The progression of Parkinson's disease could be slowed or even stopped by a drug commonly used to treat high blood pressure, a study in Nature suggests. Tests on mice at Northwestern University in Chicago showed isradipine can rejuvenate the brain neurons which are dying in Parkinson's patients. The disease, which mainly affects those aged over 40, leads to tremors and ultimately the inability to walk. Parkinson's charities welcomed the study but said they were early results. "It is too early to state with confidence that this drug will be appropriate for the treatment for Parkinson's disease," said Kieran Breen, director of research and development at the Parkinson's Disease Society. "A significant amount of further research will be required before any definite conclusions can be drawn." Isradipine is a calcium-blocker which is usually used to tackle high blood pressure, angina and stroke. But researchers at Northwestern University found mice, who had been engineered to develop a progressive Parkinson's-type disease, did not become ill when their condition was treated with the drug. Their dopamine neurons - cells which start to die in Parkinson's patients - appeared to revert back to their original, youthful form. Dopamine is a critical substance which affects the control of movement. When it is lacking, that movement becomes increasingly difficult and unco-ordinated. The team found that when people become older, calcium ions start to enter the dopamine neurons and change how they behave. It is thought that isradipine's ability to stop calcium entering the cells is key to the effectiveness of the treatment. (C)BBC

Keyword: Parkinsons
Link ID: 10391 - Posted: 06.11.2007

By STEPHANIE SAUL IN the book “Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH,” a group of lab rats acquire human intelligence through a genetic experiment. Every child recognizes the charming tale as pure fantasy, yet something similar is occurring at a major pharmaceuticals company, Wyeth, where rodents tested in its labs have, indeed, taken on some features of the human brain. Unlike the fictional rats that learned to read, write and operate machinery, Wyeth’s animals are slow-witted, confused and forgetful because they suffer from the crippling dementia of Alzheimer’s disease, which they acquired from a transplanted human gene. Something else extraordinary is going on at Wyeth. The company’s scientists not only can give rodents Alzheimer’s — they have also figured out how to take it away. Curing mice is a lot simpler than curing people, but the results are a tantalizing development that offers hope to humans suffering from the disease. The work also advances what Wyeth executives describe as their war on Alzheimer’s. Wyeth’s team faces a formidable foe. In an industry often criticized as making pricey “me too” drugs that involve minor tweaks to competitors’ products, as well as promoting medicines of marginal value, Wyeth has decided to go full bore against Alzheimer’s, a disease that has defied effective treatment since it was first identified a century ago. The company has dedicated more than 350 scientists exclusively to Alzheimer’s research, and they are working on 23 separate projects for medicines to possibly treat the disease. Copyright 2007 The New York Times Company

Keyword: Alzheimers
Link ID: 10390 - Posted: 06.24.2010

By Maggie Fox WASHINGTON (Reuters) - New tests involving blood and brain scans can detect symptoms of Alzheimer's disease, and brief appraisals of real-life functioning can predict who is likely to develop it, researchers saidSunday. The tests will be critical, experts told a meeting on Alzheimer's disease, because more than 26 million people now have the brain-wasting disease and this number will quadruple, to 106 million, by 2050. "By 2050, 1 in 85 persons worldwide will have Alzheimer's disease," said Ron Brookmeyer of Johns Hopkins University, who led the study on how many people have the disease. No drugs can significantly affect Alzheimer's disease, although four have a very modest impact if given early on. The disease is very difficult to detect until it has progressed from mild memory loss to clear impairment. Patients eventually lose all ability to care for themselves. Detecting the disease early can help patients and their families plan better for the future but can also help researchers develop drugs to treat and perhaps even prevent the disease. © 2007 Reuters

