MRI Predicts if Early Signs Will Develop Into Disability By Michael Smith , MD WebMD Medical News -- Being told you possibly have multiple sclerosis is very troubling. And the definite answer may take months or even years to come. But a new study shows that an MRI brain scan can give you and your doctor a good idea of what lies ahead. It's not uncommon for someone to develop a nerve problem such as blurry vision or difficulty controlling an arm or leg. After further testing, however, some of these people are told that they possibly have multiple sclerosis. In fact, this is how the story begins in 90% of people with MS, according to lead author Peter A. Brex, MD. His findings appear in the Jan. 17 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine, © 1996-2001 WebMD Corporation. All rights reserved.

Keyword: Multiple Sclerosis; Brain imaging
Link ID: 1340 - Posted: 06.24.2010

DALLAS – – Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas are a step closer to defining the function of two proteins involved in neurotransmitter release, which initiates communication between neurons in the brain. Findings from the two-part study, published in today’s issue of Nature , provides new insight in understanding how the brain functions, which ultimately has broad implications for the development of drug therapy to treat neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, as well as learning and memory disorders. “This is pure, fundamental research,” said Dr. Thomas Südhof, director of the Center for Basic Neuroscience at UT Southwestern and senior author of the first part of the study. “It is essential for understanding various diseases of the nervous system. The premise of our work is the understanding of neurotransmitter release, which is a necessity for understanding brain function and how the brain works.” © 2002 The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas

Keyword: Miscellaneous
Link ID: 1339 - Posted: 06.24.2010

New molecule wraps up excess anaesthetic. PHILIP BALL Recovering from anaesthesia could become much easier if a new drug, now in clinical trials, lives up to its potential1. During some operations, patients receive neuromuscular blockers to suppress voluntary or reflex muscle contractions. After surgery, they are given drugs to negate the blockers' influence and restore normal muscle function. These often have nasty side-effects, including vomiting, cramps and diarrhoea. Drugs that alleviate these side-effects have unwelcome consequences of their own, such as dry mouth and blurred vision. The problem is that whereas blockers do one thing, their antagonists don't simply do the opposite, but rather they have more general effects. It's like trying to prevent credit-card fraud by outlawing credit cards. Bom, A. et al. A novel concept of reversing neuromuscular block: chemical encapsulation of rocuronium bromide by a cyclodextrin-based synthetic host. Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 41, 266 - 270, (2002). © Nature News Service / Macmillan Magazines Ltd 2002

Keyword: Pain & Touch
Link ID: 1337 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Biologists at the University of California, San Diego have observed, for the first time, a protein gradient in developing fruit fly embryos believed to trigger the division of the embryo into nervous system and different types of epidermis within complex organisms like humans. In a paper featured on the cover of this month’s issue of the journal Developmental Cell, the scientists demonstrate visually and in experimental detail the molecular process by which an embryo begins partitioning itself for subsequent development into neural and distinct forms of epidermal tissue. Their experiments provide final confirmation of an elegant hypothesis proposed during the 1950s by the mathematician Alan Turing, who suggested that chemicals generated incrementally during the development of a complex organism might cause the differentiation of cells during early embryonic development. “We are now one step closer to understanding the mechanism by which crude spatial information provided by the egg is converted into more refined information that ultimately defines every position along the body axis in exquisite detail,” says Ethan Bier, a professor of biology at UCSD who headed the research. “This process assures that fingernails grow only on the tips of fingers and two eyes become positioned symmetrically on either side of the nose.” Copyright ©2001 Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.

Keyword: Development of the Brain
Link ID: 1336 - Posted: 06.24.2010

* Normal fetal development requires both mother and fetus to supply appropriate levels of thyroid hormone at different times. * Brain abnormalities found in children exposed to abnormally low concentrations of thyroid hormone during fetal development are similar to those found in children exposed to alcohol in utero. * Researchers have found that alcohol consumption during pregnancy can alter thyroid function in both the mother and fetus. In order to assure normal fetal development, mother and fetus must both - at different times during gestation - contribute appropriate levels of thyroid hormone. If not, brain defects can result, some of which resemble those found in children suffering from fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS). Due to these commonalities, some researchers speculate that alcohol may mediate alcohol-related birth defects (ARBDs) by inducing hypothyroid conditions in utero.

