ST. PAUL, MN – Have researchers found yet another reason to take an aspirin a day? Aspirin has been found to benefit cardiac patients. Now a new study reported in the current issue of Neurology, the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology, presents additional evidence that regular use of aspirin and other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) may reduce the incidence of dementia in elderly people, but only when taken for more than two years. Researchers assessed 5,092 elderly (aged 65+) residents of Cache County, Utah, for dementia, while noting their current and former use of NSAIDs, aspirin compounds or histamine H2 receptor antagonists (including cimetidine, ranitidine, famitidine and nizatidine). Three years later they obtained interval medication histories and identified 104 participants with Alzheimer's disease among the 3,227 living participants. “Our results suggest that long-term NSAID use may reduce the risk of AD, provided the use occurs well before the onset of dementia,” said John Breitner, MD, VA Puget Sound Health Care System, Seattle, WA, and one of 22 investigators who conducted the study. Breitner added that recent use of NSAIDs and aspirin appears to offer little protection.

Keyword: Alzheimers
Link ID: 2727 - Posted: 06.24.2010

A method of detecting CJD on scalpels and other surgical instruments has been developed by UK scientists. Scientists have found a way to spot even minute amounts of the prion protein which causes it on the metal surface of the instruments. Fears remain that many thousands of people are harbouring prion proteins in their body, even if they have not yet developed the symptoms of vCJD. When these people go in for routine operations, it is theoretically possible, although highly unlikely, that traces of the proteins could persist on re-useable surgical implements, even after they have been sterilised in the normal way. Prion proteins can resist the conventional methods of decontamination, cleaning and sterilisation used for surgical instruments. While the government has introduced new, higher standards of decontamination and cleanliness for these items, until now there was no effective way of checking to see whether these are truly working. (C) BBC

Keyword: Prions
Link ID: 2726 - Posted: 09.28.2002

NewScientist.com news service The controversial do-it-yourself medicine that inspired the heart-rending movie Lorenzo's Oil has finally been proved to work. The new research ends years of uncertainty about the treatment and demolishes the claims of experts who repeatedly said it was a worthless quack remedy. New Scientist has learned that Hugo Moser, the neurologist and doctor played by Peter Ustinov in the film, will on Saturday unveil the positive conclusions of a 10-year investigation into the oil's effects on a group of boys affected with the same genetic condition as Lorenzo. Normally carriers of the genetic defect are at high risk of developing adrenoleukodystrophy, causing them to progressively lose the ability to move, hear, speak and - finally - breathe. Some victims, like Lorenzo Odone portrayed in the film, get the childhood form which usually kills within just two years. Others get the adult form of the disease, which strikes people in their late twenties and acts more slowly. © Copyright Reed Business Information Ltd.

Keyword: Glia; Movement Disorders
Link ID: 2725 - Posted: 06.24.2010

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Symptoms of depression, irritability, and apathy are common among people with mild memory loss, known to doctors as "mild cognitive impairment," and often can be successfully treated, according to researchers who analyzed data from the massive Cardiovascular Health Study. The researchers from five medical centers including Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center reported in the current Journal of the American Medical Association that their study, based on participants followed for more than 10 years, was the first to show that the appearance of psychiatric symptoms correlate with the development of mild cognitive impairment. While psychiatric symptoms occur in the majority of persons with outright dementia, "these are the first population-based estimates for neuropsychiatric symptoms in mild cognitive impairment," the group reported. "These symptoms have serious adverse consequences and should be inquired about and treated as necessary."

Keyword: Depression; Learning & Memory
Link ID: 2724 - Posted: 06.24.2010

It hurts dopamine neurons, could raise Parkinson's risk, ape study says Carl T. Hall, Chronicle Science Writer Even a few hits of the mood-altering drug MDMA, popularly known as ecstasy, taken during a single night out can cause long-lasting brain damage, scientists warn in a new study. But some researchers were skeptical that the results from the animal study translate to humans and said such studies discourage research that might lead to medical uses for ecstasy. Scientists at Johns Hopkins University injected two or three doses of MDMA, each spaced a few hours apart, into monkeys and baboons in an attempt to mimic the typical drug-taking patterns seen at all-night raves or dance parties. ©2002 San Francisco Chronicle.