Keyword: Alzheimers
Link ID: 10389 - Posted: 06.24.2010

By Shankar Vedantam For more than a decade, families across the country have been warring with the medical establishment over their claims that routine childhood vaccines are responsible for the nation's apparent epidemic of autism. In an extraordinary proceeding that begins tomorrow, the battle will move from the ivory tower to the courts. Nearly 5,000 families will seek to convince a special "vaccine court" in Washington that the vaccines can cause healthy and outgoing children to withdraw into uncommunicative, autistic shells -- even though a large body of evidence and expert opinion has found no link. The court has never heard a case of such magnitude. The shift from laboratory to courtroom means the outcome will hinge not on scientific standards of evidence but on a legal standard of plausibility -- what one lawyer for the families called "50 percent and a feather." That may make it easier for the plaintiffs to sway the panel of three "special masters," which is why the decision could not only change the lives of thousands of American families but also have a profound effect on the decisions of parents around the world about whether to vaccinate their children. A victory by the plaintiffs, public health officials say, could increase the number of children who are not given vaccines and fall sick or die from the diseases they prevent. © 2007 The Washington Post Company

Keyword: Autism; Neurotoxins
Link ID: 10388 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Launch footage for the London 2012 logo sparked seizures, but how is television checked for footage that could harm people with epilepsy? For the organisers of the 2012 Olympics vilification over its logo has taken a turn for the worse with reports that people with epilepsy suffered seizures as a result of watching an animation in the launch video. One section, featuring a diver causing ripples in a pool, has led to 18 people reporting ill effects. It is believed to be the biggest episode of triggering of photosensitive epilepsy in British broadcasting history. Episodes like this are now rare in the UK because of a gadget called the Harding Flash and Pattern Analyser, used by broadcasters and advertising agencies to avoid triggering seizures. Only 5% of people with epilepsy suffer from photosensitivity, but this still amounts to 23,000 people in the UK, Epilepsy Action says. For them flashes, strobing and flickers, typically at rates of 16 to 25 times a second but as low as three and as high as 60, are a danger. Two incidents in the 1990s intensified research into the way television triggers photosensitive epilepsy. A Pot Noodle advert in 1993 sparked three reports of seizures and prompted concern and a ban on the advert. But nothing in Britain has come near the episode sparked by a Pokemon cartoon in Japan in 1997 when more than 600 children were admitted to hospital after suffering epileptic seizures. Three-quarters of those had never suffered from symptoms of epilepsy before. (C)BBC

Keyword: Epilepsy
Link ID: 10387 - Posted: 06.09.2007

Scientists say they have discovered a new gene linked with late-onset Alzheimer's disease. People with a damaged copy of the gene, GAB2, may be at four times increased risk of developing dementia, Neuron journal reports. Experts said the latest findings were some of the most significant to emerge since the discovery of the ApoE4 Alzheimer's gene. Late-onset Alzheimer's affects one in 10 people over 65 and half of over 85s. The researchers, from 15 institutions including the Institute of Neurology in London, analysed the DNA of 1,411 people and found GAB2 influenced the risk of dementia among those with APOE4. GAB2 appears to modify the effects of this better known Alzheimer's gene. In turn, this leads to the formation of the characteristic protein "tangles" found in the brains of people with Alzheimer's, the researchers told Neuron. (C)BBC

Keyword: Alzheimers; Genes & Behavior
Link ID: 10386 - Posted: 06.09.2007

By Charles Q. Choi Chimpanzees readily learn and share techniques on how to fiddle with gadgets, new research shows, the best evidence yet that our closest living relatives pass on customs and culture just as humans do. The new findings help shed light on the capabilities of last common ancestor of humans and chimps. And the research could also help develop better robots and artificial intelligences, the researchers say In the wild, chimpanzee troops often are distinct from one another, possessing collections of up to 20 traditions or customary behaviors that altogether seem to form unique cultures. Such practices include various forms of tool use, including hammers and pestles; courtship rituals such as leaf-clipping, where leaves are clipped noisily with the teeth; social behaviors such as overhead hand-clasping during mutual grooming; and methods for eradicating parasites by either stabbing or squashing them. While observing chimpanzees, evolutionary psychologist Antoine Spiteri at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland wanted to help settle the question of whether or not the apes learned such practices by watching others like humans do, as opposed to simply knowing how to perform such behaviors innately. © 2007 MSNBC.com © 2007 Microsoft