Keyword: Drug Abuse; Hormones & Behavior
Link ID: 1335 - Posted: 01.16.2002

Mouse experiments suggest that folic acid deficiency could increase the brain’s susceptibility to Parkinson’s disease, according to scientists at the National Institute on Aging. In the finding, published in the January 2002 issue of the Journal of Neurochemistry , the investigators fed one group of mice a diet that included folate, while a second group was fed a diet lacking this vitamin. They then gave the mice moderate amounts of MPTP, a chemical that can cause Parkinson-like symptoms. In the mice fed folate, MPTP caused only mild symptoms of disease. But mice fed the folate-deficient diet developed severe Parkinson-like symptoms. The scientists found that mice with low amounts of dietary folic acid had elevated levels of homocysteine in the blood and brain. They suspect that increased levels of homocysteine in the brain caused damage to the DNA of nerve cells in the substantia nigra, an important brain structure that produces dopamine. Copyright © 1992-2002 Bio Online, Inc. All rights reserved.

Keyword: Parkinsons
Link ID: 1334 - Posted: 06.24.2010

by JENNY HOPE, Daily Mail Her mother, Joy Muddiman, 33, says the difference is hard to believe. 'It's wonderful, almost like a miracle. 'For the first time we have seen Jasmine really laugh, and we can laugh with her. Before, when she began to laugh, it signalled the start of a fit.' The operation was carried out for the first time by NHS doctors last month. Previously, it was available only in Australia at a cost of more than £25,000 to non-residents, and some British children have travelled there for treatment. Neurosurgeon Christopher Chandler, of King's College Hospital, London, who led the team involved, describes it as a real advance. ©2001 Associated New Media Limited

Keyword: Epilepsy
Link ID: 1333 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Sleeping May Be the Most Important Thing You Do Today Judy Licht Washington Post Staff Writer Going to sleep may seem pretty boring compared with all the fun stuff there is to do while you're awake. But there's a lot going on in your mind and body while you're tucked under those covers. Sleep, in fact, is as important to your survival as eating and drinking. Sleep improves your mood, makes you a better athlete, and helps you remember and understand what you learned during the day. © 2002 The Washington Post Company

Keyword: Sleep
Link ID: 1331 - Posted: 06.24.2010

By SUSAN GILBERT Even the best parent-teenager relationships have their shares of disconnects, and it is hardly surprising that they often occur on the subject of sex. Beyond a certain point, parents can only guess what their children are thinking, feeling and doing — and hope that they are doing it safely. But Dr. Lynn Ponton knows. Teenagers open up to Dr. Ponton, a professor of psychiatry at University of California at San Francisco. In addition, as chairwoman of the Disaster and Trauma Committee of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, she works as a consultant to schools on issues of violence and risk-taking. Some teenagers she meets have been victims of sexual violence; others are perpetrators. There are early-developing girls who feel like "sluts" because they fantasize about sex, and there are boys who enjoy Internet pornography that shows abuse of women. Several of their stories are told in detail in Dr. Ponton's recent book, "The Sex Lives of Teenagers" (Plume, 2001). Copyright 2002 The New York Times Company

Keyword: Sexual Behavior
Link ID: 1330 - Posted: 06.24.2010

By BRENDA FOWLER In 1981 the linguist Noam Chomsky, who had already proposed that language was not learned but innate, made an even bolder claim. The grammars of all languages, he said, can be described by a set of universal rules or principles, and the differences among those grammars are due to a finite set of options that are also innate. If grammar were bread, then flour and liquid would be the universal rules; the options — parameters, Dr. Chomsky called them — would be things like yeast, eggs, sugar and jalapeños, any of which yield a substantially different product when added to the universals. The theory would explain why grammars vary only within a narrow range, despite the tremendous number and diversity of languages. Copyright 2002 The New York Times Company

Keyword: Language
Link ID: 1329 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Missing protein leaves mice impervious to pain VIRGINIA GEWIN Researchers have a new lead for treating pain. A protein called DREAM appears to play a key role in how mice respond to heat, touch and inflammation1. Mice lacking DREAM seem oblivious to all types of pain, find Josef Penninger and his colleagues at The AMGEN Institute, Toronto, Canada. The animals can bear acute pain - the kind caused for example by heat, pressure, or injections as well as chronic inflammatory pain - that which arthritis patients suffer. They seem otherwise normal. DREAM was first identified in 1999, when it was known by three different names and had three different proposed functions in biological systems. * Cheng, H.-Y. M. et al. DREAM is a critical transcriptional repressor for pain modulation. Cell, 108, 31 - 43, (2002). © Nature News Service / Macmillan Magazines Ltd 2002

