* Prior research indicates that the brain's response to alcohol is related to a genetic risk for alcoholism. * New research examines high-velocity eye movements, called saccades, in individuals with and without a family history of alcoholism. * Those with a family history of alcoholism have slightly but consistently slower saccadic eye movement than those without a history, yet appear to "adapt" more quickly to continued alcohol exposure. Genetic factors play a key role in the development of alcoholism. A family history of alcoholism does not, however, guarantee that individual offspring will develop the disease. In an effort to discover identifying "markers" of those at risk for alcoholism, researchers in the October issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research evaluate the influence of a family history of alcoholism on the response of saccadic eye movements to alcohol. Saccades are high-velocity eye movements made from one point to another, as in reading. Their main function is to bring the image of a target from the visual periphery onto the fovea centralis (center of the retina), where vision is most acute. The saccadic control system is sensitive to alcohol, and saccadic parameters provide reliable measures of alcohol's effects in a dose-dependent manner.

Keyword: Drug Abuse
Link ID: 2807 - Posted: 10.16.2002

Mouse studies indicate successful pain relief, University of Pittsburgh researchers say PITTSBURGH, – By "programming" a herpes simplex virus to deliver a gene-mediated pain-blocking protein at the cellular level, University of Pittsburgh researchers have been able to significantly reduce cancer-related pain in mice with tumors, the researchers report in the November issue of the journal Annals of Neurology. The paper, "Herpes vector-mediated expression of proenkephalin reduces bone cancer pain," is now available online at the journal's Web site, http://www.interscience.wiley.com/jpages/0364-5134/. "Chronic pain is notoriously difficult to treat effectively," said co-author Joseph Glorioso, Ph.D., chairman of the department of molecular genetics and biochemistry and director of the Molecular Medicine Institute at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, and president of the American Society of Gene Therapy. "We've been able to show that using this virus can significantly reduce bone cancer pain – at least in mice." The investigators are pursuing necessary approvals to begin a clinical trial in patients with severe pain resulting from metastatic cancer, and hope to start enrolling patients sometime next year.

Keyword: Pain & Touch
Link ID: 2806 - Posted: 06.24.2010

By WILLIAM HATHAWAY, Courant Staff Writer Neural stem cells may actually play doctor to damaged brain cells, not just replace dead and dying ones, new research has found. And a second study appearing in the current issue of Nature Biotechnology shows transplanted stem cells also can replace lost brain tissue in mice - if they are placed within a biodegradable "scaffold" before being transplanted. In the first study, transplanted cells actually rescued mice brain cells damaged with chemicals to mimic the degeneration caused by Parkinson's Disease. Copyright © 2002 by The Hartford Courant

Keyword: Stem Cells; Regeneration
Link ID: 2805 - Posted: 06.24.2010

NewScientist.com news service Stem cells modified to produce a cancer-killing immune chemical can track and destroy difficult-to-treat brain tumours, US researchers have found. They hope the work in mice could lead to new treatments for people with gliomas. Standard glioma treatment involves surgery, followed by radiotherapy or chemotherapy. But tiny groups of glioma cells often spread deep into healthy brain tissue, so even if the main tumour is wiped out, the risk of recurrence of the cancer is high. Life expectancy after diagnosis is normally about one year. A team led by John Yu at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles took neural stem cells from mice fetuses and genetically engineered them to produce interleukin 12. This is an immune stimulating chemical known to kill gliomas. The team then injected the modified stem cells into implanted gliomas in the brains of mice. © Copyright Reed Business Information Ltd.