Keyword: Evolution
Link ID: 10385 - Posted: 06.24.2010

By NICHOLAS WADE Applying a new genomic technique to a large group of patients, researchers in Britain have detected DNA variations that underlie seven common diseases, discovering unexpected links between them. The variations pinpoint biological pathways underlying each of the diseases, and researchers hope that as the pathways are analyzed, new drugs and treatments will emerge. The seven common diseases are bipolar disorder, coronary artery disease, Crohn’s disease, hypertension, rheumatoid arthritis, and Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. Unveiling the complex genetics of common diseases was the promised payoff of the $3 billion human genome project, completed in 2003, but progress was slow until the recent development of devices that in a single operation can read the DNA sequence at up to 500,000 points across an individual’s genome. With the devices, called chips, researchers can compare large numbers of patients with healthy individuals, looking for points of differences in their genomes that may be associated with disease. The approach is known as whole genome association, and studies on Type 2 diabetes, heart disease and breast cancer have been reported within the last few weeks. Those and the new study, which was financed by the Wellcome Trust of London, demonstrate the power and reliability of the whole genome association method, which stands in contrast to the many uncorroborated claims of disease genes made previously. Copyright 2007 The New York Times Company

Keyword: Schizophrenia; Genes & Behavior
Link ID: 10384 - Posted: 06.24.2010

In a laboratory at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, researchers study a mouse swimming in a pool of milky water. While it looks like any other mouse, something is quite different about this mouse's genetically-modified brain. It finds a hidden platform in the water much faster than the other mice. This smart mouse is giving brain researchers new insights into intelligence. "Most people think of intelligence, they think learning and remembering," brain researcher James Bibb says. "However, flexibility in the face of changing situations may be a more important feat of intelligence." By turning off a certain gene, James Bibb (left) and his team found that the mice became smarter. James Bibb and his team didn't set out to make mice smarter. They simply wanted to study the function of a gene nobody knew much about. "We wanted to understand features of the brain's function and we didn't expect the animals to end up showing improved or enhanced performance in anything," he says. "We expected deficiencies to appear and for that to tell us what the role of this gene for Cdk5 was." Bibb wanted to study the Cdk5 gene because it is suspected to be involved in Alzheimer's disease as well as in drug addictions. © ScienCentral, 2000-2007

Keyword: Learning & Memory; Genes & Behavior
Link ID: 10383 - Posted: 06.24.2010

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A pre-existing defect in body temperature regulation may be a factor underlying some fatal reactions to the illegal "club drug" ecstasy (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine, MDMA), researchers from Canada propose. "Fatal MDMA intoxication is idiosyncratic and the reasons why some ecstasy users are especially susceptible to the toxic effects of the drug are still unknown," Dr. Stephen J. Kish of the University of Toronto and the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health and colleagues point out. They also note that deaths attributed to MDMA intoxication, which are fairly infrequent compared with the estimated number of recreational users, are often associated with a sharp increase of body temperature, also referred to as hyperthermia. In the current issue of the Journal of Forensic Sciences, Kish's team describes a 24-year-old woman who developed fatal hyperthermia with complications affecting multiple organs after taking ecstasy. An autopsy showed that the woman had diffuse thyroid hyperplasia (also called Graves' disease), a thyroid disorder that could have made her less tolerant to heat. Comprehensive drug screening showed only MDMA and traces of methamphetamine in a blood sample collected 3 to 4 hours after the woman took the drugs. © 1996-2007 Scientific American, Inc.

