NewScientist.com news service Scientists have discovered why being cuddled feels so good - human skin has a special network of nerves that stimulate a pleasurable response to stroking. The revelation came after doctors realised that a woman with no sense of touch still felt a "pleasant" sensation when her skin was caressed. Normal touch is transmitted to the brain through a network of fast-conducting nerves, called myelinated fibres, which carry signals at 60 metres per second. But there is a second slow-conducting nerve network of unmyelinated fibres, called C-tactile (CT), the role of which was unknown. The CT network carries signals at just one metre per second. © Copyright Reed Business Information Ltd.

Keyword: Pain & Touch
Link ID: 2390 - Posted: 06.24.2010

British doctors believe they may have found a way of helping patients with conditions which seriously damage their nervous system. Doctors at St George's Hospital Medical School in South London have identified a gene which they believe plays a key role in certain neuro-degenerative disorders. These include patients with hereditary spastic paraplegia (HSP), which can cause people to lose the use of their legs and suffer from muscle spasms. There is currently no cure for this disorder. However, the London doctors believe their discovery could help in the development of future treatments. Dr Andrew Crosby and colleagues examined the genetic make-up of a particular form of HSP called Troyer syndrome. (C) BBC

Keyword: Movement Disorders; Genes & Behavior
Link ID: 2389 - Posted: 07.27.2002

By Oona Mashta Dora Marshall was so crippled with arthritic pain in her arms and legs she would lie crying in bed at night unable to move. Mrs Marshall, 97, from Bradford, has suffered from arthritis for more than 10 years. She used to take pain killers daily to ease the pain, but last summer her pain killers seemed to lose their effect. She said: "I was in agony. I could hardly move. It would take me hours to get in and out of bed the pain was so bad. "When I did get into bed, I would just lie there awake unable to move or turnover on my side the arthritis was so painful. "I love playing the piano, but last June my fingers were so crippled with arthritis I couldn't move them to play. I was devastated." (C) BBC

Keyword: Pain & Touch
Link ID: 2388 - Posted: 07.27.2002

Smoking during early pregnancy could increase a child's risk of developing autism. Swedish researchers studied over 2,000 children and found that those mothers who smoked regularly were 40% more likely to have autistic children. Researcher Dr Christina Hultman from the Department of Medical Epidemiology at the Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, said there was already thought to be a link between the growth of the foetus in the womb and autism. She said that because smoking also restricts growth it could have a similar effect. "We have tested the hypothesis of reduced growth in utero related to other psychiatric disorders like schizophrenia and anorexia nervosa and there might be similar early risk factors. (C) BBC

Keyword: Autism; Drug Abuse
Link ID: 2387 - Posted: 07.27.2002

Scientists peer into the dark world of sex offenders Bruce Bower From inner-city mean streets to serene suburban cul-de-sacs, from bar stools to pulpits, and from state houses to the state prisons, sex offenders uniformly inspire fear and loathing. On occasion, rapists, child molesters, and their ilk also stir up unexpected irony. Consider this turn of events. On June 9, scientists and clinicians from throughout North America ended a 3-day meeting in Washington, D.C., where they discussed the state of knowledge about sexually coercive acts. Although intriguing lines of research were described, conference participants readily admitted their ignorance about crucial issues. There was no consensus on what causes individuals to become sexual criminals, how best to predict which of them will offend again after release from prison, or even whether current treatment programs for sex offenders are effective. Fair enough. On June 10, however, the Supreme Court begged to differ. Prison-based rehabilitation programs for sex offenders work so well, the high court ruled, that states can impose penalties on convicts who refuse such treatment. The 5-to-4 decision addressed the case of Robert G. Lile, a convicted rapist who wouldn't enter treatment in a Kansas prison because the program, which has served as a model for prisons in more than a dozen other states, requires men to admit in writing to past offenses. Lile sued prison officials, citing his constitutional right against self-incrimination. From Science News, Vol. 162, No. 4, July 27, 2002, p. 59. Copyright ©2002 Science Service. All rights reserved.