Keyword: Pain & Touch; Genes & Behavior
Link ID: 1328 - Posted: 06.24.2010

FDA Expands Use of Parkinson's Brain Implant The Associated Press W A S H I N G T O N, — A brain stimulator used to control tremors now can be implanted deep into a different part of the brain to fight other debilitating symptoms of Parkinson's disease, the government ruled today. Since 1997, doctors have been able to implant Medtronic Corp.'s pacemaker-like device into one side of a patient's brain to cut the tremors that plague patients with Parkinson's and certain other diseases. Tremor experts have called the Activa system a major advance. The Food and Drug Administration's 1997 approval, however, said Activa implants were only for one side of the brain — meaning it helped only one side of the body. T Copyright 2002 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Copyright © 2002 ABCNEWS Internet Ventures.

Keyword: Parkinsons
Link ID: 1326 - Posted: 06.24.2010

FDA today approved an expanded use of a brain implant to help control some symptoms of advanced Parkinson's disease. The device, a deep brain stimulator, made by Medtronic, Inc., of Minneapolis, Minn., was initially approved by FDA in 1997 for use in one side of the brain to help control tremors on one side of the body. Today, after review of additional studies conducted by the manufacturer, the agency approved the device, called the Activa Parkinson's Control System, for use in both sides of the brain to help reduce some of the other symptoms of advanced Parkinson's that cannot be adequately controlled with medication. An estimated 1.5 million Americans have Parkinson's disease, which results in tremors, rigidity, postural instability, slowness and difficulty moving and, in some people, intellectual deterioration.

Keyword: Parkinsons
Link ID: 1325 - Posted: 01.15.2002

By Leah Thorsen Special to The Washington Post The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, a health advocacy group that generally opposes animal experimentation, is suing the federal government for documents that it believes would lead to the shutdown of a federally funded project involving experiments on cats. PCRM filed suit in U.S. District Court here, alleging that the National Institutes of Health improperly withheld data that should be made public under the Freedom of Information Act. The group says it needs the documents to challenge the way NIH reviews scientific projects and to show that the experiments should never have been approved. The suit, filed Dec. 27, contends that the National Institute on Drug Abuse, part of NIH, refused to release records pertaining to a five-year project at Ohio State University at Columbus that was awarded a $1.68 million federal grant. © 2002 The Washington Post Company

Keyword: Miscellaneous
Link ID: 1324 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Rare musical ability to distinguish sounds by ear could be genetic Carl T. Hall, Chronicle Science Writer Almost from the time he could walk, Berkeley concert pianist Roy Bogas felt the pull of music -- and an uncanny facility for recognizing, and eventually naming, notes. Bogas, who performs for the San Francisco Ballet and other orchestras, can instantly tell whether a given tone is an A or a D or a G or any interval between. Known as "perfect" or "absolute" pitch, it's a rare ability in adults, even among professional musicians, who typically have what's known as "relative pitch," or the ability to tell what a note is only when given a starting note as a reference. ©2002 San Francisco Chronicle Page A - 4

Keyword: Hearing
Link ID: 1322 - Posted: 06.24.2010

WASHINGTON - Research has shown that more than half of college women have experienced eating disorder symptoms (although most do not have full-blown anorexia or bulimia). While the cause of eating disorders is still unknown, new research suggests that depression and difficulty expressing one's feelings may be a risk factor for disordered eating in young women with a history of family problems or abuse. Psychologists Suzanne E. Mazzeo, Ph.D., of Virginia Commonwealth University and Dorothy L. Espelage, Ph.D., of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, studied 820 undergraduate female college students to see whether certain risk factors led to disordered eating. The researchers found that family conflict, family cohesion, childhood physical and emotional abuse and neglect did indirectly influence whether a college student would develop problem eating behaviors. However, they found that depression and alexithymia -- difficulty in identifying and describing one's own feelings -- more directly influences whether women from this type of background develop eating problems. The findings appear in the January issue of the Journal of Counseling Psychology, published by the American Psychological Association (APA).