Keyword: Drug Abuse; Hormones & Behavior
Link ID: 10382 - Posted: 06.24.2010

By Lucas Laursen Heavy snacking after exercise may have little to do with hunger or appetite hormones. In a new study, people who rode a bike for an hour ate more for lunch than those who just sat around ate, despite similar levels of hunger and short-term appetite-suppressing hormones. The urge to gobble after exercise, it turns out, may be a more complicated mixture of psychology and body chemistry. Hoping to get a better sense of why many people chow down after an hour at the gym, graduate student Cátia Martins of the University of Surrey, U.K., and colleagues recruited 12 adult volunteers with normal weight and eating habits, half of them male and half female. The team then divided the volunteers into two groups. Both groups drank a cup of hot chocolate for breakfast, but 1 hour later, volunteers from one group took a moderate 60-minute spin on a stationary bike, while volunteers in the other group sat around reading or writing. At the end of either activity, the researchers provided both groups with identical buffet lunches of unlimited sandwiches, fruit, cake, cookies, and yogurt. At various points throughout the experiment, Martins and her colleagues collected blood samples from the subjects and had them fill out a questionnaire about their hunger. During their workout, the exercisers reported less hunger than the inactive volunteers and had elevated levels of PYY, GLP-1, and PP, hormones that suppress appetite in the short term. By lunchtime, both groups reported similar amounts of hunger, and both had indistinguishable levels of the three hormones. Yet the exercisers out-ate the slackers, consuming nearly 20% more calories at lunch. © 2007 American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Keyword: Obesity
Link ID: 10381 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Jennifer Viegas, Discovery News — Neanderthals likely did not possess the cognitive complexities of modern humans and, as a result, probably did not suffer from schizophrenia and certain other mental disorders, according to a new theory. The theory proposes that language, creativity and many mental diseases are linked, due to the fact that they may originate in the neocortex, as well as the densely cell-packed cortex, located towards the top of the brain. These brain regions appear to mature and develop more slowly than other areas. Although there are conflicting claims about possible Neanderthal creative abilities, no direct evidence supports that this extinct human species or subspecies possessed full-fledged grammatical language. Neanderthals had large brains, but researchers believe their mental skills matured rapidly, closing the door to disorders associated with the cortex. Modern humans, on the other hand, must take the bad with the good. "In a nutshell, I feel that the extremely long maturation time of our brains — greater than 20 years — allows them to develop many and various capabilities, such as language and schizophrenia," H. Lee Seldon, the theory’s author, told Discovery News. © 2007 Discovery Communications Inc.

Keyword: Evolution
Link ID: 10380 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Researchers have identified a master hormone that allows the body to fuel itself with stored fat during times of fasting. The hormone mobilizes lipids from fat cells, and then directs the liver to transform those lipids into energy-rich molecules that circulate throughout the body. The researchers said their findings reveal a more complete picture of the far-reaching role of the hormone, fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21), which is already in development as a treatment for type 2 diabetes. In addition to switching the body to a fat-burning mode, the team found FGF21 induces the hibernation-like state of torpor that conserves energy in fasting animals. FGF21's unexpectedly broad role in fat-burning was reported in two papers published in the June, 2007, issue of the journal Cell Metabolism. One paper was from the laboratory of Steven Kliewer and Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator David Mangelsdorf at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. Coauthors on the paper are Kliewer and Mangelsdorf's colleagues at UT Southwestern and scientists from Van Andel Research Institute and New York University School of Medicine. The other Cell Metabolism paper was by Eleftheria Maratos-Flier of Harvard University and colleagues. © 2007 Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Keyword: Obesity
Link ID: 10379 - Posted: 06.24.2010