Keyword: Drug Abuse; Parkinsons
Link ID: 2723 - Posted: 06.24.2010

By Donna Leinwand, USA TODAY An increasing number of American youths who use the club drug Ecstasy are mixing it with the anti-impotency drug Viagra, leading drug-abuse specialists to warn about the health risks of a combination that users say fuels all-night dancing and marathon sex. The combined drugs — known in the club scene as "sextasy" — began as a fad among youths in England and Australia. About a year ago, officials of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration began hearing reports that the mixture had become popular in this country's gay party culture. Now, drug-abuse analysts say, anecdotal reports from across the USA indicate that sextasy has become one the most recent products of a dangerous trend: Young clubgoers taking "cocktail pills" that can include as many as a half-dozen drugs. © Copyright 2002 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.

Keyword: Drug Abuse; Sexual Behavior
Link ID: 2722 - Posted: 06.24.2010

By DONALD G. McNEIL Jr. The amount of the drug Ecstasy that some recreational users take in a single night may cause permanent brain damage and lead to symptoms like those of Parkinson's disease, a study in primates has found. But critics say that the monkeys and baboons in the study were given huge overdoses of the drug and that the kind of damage the researchers found has never been found in autopsies or brain scans of humans who took large amounts. Dr. George A. Ricaurte of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, who led the study, said its most disturbing finding was that just two or three Ecstasy tablets can damage the cells that produce dopamine, a brain chemical that helps control movement, emotions and the ability to feel pleasure. Copyright The New York Times Company

Keyword: Drug Abuse
Link ID: 2721 - Posted: 09.27.2002

Just several doses of the drug Ecstasy, taken in the course of an evening, may increase a person’s risk for developing certain neurological disorders later in life, suggests a new study on monkey and baboons. The findings appear in the journal Science, published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science. In both primate species, two or three sequential doses of Ecstasy, or “MDMA,”—equivalent to what young adults typically take during an all-night dance party—caused more brain cell damage than was previously expected, the authors report. The newly-identified type of damage occurs in dopaminergic neurons, a set of nerve cells in the brain that help control movement, as well as emotional and cognitive responses, and the ability to feel pleasure. “The most worrisome implication [of the findings] is that, as a consequence of MDMA-induced dopaminergic injury, young adults may be increasing their risk for developing Parkinsonism, a condition with symptoms similar to Parkinson’s disease, as they get older” according to lead author George A. Ricaurte of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

Keyword: Drug Abuse
Link ID: 2720 - Posted: 06.24.2010

BY PAUL RECER Associated Press WASHINGTON - Using Ecstasy several times a night, a common practice among users of the illegal drug, may damage key neurons in the brain and perhaps hasten the onset of Parkinson's disease, according to a study of monkeys. But some researchers were skeptical that the results from the animal study translates to humans and said such studies discourage research that might lead to medical uses for Ecstasy. A Johns Hopkins University researcher injected squirrel monkeys and baboons with three shots of Ecstasy, also known as MDMA, three hours apart, mimicking dosages ''often used by MDMA users at all-night dance parties.'' He said the drug caused enduring damage to dopamine-producing neurons in the brain.

Keyword: Drug Abuse
Link ID: 2719 - Posted: 09.27.2002

Raising new concerns about use of the popular recreational drug ecstasy, or MDMA, scientists have found that just a few doses of the substance causes extensive damage to brain cells in monkeys. The findings, published today in the journal Science, suggest that using ecstasy may increase the risk of developing Parkinsonism—a condition similar to Parkinson’s disease—later in life. Earlier animal studies had shown that repeated ecstasy use damages the serotonin brain cells, which help to regulate mood and behavior. In the new work, Johns Hopkins University researchers working with squirrel monkeys and baboons found that two or three sequential doses of the drug—the amount typically taken by young adults at all-night "raves"—killed dopamine neurons, which are involved in controlling movement, emotional and cognitive responses and the ability to feel pleasure. © 1996-2002 Scientific American, Inc. All rights reserved.

