A simple one-hour brain scan may be able to predict who will be helped by antidepressants and who will not. Researchers have detected signs of changes to patients' brain waves weeks before they showed any visible benefits from taking medication. The scientists, led by Dr Ian Cook from the University of California Los Angeles, say the method could minimise the waste of drugs on patients who are unlikely to respond positively. This is doubly important, as the drugs are expensive and can have side effects. Dr Cook said: "This is the first study to detect specific changes in brain wave activity that precede the clinical changes in a way that can usefully predict response." Up to 40% of depressed patients do not respond to the first medication they try. (C) BBC

Keyword: Depression; Brain imaging
Link ID: 2242 - Posted: 06.11.2002

A common mutation in a gene that controls the breakdown of the brain's natural cannabinoids contributes to drug abuse and addiction, new US work suggests. Scientists at the Scripps Research Institute, California, questioned more than 1000 people attending a medical clinic on their drug use, including use of nicotine and alcohol. They found that people who reported abusing illegal drugs were four times more likely to have two copies of the mutated gene than people without drug or alcohol problems. About 3.7 per cent of the people in the study had this double mutation, the team says. The gene encodes an enzyme called fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH). This enzyme is responsible for inactivating endogenous cannabinoids - which act on the same neuroreceptors as the psychoactive component of marijuana. Previous work has suggested that the enzyme is involved in reward and addiction pathways in the brain. The common mutation in the gene causes a build-up of natural cannabinoids. © Copyright Reed Business Information Ltd.

Keyword: Drug Abuse; Genes & Behavior
Link ID: 2241 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Since their introduction 15 years ago, antidepressants have been widely used to treat psychiatric disorders in adults. In recent years, antidepressants have been increasingly prescribed for children and adolescents as well, despite very little data to support such use. In a study published in the May issue of Pediatrics , Julie Magno Zito, Ph.D., and colleagues explored some of the reasons for this trend and highlighted the associated dangers. Zito may be familiar to readers for her research that brought the increasing use of psychotropics in children to national attention when it was published in JAMA in 2000. For the current study, researchers retrospectively evaluated prescription and clinical service records for nearly 1 million youths ages 2 to 19 years, using data sets for each year from 1988 to 1994. Subjects were enrolled in either a state Medicaid program or a group HMO. Prevalence of antidepressant use was found to have increased three- to five-fold in the study period for all three major subclasses defined in the study (tricyclic antidepressants, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and other antidepressants). While TCAs were the most prescribed psychotropic in 1988, by 1994, SSRI prescriptions nearly reached their numbers. © 2002 Psychiatric Times. All rights reserved.

Keyword: Depression; Development of the Brain
Link ID: 2240 - Posted: 06.24.2010

by Laura J. Miller, M.D. Psychiatric Times June 2002 Vol. XIX Issue 6 After reading this article, you will be familiar with: * Research criteria used to diagnose premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD). * Possible causes of PMDD. * Nonpharmacological treatment strategies, including dietary modification, psychotherapy and aerobic exercise. * Pharmacological interventions for PMDD, including selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, anxiolytics and agents to suppress ovulation. Although the idea that some women experience mood changes linked to their menstrual cycles has a long history, it is only recently that systematic and methodologically sound studies are revealing the relationship between mood and menses. (C) 1995-2003 CME, Inc.

Keyword: Hormones & Behavior; Depression
Link ID: 2239 - Posted: 06.11.2002

Athletes gain bigger bodies at high health risk Christopher Heredia, Chronicle Staff Writer Recent revelations by star baseball players Jose Canseco and Ken Caminiti that steroid use is rampant in the game has reignited an age-old debate about the health consequences of the drugs. Doctors warn about the dangers of steroids, citing reported health risks from heart disease and cancer to shrinking of the testicles. Athletes, meanwhile, say their predecessors going back to the 1950s used steroids without serious health consequences. Now, once again, athletes are demanding, "Show me the science." ©2002 San Francisco Chronicle.

