami? A newly released study in the Journal of Consumer Research sheds light onto the way gender and moral identity affect donations.
Authors Karen Page Winterich (Texas A&M University), Vikas Mittal (Rice University), and William T. Ross, Jr. (Pennsylvania State University) focused their research on how people choose among charities.........Go to the Society medical news blog (Added on 2/23/2009 10:11:42 PM)
Who has greater risk after a mini-stroke?That first "mini-stroke" appears to be more of a non-malignant event for women than men, as per scientists at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) and Yale University. The findings underscore the need to continue researching gender differences in disease prevention and follow-up care.
Data show 30 days after a transient ischemic attack (TIA), women are 30 percent less likely to have a stroke, 14 percent less likely to have........Go to the Neurology news blog (Added on 2/23/2009 10:05:48 PM)
Breakthrough in HPV researchScientists have developed a new, inexpensive and efficient method for producing and studying a type of human papillomavirus (HPV) that causes cervical cancer. The process could speed understanding of how the virus functions and causes diseases, and lead to new prevention or therapy options.
In findings reported on-line and in print in January in Genes & Development, the UAB team detailed a process for producing HPV-18 in the laboratory.........Go to the Infectious disease blog (Added on 2/23/2009 10:00:04 PM)
Bacteria with burglar's toolsBacteria that cause urinary tract infections (UTIs) make more tools for stealing from their host than friendly versions of the same bacteria found in the gut, scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the University of Washington have found.
The tools, compounds called siderophores, allow the bad bacteria to steal iron from their hosts, making it easier for the bacteria to survive and reproduce. But they also........Go to the Infectious disease blog (Added on 2/20/2009 6:18:05 AM)
Molecular target esophageal cancerThe cadherin superfamily has a correlate relationship with the invasion and metastasis of carcinoma. It has been suggested that, unlike E-cadherin, N-cadherin may promote motility and invasion in carcinoma cells. To explore clinical pathological significance of E-cadherin and N-cadherin expressions in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), a research team led by Prof. Qing-Xia Fan from China detected the expression of E-cadherin and........Go to the Esophageal cancer blog (Added on 2/20/2009 6:15:48 AM)
Alleviating your child's fears of dental visitFor a number of children, a trip to the doctor or dentist is a stressful experience. The sensory environment (i.e., the sounds, smells, and lights linked to the clinical setting) can cause a child's anxiety levels to rise. This is particularly true in children with developmental disabilities who may have difficulty understanding the unfamiliar clinical environment. A newly released study soon to be........Go to the Pediatric news blog (Added on 2/20/2009 6:09:54 AM)
Source of germsThe recent salmonella outbreak associated with 575 illnesses and eight deaths across 43 states was shown to come from a dirty peanut processing plant in Georgia. And while it is essential for food processing plants to be clean and sanitary, Temple public health professor Jennifer Ibrahim, Ph.D., says officials need to consider other possible sources of illness.
"Right now, all of the focus is on the state of the peanut processing plant, but........Go to the Infectious disease blog (Added on 2/20/2009 5:58:05 AM)
Genetics comes to help in anticoagulant dosingEach year in the United States, doctors start about 2 million patients on warfarin (Coumadin), an anticoagulant drug that's notoriously hard to administer. Now a study from the International Warfarin Pharmacogenetics Consortium (IWPC), which includes scientists from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, confirms that using a patient's genetic information can make it easier to get the warfarin dose right.
"If the warfarin........Go to the Research news blog (Added on 2/19/2009 6:06:48 AM)
Samples from underwater nuclear bomb target reveal cancer linkDuring a research trip to Puerto Rico, ecologist James Porter took samples from underwater nuclear bomb target USS Killen, expecting to find evidence of radioactive matter instead he found a link to cancer. Data revealed that the closer corals and marine life were to unexploded bombs from the World War II vessel and the surrounding target range, the higher the rates of carcinogenic materials.
"Unexploded bombs are in the ocean for a variety........Go to the Cancer-blog (Added on 2/19/2009 6:04:13 AM)
Using your brain more may prevent memory lossParticipating in certain mental activities, like reading magazines or crafting in middle age or during the later part of life, may delay or prevent memory loss, as per a research studyreleased recently that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 61st Annual Meeting in Seattle, April 25 to May 2, 2009.
The study involved 197 people between the ages of 70 and 89 with mild cognitive impairment, or diagnosed memory loss, and........Go to the Neurology news blog (Added on 2/18/2009 6:25:12 AM)
Why do you experience fatigue with inflammatory disease?people feel so tired and listless. Eventhough the brain is commonly isolated from the immune system, the study suggests that certain behavioral changes suffered by those with chronic inflammatory diseases are caused by the infiltration of immune cells into the brain. The findings suggest possible new therapy avenues to improve patients' quality of life.
Chronic inflammatory diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease,........Go to the Research news blog (Added on 2/18/2009 6:18:32 AM)
Benefits of eating eggThe Nutrition Today review analyzes more than 25 protein studies and concludes that the all-natural, high-quality protein in eggs contributes to strength, power and energy in the following ways:
Sustained energy: The protein in eggs provides steady and sustained energy because it does not cause a surge in blood sugar or insulin levels, which can lead to a rebound effect or energy "crash" as levels drop. Eggs are a nutrient-rich source of........Go to the Weight watcher's blog (Added on 2/18/2009 6:13:32 AM)
What would be the right way to cope with tragedy?After a collective trauma, such as Thursday's crash of Continental Flight 3407, an entire community (or even the nation) can be exposed to the tragedy through media coverage and second-hand accounts, as per Mark Seery, Ph.D., University at Buffalo assistant professor of psychology.
"Individuals potentially suffer negative effects on their mental and physical health, even if they have not 'directly' experienced the loss of someone they know........Go to the Psychology news blog (Added on 2/18/2009 6:11:04 AM)
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