Keyword: Drug Abuse
Link ID: 2718 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Two experimental drugs appear to prevent Parkinson’s disease-like brain damage and motor dysfunction in mice, according to investigators at the National Institute on Aging (NIA) Gerontology Research Center. The finding identifies a new approach for slowing or halting the progression of Parkinson’s disease that may one day help treat people who have it. “Although one must be cautiously optimistic when moving drugs from animals to humans, as the results are not always the same, these new drugs are remarkably effective in the animal studies, and appear to be well-tolerated”, says Mark Mattson, Ph.D., chief of the NIA’s Laboratory of Neurosciences. The study abstract will be available online at the Annals of Neurology website, http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/issuetoc?ID=78504407 after the embargo lifts. In the study, dopamine-producing nerve cells in mice treated with pifithrin-alpha (PFT), an experimental cancer treatment, and Z-1-117, a modified version of PFT, were more resistant to being killed by environmental toxins and pesticides, such as MPTP, iron, and rotenone. These toxins are suspected of increasing the risk of Parkinson’s disease in humans and can induce symptoms of the disease in rats and mice. The drugs also helped preserve motor function in mice exposed to these compounds. The investigators suspect the drugs work because they block the action of p53, a protein that may promote the death of dopamine-producing nerve cells.

Keyword: Parkinsons
Link ID: 2717 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Chilli peppers could help scientists to develop an effective treatment for patients with arthritis. Researchers in the United States have found a link between the pain associated with eating the peppers and the pain associated with arthritis. The peppers and arthritis trigger the same chemical signals in the body that can cause pain. The scientists said the discovery enhances their understanding of arthritis and could lead to new treatments in the future. Dr Clifford Woolf and Dr Ru-Rong Ji of Massachusetts General Hospital found that proteins in the mouth react to the active ingredient of chilli peppers - capsaicin, which causes the "hotness". The same protein is also activated with arthritic inflammation. (C) BBC

Keyword: Pain & Touch
Link ID: 2716 - Posted: 09.26.2002

From the dark of a moonless night to the glare of full sunlight on snow, our eyes perform with remarkable versatility. Now researchers have illuminated a new mechanism by which the cells in our eyes let us see in broad daylight. The retina contains two types of light-sensitive cells, called rods and cones. Rods, which support vision in dim light, typically make up 95% of the retina. The remainder consists of cones, which provide high-resolution color vision in daylight. Both types of cells use a specialized chemical cluster called a chromophore--in this case, 11-cis-retinaldehyde. When a photon hits a rod or cone, it switches the chromophore to a lower-energy configuration. The resulting cascade of events culminates in signals to the brain. Once the chromophore sets off that cascade, it needs to be "reset" before it can absorb another photon. Copyright © 2002 by the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Keyword: Vision
Link ID: 2715 - Posted: 06.24.2010

WASHINGTON, (AScribe Newswire) -- Two new studies by faculty at Georgetown University Medical Center and colleagues shed new light on the brain mechanisms underlying conscious awareness. The studies are published in the current issue of the journal Neurology. "Despite many advances in our understanding of the brain, the mechanisms of conscious awareness are still poorly understood," said Kimford J. Meador, MD, professor and chair of neurology at Georgetown University Medical Center and the senior author of both articles. "As our understanding of the processes underlying conciousness advances, so will our ability to help patients suffering from a variety of neural impairments." The first article, "Gamma coherence and conscious perception," adds to the growing body of knowledge about the role of brain waves, or electrical pulses in the brain. Gamma waves are fast electrical waves that have been hypothesized to be involved in conscious perception. However, scientists still do not fully understand their role.

Keyword: Attention; Epilepsy
Link ID: 2714 - Posted: 09.26.2002

It's harder to wake a penguin after lunch. JOHN WHITFIELD For penguins, the best time for a snooze is the afternoon. The birds sleep more deeply after lunch than during the morning rush hour, a French ecologist has found1. Gérard Dewasmes crept up on sleeping king penguins (Aptenodytes patagonica) and tapped their shoulders with a weighted stick once a minute till they awoke. "I have to approach the bird very slowly - it takes about ten minutes," says Dewasmes, who works at the University of Picardy in Amiens. "In many cases the bird wakes up first." He spent a month studying penguins living on the Crozet Archipelago, 1,000 km north of Antarctica. © Nature News Service / Macmillan Magazines Ltd 2002

