Cell transplants could help stroke patients recover Bone marrow cell transplants could aid recovery from stroke, research in rats has shown. The rats given the cell transplants showed "significant improvements" in their ability to function two weeks after a stroke compared to those who did not have a transplant. Stroke experts say the work could one day lead to better treatment for patients. Researchers from Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan, US gave rats adult human stromal cells - mature cells from bone marrow which have already been used in cancer patients. Dr Michael Chopp of Oakland University, who led the research, published in the journal Neurology, said: "These are smart cells that selectively migrate to the site of injury and become little factories producing an array of helpful molecules to repair the tissue. "We believe this therapy shows promise in treating stroke, Parkinson's disease, spinal cord injury and traumatic brain injury." (C) BBC

Keyword: Stroke; Stem Cells
Link ID: 2539 - Posted: 08.27.2002

By CLAUDIA DREIFUS When Dr. J. Allan Hobson, 69, a Harvard psychiatrist and dream researcher, arrived for an interview, he had a notebook filled with his writings, photographs of his extended family and renderings of his summer house in Italy. "This will help introduce me," Dr. Hobson said. "I believe you need to get to know about me quickly," he added, demonstrating an easy informality and perhaps belying the stereotypes about uptight psychiatrists. But then, Dr. Hobson, director of the Laboratory of Neurophysiology at the Massachusetts Mental Health Center, is known as a convention-defying psychiatry rebel. Copyright 2002 The New York Times Company

Keyword: Schizophrenia; Depression
Link ID: 2538 - Posted: 08.27.2002

By RICHARD A. FRIEDMAN, M.D. After six years of twice-weekly psychotherapy sessions, Eric had plenty of insight. But his anxiety level had barely changed. He was still bedeviled by a ceaseless urge to wash his hands and shameful and repetitive violent thoughts. Out of desperation and against the wishes of his therapist, he visited my office to discuss the possibility of medication. "I thought I could understand my way out of my obsessive compulsive disorder," he recalled recently. "I wanted to be able to do it on my own, without medication." What he did not remember was his vehement opposition to psychotropic medication on the ground that it was not natural and would change his brain chemistry. Copyright 2002 The New York Times Company

Keyword: Depression; Schizophrenia
Link ID: 2537 - Posted: 08.27.2002

By MARY DUENWALD Child abduction by strangers, the experts continue to say, is not a growing menace. The number of cases — 115 or so a year, according to the most recent federal statistics — has remained steady. Yet, the crime has been prominent this summer because of a few startling cases. In one, Elizabeth Smart, 14, was reportedly led from her bedroom in Salt Lake City on June 5 and has not been found. On July 15, Samantha Runnion, 5, was pulled screaming from a courtyard near her town home in Stanton, Calif., and abused and murdered. Two 10-year-old friends in Soham, England, disappeared on Aug. 4 and were found dead in the woods two weeks later. Similar atrocities have occurred in recent months in Missouri, Texas, Virginia, Oregon and Wisconsin. What kind of person does such a thing? After studying hundreds of cases, scientists can provide at least a partial answer. The broad population of child molesters, most of whom do not abduct their victims, is too diverse to fit a single psychological profile, but the far smaller group of those who abduct and keep children for sexual abuse share common traits. Copyright 2002 The New York Times Company

Keyword: Aggression; Sexual Behavior
Link ID: 2536 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Undergoing anaesthesia may be more like falling asleep than we once thought, according to new research from Imperial College London and Harvard Medical School, USA. Researchers report today in the journal Nature Neuroscience how two of the most widely used anaesthetics, pentobarbital and propofol induce sleep by mimicking the natural process of falling into a deep sleep. Using behavioural studies and molecular imaging techniques in rats, the team of basic scientists and clinicians found that the sleep-inducing action of anaesthetics is localised to a small area of the brain, the tuberomammillary nucleus (TMN), part of the hypothalamic region that controls other fundamental processes such as breathing and temperature regulation.

