According to new research from Northeastern University pharmacy professor Richard Deth and colleagues from the University of Nebraska, Tufts, and Johns Hopkins University, there is an apparent link between exposure to certain neurodevelopmental toxins and an increased possibility of developing neurological disorders including autism and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. The research – the first to offer an explanation for possible causes of two increasingly common childhood neurological disorders – will be published in the April 2004 issue of the journal Molecular Psychiatry, and earlier as advance online publication. Though some speculation exists regarding this link, Deth and his colleagues found that exposure to toxins, such as ethanol and heavy metals (including lead, aluminum and the ethylmercury-containing preservative thimerosal) potently interrupt growth factor signaling, causing adverse effects on methylation reactions (i.e. the transfer of carbon atoms). Methylation, in turn, plays a significant role in regulating normal DNA function and gene expression, and is critical to proper neurological development in infants and children. Scientists and practitioners have identified an increase in diagnoses of autism and ADHD in particular, though the reasons why are largely unknown.

Keyword: ADHD; Autism
Link ID: 4918 - Posted: 06.24.2010

By LEE BOWMAN Scientists have found a reason why some people never seem to get warm while others never seem to feel the cold: some nerve cell receptors deep in the body are stimulated by signals other than temperature. These cells never come in contact with environmental signals like those near the skin but are studded with receptors that appear to get sensory input from hormones, proteins and other biochemical compounds within the body. The findings, published last month in the Journal of Neuroscience by researchers at the University of Florida, advance the understanding of why menopause, depression and fevers sometimes cause chills along with feeling overheated. Copyright 2004,

Keyword: Pain & Touch
Link ID: 4917 - Posted: 02.05.2004

By MARY DUENWALD With every step, Richard M. Cohen hitches to the left, bracing himself against his wooden cane. It is a rather long cane, as it has to support a man who is 6 feet 2. His uneven gait, caused by a feeble right leg, is only his most obvious symptom of multiple sclerosis. There are many others, accumulated during 30 years of living with the disease. Mr. Cohen's right arm hangs motionless. Like his leg, it is not fully paralyzed, but it has lost enough feeling to be useless, as he puts it. Both limbs have lost their ability to function as the insulating layer of myelin that surrounds certain nerves in his brain and spinal column has disintegrated. "Picture an old-fashioned switchboard," Mr. Cohen said. "Insulation peels off the wires, and it short-circuits the system." Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company

Keyword: Multiple Sclerosis
Link ID: 4916 - Posted: 02.04.2004

Twenty-five per cent of females between the ages of 16 to 19 will experience an episode of major depression and smokers are more likely to become depressed, according to a unique study led by a University of Alberta researcher. Dr. Nancy Galambos, from the U of A's Department of Psychology, conducted a rare long-term study, national study that examined more than 1300 teenagers between 12 and 19 years over a four-year period. The research team, also made up of the U of A's Erin Barker and Bonnie Leadbeater, from the University of Victoria, investigated the differences between male and female teens in risk factors for depressive symptoms and major depressive episodes (MDEs). The research was recently published in the International Journal of Behavioral Development. The most surprising finding of the study was the high number--25 percent--of older female teens who experienced major depression. "Across the four-year period the numbers for females were typically twice as high as for males," said Galambos. "This is a substantial number of young Canadian women who should be identified as depressed and treated."

Keyword: Depression
Link ID: 4915 - Posted: 02.04.2004

By Jamie Talan Scientists have new evidence that the normal version of a rogue prion protein is key to unleashing its "evil twin," the prion that causes mad cow disease in animals and its human version, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. "The prion protein has a Jekyll-and-Hyde personality," said Anthony Williamson, an associate professor at the Scripps Institute in La Jolla, Calif. Williamson and his colleagues discovered that the abnormal form, called PrPsc, can't destroy the brain without another signal. And that signal, according to a study in Science, is delivered by the normal prion protein, or PrPc. Until now, this process has been a mystery. Copyright © Newsday, Inc.