Keyword: Stem Cells
Link ID: 2804 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Copyright © 2002 AP Online By LAURAN NEERGAARD, AP Medical Writer WASHINGTON - The genetic quirk that makes red hair red may also make carrot-tops harder to knock out - in the operating room, that is. A new study suggests people with naturally red hair need about 20 percent more anesthesia than patients with other hair colors. It's a small study that will need confirmation. But it marks the first time scientists have linked a visible genetic trait to anesthesia doses, said Dr. Daniel Sessler of the University of Louisville, whose study will be presented Tuesday at a meeting of the American Society of Anesthesiologists. Copyright © 2001 Nando Media

Keyword: Genes & Behavior
Link ID: 2803 - Posted: 06.24.2010

By JOHN O'NEIL Some stroke or accident victims lose the ability to produce speech; others, their ability to understand it. But in an extremely small group, the brain injuries produce a shift in pronunciation known as foreign accent syndrome. Researchers at Oxford believe they have zeroed in on the brain region involved in the syndrome, which causes patients' accents to shift suddenly. The first known case was reported in 1941, involving a Norwegian woman who was ostracized when she developed what her neighbors thought was a German accent after she recovered from shrapnel injuries. Copyright The New York Times Company

Keyword: Language; Stroke
Link ID: 2802 - Posted: 10.15.2002

In the first study of its type, researchers at Emory University and nine other centers nationwide have determined that a naturally occurring compound called coenzyme Q10 can slow progressive deterioration associated with the early stages of Parkinson's disease up to 44 percent. This is the first time a study has shown that any nutrient or vitamin might play a role in slowing the progression of PD. The greatest benefits were seen in motor skills and activities of daily living, such as walking, dressing, feeding and bathing. The results of this study will be published in the Oct. 15 issue of the American Medical Association's Archives of Neurology and will be discussed at the annual meeting of the American Neurological Association in New York City, also on Oct. 15. "The study was designed to test the hypothesis that high doses of coenzyme Q10 would slow the progression of Parkinson's, as measured by movement difficulty or disability," says Ray Watts, M.D., professor of neurology, Emory University School of Medicine, and lead investigator of the Emory study. "We are very encouraged with the results of this small trial, which consisted of 80 Parkinson's patients nationwide. However, a larger, multi-centered, controlled trial is still needed before this treatment can be recommended to patients with a high degree of certainty."

Keyword: Parkinsons
Link ID: 2801 - Posted: 06.24.2010

In a discovery with implications for treatment of anxiety disorders, UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute investigators have identified a distinct molecular process in the brain involved in overcoming fear. The findings will be published in the Oct. 15 edition of the Journal of Neuroscience. The study of how mice acquire, express and extinguish conditional fear shows for the first time that L-type voltage-gated calcium channels (LVGCCs) -- one of hundreds of varieties of electrical switches found in brain cells -- are required to overcome fear but play no role in becoming fearful or expressing fear. The findings suggest that it may be possible to identify the cells, synapses and molecular pathways specific to extinguishing fear, and to the treatment of human anxiety disorders. "Brain plasticity, or the ability of the central nervous system to modify cellular connections, has long been recognized as a key component to learning and memory," said Dr. Mark Barad, the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute's Tennenbaum Family Center faculty scholar and an assistant professor in-residence of psychiatry at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.

Keyword: Emotions; Stress
Link ID: 2800 - Posted: 10.15.2002

CHICAGO (AP) -- A small but promising study found that an over-the-counter dietary supplement may slow the progression of Parkinson's disease. Existing treatments may ease symptoms of the degenerative brain disorder but are not believed to affect the underlying disease process. The new study found evidence that a naturally occurring compound called coenzyme Q-10, or CoQ10, may help stop the nerve cell death that characterizes Parkinson's. "This is really sort of the Holy Grail of what we're trying to do in Parkinson's disease," said Dr. Tim Greenamyre, a Parkinson's scientist at Emory University who was not involved in the research. "They're on the right track." © 2002 Cable News Network LP, LLLP.

Keyword: Parkinsons
Link ID: 2799 - Posted: 06.24.2010

By Michelle Delio NEW YORK -- An intricate society populated by billions of demanding neurons exists inside every brain. Each of those neurons has a complicated life with desires that must be met in order to stave off stupidity, according to research presented at the American Neurological Association's (ANA) annual meeting. The needs of neurons were the central topic Monday afternoon at the symposium on the "Plastic Brain." Brain plasticity doesn't refer to the texture of one's gray matter, but instead indicates how the 100 billion or so neurons in a brain communicate with each other. A plastic brain is a learning brain. © Copyright 2002, Lycos, Inc.