Keyword: Sleep
Link ID: 2535 - Posted: 08.27.2002

ANN ARBOR, MI – In a powerful demonstration of how animal research can help humans, a pair of scientific teams is reporting the discovery of defects in a deafness gene in mice that led to the identification of similar genetic defects in people with hearing loss. The findings, published in two new papers, may eventually lead to a screening test and therapy for families affected by one type of inherited hearing loss. The discoveries also bring scientists closer to understanding the intricate choreography of genes and proteins involved in the normal development of human hearing -- and the tiny missteps that can destroy hearing even before a baby is born.

Keyword: Hearing
Link ID: 2534 - Posted: 06.24.2010

A pretty good trick developed by terrestrial adapted toads; blood circulation in the belly’s skin is not solely responsible for absorbing water San Diego, CA -- Most terrestrial amphibians acquire water by absorption across their skin rather than by oral drinking. During periods of rehydration, frogs and toads adopt a posture termed "water absorption response" (WR), thrusting their hindlimbs backwards and pressing the belly surface on to any surface containing water. In many frog and toad species, such as the Bufo breed, a specific area of the belly skin (the seat patch), is used for absorbing water. Even though the seat patch skin only constitutes about ten percent of the total skin area, it is responsible for over 70 percent of the total water uptake by dehydrated toads. The seat patch skin is equipped with an elaborate capillary network. Interrupting capillary perfusion of isolated skin and in living animals results in a washout of salts from the interstitial fluid of the skin, thereby decreasing the osmotic gradient and the osmotic water flow across the skin.

Keyword: Miscellaneous
Link ID: 2533 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Copyright © 2002 AP Online By DREW BENSON, Associated Press LIMA, Peru - Pointing to one of the four natural holes we all carry in our brains, Dr. Diana Rivas explained why some of her patients get headaches only when they move their heads to one side. She suggests the reason is that parasites camped out in the ventricles bump up against the gray matter only some of the time. The brain Rivas showed is one of 2,786 at the Neurological Sciences Institute's brain museum, a resource for generations of Peruvian medical students and a popular stop for foreign physicians since brain collecting began in 1947. Copyright © 2001 Nando Media

Keyword: Miscellaneous
Link ID: 2532 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Copyright © 2002 AP Online The Associated Press WASHINGTON ) - Starting next week, psychiatrists will be able to prescribe an eagerly awaited new anti-depressant called Lexapro. It's being promoted as more potent and possibly safer than older competitors - but there's little evidence that it's much better. Still, Lexapro promises to be a big player in the $12 billion anti-depressant market. So how do patients and doctors choose whether to try it or another of the bewildering array of depression drugs? "You're playing the odds," is the blunt way Dr. Philip Ninan of Emory University puts it: Each anti-depressant comes with a different set of pros and cons, and there's little way to know in advance which will work best for which patient. Copyright © 2001 Nando Media

Keyword: Depression
Link ID: 2531 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Complaints Surface About Stopping Drug By Brian Reid Special to The Washington Post Paxil, the world's best-selling antidepressant, has become the target of growing complaints that stopping the drug causes severe side effects ranging from flu-like symptoms to electric-shock-like sensations in the brain that patients have labeled the "zaps." This marks the first time that one of the new generation of antidepressant medications, often described as non-habit-forming, has been accused of being addictive. The patient complaints, which previously circulated chiefly on electronic bulletin boards and specialized Web sites, became more public last week when a federal judge in California ordered the drug's maker, GlaxoSmithKline, to pull TV ads that boast the drug is "not habit-forming." The judge later put that ruling, which said the ads may have underplayed the drug's possible role in causing withdrawal symptoms, on hold. Both Glaxo and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have challenged the decision, part of a California court case brought on behalf of Paxil users. © 2002 The Washington Post Company

Keyword: Depression
Link ID: 2530 - Posted: 06.24.2010

The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, a component of the National Institutes of Health, today announced five-year grants totaling $20 million for three centers to conduct research on the relationship between exposures to environmental agents and subsequent Parkinson's disease. The announcement was made this morning at the Parkinson's Institute, in Sunnyvale, Calif., where one of the centers will be located. The other centers will be at Emory University, Atlanta, Ga., and the University of California at Los Angeles. NIEHS Director Kenneth Olden, Ph.D., said in announcing the new funding, "Our best chance for finding successful treatments for persons suffering with Parkinson's disease is to understand more about what triggers the disease. Even better, this research may lead to ways to prevent Parkinson's disease in the first place."