Keyword: Hormones & Behavior
Link ID: 2238 - Posted: 06.24.2010

By ERICA GOODE When a teenage girl develops anorexia, a team of experts usually takes charge of bringing her back to a normal weight, while her parents stand on the sidelines. But a promising and controversial new therapy gives parents the primary responsibility for an anorexic child's recovery. The goal of the therapy is to mobilize the family as a whole in a fight against the eating disorder, said Dr. James Lock, an associate professor of psychiatry at Stanford School of Medicine and the lead author of an extensive treatment manual for the technique, published last year by Guilford Press. Copyright 2002 The New York Times Company

Keyword: Anorexia & Bulimia
Link ID: 2237 - Posted: 06.11.2002

Computers train and monitor animal detectives. JOHN WHITFIELD Computers could one day train squads of animals to detect smuggled drugs or explosives, and then monitor their performance as they go about their jobs, say US researchers1. Computer scientist James Otto, of the University of Baltimore, and his colleagues teach rats to rear up on their hind legs when they smell a cocaine mimic in the lab. A motion sensor on the rat detects this, and alerts a computer to the rat's location. A food dispenser linked to the motion sensor automates the training. By hiding the chemical with food, the researchers teach rats to associate finding the contraband with a treat. Then they begin dropping food from above, making the rats stand up. After 2-3 weeks' training in the lab, the smell of cocaine alone makes the rats stand upright more than 90% of the time. * Otto, J., Brown, M. F. & Long, W. III Training rats to search and alert on contraband odors. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 77, 217 - 232, (2002). © Nature News Service / Macmillan Magazines Ltd 2002

Keyword: Chemical Senses (Smell & Taste)
Link ID: 2236 - Posted: 06.24.2010

A new UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute study shows for the first time that measurable changes in the front of the brain can predict the effectiveness of an antidepressant within days of treatment — weeks before a patient begins to feel better. Using quantitative EEG, a non-invasive computerized measurement of brain wave patterns, the researchers discovered that specific changes in brain-wave activity precede clinical changes brought on by medication. The new findings, published in the July edition of the peer-reviewed journal Neuropsychopharmacology, could lead to treatment programs that help depression patients feel better faster by cutting evaluation periods from weeks to days. The findings also could aid in the development of new medications. "Up to 40 percent of depressed patients do not respond to the first medication they try. Since it takes several weeks for an effective treatment to produce clear improvement, doctors often wait six to 12 weeks to decide that a particular medication just isn't right for that patient and move on to another treatment," said Dr. Ian A. Cook, a researcher at the institute's Quantitative EEG Laboratory and lead author of the study.

Keyword: Depression
Link ID: 2235 - Posted: 06.24.2010

CLEVELAND: Depression investigators at The Research Institute of University Hospitals of Cleveland have zeroed in on the neurotransmitter serotonin, a brain chemical that regulates emotion. Their tactics: reduce serotonin levels in each study subject to learn who is vulnerable for developing major depression. This new study, funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, is designed to help scientists better understand the role of serotonin in people who get major depression. By examining the way people feel when serotonin is briefly reduced, UHRI investigators hope to discover new ways of predicting who is at risk for major depression and when treatment with antidepressants can safely be discontinued, according to Pedro L. Delgado, MD. Dr. Delgado, Chairman of the Department of Psychiatry at UHC and Case Western Reserve University, is the primary investigator for this study. In the study, tests are conducted on healthy participants and upon people having previously suffered from depression. Serotonin levels are temporarily reduced for up to 8 hours and the study team then carefully monitors how the participant feels.

Keyword: Depression
Link ID: 2234 - Posted: 06.11.2002

People's taste in books indicates the kind of dreams they have, one of the largest studies into the phenomenon has shown. Researchers from the University of Wales in Swansea divided more than 10,000 library goers into different personality types based on the books they chose and asked them to complete questionnaires about their dreams. They found adults choosing fiction had stranger dreams - but were more likely to remember them. While fantasy novel fans had more nightmares and "lucid" dreams, in which they are aware they are dreaming. (C) BBC

Keyword: Sleep
Link ID: 2231 - Posted: 06.10.2002

A new model for the Parkinson related illness multiple system atrophy In this month's issue of EMBO Reports Kahle et al. describe how they genetically engineered a mouse to show pathological symptoms similar to those of human patients suffering from the neural disease Multiple System Atrophy (MSA), also known as Shy-Drager-Syndrome. The model could help researchers to develop and test new efficient drugs against this wide spread disease. More than 100,000 Europeans and 100,000 US-Americans suffer from MSA. Affected individuals either show symptoms similar to those of patients suffering from Parkinson's Disease or have a strong deterioration in their sense of balance. For this reason the disease is often diagnosed incorrectly. Doctors know very little about the pathology of the disease. However, one characteristic is that some brain cells show abnormal changes. Affected mature oligodendrocytes, the cells that form the isolating outer layer surrounding nerve fibers, produce a small protein called alpha-synuclein. They deposit this protein in the form of pathological structures called glial cytoplasmic inclusions.

