By Jenette Restivo [ABCNEWS.com] B O S T O N, Dec. 27 — While most of us think of the typical Tourette's patient as the rare eccentric who barks obscenities and jerks their arms wildly, a recent study says much more subtle symptoms of Tourette's and related tic disorders are far more common than once thought. "[Kids with mild tics] are at a higher risk for developing future school problems. This is a way of identifying children ahead of time so they can be monitored — a clue to how the child's brain is organized," says lead study author Dr. Roger Kurlan, director of the Tourette's Syndrome Clinic and the Cognitive and Behavioral Neurology Clinic at the University of Rochester in New York. Tip of the Iceberg To determine the prevalence of tics and Tourette's Syndrome in school-aged children, Kurlan looked at a group of 1,600 children in both regular and special education classrooms in Rochester. Copyright © 2002 ABCNEWS Internet Ventures.

Keyword: Tourettes
Link ID: 1257 - Posted: 06.24.2010

A gene involved in setting up the mammalian body plan also appears to control grooming behavior in mice. Researchers who knocked out a specific homeobox, or Hox, gene in mice also noted that the mice groomed themselves excessively — creating bald spots and skin wounds. The discovery suggests that the Hox genes, a large family of development-controlling genes, might also serve as behavioral regulators in the adult brain. Studies of the gene family could yield important insights into the genetic basis of compulsive behavior in humans. Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator Mario R. Capecchi and colleague Joy M. Greer, both at the University of Utah School of Medicine, reported their findings in an article published in the January 3, 2002, issue of the journal Neuron. ©2002 Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Keyword: Stress; OCD - Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
Link ID: 1256 - Posted: 06.24.2010

By ERICA GOODE Acupuncture is widely used as a treatment for cocaine addiction. But the results of a large clinical trial suggest that when used alone without other treatments the therapy is not effective in reducing cocaine dependency, researchers report yesterday. Needles inserted into four acupuncture zones in the ear that are commonly used in treating addiction did no more to curtail cocaine use than relaxation exercises or a sham procedure in which needles were inserted into the rim of the ear. The study participants received the acupuncture or the other treatments five times a week for eight weeks. Dr. Arthur Margolin, a research scientist at Yale's School of Medicine and the main author of the study, said that based on the findings, "the recommendation would be that acupuncture not be used by itself as a treatment for addiction, or in a setting where there is only minimal counseling or therapy." Copyright 2002 The New York Times Company

Keyword: Drug Abuse
Link ID: 1254 - Posted: 01.03.2002

Neuroscientists examining the brain activity of people who learned to speak American Sign Language (ASL) at different times in their lives have found the first evidence that there is a critical period for acquiring a non-verbal language, just as there is for spoken languages. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), the researchers discovered patterns of brain activity in bilingual people who learned ASL before puberty differed from those who learned it after puberty. The findings are reported in this month’s issue of the journal Nature Neuroscience. They indicate there are regions in the brain’s right hemisphere that are activated when children who learned ASL before puberty are reading sign language. The brains of children who learned ASL after puberty show significantly less right hemisphere activity when they are doing the same activity.

Keyword: Language
Link ID: 1253 - Posted: 06.24.2010

St. Louis, – A second-generation antipsychotic drug lowers the risk of relapse in patients with schizophrenia by nearly half, according to a team of researchers, led by psychiatrists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Results of the two-year, multicenter study are reported in the Jan. 3, 2002 New England Journal of Medicine. Just under one percent of the general population suffers from schizophrenia. The economic burden of the disease was estimated at $33 billion per year in the early 1990s. Much of that cost can be attributed to the consequences of psychotic relapse, which is common among schizophrenic patients. Past studies of antipsychotic drugs tended to be short-term trials, lasting four to eight weeks. They had shown that second-generation drugs helped reduce psychotic symptoms, but longer-term studies were needed in order to determine their long-term effects on the disorder, especially on relapse.