Keyword: Learning & Memory
Link ID: 2798 - Posted: 06.24.2010

By Shankar Vedantam Washington Post Staff Writer Joanne Innis was around 5 years old when she asked her mother, "How come if you and Aunt Pat are sisters, you're red and she's brown?" When Glenda Larcombe hears a truck backing up, making a beep-beep-beep sound, she "sees" the beeps as a series of red dots. And when psychologist Thomas Palmeri gives one of his test subjects a difficult test -- to spot a tiny "2" on a computer screen scattered with tiny "5s" -- the man finds it instantly: To him, the "2" shows up bathed in a different color. © 2002 The Washington Post Company

Keyword: Cerebral Cortex
Link ID: 2797 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Scientists have developed a new form of gene therapy that appears to be less risky than current techniques. It is hoped the technique will lead to new ways to treat diseases in several different human organs including skin, retina, blood, muscle and lung. The breakthrough follows news that a gene therapy trial in France was stopped after a child developed a leukaemia-type illness. The new technique is able to introduce genetic material into a host in a more precise way. It also does away with the need to use a virus to transport genetic material into the body. Lead researcher Dr Michele Calos, of the University of Stanford, said: "Our approach provides an alternative that didn't exist before." The goal of gene therapy is to insert a healthy copy of a gene into a cell where it can take over for a faulty version. (C) BBC

Keyword: Genes & Behavior
Link ID: 2796 - Posted: 10.14.2002

The vision of thousands of people a year could be saved if a leading cause of blindness was detected in its early stages, say researchers. Glaucoma occurs when the optic nerve is damaged and can be picked up during a routine eye examination. It causes loss of peripheral (side) vision and eventually blindness. But many people are unaware they have it until it is too late. In most cases, increased pressure inside the eye is a risk factor. According to a study of 255 patients followed for six years, lowering pressure inside the eye can slow glaucoma damage and subsequent vision loss. All had open-angle glaucoma, the most common form of the condition, which can be treated with medicines or lasers. (C) BBC

Keyword: Vision
Link ID: 2795 - Posted: 10.14.2002

Attention Disorders Vary Depending on the Problem's Location WASHINGTON - Neuropsychologists have mapped different aspects of attention to different parts of the brain's frontal lobes. In particular, problems in screening out irrelevant information seem to be based in the frontal lobes' right side. This research joins mounting scientific evidence that attention is a complex, multi-faceted brain-based process. A report on these findings appears in the October issue of Neuropsychology, a scientific journal published by the American Psychological Association (APA). Psychologists from Harvard Medical School, the University of Toronto, and the Rotman Research Institute at Toronto's Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care compared the tested reaction times of 36 patients with specific lesions in the frontal lobes and other parts of the brain (caused by trauma, hemorrhage, surgery for benign tumors, and other acute disorders) with the reaction times of 12 control participants. In doing so, they were able to break down the once-monolithic concept of "attention" into at least three distinct processes that appear to be functionally and anatomically different.

Keyword: Attention
Link ID: 2794 - Posted: 10.14.2002

Modifications could eliminate unwanted side effects By Randolph E. Schmid ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON, — Modifications to an experimental vaccine for Alzheimer’s disease that was discontinued because of side effects might make it safe, a study suggests. Researchers in Canada and Germany found that a more refined form of the vaccine worked in mice, which raised the chance that it might not produce in humans the inflammation that ended clinical trials. THAT REMAINS only a possibility and requires more research, said JoAnne McLaurin of the Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases at the University of Toronto. She is the first author of the study being published Tuesday in the online edition of the journal Nature Medicine. In January, the Irish drug company Elan Corp. suspended a 360-patient experiment with the vaccine after 15 patients suffered serious brain inflammation. Elan announced in March it was abandoning the vaccine, although the company said it plans to continue exploring ways to slow the worsening of Alzheimer’s. • MSNBC Terms, Conditions and Privacy © 2002