Keyword: Glia
Link ID: 2230 - Posted: 06.10.2002

Sperm whales' heads are perfectly evolved for ramming ships, suggests a new modelling study. Whales' foreheads contain two sacs filled with oil. In male sperm whales, these sacs are especially massive. But quite what their purpose is not clear. Some biologists think they play a role in sound production or controlling buoyancy, but another theory is that the sperm whale's massive oil-filled sac cushions the animal's head during fights. While there are a handful of anecdotal accounts of such contests between males, evidence has been scarce. © Copyright Reed Business Information Ltd.

Keyword: Aggression; Sexual Behavior
Link ID: 2226 - Posted: 06.24.2010

By Larry O'Hanlon, Discovery News — Here's one more spidey sense for Peter Parker: a more discriminating palette. It turns out that spiders can learn to prefer the taste of one food over another. A Florida study of newly hatched lynx spiders has shown that if started on a particular kind of grub, the spiders later prefer it even when offered a wider menu. That means spider behaviors aren't all just instinct, said arachnologist Fred Punzo of the University of Tampa in Florida. Punzo made the culinary discovery about lynx spider hatchlings in his lab and his results will appear in the June 28 issue of the journal Behavioural Processes. Copyright © 2002 Discovery Communications Inc.

Keyword: Learning & Memory; Evolution
Link ID: 2225 - Posted: 06.24.2010

fMRI scans give first objective measure of mysterious ailment, provide road map for future study ANN ARBOR, MI - A new brain-scan study confirms scientifically what fibromyalgia patients have been telling a skeptical medical community for years: They're really in pain. In fact, the study finds, people with fibromyalgia say they feel severe pain, and have measurable pain signals in their brains, from a gentle finger squeeze that barely feels unpleasant to people without the disease. The squeeze's force must be doubled to cause healthy people to feel the same level of pain - and their pain signals show up in different brain areas. The results, published in the current issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism, the journal of the American College of Rheumatology, may offer the proof of fibromyalgia's physical roots that many doubtful physicians have sought. It may also open doors for further research on the still-unknown causes of the disease, which affects more than 2 percent of Americans, mainly women. (c) copyright 2002 University of Michigan Health System

Keyword: Brain imaging; Pain & Touch
Link ID: 2224 - Posted: 06.08.2002

STANFORD, Calif. - The central nervous system, made up of the brain and spinal cord, never forgets a slight. Somehow, nerve cells lose the ability to regenerate: witness actor Christopher Reeve's paralysis after his horse threw him at a jump. To find a cure for such injuries, scientists must understand why nerve cells lose the ability to grow back. They know that these cells - called neurons - stop regenerating because a signal tells them to slow down during development. The problem is, scientists haven't known much about that signal. Now, a team of Stanford University Medical Center researchers have identified the mechanism and some key cells involved in controlling regeneration. It turns out that the signal to slow down doesn't come from the neurons themselves, but from an outside source. The signal's effects appear to be permanent. The findings, published in the June 7 issue of Science, outline what may be a new avenue to explore in the search for brain-damage and paralysis treatments, the researchers say.

Keyword: Regeneration; Stem Cells
Link ID: 2223 - Posted: 06.08.2002

The gas could help people with brain injuries Scientists believe a gas used in camera flash bulbs and strobe lighting could help people who have suffered strokes or serious brain injuries. Researchers from Imperial College London have found that xenon gas may prevent damaged nerves from dying. They believe the discovery could lead to the development of new treatments for people with strokes, neurological disorders, spinal cord injuries and other nerve damaging illnesses. While the gas cannot reverse these conditions, it could prevent further deterioration in patients. Xenon is a naturally occurring gas. It exists in minute quantities in the atmosphere and is colourless, odourless and tasteless. It is used extensively in a wide variety of lamps to deliver a very bright white light. (C) BBC