A segment of animated footage promoting the 2012 Olympics has been removed from the organisers' website after fears it could trigger epileptic seizures. Prof Graham Harding, who developed the test used to measure photo-sensitivity levels in TV material, said it should not be broadcast again. Charity Epilepsy Action said it had received calls from people who had suffered fits after seeing it. Organiser London 2012 said it will re-edit the film. The new logo for the event, which is a jagged emblem based on the date 2012, was unveiled on Monday. A London 2012 spokeswoman said the health concerns surrounded a piece of animation shown at the launch, which was recorded by broadcasters and put on the official website. Emphasising that it was not the logo itself which was the focus of worries, she said: "This concerns a short piece of animation which we used as part of the logo launch event and not the actual logo." She said the section of footage concerned showed a "diver diving into a pool which had a multi-colour ripple effect". The spokeswoman said: "We are taking it very seriously and are looking into it as a matter of urgency." Prof Harding is an expert in clinical neuro-physiology and he designed a test which all moving adverts need to undergo to check they will not trigger a reaction in people with epilepsy. He told BBC London 94.9FM: "It fails the Harding FPA machine test which is the machine the television industry uses to test images. And so it does not comply with Ofcom guidelines and is in contravention of them. The brand incorporates both the Olympic and Paralympic Games, which is ironic as the latter is a showcase for athletes with disabilities (C)BBC

Keyword: Epilepsy; Vision
Link ID: 10378 - Posted: 06.09.2007

Roxanne Khamsi Mice that lack the gene for an important brain-signalling chemical are 10 times less physically active and carry twice as much body fat as their control counterparts, a study reveals. The researchers speculate that mutations in this gene - known as brain specific homeobox transcription factor (Bsx) - could explain why some people fidget less than others and as a result put on more weight, even on a healthy diet. Mathias Treier at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Heidelberg, Germany, and colleagues engineered a set of mice to lack the Bsx gene and tagged the animals with transponders. Over the course of the experiment the team monitored the animals' weight and movements within the cages. By the time these mice reached three months of age they had about 3 grams of body fat - roughly twice the amount of their control counterparts, even though both groups ate the same healthy diet. According to Treier, this difference persisted in subsequent months as the mice matured. Treier noticed something that could explain this disparity: the mice lacking Bsx engaged in far less spontaneous activity and sat in place for long stretches of time - much like a human "couch potato". The normal mice, by comparison, fidgeted frequently, regularly wandering about the cage. © Copyright Reed Business Information Ltd.

Keyword: Obesity; Genes & Behavior
Link ID: 10377 - Posted: 06.24.2010

UK scientists are attempting to restore vision in people with a leading cause of blindness using stem cells. The team have already repaired the vision of a handful of patients with age-related macular degeneration using cells from the patients' own eyes. With the help of a £4m donation, they are now planning to carry out the same operation using retinal cells grown from stem cells in the lab. It is hoped the first patients would be treated within five years. Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) affects around 25% of over-60s in the UK to some degree and causes blindness in 14 million people across Europe. There are two types - dry - which makes up 90% of cases, and wet, which makes up the other 10%. It is caused by the failure of retinal pigment epithelial cells (RPE) - a layer of cells under the retina. Using stem cells - which are far more adaptable - can only improve success of what has already been achieved and in addition establish this as a global therapy Mr Lyndon Da Cruz, consultant ophthalmic surgeon at Moorfields Eye Hospital in London has carried out an operation in a handful of patients to take cells from the periphery of the eye in patients with wet AMD and transplant them into the affected area. The procedures have been successful but are associated with complications, take more than two hours and require two operations. To make the procedure quicker, easier and more widely available, researchers at the University of Sheffield have grown RPE cells from embryonic stem cell lines. The hope is that this can be processed into a layer that can be injected into the patients' eye during a simple 45-minute operation. Tests of the laboratory grown RPE cells in rats with AMD showed they restored blindness. (C)BBC