Keyword: Schizophrenia
Link ID: 1252 - Posted: 06.24.2010

By IAN AUSTEN AMONG the many things that wearing an artificial leg changed in Curtis Grimsley's life was the simple ritual of going to the office. Before Mr. Grimsley lost his left leg in a car accident five years ago, he would step off a PATH train from New Jersey and stroll across the concourse of the World Trade Center before heading up to his office on the 70th floor of the north tower, where he worked as a computer analyst for the Port Authority. After his accident, Mr. Grimsley, a former competitive runner and a star of the Port Authority's basketball team, was embarrassed to find himself suddenly unable to keep pace with the thousands of other commuters in the vast concourse. "I was kind of a little vain," Mr. Grimsley acknowledged. "So I always came up the back way to get into my office." Copyright 2002 The New York Times Company

Keyword: Robotics
Link ID: 1250 - Posted: 01.03.2002

By BBC News Online's Helen Briggs The airports of the future could identify potential terrorists by using a lie detector that spots concealed blushing with a super-sensitive thermal imaging camera. Liars are betrayed by the heat that rushes to their face when they tell a fib, according to scientists in the United States. There is an urgent need to devise technologies to identify individuals intending to perform acts of terrorism (C) BBC

Keyword: Stress; Emotions
Link ID: 1249 - Posted: 01.03.2002

Independent scientific research groups from Pfizer and Harvard Medical School have discovered a critical gene responsible for fat cell development. Obesity affects approximately 1 in 4 adults and 1 in 5 children in the United States. As the epidemic of obesity continues to grow, so does the research effort aimed at understanding the molecular mechanisms of fat development. As published in the January 1 issue of Genes & Development, scientists have made a significant advance towards this goal. Drs. Bruce Spiegelman and Heidi Camp from Harvard and Pfizer, respectively, have determined that the gene which encodes the PPARgamma protein is responsible for fat cell development, or adipogenesis. PPARgamma is a nuclear hormone receptor that regulates gene expression in response to extra-cellular signals. The determination that PPARgamma2 is necessary for fat cell development provides a molecular target for rational drug design in the battle against the bulge.

Keyword: Obesity; Genes & Behavior
Link ID: 1242 - Posted: 01.01.2002

UCLA researchers are the first to report altered brain function in people who respond favorably to placebo treatment for major depression. In addition, the findings show these changes are different than those found in people who respond to antidepressant medication. The study, appearing in the January edition of the peer-reviewed American Journal of Psychiatry, used quantitative electroencephalography (QEEG) imaging to examine brain electrical activity in patients treated for depression with placebo, and others treated with antidepressant medication. The researchers examined QEEG cordance, a measure associated with blood flow in the brain. Patients who responded to placebo — an inert substance, such as a sugar pill — showed increased activity in the brain’s prefrontal cortex, while those who responded to medication showed suppressed activity in that area.

Keyword: Depression; Brain imaging
Link ID: 1241 - Posted: 06.24.2010

By ROBERT PEAR WASHINGTON -- To many, the idea that neuroses or depression could be diagnosed as precisely or treated as effectively as a broken leg or a burst appendix seems counterintuitive, even preposterous. To the layperson, symptoms of psychological ills often seem vaguer, more diffuse than physiological ones. Diagnoses seem more subjective, and many people suspect that a patient has more control over a mental illness than a physical one. But the medical model of mental illness has gained ground in recent years as scientists discover biological, chemical and even genetic explanations for mental disorders. With these discoveries have come a citizens' movement for equivalence, or parity, in the insurance coverage of mental and physical illnesses. That movement has galvanized Congress. Senators Pete V. Domenici, Republican of New Mexico, and Paul Wellstone, Democrat of Minnesota, have, for more than five years, led a campaign to translate the idea of parity into law. In October, the Senate approved the proposal as an amendment to a spending bill for the Departments of Labor and Health and Human Services. But the proposal was dropped this month by a House-Senate conference committee because of opposition from House Republicans, who shared the concerns of employers and insurers that it would drive up costs. Copyright 2001 The New York Times Company

Keyword: Depression; Schizophrenia
Link ID: 1238 - Posted: 12.31.2001

JEREMY THOMSON The squeaks made by baby mice in the nest are similar to some human infant sounds, new research suggests, hinting that linguistic communication may be based on mechanisms that evolved long ago. Günter Ehret and Sabine Riecke of the University of Ulm, Germany, recorded the wriggling calls baby mice emit when struggling to reach their mother's teat or falling out of the nest. Mother mice respond to some calls by nest building, changing position or licking pups. Ehret and Riecke found that mothers react to the calls that contain word-like groups of at least three clearly separated tones, each of a different frequency. Similarly, the human ear can distinguish vowel sounds easily only if they contain three distinct notes.1 * Ehret, G. & Riecke, S. Mice and humans perceive multiharmonic communications sound in the same way. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 99, 479 - 482, (2002). © Nature News Service / Macmillan Magazines Ltd 2001