Keyword: Parkinsons
Link ID: 2529 - Posted: 08.27.2002

By THE NEW YORK TIMES LENOX, Mass., — Brad Kaus, a piano teacher, watched in awe as Michael Ibbotson performed a sonata he had composed effortlessly in a one-hour lesson at the Belvoir Terrace music camp here. Even more astounding than the speed of the composition was the musical score in front of him: a series of curly scribbles and drawings but not a single note. Like all of his fellow campers, Mr. Ibbotson, 24, of Hudson Falls, N.Y., has Williams syndrome, and like most, he is unusually musical but mentally disabled. Most of the campers still in school are in special education classes. "These amazing kids seem to absorb music, and teaching them is a whole new experience every time," Mr. Kaus said. Copyright 2002 The New York Times Company

Keyword: Development of the Brain; Language
Link ID: 2528 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Weight loss drugs could play a role in protecting obese people from the onset of diabetes, according to a study. It said that those using the drugs alongside diet changes and exercise were 37% less likely to develop type 2 diabetes than those losing weight through lifestyle changes alone. The four-year trial, involving the drug Xenical, included 3,304 patients at 22 centres in Sweden. Type 2 diabetes is the most common form of the disease, with 80% of sufferers overweight. The study, called Xendos (Xenical in the prevention of diabetes in obese subjects), was the first to look at the role of weight loss drugs in controlling diabetes. Government experts, the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (Nice), have previously recommended that extremely obese adults who have already lost at least 2.5 kg by dieting should be prescribed Xenical. (C) BBC

Keyword: Obesity
Link ID: 2527 - Posted: 08.26.2002

A comprehensive examination of how the unique head and snout affects maneuverability and the role of its electrosensory function for seeking food along the ocean floor San Diego, CA -- Why the peculiar head shape of the hammerhead shark developed as it did has been the subject of much speculation. The dorso-ventrally compressed and laterally expanded pre-branchial head is an unmistakable diagnostic feature of the sphyrnid sharks. This unique head shape has been termed the cephalofoil in recognition of its wing-like appearance. The persistence of the sphyrnid cephalofoil over the past 20-25 million years and its presence in several hammerhead shark species of diverse head morphologies tell of its evolutionary success. Several hypotheses are proposed to explain the evolution of the sphyrnid cephalofoil but few have been empirically tested. Some suggest the cephalofoil acts like a canard to provide hydrodynamic lift and increase maneuvering capabilities. Another hypothesis is that the cephalofoil functions in prey manipulation. Other hypotheses involve potential advantages of spacing sensory structures across the surface or at the lateral ends of the cephalofoil.

Keyword: Pain & Touch; Animal Migration
Link ID: 2526 - Posted: 08.26.2002

Early Detection of Alzheimer's Could Lessen the Impact CHICAGO - Incidence of Alzheimer's Disease is expected to increase as the population of elderly grows. Early diagnosis and treatment will be the key to lessening the disease's worst effects, but, how to spot the disease before its symptoms become serious (and harm is already done) is a challenge for health professionals. A new study by psychologists Konstantine K. Zakzanis, Ph.D., and Mark Boulos, B.Sc., of the University of Toronto has determined that the best predictor of future Alzheimer's type dementia is a verbal memory test. Their study will be presented in Chicago at the 110th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association (APA). In a meta-analysis of 31 studies amounting to 1,144 Alzheimer's patients and 6,046 healthy controls, Zakzanis and Boulos looked at both neuropsychological and neuroimaging tests to determine their ability to detect preclinical dementia and/or Alzheimer's disease. They also paired a genetic susceptibility (presence of the ApoE gene) to dementia/Alzheimer's with results on both neuropsychological and neuroanatomic tests again attempting to identify which types of tests would prove most accurate in identifying preclinical disease in patients with the ApoE gene. Specifically, their findings support the use of the California Verbal Learning Test (long delay recall and percent recall) as the best predictor of Alzheimer's type dementia, with executive function type measures also being predictive but less so than both the long and short delay memory tests. © PsycNET 2002 American Psychological Association