Keyword: Prions
Link ID: 4914 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Panel urges sterner FDA warnings on children's suicide risks Rob Waters, Special to The Chronicle Bethesda, Md. -- After a day of anguished testimony from concerned parents, a government advisory committee Monday called on the Food and Drug Administration to issue stronger warnings about the possible dangers, including suicidal behavior, to children being prescribed antidepressant drugs. While taking no position on whether antidepressants cause such behavior, advisers to the FDA said that both parents and doctors should be advised of possible serious adverse side effects while the government continues to investigate the controversial issue. "We want to put a speed bump in the road," said panel chair Dr. Matthew Rudorfer of the National Institute of Mental Health. "The warnings as they exist in the current labeling are not adequate or are not being taken seriously." ©2004 San Francisco Chronicle

Keyword: Depression; Development of the Brain
Link ID: 4913 - Posted: 06.24.2010

By Jonathan Rowe and Gary Ruskin, AlterNet The Bush Administration has a problem with personal responsibility. They make a big deal about it for nearly everyone – except themselves and the corporate big shots who finance their campaigns. A case in point is the recent World Health Organization's proposal to combat the spread of obesity, diabetes and related illnesses throughout the world. The WHO proposal – called officially the Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health – would encourage governments to adopt a number of common-sense steps, from better food labeling and limits on junk food advertising to the promotion of healthful diets with more fruits and vegetables, and less sugar. It also urges governments to make sure that schools promote such diets, not junk food and soda pop. Hardly radical stuff, and long overdue. WHO's own studies show that unhealthful diets and physical inactivity have become the leading causes of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and some types of cancer throughout the world. © 2003 Independent Media Institute.

Keyword: Pain & Touch
Link ID: 4912 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Under the microscope, it's hard to tell brain cells apart. But appearances can be deceiving. Scientists have found that, in fruit flies, a gene called Dscam comes in 38,000 flavors, enough to endow specific groups of neurons, even individual cells, with a unique identity. Dscam, which stands for Down syndrome cell adhesion molecule, likely helps guide the developing connections between cells early in life. Like many genes, Dscam consists of protein-coding regions called exons interspersed with noncoding regions. Scientists have generally assumed that one gene codes for one protein. But parts of each of four exons in Dscam can become active separately, at different times--a process called alternative splicing. Each combination creates a different protein. In humans, Dscam plays a role in the developing heart, but the gene lacks the incredible variability seen in insects and so its exact role in setting up the nervous system is unclear. Copyright © 2004 by the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Keyword: Development of the Brain; Genes & Behavior
Link ID: 4911 - Posted: 06.24.2010

A new portable system for analyzing the walking patterns of people with Parkinson's disease has been developed by researchers in the US and Japan. The system, described in the Institute of Physics publication Journal of Neural Engineering, will help doctors monitor the progress of the disease in patients and so tailor their therapy and drug regime more accurately than previously possible. Parkinson's disease is a progressive disorder of the central nervous system. Its symptoms include: uncontrollable trembling, difficulty walking, and postural problems that often lead to falls. These symptoms are usually controlled with dopamine agonist drugs. However, these can have a number of side-effects, such as jerking movements. It is also known that the body builds up a tolerance to the drug. Understanding the nature and severity of symptoms for individual patients, which is reflected in their walking pattern, could help doctors improve a patient's quality of life, by guiding their treatment more effectively, and so reduce side-effects.

Keyword: Parkinsons
Link ID: 4910 - Posted: 02.03.2004

A documentary film proves that laboratory rats can still survive in the wild. MARK PEPLOW An award-winning film has created some unusual stars: lab rats. The documentary, which follows 75 lab rats after they were released into an Oxfordshire farmyard, has surprised biomedical researchers by proving that lab rats quickly recover their wild behaviour once liberated. Manuel Berdoy, an animal behaviourist from Oxford University, didn’t set out to make a documentary. He was simply curious about whether lab rats retain some of their wild instincts. So he took 75 docile rats that had spent their lives in the laboratory and released them into the wild. Berdoy expected the rats to cope with their new conditions, but he was impressed by how quickly they adapted. The rats found water, food and hiding holes almost immediately. They started to establish social hierarchies within days, and it was only a few weeks before they had established an extensive pattern of paths across the colony. Although the rats had spent their whole lives being fed on pellets, the females immediately prepared for pregnancy by foraging and storing appropriate food. © Nature News Service / Macmillan Magazines Ltd 2004

