Copyright © 2002 AP Online By DANIEL Q. HANEY, AP Medical Editor SAN ANTONIO - Despite many failed studies, experimental new drugs designed to protect the brain from self-destruction following a stroke may lead to useful treatments after all, data released Thursday suggest. The search for so-called neuroprotective drugs has been frustrating. So far, more than 50 of them have looked encouraging in animal experiments, but all have failed to work when tested on people. However, the new data suggest that if enough patients are studied - and they are measured the right way - some of the drugs indeed may be proven to work. Copyright © 2001 Nando Media

Keyword: Stroke
Link ID: 1501 - Posted: 06.24.2010

BY JANET RAE BROOKS (c) 2002, THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE Bill Johnson has some unfinished business in Utah. The Olympic gold medalist, who suffered a horrific crash last year in a comeback attempt in the downhill, wants to collect his father's ashes from Los Angeles and scatter them over Lake Powell. Just one problem. Johnson has no memory of his father's death in 1995. © Copyright 2002, The Salt Lake Tribune.

Keyword: Learning & Memory; Brain Injury/Concussion
Link ID: 1500 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Tim Radford, science editor The Guardian Yesterday's television fantasy is becoming tomorrow's reality. New bionic man may not be blessed with superhuman strength, but one day the injured may be able to move their paralysed limbs by the power of thought - and a tiny implanted computer. Synthetic tissues could begin to merge with flesh to restore failing organs, artificial blood could carry oxygen from the lungs, cochlear implants could directly stimulate "hearing" in the brain, and cameras implanted in the retina could restore some vision to the blind. Mechanical helpers could keep failing hearts beating, artificial livers could prolong patients' lives and artificial tendons might tether wasting muscle to bones. The catch is that the Six Million Dollar Man will cost nearer $6bn - and the tissue engineers who will repair tomorrow's humans have a long way to go. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2002

Keyword: Robotics
Link ID: 1499 - Posted: 06.24.2010

By Maggie Fox [Reuters] WASHINGTON, — Both placebos and strong painkillers activate the same areas of the brain, which suggests that pain relief may often be literally a case of mind over matter, researchers said on Thursday. THE EXPERIMENT also suggests the brain has a built-in mechanism for dealing with pain, which might someday lead to the development of better drugs to treat pain, the researchers report in Friday’s issue of the journal Science. Martin Ingvar of the Neurophysiology Research Group in Stockholm, Sweden, and colleagues there and in Finland exposed volunteers to painful heat and took scans of their brains to see what happened when the volunteers got painkillers or placebo injections of salt water. “Placebo treatment and treatment with painkiller of the opioid family, they induced activity in the same region,” Ingvar said in a telephone interview. • MSNBC Terms, Conditions and Privacy © 2002

Keyword: Pain & Touch
Link ID: 1498 - Posted: 06.24.2010

— Researchers have traced the light-sensing circuitry for a type of “second sight” that is distinct from the conventional visual system and seems to interact directly with the body’s internal clock. The researchers speculate that subtle genetic malfunctions of this machinery might underlie some sleep disorders. In an article published in the February 8, 2002, Science, a research team led by Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator King-Wai Yau described the circuitry, which consists of a subset of nerve cells that carry visual signals from the eye to the brain. The scientists showed that circadian-pacemaker nerve cells almost certainly depend on a different light-sensing pigment, called melanopsin, than the conventional visual system, which relies on rod and cone photoreceptors arrayed across the retina. ©2002 Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Keyword: Biological Rhythms; Vision
Link ID: 1497 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Women 'get used' to men's sperm Regular sex with the same man may prime a woman's immune system not to reject his sperm when they try to conceive, scientists suggest. The theory could partly explain why humans have sex even when they aren't trying for a baby. Even a year before conception, exposure to sperm, either through intercourse or other sex acts, can have protective effects against problems ranging from infertility to miscarriages and high blood pressure during pregnancy. (C) BBC

Keyword: Sexual Behavior
Link ID: 1495 - Posted: 02.07.2002

Echolocating bats, with their highly specialized auditory behaviors, have provided some of the clearest examples of structure/function relationships in the auditory cortex. Research points out differences and similarities between humans and bats in processing auditory information in a study published in the February 2002 edition of the Journal of Neurophysiology Bethesda, MD -- Bats have inspired awe, fear, and even the inspiration for a world famous comic book character. But for a team of physiologists, the pallid bat can provide new clues into the structure and function of the auditory cortex. Background This winged creature is unusual because it finds its prey by passively listening to prey-generated noise of short duration, while reserving high-frequency echolocation for obstacle avoidance. Echolocation is the method bats use to direct their flight and avoid solid objects. The creatures emit high-pitched cries, which are inaudible to human ears but are heard by bats as reflected echoes from objects in their path.

