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Scientists find working memory highly dependent on fast inhibitory cells

Usually, we associate rhythms with dance and music. But they also play an important role in the brain. When billions of neurons communicate with each other, certain rhythmic activity patterns arise. The proper metre in this interplay is provided by nerve cells that do not excite other cells, but inhibit their activity instead. One type of these inhibiting cells acts in a particularly fast and efficient way and is therefore thought to be crucial for memory formation and information processing in neuronal networks.

18 Feb 2011

Fine-Gray competing-risks analysis may predict ESRD mortality in patients with type 1 diabetes

Patients with both type 1 diabetes and CKD have an increased risk of adverse outcomes. Despite aggressive treatment, many patients with type 1 diabetes and overt nephropathy develop End-Stage Renal Disease and/or succumb to a premature death. The competing risks of death and ESRD may confound the estimates of risk for each outcome.

18 Feb 2011

Commentary examines current guidelines for cancer survivors, suggests future nutrition research

Cancer survivors die of non-cancer-related causes at much higher rates than the general public. In 2008, the U.S. economic burden of cancer totaled over $228 billion but only 41% of these costs involved direct cancer care. The majority of expenses were attributed to increased morbidity, lost productivity, and premature mortality.

18 Feb 2011

Scientists establish biomarker strategy to diagnose variety of cancer types

A team of biologists, clinical oncologists, pathologists and information scientists has established a strategy for identifying biomarkers. If a particular pattern of these biomarkers can be detected in the blood, this indicates a cancerous disease. An interdisciplinary research breakthrough that opens many doors.

18 Feb 2011

U.S. officials should improve access to suicide prevention program across military services

U.S. military officials should improve efforts to identify those at-risk and improve both the quality and access to behavioral health treatment in response to a sharp rise in suicide among members of nation's armed forces, according to a new RAND Corporation study.

18 Feb 2011

Scientists discover axons can send signals to cell body

Neurons are complicated, but the basic functional concept is that synapses transmit electrical signals to the dendrites and cell body, and axons carry signals away.

18 Feb 2011

$Helmets reduce skull fractures in skiers, snowboarders$

Helmets reduce skull fractures in skiers, snowboarders

A compelling clinical article published online in the March 2011 issue of Journal of Neurosurgery: Pediatrics, entitled Helmet Use Reduces Skull Fractures in Skiers and Snowboarders Admitted to the Hospital discusses skull fractures incurred by young skiers and snowboarders and the role helmets play in reducing these head injuries.

18 Feb 2011

Researchers identify normal movement mechanisms of PrPC in brain

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have identified the motors that move non-infectious prion proteins (PrPC) - found within many mammalian cells - up and down long, neuronal transport pathways.

18 Feb 2011

MU study finds behavior strategies increase physical activity levels in healthy adults

Most people know that exercise is important to maintain and improve health; however, sedentary lifestyles and obesity rates are at all-time highs and have become major national issues.

18 Feb 2011

Study: Stretching before running neither prevents nor causes injury

Stretching before a run neither prevents nor causes injury, according to a study presented today at the 2011 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.

18 Feb 2011

New study: Asthma may have relationship with airway microbiota composition

Asthma may have a surprising relationship with the composition of the species of bacteria that inhabit bronchial airways, a finding that could suggest new treatment or even potential cures for the common inflammatory disease, according to a new UCSF-led study.

18 Feb 2011

Research: Urban children spend more time playing outdoors

Young children living in urban public housing spend more time playing outdoors than other urban children, according to researchers at Rice University, Columbia University and Princeton University.

18 Feb 2011

Avenir team discovers how Neisseria meningitidis disseminates into bloodstream

Although, in the majority of cases, the localized presence of Neisseria meningitidis in the throat has no consequence, it can sometimes lead to meningitis or septicaemia. The seriousness of these two infections is driving researchers from around the world to improve their understanding of the mode of operation of this bacterium, which, once it leaves its favourite location becomes extremely dangerous.

18 Feb 2011

Signs of P.A.D. indicate increased risk of heart disease, heart attack, death

Approximately nine million Americans over the age of 50 are living with a disease that affects their legs and raises their risk of having a heart attack. Unfortunately, many with the disease do not even know they have it. February is Heart Month, and the Vascular Disease Foundation and its P.A.D. Coalition are urging Americans to listen to their legs and be alert to the signs of peripheral arterial disease, or P.A.D.

18 Feb 2011

Research shows possible link between warm weather and cognition in people with MS

People with multiple sclerosis may find it harder to learn, remember or process information on warmer days of the year, according to new research released today that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 63rd Annual Meeting in Honolulu April 9 to April 16, 2011.

18 Feb 2011

Research: Higher levels of social activity linked to less disability in old age

Afraid of becoming disabled in old age, not being able to dress yourself or walk up and down the stairs? Staying physically active before symptoms set in could help. But so could going out to eat, playing bingo and taking overnight trips.

17 Feb 2011

Study: Ventilator-associated pneumonia infections drop by 70% in Michigan hospitals

Cases of ventilator-associated pneumonia — the most lethal and among the most common of all hospital-associated infections — dropped by more than 70 percent in Michigan hospitals where medical staff used a simple checklist designed by Johns Hopkins researchers. Such pneumonias kill an estimated 36,000 Americans each year.

17 Feb 2011

Study: Preterm mothers’ milk contains low concentrations of coenzyme Q10

A study conducted at the University of Granada and at the University Hospital San Cecilio revealed that preterm mothers' milk contains low concentrations of coenzyme Q10. This is a complex of great medical importance, due both to its antioxidant capacity and to its role as a component of the electron transport chain, among other functions.

17 Feb 2011

New study: Fast food meal consumption can affect inflammatory responses in blood vessels

The effect of a high-fat meal on blood vessel walls can vary among individuals depending on factors such as their waist size and triglyceride levels, suggests new research at UC Davis.

17 Feb 2011

AAN honors three researchers with 2011 Potamkin Prize for dementia study

The American Academy of Neurology is awarding its 2011 Potamkin Prize to three researchers for their work in dementia. Dennis Dickson, MD, with the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, Eva Maria Mandelkow, MD, PhD, and Eckhard Mandelkow, PhD, both of the Max-Planck-Unit for Structural Molecular Biology in Hamburg, Germany, will receive the Award during the AAN's 63rd Annual Meeting in Hawaii, April 9 - 16, 2011.

17 Feb 2011