Keyword: Animal Rights
Link ID: 4909 - Posted: 06.24.2010

We can be tricked into trusting our ears over our eyes. LAURA NELSON Ventriloquists should be jealous. Scientists have explained their trick in detail, and have managed to produce the reverse effect - where people are tricked into believing their ears over their eyes1. Researchers have long known that people place different amounts of faith in their different senses. This is exploited by ventriloquists, who fool us into thinking sound is coming from someplace it isn't by relying on the fact that people use their vision more heavily than their hearing to locate the source of a sound. This is because the eye's retina is very sensitive to the direction of light that hits it, while the ear isn't so sensitive to the direction of a noise. "The cinema is the classic ventriloquist effect," says David Burr at the University of Florence in Italy, who co-authored the study. We assume the voices are coming from the actors on the screen, he explains, instead of from the loudspeaker somewhere else in the room. © Nature News Service / Macmillan Magazines Ltd 2004

Keyword: Hearing; Vision
Link ID: 4908 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Some Data Link Use of Antidepressants, Suicidal Thoughts By Shankar Vedantam, Washington Post Staff Writer A government panel of doctors will meet today to weigh disturbing but ambiguous evidence that widely used antidepressants may make some children suicidal, concerns that peaked in December when British authorities warned doctors not to prescribe the drugs to children. Clinical trials conducted by the drug industry in recent years have produced a steady drumbeat of data suggesting that suicidal thoughts and behavior are slightly more likely to develop in depressed children who take antidepressants such as Paxil, Zoloft and Effexor than in children who get dummy pills, according to several scientists who have analyzed many of the studies. The Food and Drug Administration, after concluding that the numbers in each trial were too small to settle the question, has mounted its own detailed review of the studies and convened the expert panel to advise it on how to evaluate the data. © 2004 The Washington Post Company

Keyword: Depression; Development of the Brain
Link ID: 4907 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Some Data Link Use of Antidepressants, Suicidal Thoughts By Shankar Vedantam, Washington Post Staff Writer A government panel of doctors will meet today to weigh disturbing but ambiguous evidence that widely used antidepressants may make some children suicidal, concerns that peaked in December when British authorities warned doctors not to prescribe the drugs to children. Clinical trials conducted by the drug industry in recent years have produced a steady drumbeat of data suggesting that suicidal thoughts and behavior are slightly more likely to develop in depressed children who take antidepressants such as Paxil, Zoloft and Effexor than in children who get dummy pills, according to several scientists who have analyzed many of the studies. The Food and Drug Administration, after concluding that the numbers in each trial were too small to settle the question, has mounted its own detailed review of the studies and convened the expert panel to advise it on how to evaluate the data. © 2004 The Washington Post Company

Keyword: Depression; Development of the Brain
Link ID: 4906 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Some eye diseases can trigger serious sleep disorders, a study by doctors in the United States suggests. They say people with damage to their optic nerve, which connects the eye to the brain, can have problems sleeping. They can have difficulty falling asleep and can wake up at strange times. They can also be sleepy during the day and suffer from insomnia at night. Writing in the journal Ophthalmology, they say the findings highlight the need to treat these patients early. Dr Russell van Gelder and colleagues at Washington University Medical School in St Louis studied 25 visually impaired young people between the ages of 12 and 20. Half had optic nerve damage while the remainder had other eyesight problems. (C) BBC

Keyword: Vision; Sleep
Link ID: 4905 - Posted: 02.02.2004

Genetic analyses should take into account cause of death. HELEN PEARSON Researchers have opened a window into the state of the human brain at the moment a person dies. The findings call into question previous reports based on brain autopsy tissue. Richard Myers of Stanford University in California and his colleagues found that a coma patient fires up a different set of genes in the brain than one who dies quickly from a heart attack. The group stumbled on the discovery when studying preserved human brain tissue. Using a chip carrying thousands of genes, the researchers analysed which ones are active in the brains of 40 people with depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia or none of these. They were searching for genes that were activated abnormally and therefore might underlie the disorders. © Nature News Service / Macmillan Magazines Ltd 2003