Keyword: Animal Communication; Language
Link ID: 1237 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Copyright © 2001 Scripps Howard News Service By TRACY CORREA, The Fresno Bee - Daniel Daley dreamed of a normal life, but his 450-pound body made that impossible. The weight restricted the blood in his legs, making it hard to walk. A roofing contractor by trade, he had not been able to work for more than a decade and couldn't even drive. His brother tied his shoes because he couldn't reach them. Two years ago, a doctor in his hometown of Porterville suggested he look into an increasingly popular weight reduction surgery called gastric bypass. A gastric bypass surgery is performed laproscopically, using small puncture sites in which a fiber-optic rod with a light source and video camera is inserted. Daley saw his chance for a new life. He would reshape his 6-foot-3 frame, get buff, land a job. The surgery took place Oct. 3 at Fresno's University Medical Center. The procedure permanently rerouted his digestive system. Daley's stomach, which originally could hold the contents of a 32-ounce Big Gulp, could now handle less than a Dixie cup. He came home three days later. The problems started almost immediately. "He was throwing up black stuff, and his urine looked like motor oil," said his sister, Margaret Bodoh. He returned to UMC twice in the next three weeks. On Nov. 9, he had a second abdominal surgery to repair a leak and clean out an abscess. Daley died a few hours later. He was 52. Copyright © 2001 Nando Media

Keyword: Obesity
Link ID: 1236 - Posted: 06.24.2010

By Janie Nelson DEMOCRAT SENIOR WRITER Christmas Day was special at the Vines' home in Attapulgus, Ga. Under the tree, Steven Vines found a turkey cooker and lots of new tools. He was surrounded by his family - wife Marilyn and four boys. But he had a lot more to be grateful for. On Dec. 14, his wife drove him to Tallahassee Memorial Hospital for brain "surgery." That afternoon, she drove him home. No scalpels were used in Vines' procedure. No drills cut through his skull. He didn't bleed. Instead, two doctors fitted him with a head frame secured with four screws and zapped the tumor deep inside his head with a massive dose of radiation. Called stereotactic radiosurgery, the procedure was invented in 1950 in Stockholm, Sweden. But it took years to create an instrument that could deliver a precise dose of radiation. All content © 2001 Tallahassee Democrat. All rights reserved.

Keyword: Brain imaging
Link ID: 1234 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Carl W. Bazil, MD, PhD, New York Presbyterian Hospital - Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons Susan T. Herman, MD, University Hospital of Brooklyn Epilepsy Center More than 2.5 million Americans, and nearly 50 million people worldwide, have epilepsy, and despite the numbers of those affected, epilepsy remains a poorly understood disease. Below, two neurologists discuss what is known about epilepsy, and its causes. What is the definition of epilepsy? CARL W. BAZIL, MD, PhD: The definition of epilepsy is very simple. A person who has two or more unprovoked seizures has epilepsy. By "unprovoked" I mean the seizure was not caused by a brain infection or a controlled substance, but came out of nowhere. Why does it have to be two? Can you have one unprovoked, and that's not enough to be declared epilepsy? CARL W. BAZIL, MD, PhD: The reason we define it as two is, if you have one, the chances of having another one are relatively small. If you have two, the chances of going on to have recurrent seizures are a lot greater, and that's when it's considered epilepsy. Copyright © 2001 ABCNEWS Internet Ventures.

Keyword: Epilepsy
Link ID: 1233 - Posted: 06.24.2010

JOHN WHITFIELD Birds tailor their songs to the height of their perches, say researchers. Different species' songs seem to make best use of the acoustic characteristics of different layers of the rainforest. Species that sing close to the ground have slower, lower-pitched songs and use a narrower range of pitches. Sound does not travel as far, or as clearly, near the ground as it does through open air. On the forest floor, a slow song is easier to hear and recognize than the faster, higher-pitched songs of birds that broadcast from the trees. Like composers, birds craft their music to suit their venue, says ornithologist Erwin Nemeth of the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Vienna, leader of the team that made the discovery. "There's some music that works in cathedrals, and other music that works only in jazz clubs," he says. * Nemeth, E., Winkler, H. & Dabelsteen, T.. Differential degradation of antbird songs in a Neotropical rainforest: adaptation to perch height? Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 110, 3263 - 3274, (2001). © Nature News Service / Macmillan Magazines Ltd 2001