Keyword: Sexual Behavior; Aggression
Link ID: 2386 - Posted: 06.24.2010

BOSTON – Scientists have identified the molecular pathway in the brain that helps explain how the once-popular diet drug d-Fenfluramine (d-FEN) works to promote weight loss, a discovery reported in the July 26 issue of Science that could provide an opportunity to develop a new anti-obesity treatment without d-FEN’s cardiac side effects. The study, led by a team of researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC), also suggests this same brain pathway – the melanocortin system – is responsible for regulation of body weight at either end of the weight spectrum from obesity at one extreme to anorexia nervosa at the other. D-FEN, used in combination with phenteramine and known as fen-phen, was banned by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1997 after a subset of patients taking the drug developed cardiac complications.

Keyword: Obesity
Link ID: 2385 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Syndrome mimics otosclerosis, but may require different treatment ANN ARBOR, MI - If hearing loss runs in your family and the doctor says it's otosclerosis, it may be important to see a genetic counselor before you see a surgeon, according to new research from the University of Michigan Medical School. Otosclerosis is a form of progressive conductive hearing loss, which usually begins in young adulthood. It occurs when a bone in the middle ear called the stapes becomes immobilized or fixed, which prevents it from transmitting sound vibrations from the outside world to the inner ear and brain. "About 1 percent of Americans have been diagnosed with otosclerosis, but it may affect up to 10 percent of the total population," says Marci Lesperance, M.D., an assistant professor of otolaryngology-head and neck surgery in the U-M Medical School. (c) copyright 2002 University of Michigan Health System

Keyword: Hormones & Behavior; Genes & Behavior
Link ID: 2384 - Posted: 07.27.2002

Smoke-free workplaces not only protect non-smokers from the dangers of passive smoking - they can also encourage smokers to think twice about their habit. Researchers in San Francisco, California, found that smokers who worked in companies with a no-smoking policy tended to either cut back on their consumption, or give up smoking completely. On average, the introduction of a smoke-free policy led to a cut in cigarette consumption of 29%, and a 4% drop in the total number of people who smoked. The researchers, from the Center for Tobacco Control, Research and Education at the University of California, based their findings on a review of 26 studies from across the world which examined the effects of smoke-free workplaces. (C) BBC

Keyword: Drug Abuse
Link ID: 2383 - Posted: 07.26.2002

How do you get a low-fat ice cream that tastes like a full-fat ice cream? This is the challenge facing a PhD student at the University of Missouri Columbia, US, who is using a mechanical "mouth" to help her find the perfect flavour. Ice cream sales are now in their summer boom months - but attempts to promote a low-fat variety to health-conscious consumers are struggling. While sales of full-fat ice cream are rising in the United States, the low-fat variety has seen a decline in sales. For those who see ice cream as a science rather than a pleasure, this is because the flavour is carried in the fat. And the university is receiving over $100,000 from the US Government to carry out research into finding a strawberry-flavoured low-fat ice cream that will taste more like the high-calorie variety. (C) BBC

Keyword: Chemical Senses (Smell & Taste)
Link ID: 2382 - Posted: 07.26.2002

Claire Bowles New Scientist WHETHER or not you believe in the paranormal may depend entirely on your brain chemistry. People with high levels of dopamine are more likely to find significance in coincidences, and pick out meaning and patterns where there are none. Peter Brugger, a neurologist from the University Hospital in Zurich, Switzerland, has suggested before that people who believe in the paranormal often seem to be more willing to see patterns or relationships between events where sceptics perceive nothing. To find out what could be triggering these thoughts, Brugger persuaded 20 self-confessed believers and 20 sceptics to take part in an experiment. Brugger and his colleagues asked the two groups to distinguish real faces from scrambled faces as the images were flashed up briefly on a screen. The volunteers then did a similar task, this time identifying real words from made-up ones. copyright of Reed Business Information Limited