Keyword: Alzheimers
Link ID: 2793 - Posted: 06.24.2010

James Meek, science correspondent The Guardian The chances of combat veterans, civilian victims of war and disaster survivors experiencing psychological damage may be determined by the shape of their brains before the trauma hits them, scientists have found. Researchers in the US looked at 40 pairs of identical twins where one twin had seen combat in Vietnam and the other had stayed at home. More than 40% of the Vietnam veterans suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, and a clear link was found between the size of a region of their brains, the hippocampus, and which veterans were affected. © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2002

Keyword: Stress
Link ID: 2792 - Posted: 06.24.2010

The internet could help thousands of people who suffer from ringing ears to cope with their condition. Doctors in Sweden have found offering psychological advice over the web can help some patients to deal better with the symptoms of tinnitus. While psychological exercises cannot eliminate the ringing associated with the condition, it can reduce annoyance levels. At least one in 10 adults have tinnitus. Most patients have mild symptoms but it can lead to depression, anxiety and insomnia in others. Previous studies have found the cognitive behaviour therapy can help patients with the condition. It enables patients to unlearn negative reactions to certain events, in this case the constant ringing in their ears. (C) BBC

Keyword: Hearing
Link ID: 2791 - Posted: 10.13.2002

By HENRY FOUNTAIN IN the fast-food industry, cleanliness may be next to godliness, but portion control is not far behind. To maintain financial health, a restaurant has to know precisely how much food it is giving to each customer. So McDonald's chicken nuggets, for example, are bits of meat, pressed and formed into shapes of standard weight, rather than actual pieces of chicken. Left alone, nature is just too variable for the bottom line. Restaurants may understand the concept of portion control, but clearly, many of their customers do not. For as two reports from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention pointed out last week, Americans are getting fatter and fatter. Say what you want about the impact of high-fat diets and lack of exercise, but the basic facts remain: Americans eat too much, and they're not doing much about it. The reports, based on health surveys conducted in 1999 and 2000, showed that nearly two-thirds of adults 20 to 74 years old are classified as overweight (using a common height-to-weight index) — as are about one in six young people ages 6 to 19. The surveys also found that about 3 in 10 adults are obese, and about 1 in 20 extremely so. Copyright The New York Times Company

Keyword: Obesity
Link ID: 2790 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Facts about the disease and support services for those who suffer from it. ABOUT AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER Autism spectrum disorder is the third most common neurological disorder affecting children. It includes autism, pervasive development disorder and Asperger's disorder. It appears in one out of every 150 to 170 children, according to the most recent research. Children typically show symptoms before their second birthdays. It is incurable. The Autism Society of America estimates that 500,000 to 1.5 million people suffer from autism spectrum disorder and believes cases grow at a rate of 10 to 17 percent annually. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are working with several states to improve or develop programs tracking childhood autism. As of the 2000-01 school year, more than 15,000 American children between 3 and 5 years old and more than 78,000 children ages 6 to 21 were classified as autistic, according to the CDC.

Keyword: Autism
Link ID: 2789 - Posted: 10.13.2002

By JO CIAVAGLIA Courier Times Sean Bolno and Michael Clark never tire of playgrounds, jumping in their bedrooms or Mister Rogers' reruns. They always crave mommy's kisses and cuddles and bedtime stories. They don't get bored with stuffed animals or fast food meals or car rides. In their world, people don't get older. In their world nothing changes. Until now. This year they graduate from Council Rock High School. Which has turned their mothers into nervous wrecks. Holly Druckman and Evy Clark worry because graduation means Sean and Michael, both 20 and autistic, will leave a familiar world of routine and enter a new unknown one of adulthood.

Keyword: Autism
Link ID: 2788 - Posted: 10.13.2002