Keyword: Stroke; Brain Injury/Concussion
Link ID: 2222 - Posted: 06.08.2002

The ligand is linked to growth hormone release, feeding regulation, energy homeostasis, and the cardiovascular system By Jim Kling The hunt for endogenous or synthetic molecules that can stimulate growth hormone production has always been appealing. Finding the right molecule or molecules that control appetite, for example, could have significant financial returns. About two years ago, two research groups, whose work has reached Hot Paper status, identified the elusive ligand for an endogenous G-protein-coupled receptor that stimulates the release of growth hormone. One of the groups, headed by Kenji Kangawa , director of the Department of Biochemistry at the National Cardiovascular Center Research Institute in Osaka, and professor at the Translational Research Center at Japan's Kyoto University, was interested in novel peptides and discovered the ligand, naming it ghrelin.1 A team from Eli Lilly and Co. learned soon afterward that the ligand may play a role in energy balance.2 "Ghrelin has a lot of interesting activities besides growth hormone release, such as [regulation of] feeding, energy homeostasis, and the cardiovascular system, says Kangawa, "and that attracts researchers from many fields." Lilly's article was the "first to show that ghrelin plays an important role in energy balance, and that [this effect] may be even more important than its effect on growth hormone," says Mark Heiman, Lilly's research adviser in its endocrine division. The Scientist 16[12]:36, Jun. 10, 2002 © Copyright 2002, The Scientist, Inc. All rights reserved.

Keyword: Obesity; Hormones & Behavior
Link ID: 2221 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Once considered largely genetically based, this complex disease may have many points of origin By Eugene Russo Twenty years ago, many investigators believed that genetics held the key to understanding schizophrenia, an etiologically heterogeneous disease.1 It seemed only a matter of time before the power of genetic analysis could be brought to bear on this malady, resulting in better drug leads and better ways toward prevention.2 So far, genetic advances have been few. "There was really a misjudgment on the part of some in the field," says Kenneth Kendler , professor of psychiatry and human genetics at Virginia Commonwealth University. Today, the disease's other potential causes, working in tandem with schizophrenia's genetic component, are receiving considerable attention as well. The Scientist 16[12]:31, Jun. 10, 2002 © Copyright 2002, The Scientist, Inc. All rights reserved.

Keyword: Schizophrenia
Link ID: 2220 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Investigators (nearly) identify melanopsin as a photopigment By Josh P. Roberts Most people run on an internal 24-hour cycle, synchronized to the light and dark cycles of the outside world. Information about external luminescence is conveyed to the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) of the hypothalamus, which incorporates it into what is known as the circadian rhythm, or biological clock. In cold-blooded vertebrates, deep-brain photoreceptors allow for photoentrainment, the process by which the eyes facilitate setting of the circadian clock. Mammals do not have these receptors; instead, mammalian eyes collect light and send the information back to the SCN through the optic nerve, a pathway called the retinohypothalamic tract (RHT). This is known, in part, because mice with removed eyes cannot reset their clocks. Oddly enough, about half of all blind people can photoentrain, as can mice that lack functional rods and cones, implying that another receptor capable of processing light exists in the eye. Tracer studies, in which a marker traverses the neuron from one end to the other, indicated more than 20 years ago that a small subset of cells found in the innermost part of the retina innervates the SCN. These retinal ganglion cells (RGCs), which were not known to contain any photopigments of their own, were thought merely to relay information from the rods and cones. But a spate of work, culminating in papers from at least five laboratories earlier this year,1-5 has shown that RGCs are intrinsically photosensitive, and has all but confirmed the identification of the responsible photopigment as well. The Scientist 16[12]:28, Jun. 10, 2002 © Copyright 2002, The Scientist, Inc. All rights reserved.

Keyword: Biological Rhythms; Vision
Link ID: 2219 - Posted: 06.24.2010

The NHS's drugs advisory body, the National Institute for Clinical Excellence, will decide on Thursday if an expensive schizophrenia drug, which has fewer side-effects than older types, should be available on the NHS. Robert Bayley, 35, from Northampton, has had schizophrenia for almost 20 years, and he tells BBC News Online how switching from to the newer atypical medicines - changed his life for the better. "I was 16 and still at school, when I was admitted to a local mental hospital. "I was diagnosed as a psychotic with schizoid tendencies, then eventually diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. "From an early stage, doctors tried me on the old-school antipsychotics. "I was on them for at least 10 years. "The drugs caused involuntary movement and loss of control of the tongue and mouth which was very distressing, especially in social situations.

Keyword: Schizophrenia
Link ID: 2218 - Posted: 06.07.2002