Keyword: Miscellaneous
Link ID: 2381 - Posted: 07.26.2002

Questions raised over leg light resetting body clock. HELEN PEARSON A quirky cure for jet lag may have been shot down. Scientists have challenged the idea that light shone behind the knees can reset the body's clock. Four years ago, a pair of US researchers announced that exposing the backs of a person's knees to blue light can re-train their body's 24-hour clock, which times when they sleep and wake1. The idea caught media and public imagination, and skin-lighting treatments for sleep disorders were planned. But some scientists were sceptical. There is little evidence that light signals on the skin can travel through the blood to the central clock in the brain, says sleep researcher Kenneth Wright of Harvard Medical School in Boston: "It went against everything we knew". © Nature News Service / Macmillan Magazines Ltd 2002

Keyword: Biological Rhythms
Link ID: 2380 - Posted: 06.24.2010

A report in the open access journal BMC Psychiatry presents a new hypothesis that may explain the causes of the psychiatric disease, schizophrenia. The hypothesis hinges on glia, a special type of cell, which is important for the maintenance of the connections between brain cells. By re-examining previously published research the authors suggest that schizophrenia may be caused by a combination of defective genes, which result in deficiencies of a variety of growth factors in glia, and infection by viruses, which may further weaken the glia. They conclude that this "weakening" of glia may result in the breakdown of connections between different brain cells leading to the development of schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is a severe disabling psychiatric disease, which affects approximately 1 percent of the population. People with schizophrenia often suffer terrifying symptoms such as hearing internal voices, feelings of extreme paranoia and an inability to distinguish reality from fantasy. It is clear that schizophrenia has a strong genetic component, however analysis of individual genes alone will not give us a full understanding the causes of schizophrenia. rving Gottesman, one of the authors of this paper and originator of the now widely accepted polygenic model of schizophrenia explains, "The investigation of individual genes in isolation has its limitations since virtually all important biological phenomena, from normal brain functioning to schizophrenia, are the result of complex systems. What is needed is a systems approach for understanding the development of schizophrenia." © 1999-2002 BioMed Central Ltd

Keyword: Schizophrenia; Glia
Link ID: 2379 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Research conducted in animals has revealed that an appetite suppressant drug, D-fenfluramine (D-FEN), activates brain pathways that regulate food intake and body weight. The NIH-funded study suggests that drugs targeting central nervous system pathways affecting appetite, obesity, and anorexia may lead to selective, effective treatments for weight control. Results appear in the July 26, 2002, Science. A study led by researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) found that anorexia induced by d-FEN in rodents activates melanocortin neurons in the central nervous system. The drug, once prescribed for losing weight and known as fen-phen when used with phentermine, was withdrawn by the Food and Drug Administration after reports of cardiac complications. The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) supported the research. The scientists set out to identify ways that d-FEN, which increases the brain's release of serotonin, a neurotransmitter that relays nerve impulses and curbs appetite, boosts this effect. Using a dose of d-FEN that reduced feeding behavior, they correlated anorexic effects with activity patterns in a network of neurons in the brain. Researchers targeted the arcuate nucleus (ARC) region of the hypothalamus, where pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) neurons receive serotonin directly and signal to regions associated with regulating energy.

Keyword: Obesity
Link ID: 2378 - Posted: 07.26.2002

Copyright © 2002 AP Online By ERIN McCLAM, Associated Press ATLANTA - Seven in 10 adult smokers in the United States say they want to quit - but their success in kicking the habit varies widely by race and education, the government said Thursday. A study of more than 32,000 adults in 2000 found that about 23.3 percent were current smokers, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. That was down slightly from 25 percent in 1993. Among those defined as current smokers - people who had smoked at least 100 cigarettes in their lives and still smoke regularly - 70 percent said they would like to quit. Copyright © 2001 Nando Media

Keyword: Drug Abuse
Link ID: 2377 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Copyright © 2002 Scripps Howard News Service By DEBRA MELANI, Scripps Howard News Service - Every day, Matthew Connor woke up sluggish, never feeling refreshed. In the evening after work, the couch would beckon him. Once he hit the cushions he was out. It was a life of exhaustion. Six weeks ago, Connor, 49, accepted an unsightly mask from his doctor, with the understanding that he would wear it every night to halt snoring and sleep apnea, an increasingly common sleep disorder that robs people of oxygen and restful slumber. The mask turned his and his wife's lives around. Copyright © 2001 Nando Media