Keyword: Hearing
Link ID: 1494 - Posted: 02.07.2002

The chance of developing schizophrenia may be directly linked to how sunny it was in the months before a person's birth, research suggests. A lack of sunlight can lead to vitamin D deficiency, which scientists believe could alter the development of a child's brain in the womb. Research suggests people who develop schizophrenia in Europe and North America are more likely to be born in the spring, according to an article in the New Scientist. They are also roughly four times as likely to be born to Afro-Caribbean immigrants living in England as they are to have parents of other ethnic origins living in the same areas. (C) BBC

Keyword: Schizophrenia; Biological Rhythms
Link ID: 1493 - Posted: 02.07.2002

CHAPEL HILL ? Because of concerns about terrorists one day using such deadly nerve agents as sarin, soman, tabun and VX, a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill scientist is urging the government and medical researchers to investigate potentially more effective treatments. Dr. David S. Janowsky says he has a strong candidate drug that might prevent many deaths from an attack. Studies he and colleagues published 16 years ago suggest scopolamine, a drug already routinely used to combat motion sickness, could be a significant improvement over the standard treatment, atropine, in treating civilians and military personnel exposed to toxic nerve agents. Copyright © 1992-2002 Bio Online, Inc. All rights reserved.

Keyword: Neurotoxins
Link ID: 1492 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Science trumps politics Just as the Senate gears up to debate the contentious issue of human cloning, a number of startling advances are emerging that may offer alternatives to the technique. In fact, the very scientists who forced the issue by creating the first cloned human embryo last October are announcing advances toward obtaining genetically matched replacement cells for patients without creating a viable embryo. And other scientists are making progress using adult stem cells to generate new tissues. Until now, the only known way to provide new body cells containing a patient's own DNA has been to create an early-stage cloned embryo to produce the versatile stem cells that can then be prodded to become any type of body tissue. But because embryo research is such an explosive issue, progress has been stymied and lawmakers have threatened to ban the work. © 2002 U.S.News & World Report Inc. All rights reserved.

Keyword: Stem Cells
Link ID: 1491 - Posted: 06.24.2010

(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- A new study detects a difference in the brain size of schizophrenics and healthy individuals. Researchers say schizophrenics have smaller amounts of gray matter in their brains and seem to lose gray matter as they age. Schizophrenia is generally characterized by a progressive decline in functioning. It has never been clear if that loss of function is associated with the decrease in gray matter in the brain. Researchers at UCLA School of Medicine studied brain images from more than 300 people. Included in the study were 159 patients with schizophrenia and 158 healthy people between 16 and 70 years old. The participants all underwent magnetic resonance brain images. SOURCE: The American Journal of Psychiatry, 2002;158:244-255 (C) webdoctor@ivanhoe.com

Keyword: Schizophrenia
Link ID: 1490 - Posted: 02.07.2002

Alison Motluk Students should be jealous - not only do babies get to doze their days away, but they have also mastered the art of learning in their sleep. By the time babies are a year old they can recognise a lot of sounds and even simple words. Marie Cheour at the University of Turku in Finland suspected they might progress this fast because they learn language while they sleep as well as when they are awake. To test the theory, Cheour and her colleagues studied 45 newborn babies in the first few days of their lives. They exposed all the infants to an hour of Finnish vowel sounds - one that sounds like "oo", another like "ee", and a third boundary vowel peculiar to Finnish and similar languages that sounds like something in between. EEG recordings of the infants brains before and after the session showed that the newborns could not distinguish between the sounds. © Copyright Reed Business Information Ltd.

Keyword: Language; Development of the Brain
Link ID: 1489 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Rachel Nowak, Melbourne Evidence is accumulating to support the theory that vitamin D deficiency during pregnancy, caused by a lack of sunlight, can alter the development of a child's brain in the womb. The data for a link with schizophrenia is still controversial, but potentially worrying because vitamin D deficiency is so common. Vitamin Ds role in building healthy brains had been largely ignored, until researchers began to spot some curious epidemiological trends. People who develop schizophrenia in Europe and North America are more likely to be born in the spring. And they are roughly four times as likely to be born to Afro-Caribbean immigrants living in England as they are to have parents of other ethnic origins living in the same areas. © Copyright Reed Business Information Ltd.