Keyword: Depression; Anorexia & Bulimia
Link ID: 1320 - Posted: 01.14.2002

Prozac and other new drugs triggered a revolution in the treatment of depression. But do we still need the couch? BY SANJAY GUPTA, M.D. There seems to be a lot of depression going around these days, which shouldn't be surprising, given the stress of the holidays and the continuing psychic fallout of Sept. 11. What is surprising is how many more depressed people are getting treatment--at least compared with 10 years ago. I remember in my first year of medical school, back in the late 1980s, being taught about a new class of antidepression medications called SSRIs, or selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, of which Prozac is now the most famous. What we didn't realize then is that the SSRIs would start a revolution in the management of America's most common--but no less serious--mental disorder. How far that revolution has spread was driven home last week by a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Between 1987 and 1997, it reported, the number of Americans being treated for depression more than tripled, from 1.8 million to 6.3 million, while those taking antidepressants doubled. Copyright © 2002 Time Inc. All rights reserved.

Keyword: Depression
Link ID: 1318 - Posted: 06.24.2010

By KIRK JOHNSON Public health researchers in New York, struggling to determine the real dimensions of the health threat at the World Trade Center site, are beginning an ambitious series of long-term studies to identify and then track a wide range of people who lived through the nightmare of dust, smoke and stress when the towers fell. Two Manhattan hospitals, for instance, are collecting blood samples from pregnant women who say they were in the vicinity of the trade center on the morning of Sept. 11 or in the days afterward. Mount Sinai School of Medicine will send out 3,000 letters to obstetricians in the region as early as next week, also seeking pregnant women who were near ground zero for a related study that will look at the possible effects of maternal anxiety as well as toxic substances in the air. Beginning next Monday, physicians and investigators from Queens College will start searching for nonunion day laborers, many of them now dispersed into the work force, who helped clean up dust-saturated buildings around the trade center in the weeks just after the attacks. The New York Academy of Medicine is beginning an even more ambitious task: building a registry of every person — from the firefighters to members of the New York City Transit tunnel crews — who worked, even for a day, at ground zero. Copyright 2002 The New York Times Company

Keyword: Stress; Depression
Link ID: 1317 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Jay Ingram "Near-death experience." The words alone are enough to trigger angry disagreement. Skeptics, materialists, whatever you want to call them, dismiss these bizarre and intriguing phenomena as the last gasps of a dying brain. Believers, mind/body dualists, whatever you want to call them, take these reports at what seems to be their face value: real experiences reported by people who have had a glimpse of death and maybe even of something beyond. Now there's a solid new report for both sides to chew on. The Dec. 15 issue of the British medical journal The Lancet published a report by a Dutch medical group on near-death experiences in a group of 344 patients who had suffered cardiac arrest. Sixty-two of these patients, 18 per cent of the total, reported having a near-death experience, an NDE. To qualify for such an experience in this study patients had to remember having some or all of the following: an out-of-the-body experience, pleasant feelings, seeing the light at the end of the tunnel (literally), seeing deceased relatives or having the events of their life pass before their eyes. Copyright 1996-2002. Toronto Star Newspapers Limited.

Keyword: Cerebral Cortex; Attention
Link ID: 1316 - Posted: 01.13.2002

By ROB TURNER Ron Miles wants to put a bug in your ear. More specifically, a bug's ear, or rather a replica of one. Miles, a vibrations and acoustics expert at SUNY at Binghamton, is actually trying to replicate the incredibly accurate hearing mechanism of a rare fly -- the Ormia ochracea -- and use it to create everything from the world's most sophisticated hearing aid to tiny microphones that might help catch the future Osama bin Ladens of the world. GOOD VIBRATIONS It's all part of biomimicry, an attempt to mold technology on nature (its early successes include Velcro, developed after a Swiss inventor, out hiking, noticed cockleburs sticking to his wool pants). When two scientists -- Ron Hoy of Cornell and Daniel Robert of the University of Bristol -- first discovered that this Ormia had ears, they weren't thinking of their market potential. Most flies don't have ears; that they had found them on its underbelly was enough of a coup. What's more this Ormia's ears are extraordinary. They have developed through evolutionary necessity the ability to pinpoint the location of chirping crickets, on whose bodies the female deposits her larva (which then consume the said crickets) to propagate. ''We had no idea this ear would be so cool,'' Hoy admits. When Miles explained its mechanics -- it has two eardrums, the one closer to the sound vibrates more loudly than the other, detecting a noise's direction within one or two degrees -- the team of scientists realized that its supersensitivity could revolutionize hearing aids. Copyright 2002 The New York Times Company

Keyword: Hearing; Evolution
Link ID: 1315 - Posted: 01.13.2002