Keyword: Vision; Stem Cells
Link ID: 10376 - Posted: 06.05.2007

Agricultural workers exposed to high levels of pesticides have a raised risk of brain tumours, research suggests. The French study also indicated a possible higher risk among people who used pesticides on houseplants. All agricultural workers exposed to pesticides had a slightly elevated brain tumour risk, it suggested. But the Occupational and Environmental Medicine study found the risk was more than doubled for those exposed to the highest levels. The risk of a type of central nervous system tumour known as a glioma was particularly heightened among this group - more than three times the risk in the general population. Gliomas are more common in men than women, and the researchers speculate that part of the reason might be that men are more often exposed to pesticides. However, the overall risk of developing a brain tumour remained very low. UK experts said the findings were inconclusive. The findings were based on an analysis of 221 cases of brain tumours by the French Institute of Public Health, Epidemiology and Development. The research took place in the Bordeaux wine-growing region, where 80% of all pesticides used are fungicides. The chemicals are mixed and sprayed in a mist to protect vines from fungal attack. However, the researchers were unable to get specific enough data to pin down exactly which types of pesticide were associated with the development of brain tumours. (C)BBC

Keyword: Neurotoxins; Parkinsons
Link ID: 10375 - Posted: 06.05.2007

By BENEDICT CAREY DENVER — Almost every parent of young children has heard an anguished cry or two (or 200) something like: “This shirt is scratchy, this shirt is scratchy, get it off!” “This oatmeal smells like poison, it’s poisonous!” “My feet are hot, my feet are hot, my feet are boiling!” Such bizarre, seemingly overblown reactions to everyday sensations can end in tears, parents know, or escalate into the sort of tantrum that brings neighbors to the door asking whether everything’s all right. Usually, it is. The world for young children is still raw, an acid bath of strange sights, smells and sounds, and it can take time to get used to it. Yet for decades some therapists have argued that there are youngsters who do not adjust at all, or at least not normally. They remain oversensitive, continually recoiling from the world, or undersensitive, banging into things, duck-walking through the day as if not entirely aware of their surroundings. Copyright 2007 The New York Times Company

Keyword: Pain & Touch; Hearing
Link ID: 10374 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Every day humans make thousands of decisions, small and large, based on the information at hand and their assessment of the potential outcome of those choices. Now, in a pioneering study of rhesus macaque monkeys, a team of researchers from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) at the University of Washington has caught primates in the act of probabilistic reasoning. They have measured the electrical activity at play in brain cells as the animals make a choice based on their interpretation of a set of visual cues and the potential for reward. Writing June 3, 2007 in an advance online publication of the journal Nature, a team of researchers led by HHMI investigator Michael N. Shadlen at the University of Washington describes experiments in which monkeys learned to base their decisions on the combined probabilities for reward of a random sequence of shapes presented on a video screen. In the process, Shadlen and colleague Tianming Yang, also of the University of Washington, measured the response of neurons in a region of the brain associated with vision, motor planning and attention. “It's amazing the monkeys can do this,” said Shadlen, “and it's pretty incredible you can find neurons in the brain that are doing these calculations.” © 2007 Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

Keyword: Attention
Link ID: 10373 - Posted: 06.24.2010

By Kathi Mestayer The hardest thing I've had to come to terms with in the 17 years since my hearing started to fail is not silence but intrusive noises: They ring in my ears, obscure the sounds I want to listen to and startle me when they amplify themselves without warning. There I am, working quietly at my desk, when the knock at my door becomes -- Crash! -- a tympanic interruption, and I leap to attention. Mine is what's called sensorineural hearing loss, which can be caused by loud noises and is often associated with aging (I was 35 when it began) but in my case is probably genetic. Most of my immediate family members have lost their hearing as they've aged, and they walk around, like me, with hunks of beige-ish plastic in and around their ears. Fifteen percent of American adults have some kind of hearing loss, according to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. Those of us in that group have learned to adapt to a world that ever larger numbers of people are likely to share because more of us are getting, well, older. You have to wonder whether kids these days are ruining their hearing with all that loud music piped from iPods directly into their ear canals. There's no doubt that noise causes hearing loss, but there is no hard evidence yet that noise-induced hearing loss is on the rise. In any event, I'm hardly in a position to give that lecture, having danced through my share of rock concerts, right in front of amps that were bigger than I was. © 2007 The Washington Post Company

Keyword: Hearing
Link ID: 10372 - Posted: 06.24.2010