Keyword: Sleep
Link ID: 2713 - Posted: 06.24.2010

500-year-old rock pattern suggests a tree to our subconscious. KENDALL POWELL The beauty of one of Japan's most popular Zen gardens has long eluded explanation. Now neuroscientists have found that its minimalist design suggests a pleasing picture to our subconcious. The 500-year-old Ryoanji Temple garden in Kyoto contains five outcroppings of rocks and moss on a rectangle of raked gravel. Using symmetry calculations the researchers have discovered that the objects imply an image of a tree in the empty space between them that we detect, without being aware of doing so1. The finding suggests that Japanese garden designers - originally priests - "balanced forces from visual science," says study leader Gert Van Tonder of Kyoto University. © Nature News Service / Macmillan Magazines Ltd 2002

Keyword: Vision; Brain imaging
Link ID: 2712 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Oxidative stress is implicated in a fast-growing list of human conditions, from the superficial (e.g., wrinkled skin) to the deadly: diseases such as cancer, heart disease and neurodegenerative disorders including Lou Gehrig's disease (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or ALS). Researchers at The Jackson Laboratory announced that they have located a gene that protects certain brain and retinal neurons from oxidative stress, and prevents neurodegeneration. Many normal metabolic functions produce free radicals--highly unstable forms of oxygen. Despite their notoriety, these molecules in fact have several beneficial roles, such as helping white blood cells attack bacteria, viruses and virus-damaged cells. Oxidative stress occurs when the amount of free radicals exceeds the normal antioxidant capacity of a cell, leading to cell damage.

Keyword: Apoptosis; ALS-Lou Gehrig's Disease
Link ID: 2711 - Posted: 09.26.2002

St. Louis, -- When a stroke affects the language areas in the left side of the brain, the right side takes over and learns how to perform language tasks, according to research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. The study found that patients' right side of the brain is more active than normal during a verbal language task, and that the right side's activity decreases with practice, similar to what happens on the left side of the brain in healthy individuals. "This is the first demonstration that learning and, by extension, speech therapy change the way compensatory pathways in the brain work," says Maurizio Corbetta, M.D., head of stroke and brain injury rehabilitation. "This study supports the hypothesis that brain pathways in the right hemisphere are directly involved in the recovery of language after stroke." The study appears in the Sept. 26 issue of the journal Neuron. Corbetta, the study's senior author, also is associate professor of neurology, of radiology and of anatomy and neurobiology. The first author is Valeria Blasi, M.D., a former post-doctoral fellow in neurology at the School of Medicine, who now is at the San Raffaele Scientific Institute in Milan, Italy.

Keyword: Language; Stroke
Link ID: 2710 - Posted: 09.26.2002

Screening to identify people susceptible to Parkinson's Disease could be possible after scientists discovered 40% had a problem processing a drug. Scientists say the discovery of a defective protein involved in the metabolising of the drug, could give them crucial knowledge to help to prevent Parkinson's and other neurological diseases. It might eventually be possible to screen people for the protein when they are young, and develop medication to prevent anyone who is susceptible developing the disease, they say. Researchers from the pharmacy department at King's College, London, spotted that four in 10 patients with Parkinson's or motor neurone disease could not metabolise carbocisteine, a drug commonly used in the treatment of bronchitis and glue ear. Only 3% of healthy people have problems processing the drug. Not being able to metabolise the drug is not in itself a problem, but because of the connection with the neurological diseases, they examined the enzyme was responsible for processing the drug - phenylalanine 4-monooxygenase (PAM). (C) BBC

Keyword: Parkinsons
Link ID: 2709 - Posted: 09.25.2002

A double espresso may be able to improve women's tolerance to pain, claim researchers at a London college. However, the caffeine jolt does nothing to help men, according to their research. It has long been suggested that women are the harder sex when it comes to dealing with pain, with their ability to cope with childbirth cited as principal evidence for this. That, however, could be a myth, suggest the researchers, at Goldsmiths College. Men were, on the whole, better able to withstand pain than women. The experiment used 50 men and women, who were asked to plunge their arms into buckets of ice-cold water and keep them there for as long as they could. (C) BBC

Keyword: Drug Abuse; Pain & Touch
Link ID: 2708 - Posted: 09.25.2002