Keyword: Autism; Hearing
Link ID: 1231 - Posted: 06.24.2010

An immunologic therapy, intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg), administered to patients suffering from stiff person syndrome (SPS), provides dramatic relief from disabling symptoms, according to a study appearing in the December 27, 2001, issue of The New England Journal of Medicine* . The study's principal author, Marinos C. Dalakas, M.D., chief of the Neuromuscular Diseases Section of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, says that the success of the treatment supports the theory that SPS is the result of an autoimmune response gone awry in the brain and spinal cord. SPS is characterized by fluctuating muscle rigidity in the trunk and limbs and a heightened sensitivity to stimuli such as noise, touch, and emotional distress that can set off muscular spasms. People with SPS are often too disabled to walk or move, or are afraid to leave the house because of stimuli-triggered spasms and frequent falls. The incidence of SPS has been estimated at one in every one million persons, but according to Dr. Dalakas, "the disorder is so often misdiagnosed — as Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia, psychosomatic illness, or anxiety and phobia — that its actual incidence is probably much higher." Researchers have known since the 1980s that people with SPS have elevated circulating antibodies against a particular enzyme, glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD65), involved in the synthesis of -aminobutyric acid (GABA), an inhibitory neurotransmitter that controls muscle movement.

Keyword: Miscellaneous
Link ID: 1229 - Posted: 06.24.2010

CHAPEL HILL -- One of the brain’s natural painkillers -- beta endorphin -- increases significantly in response to alcohol, cocaine and amphetamine drug administration in a key region of the brain that controls addiction, researchers have discovered. The work, conducted in rats, strongly suggests that the same thing occurs in humans, the scientists say. It offers what could be important new clues in the fight against alcohol and drug addiction. A report on the findings appears as a rapid communication in the newest issue of the Journal of Neuroscience. Authors of the paper include Drs. M. Foster Olive of the University of California at San Francisco and Clyde W. Hodge of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Keyword: Drug Abuse
Link ID: 1227 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Copyright © 2001 AP Online By LINDSEY TANNER, Associated Press New research suggests that a common virus may raise the risk of developing multiple sclerosis, bolstering evidence linking the nerve disorder with the Epstein-Barr germ. Harvard University researchers found that women whose blood contained significant levels of antibodies to the Epstein-Barr virus were four times more likely to develop multiple sclerosis than women without high levels. The virus, a member of the herpes family, is best known as a cause of mononucleosis - the so-called "kissing disease." It also has been linked to other ailments, including some other nerve disorders and cancers, and is so common that by some estimates it has infected as many as 95 percent of U.S. adults by age 40. Copyright © 2001 Nando Media

Keyword: Multiple Sclerosis
Link ID: 1226 - Posted: 06.24.2010

By GAIL KERR Staff Writer One year ago this month, Tennessean local news columnist Gail Kerr was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. This three-part series chronicles her emotional journey of coming to understand and learning to live with a chronic illness. It's not just a story about MS. It's a story that anyone who has gone through a medical crisis can relate to: One day you are fine, the next day you are introduced to a whole new, scary world. Today, Gail writes about starting that frightening journey. Tomorrow, she'll write about learning to understand and live with multiple sclerosis. On Christmas Day, she'll write about getting on with her life.

Keyword: Multiple Sclerosis
Link ID: 1225 - Posted: 12.26.2001

Copyright © 2001 Scripps Howard News Service By LEE BOWMAN, Scripps Howard News Service Want to reduce your risk of developing Alzheimer's disease? A new study suggests there's preventive medicine within reach, as simple as picking up a book or magazine, going for a walk, seeing a movie or chatting with a friend. Researchers at Columbia University in New York report Tuesday in the journal Neurology that leisure activity is an independent factor in reducing risk of dementia among people regardless of their education or occupational background. The journal is published by the American Academy of Neurology. "Subjects with high levels of leisure activity had 38 percent less risk of developing dementia, even when controlling for other risk factors, including ethnic background," said Yaakov Stern, lead author of the study. Copyright © 2001 Nando Media

Keyword: Alzheimers
Link ID: 1224 - Posted: 06.24.2010