Keyword: Schizophrenia; Biological Rhythms
Link ID: 1488 - Posted: 06.24.2010

by Maia Szalavitz Though few know about it, humans have a second brain that handles most of the body's digestive functions. Study of the enteric nervous system is a rapidly growing specialty, offering insight into malfunctions of the "gut brain" as well as the more complex cranial brain. Digestion is such a prosaic function that most people prefer not to think about it. Fortunately, they don't have to - at least not with the brain in their heads. Though few know about it, humans (and other animals) have a second brain that handles most digestive functions. Deep in your gut lies a complex self-contained nervous system containing more nerve cells than the spinal cord, and indeed more neurons than all the rest of the peripheral nervous system. There are over 100 million nerve cells in the human small intestine alone. © Elsevier Science Limited 2000

Keyword: Obesity; Stress
Link ID: 1487 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Scientists say they have developed a pill that can help obese people lose weight by speeding up their metabolism. The drug, which has been developed by a team of researchers at Monash University in Australia, is to be tested throughout the rest of the year. If trials are successful, it could be on the market in four years. As the drug, named Advanced Obesity Drug 9604, works by speeding up the body's metabolism, it could theoretically help people lose weight without taking more exercise or cutting their calories. However, the scientists see it only as a treatment to help people who are also using other methods to lose weight. (C) BBC

Keyword: Obesity
Link ID: 1486 - Posted: 02.06.2002

By SHERYL GAY STOLBERG WASHINGTON, — A survey of medical experts who write guidelines for treating conditions like heart disease, depression and diabetes has found that nearly 9 out of 10 have financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry, and the ties are almost never disclosed. It has long been known that contact with the pharmaceutical industry can influence individual doctors' prescribing patterns and that financial support from drug manufacturers can affect the course of academic research. But the survey, a relatively small study conducted by a team from the University of Toronto, is the first to document the extent to which the industry may influence so-called clinical practice guidelines. These voluntary guidelines, which are typically published in medical journals and endorsed by medical societies, set standards that are followed by countless doctors. The survey, in this week's issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association, sought the opinions of 192 medical experts who participated in writing 44 sets of practice guidelines covering treatment for asthma, coronary artery disease, depression, diabetes, high cholesterol, pneumonia and other ailments. Copyright 2002 The New York Times Company

Keyword: Depression
Link ID: 1485 - Posted: 06.24.2010

MADISON, Wis. (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- For years, law enforcement officials have relied on DNA evidence, fingerprints and lie detector tests to identify who committed a crime. Now, they are looking for ways to use the criminal’s own brain to convict them. We look pictures of violent crimes and wonder, how can anyone commit such acts? Neuroscientist Richard Davidson, Ph.D., says, for some, the behavior may be out of their control. Copyright © 2002 Ivanhoe Broadcast News, Inc.

Keyword: Brain imaging; Aggression
Link ID: 1483 - Posted: 06.24.2010

The NHS will pay for expensive MS drugs for thousands of patients - despite its own advisory body ruling them out. The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) - has ruled that drugs such as beta interferon and glatiramer acetate are not currently cost effective for the NHS. However, ministers have softened the blow to patients by negotiating a massive programme with pharmaceutical firms which will mean that many who could benefit from the drug will get it anyway. Health Secretary Alan Milburn said: "Today we can go a long way towards ending the uncertainty that has affected thousands of people with MS. For years they have suffered from the legacy of postcode prescribing. "Beta interferon has a unique history which demands a unique solution. Uncertainty about the effectiveness of treatment for MS has led to thousands of patients missing out." (C) BBC

Keyword: Multiple Sclerosis
Link ID: 1482 - Posted: 02.05.2002

Researchers identify for the first time proteins vital to maintaining nervous system architecture New York, N.Y., -Researchers at Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine have found, for the first time, that certain proteins maintain the nervous system architecture after the developing body lays down the wiring pattern. The finding may someday lead to a better understanding of some neurological diseases but, for now, is changing neuroscientists’ fundamental understanding of nervous system anatomy. The investigators, led by Dr. Oliver Hobert, P&S assistant professor of biochemistry and molecular biophysics, have identified a family of six proteins, called ZIGs, responsible for keeping the wiring of the nervous system in its proper place in the mature organism. The results will be published in the Jan. 25 issue of Science. Although the researchers identified the proteins in C. elegans, a microscopic worm employed as a model invertebrate to study neurobiology, humans have proteins with similar structures.

Keyword: Genes & Behavior
Link ID: 1480 - Posted: 06.24.2010

By REUTERS WASHINGTON, Feb. 4 — As the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease worsen, the costs of caring for patients rise sharply, suggesting that treatment to slow progression of the degenerative brain disease would help lower medical costs, according to a study released today. The study, conducted by researchers at the University of California at Los Angeles and published in the February issue of The Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, showed that for a six-month period, costs associated with Alzheimer's could rise to more than $30,000 per patient, depending on severity of symptoms. "We knew that Alzheimer's was an expensive illness, but I wanted to get a better idea of how the severity of the illness related to the costs," said Dr. Gary Small, the lead researcher and a professor of psychiatry and biobehavioral sciences at U.C.L.A. Copyright 2002 The New York Times Company

Keyword: Alzheimers
Link ID: 1479 - Posted: 06.24.2010