Keyword: Sleep
Link ID: 2376 - Posted: 06.24.2010

By GWEN ACKERMAN Pharmos Corporation, which sold its ophthalmic business to eye care giant Bausch & Lomb last year, is off and running with a whole new set of compounds derived from a cannabis–like compound. The chemical compound, that imitates marijuana without inducing the same physiological effects, has already led to a treatment for severe traumatic brain injury, is called dexanabinol, which is in an international Phase III trial. The drug stops the inflammation of the brain, blocks the toxic release of dying cells, and has already saved the lives of young Israeli traffic accident victims. Thursday Pharmos received approval from the Health Ministry to clinically test dexanabinol as a preventive agent against the mild cognitive impairment (MCI) that can follow coronary surgery. The double-blind, placebo-controlled trial is due to be carried out at the Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center on a group of up to 200 patients. Copyright 2002 The Jerusalem Post

Keyword: Learning & Memory; Pain & Touch
Link ID: 2375 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Vaccination Urged for Patients With Cochlear Implants By Daniel DeNoon WebMD Medical News Reviewed By Gary Vogin, MD -- Nine people have died from a deadly infection linked to hearing devices called cochlear implants, the FDA warns. At least 25 children and adults worldwide have developed bacterial meningitis after receiving the implants. Three companies manufacture the devices. So far, two of these companies have reported cases among patients who received their brands of the device. The FDA says that an ongoing, urgent survey of cochlear implant centers suggests that "there are additional, unreported cases of meningitis in the cochlear implant population." About 60,000 people worldwide have cochlear implants. © 2002 WebMD Inc. All rights reserved.

Keyword: Hearing
Link ID: 2373 - Posted: 06.24.2010

JUDY LIN, Associated Press Writer A group of scientists who set out to build a robot with human social skills may have actually improved on humanity: Their creation courteously steps aside for people, smiles during conversation and politely asks directions. The 6-foot robot, named GRACE, for Graduate Robot Attending Conference, will wander a symposium on artificial intelligence that begins this weekend, where it will demonstrate its good manners. It will try to sign in at the registration desk, find a conference room, give a speech and answer questions. GRACE, a drum-shaped contraption with a digitally animated face that appears on a computer display, is the work of researchers at Carnegie Mellon University and elsewhere. ©2002 Associated Press

Keyword: Robotics
Link ID: 2372 - Posted: 06.24.2010

NewScientist.com news service Animals should be scored for pain and suffering during scientific experiments, says an influential UK parliamentary committee. "Information on the levels of suffering and purpose of each project would enable the public to make informed judgements about the justification of animal research," says Lord Smith of Clifton, chairman of the House of Lords Select Committee on Animals in Scientific Procedures. "Moreover, the information would highlight where there was greatest suffering, and hence where the need to develop replacements, reductions and refinements was greatest," he says. © Copyright Reed Business Information Ltd.

Keyword: Pain & Touch
Link ID: 2371 - Posted: 06.24.2010

When an adult brain suffers an injury, its neurons must struggle harder to rewire than those of young brains. But old tricks can apparently recapture some of the resilience of youth, a new study suggests. After a stroke-like injury, adult rat brains pulse with synchronized electrical waves, more commonly seen in early development, as they try to fix damaged neural circuits. Neurons in the developing brain readily sprout new branches, or axons, that hook up with other cells. This is one way the developing brain sets up its neural pathways. Although less common in adults, axonal sprouting does occur in the cerebral cortex, the brain’s main information processing center, after stroke-like lesions. Researchers suspect that this sprouting may help the brain recover. However, the trigger for sprouting has remained elusive. Copyright © 2002 by the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Keyword: Stroke; Cerebral Cortex
Link ID: 2370 - Posted: 06.24.2010