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Findings shed light on the role of environmental event in development of neural circuits in newborns

Neurons that process sensory information such as touch and vision are arranged in precise, well-characterized maps that are crucial for translating perception into understanding. A study published by Cell Press on October 14 in the journal Developmental Cell reveals that the actual act of birth in mice causes a reduction in a brain chemical called serotonin in the newborn mice, triggering sensory maps to form.

16 Oct 2013

Brain damage treatment could be as close as the wardrobe

For those with brain damage or neurological disorders - such as MS or Parkinson's - treatment could be as close as the wardrobe.

16 Oct 2013

Common catalyst cerium oxide opens door to nanochemistry for medicine

Scientists at Rice University are enhancing the natural antioxidant properties of an element found in a car's catalytic converter to make it useful for medical applications.

16 Oct 2013

Mindfulness-based intervention leads to drop in blood pressure

Blood pressure is effectively lowered by mindfulness-based stress reduction for patients with borderline high blood pressure or "prehypertension." This finding is reported in the October issue of Psychosomatic Medicine: Journal of Biobehavioral Medicine, the official journal of the American Psychosomatic Society.

16 Oct 2013

Research shows inhibition of Rcan1 protein may reduce atherosclerosis in mice

Researchers of the Spanish research council (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cient-ficas, CSIC) and the Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (CNIC) have discovered that inhibiting the protein Rcan1 in mice reduces the burden of atherosclerosis, one of the commonest cardiovascular diseases.

16 Oct 2013

Family caregivers of chronically ill patients enjoy 18% survival advantage, says study

Contradicting long-standing conventional wisdom, results of a Johns Hopkins-led analysis of data previously gathered on more than 3,000 family caregivers suggests that those who assist a chronically ill or disabled family member enjoy an 18 percent survival advantage compared to statistically matched non-caregivers.

16 Oct 2013

Results of Phase 3 clinical trial of contraceptive vaginal ring presented by Population Council

Today, the Population Council presented findings from a Phase 3 clinical trial that was designed to demonstrate the safety, efficacy, and acceptability of the Council's investigational one-year contraceptive vaginal ring (CVR).

16 Oct 2013

Less-healthy patients more prone to recovery room complications

Complications in the recovery room decreased by 58 percent between 1990 and 2010, according to a study presented at the ANESTHESIOLOGY 2013 annual meeting. In a previous study completed in the late 1980s, recovery room complications occurred in 23.7 percent of the patients.

16 Oct 2013

New discovery may lead to effective treatments for chronic itching

Anyone who has suffered through sleepless nights due to uncontrollable itching knows that not all itching is the same. New research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis explains why.

16 Oct 2013

Ghrelin hormone released during chronic stress may predispose people to PTSD

About a dozen years ago, scientists discovered that a hormone called ghrelin enhances appetite. Dubbed the "hunger hormone," ghrelin was quickly targeted by drug companies seeking treatments for obesity - none of which have yet panned out.

16 Oct 2013

Breast cancer patients receiving nerve block with general anesthesia have less cancer recurrence

Breast cancer patients who received the combination of a nerve block with general anesthesia for their breast cancer surgery had less cancer recurrence and were three times less likely to die than those who received only general anesthesia, according to a study presented at the ANESTHESIOLOGY 2013 annual meeting.

16 Oct 2013

Researchers develop new method to produce artificial membranes using nanoscaled tip

Researchers around Dr. Michael Hirtz from Karlsruhe Institute of Technology and Dr. Aravind Vijayaraghavan from the University of Manchester have developed a new method to produce artificial membranes: Using a nanoscaled tip, they write tailored patches of phospholipid membrane onto a graphene substrate.

16 Oct 2013

Simple blood test can help diagnose early-stage lung and prostate cancers

Early-stage lung and prostate cancers as well as their recurrence can be detected with a simple blood test, according to a study presented at the ANESTHESIOLOGY 2013 annual meeting.

16 Oct 2013

Childhood gunshot injuries require more major surgery, have greater mortality

A research team led by Oregon Health & Science University and the University of California, Davis, reveals that childhood gunshot injuries, while uncommon, are more severe, require more major surgery, have greater mortality and higher per-patient costs than any other mechanism for childhood injury - particularly among adolescent males. The study is published online in the journal Pediatrics.

16 Oct 2013

New method may pave way to effective, targeted cancer treatments

Researchers from the University of Minnesota, Mayo Clinic, and University of Toronto have successfully shown that a new method for targeting mutated cells could create a major breakthrough in a personalized medicine approach to treat cancer.

16 Oct 2013

Study: Speech and language disorders are occupational hazards for teachers

Mayo Clinic researchers have found a surprising occupational hazard for teachers: progressive speech and language disorders. The research, recently published in the American Journal of Alzheimer's Disease & Other Dementias, found that people with speech and language disorders are about 3.5 times more likely to be teachers than patients with Alzheimer's dementia.

16 Oct 2013

IRCM researchers identify new proteins crucial for hearing

A team of researchers led by Dr. Michel Cayouette at the IRCM made an important discovery, published online yesterday by the scientific journal Developmental Cell, that could better explain some inherited forms of hearing loss in humans. The Montr-al scientists identified a group of proteins crucial for shaping the cellular organ responsible for detecting sounds.

16 Oct 2013

Cerebral cortical development may influence recovery from childhood ADHD

Some people grow out of their childhood attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and some don't. In fact, around 50% of individuals diagnosed as children continue to suffer from ADHD as adults.

16 Oct 2013

UCSD professor receives $6.25M grant to support research on chronic lymphocytic leukemia

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society has awarded Thomas J. Kipps, MD, PhD, Distinguished Professor of Medicine at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, with a 5-year, $6.25 million Specialized Center of Research program grant to support research on chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), the most common adult leukemia in the United States.

16 Oct 2013

UC researchers receive $2.1M grant from NIH to study molecular mechanisms of muscle fatigue

University of Cincinnati (UC) researchers have been awarded a five-year, $2.1 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to study an isoform that plays a critical role in human resistance to fatigue.

16 Oct 2013