Keyword: Alzheimers; Learning & Memory
Link ID: 2525 - Posted: 06.24.2010

By Ed Susman UPI Science News From the Science & Technology Desk CHICAGO, (UPI) -- Painless magnetic waves pulsed across the brain appear to relieve depression as well as the more traumatic and standard electro-convulsive shock therapy, researchers said at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association. Called repetitive trans-cranial magnetic stimulation, the experimental procedure, which consists of a series of 20 treatments over a 2-to-4-week period, dramatically improves the condition of people with severe depression, said Sheila Dowd, associate professor of psychiatry at the University of Illinois at Chicago. "We are really excited by these results," Dowd told United Press International. "I have to admit that we were somewhat skeptical that this procedure would work. We do not know the mechanism of action -- why it works -- but then we really don't know why electro-convulsive therapy works either." Copyright © 2002 United Press International

Keyword: Depression
Link ID: 2524 - Posted: 06.24.2010

COLUMBUS, Ohio - A new survey suggests very few major college athletes suffer from full-blown eating disorders, but slightly more than one in six may exhibit limited symptoms of disordered eating. Results showed that 83 percent of the athletes reported no signs of an eating disorder. Another 15 percent showed some behaviors associated with an eating disorder - such as binge-eating and purging - but not severe enough to be listed as a disorder. The results are mostly good news, but they show that even some elite athletes have eating and body image problems that need to be addressed, said Jennifer Carter, sports psychologist at Ohio State University.

Keyword: Anorexia & Bulimia
Link ID: 2523 - Posted: 08.25.2002

Copyright © 2002 AP Online By ROBERT BURNS, AP Military Writer WASHINGTON - Alarmed by a series of domestic killings and suicides at Fort Bragg, N.C., the Army is sending in a team of health specialists to study a range of possible explanations, officials said Friday. The Army disputed reports that it is focusing mainly on the possibility of a link to use of the anti-malarial drug, Lariam, although officials said this was among the issues to be examined. Lariam was prescribed to troops who fought in Afghanistan. Three of the four soldiers involved in the killings had recently returned from duty there, although the Army will not say how many of them took Lariam. Copyright © 2001 Nando Media

Keyword: Depression; Drug Abuse
Link ID: 2522 - Posted: 06.24.2010

By Kay Harris VALDOSTA -- Epileptic seizures affect 1 percent of the population. People can suffer through seizures for years without even knowing it, and the disorder can be misdiagnosed or mistaken for other ailments. The only way to know for sure if a patient is suffering from epileptic episodes is by hooking them up to an EEG (electroencephalograph) which records the electrical activity of the brain. The results are shown as a graph with multiple lines of waves which a doctor can then use to make a diagnosis. Traditional EEG machines are used in an outpatient setting with the patient brought in and hooked up to multiple electrodes for 40 minutes to an hour. If an episode doesn't occur during the time period, it may be missed, and the patient loses work or school time for the test. ©2001 SGAOnline.com. All rights reserved

Keyword: Epilepsy
Link ID: 2521 - Posted: 06.24.2010

A tiny particle found in the spinal fluid of schizophrenia patients is baffling doctors who cannot work out what it is. The Swedish researcher involved has even suggested it might be "a new form of life", although other experts say this is unlikely. However, it could mean that doctors have a reliable test for schizophrenia. The study, led by experts at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, involved giving 22 schizophrenics, and 38 apparently healthy "control" patients lumbar punctures to get a sample of their cerebrospinal fluid. Tiny spherical particles were found in the fluid from 20 of the 22 schizophrenic patients, but only two out of the 38 controls. The study then focused on trying to work out what the particles actually were. First a simple method of scanning for the presence of DNA - basic genetic code - failed to reveal anything. (C) BBC

Keyword: Schizophrenia
Link ID: 2520 - Posted: 08.24.2002