Keyword: Genes & Behavior
Link ID: 4904 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Sheep study spies on what a fetus can hear. MICHAEL HOPKIN A team of US researchers has made an inventive attempt to discover how much an unborn baby can hear in the womb — by making recordings from the inner ear of a fetal sheep. They found that low frequencies reach the womb with ease, whereas higher-pitched sounds are more muffled. This implies that vowel sounds — the 'melody' of speech — reach the fetus's ears, says Ken Gerhardt of the University of Florida, who led the study. But consonants, which are spat out at higher frequencies, are obscured. "A fetus would hear the low notes on a piano but probably not the higher ones," Gerhardt says. The researchers made the recordings by removing a sheep fetus from the womb and inserting tiny electrodes into its inner ear. The implants picked up the electrical signals generated in the ear in response to sound. The team then returned the fetus to the womb and played it human speech through a loudspeaker next to its mother's body. © Nature News Service / Macmillan Magazines Ltd 2003

Keyword: Hearing; Development of the Brain
Link ID: 4903 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Washington, D.C. – Children with cerebral palsy who are severely impaired showed significant improvement in their motor skills using a new experimental physical therapy regimen, said researchers at Georgetown University and University of Alabama at Birmingham. The study – the first randomized, controlled trial of its kind conducted on children – appears in the February 2 issue of the journal Pediatrics. All treated children in this study outperformed the children in conventional therapy across all measures of success, including how well they could move their arms post-therapy and their ability to do new tasks during research and at home with their families. Children with cerebral palsy (CP) exhibit an inability to control their muscles as a result of damage to the region of the brain that controls muscle tone. The result often renders children unable to perform seemingly simple everyday tasks such as picking up a cup, eating finger foods or reaching to be picked up by a parent. Conventional physical therapy interventions have done little to improve motor skills or overall quality of life for children, which led researchers to explore other more intensive and innovative therapies.

Keyword: Development of the Brain; Movement Disorders
Link ID: 4902 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Robin McKie and Mark Townsend Sweeping new powers against animal rights activists are being prepared by Home Secretary David Blunkett. New legislation would make it an imprisonable offence to intimidate scientists involved in animal research, and prevent large groups gathering outside laboratories. A national police unit dedicated to tackling animal terrorism could be set up. The decision follows last week's announcement that Cambridge University has abandoned construction of its proposed Primate Research Centre. The laboratory, where scientists would have carried out research on Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and other brain diseases, was ditched because the costs of protecting buildings and staff from activists protesting about the use of primates in experiments had begun to spiral out of control. The laboratory's price tag had already risen from £24 million to £32 million and was expected to increase even more as security estimates soared. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2004

Keyword: Animal Rights
Link ID: 4901 - Posted: 06.24.2010

By REUTERS WASHINGTON, — American Indians and Alaska natives are more likely to smoke than any other group in the United States, with 40 percent of adults defined as smokers, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said this week. People of Chinese descent were the least likely to smoke, with just 12 percent reporting that they had smoked a cigarette in the past month, said the agency survey, which was released on Thursday. The survey of 74,000 youths ages 12 to 17 and 133,000 adults is the agency's first detailed statistical breakdown by ethnicity of who smokes and who does not, said a spokesman, Joel London. Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company

Keyword: Dyslexia
Link ID: 4900 - Posted: 06.24.2010

By MELODY PETERSEN THE drug industry has created vast markets for products like Viagra, Celebrex and Vioxx by spending billions of dollars on consumer advertising. But to sell medicines that treat schizophrenia, the companies focus on a much smaller group of customers: state officials who oversee treatment for many people with serious mental illness. Those patients - in mental hospitals, at mental health clinics and on Medicaid - make states among the largest buyers of antipsychotic drugs. For Big Pharma, success in the halls of government has required a different set of marketing tactics. Since the mid-1990's, a group of drug companies, led by Johnson & Johnson, has campaigned to convince state officials that a new generation of drugs - with names like Risperdal, Zyprexa and Seroquel - is superior to older and much cheaper antipsychotics like Haldol. The campaign has led a dozen states to adopt guidelines for treating schizophrenia that make it hard for doctors to prescribe anything but the new drugs. That, in turn, has helped transform the new medicines into blockbusters. Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company

Keyword: Schizophrenia
Link ID: 4899 - Posted: 02.01.2004