Medical Science News

RSS

Neuron subtypes control level of fear output from amygdala

The eerie music in the movie theater swells; the roller coaster crests and begins its descent; something goes bump in the night. Suddenly, you're scared: your heart thumps, your stomach clenches, your throat tightens, your muscles freeze you in place. But fear doesn't come from your heart, your stomach, your throat, or your muscles. Fear begins in your brain, and it is there specifically in an almond shaped structure called the amygdala that it is controlled, processed, and let out of the gate to kick off the rest of the fear response.

11 Nov 2010

Novel mechanism regulating circadian rhythm identified

Scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute have identified for the first time a novel mechanism that regulates circadian rhythm, the master clock that controls the body's natural 24-hour physiological cycle. These new findings could provide a new target not only for jet lag, shift work, and sleep disturbances, but also for disorders that result from circadian rhythm disruption, including diabetes and obesity as well as some types of cancer.

11 Nov 2010

Neurons recycle protein components for neurotransmitter release

Neurons communicate via chemical transmitters which they store in the bubble-like synaptic vesicles and release as required. To be able to react reliably to stimulation, neurons must have a certain number of "acutely releasable" vesicles. With the help of a new method, neuroscientists at the Max Planck Institute of Experimental Medicine in G-ttingen have now discovered that neurons systematically recycle the protein components necessary for transmitter release and in this way guarantee the reliability of signal transmission in the brain.

11 Nov 2010

German Genetic Diagnostics Act in need of amendment

Many aspects of the German Genetic Diagnostics Act (Gendiagnostikgesetz) are out of touch with the latest technology, almost impossible to implement in clinical practice, or even detrimental to the success of recognised screening tests, such as newborn screening. The Act, which came into force in February 2010, is in desperate need of amendment.

11 Nov 2010

Researcher finds new way to analyze biopsies from heart transplant patients

Michael Mengel, a pathology researcher with the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, has found a new way to analyze biopsies from heart transplant patients by looking at their genes. This allows him to make an early prediction whether the transplant is working.

11 Nov 2010

New findings suggest serotonin may have anti-diabetic property

New findings by researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center suggest that serotonin a brain chemical known to help regulate emotion, mood and sleep might also have anti-diabetic properties.

11 Nov 2010

Researchers suspect amyloid beta causes neural damage in Alzheimer's disease

Researchers suspect that a protein superstructure called amyloid beta is responsible for much of the neural damage of Alzheimer's disease. A new study at the University of California, San Diego, shows that amyloid beta disrupts one of the brain's anti-oxidant proteins and demonstrates a way to protect that protein, and perhaps others, from amyloid's harmful effects.

11 Nov 2010

New approach to sneak nerve-protective drug erythropoietin into blood-brain barrier

Scientists are reporting development of a long-sought method with the potential for getting medication through a biological barrier that surrounds the brain, where it may limit the brain damage caused by stroke. Their approach for sneaking the nerve-protective drug erythropoietin into the brain is medicine's version of the Trojan Horse ploy straight out of ancient Greek legend.

11 Nov 2010

Recommendations for safe and effective testing of artificial pancreas systems in real-life settings

Diabetes experts at a meeting convened by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) took the next step in advancing efforts toward the development of an artificial pancreas: putting forth clinical recommendations to ensure the safe and effective testing of artificial pancreas technology in real-life situations.

11 Nov 2010

Discovery of anti-parasitic drug mechanism could lead to new treatments for filarial diseases

In a major breakthrough that comes after decades of research and nearly half a billion treatments in humans, scientists have finally unlocked how a key anti-parasitic drug kills the worms brought on by the filarial diseases river blindness and elephantitis.

11 Nov 2010

Pleasurable activity also reduces stress by inhibiting anxiety responses

Whether it's food or sex, pleasurable activity provides more than just pleasure, University of Cincinnati (UC) researchers say. It actually reduces stress by inhibiting anxiety responses in the brain.

11 Nov 2010

Neuronal circuits involved in acquisition and control of behavioural fear responses identified

Fear is an adaptive response, essential to the survival of many species. This behavioural adaptation may be innate but can also be a consequence of conditioning, during the course of which an animal learns that a particular stimulus precedes an unpleasant event. There is a large amount of data indicating that the amygdala, a particular structure in the brain, is strongly involved during the learning of "conditioned" fear. However, until now, the underlying neuronal circuits have remained largely unknown.

11 Nov 2010

MqsA and MqsR protein complex can disrupt drug-resistant biofilm formation

When a foreign object such as a catheter enters the body, bacteria may not only invade it but also organize into a slick coating - a biofilm - that is highly resistant to antibiotics. Like sophisticated organized crime rings, biofilms cannot be defeated by a basic approach of conventional means. Instead doctors and drug developers need sophisticated new intelligence that reveals the key players in the network and how they operate. New research led by biologists at Brown University provides exactly that dossier on some key proteins in the iconic bacterium E. coli.

11 Nov 2010

Marker for aggressive form of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis discovered

A diagnosis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis is not much better than a death sentence, given a survival rate averaging 4 to 6 years as the disease robs its victim of the ability to breathe.

11 Nov 2010

Cyclacel announces publication of sapacitabine in British Journal of Cancer

Cyclacel Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company developing oral therapies that target the various phases of cell cycle control for the treatment of cancer and other serious diseases, announced today publication of data demonstrating that its sapacitabine oral nucleoside analog works synergistically with histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors to induce significant reductions in tumor cell growth in both in vitro and in vivo preclinical models.

11 Nov 2010

Researchers identify molecular cascade that drives sprouting in brain after stroke

A stroke wreaks havoc in the brain, destroying its cells and the connections between them. Depending on its severity and location, a stroke can impact someone's life forever, affecting motor activity, speech, memories, and more.

11 Nov 2010

New study sheds light on Immune Reconstitution Inflammatory Syndrome

Newly published research by scientists at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health, sheds light on a poorly understood, acute illness called Immune Reconstitution Inflammatory Syndrome (IRIS) that develops in some HIV-infected individuals soon after they begin antiretroviral therapy.

11 Nov 2010

Scientists identify new way to drive dendritic cells from blood monocytes

Dendritic cells, known to be the prime movers of the body's immune response, are still notoriously difficult to study in humans. Samples, which come primarily from bone marrow or lymphoid tissue, are simply too difficult to obtain. But new research at Rockefeller University has shown scientists a way to study "authentic" dendritic cells from mouse monocytes, which are abundant in the blood, a much more accessible source in humans.

11 Nov 2010

Genetic constitution can influence changes in tumor growth: Study

The genes we possess not only determine the color of our eyes and hair and how our bodies grow, they might also influence the changes that occur in tumors when we develop cancer.

11 Nov 2010

Media has misrepresented facts about Omega-3 DHA Alzheimer's study, says Ocean Nutrition Canada

Several media outlets published articles last week suggesting that Omega-3 fish oil supplements fail to show positive results for Alzheimer's patients. This reporting by media outlets came after the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) published the study "Docosahexaenoic Acid Supplementation and Cognitive Decline in Alzheimer Disease: A Randomized Trial", where researchers reported that "Supplementation with DHA compared with placebo did not slow the rate of cognitive and functional decline in patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer disease."

11 Nov 2010