Although it might sound like science fiction, researchers can now tell in an autopsy what a brain learned before it died. Scientists from Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory described how they “read” slices of a rat’s brain after it died. The experiment showed how the rat was trained to behave in response to specific sounds. “Neuroscientists… Continue reading Rat Brains Hold Clue to Learning
Tag: Staying Current
Licorice Warning: Daily Limit of Consumption Needed
Grandparent alert! If your grandchildren are fond of licorice candy, beware of letting them eat too much in the treat. A case study published in March 2015 Pediatric Neurology details the account of a 10-year-old boy who suffered seizures after overindulging in licorice sweets. He was admitted to a hospital in Bologna, Italy after suffering… Continue reading Licorice Warning: Daily Limit of Consumption Needed
Study: Wealthier People Get More Antibiotics
Doctors, retail medical clinics and urgent care centers appear to be locked in a battle for patients, and that means they’re prescribing increasing numbers of antibiotics, according to a team led by Johns Hopkins researchers. “We found that both the number of physicians per capita and the number of clinics are significant drivers of antibiotic… Continue reading Study: Wealthier People Get More Antibiotics
A New Way to Treat Brain Damage
Medicine should treat neurological disorders by focusing on the ability of the brain and nervous system to heal themselves, rather than just prescribing clot-busting drugs and similar remedies, according to two top experts. Michael Chopp, Ph,D., internationally renowned stroke researcher and scientific director of the Neuroscience Institute at Henry Ford Hospital, and Zhenggang Zhang,M.D., Ph.D.,… Continue reading A New Way to Treat Brain Damage
People Create Differing Stress Responses
People faced with stressful situations display a number of different coping behaviors, and those behaviors can affect them the following day, a study has found. The findings, by researchers from North Carolina State University, are based on a pilot study of older adults. “This finding tells us, for the first time, that these behaviors are… Continue reading People Create Differing Stress Responses
Airport Screening Misses Half of Disease Cases
Scientists have shown that airport screening for disease will often miss half or more of infected travellers, but can be improved by customizing to pathogens. The findings were published in February 2015 in the journal eLife. A release from the publisher notes that one of the biggest barriers to success is the lack of honest… Continue reading Airport Screening Misses Half of Disease Cases
Skin Biopsy May Help Detect Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s
Scientists have discovered a skin test that may shed new light on Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, according to a study released on February 24th 2015 that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology’s 67th Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C., April 18th to 25th 2015. The study showed that skin biopsies can be used… Continue reading Skin Biopsy May Help Detect Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s
Music Can Hurt Your Memory
Music, widely known as a good destresser, may actually make memory worse in older people, researchers have found. The study, from the Georgia Institute of Technology, asked younger and older people to listen to music while trying to remember names. The older adults remembered 10 percent fewer names than younger people when they listened to… Continue reading Music Can Hurt Your Memory
Spinal Surgery Can Help Patients Over 80
Patients over 80 can still benefit from spinal surgery, according to a new study. The finding has broad significance, since the U.S. population age 80 and older is increasing rapidly, with a jump of 22 percent between 2000 and 2010. Along with that goes an increase in the number of patients with acute spinal conditions.… Continue reading Spinal Surgery Can Help Patients Over 80
Are Online Hospital Ads Ethical?
In a commentary piece published in January 2015 JAMA Internal Medicine, Carnegie Mellon University’s Alex John London and the University of Pittsburgh’s Yael Schenker question the impact of hospital advertisements that are available online. London and Schenker argue that while the Internet offers patients valuable data and tools – including hospital quality ratings and professional… Continue reading Are Online Hospital Ads Ethical?
The “Mini-Brain” That Helps Us Function
Researchers from the Salk Institute have discovered that we unconsciously maintain our balance via a cluster of neurons that acts as a “mini-brain.” In their study, published in the journal Cell, the scientists “map the neural circuitry of the spinal cord,” according to a news release from the institute. The investigators said that the “circuitry”… Continue reading The “Mini-Brain” That Helps Us Function
Gene Variant Linked to Cognitive Skills
People with a gene variant linked to longevity also have also have a larger volume in a part of the brain involved in planning and decision-making, according to researchers. The finding, by researchers from the University of California San Francisco, builds on the team’s earlier discovery that middle-aged and older people who carry the variant,… Continue reading Gene Variant Linked to Cognitive Skills
Progress Made Toward A New Kind of Anesthesia
Researchers say they are drawing closer to developing a new class of anesthetics. “While physician anesthesiologists have improved the safety of anesthesia over the years, there are still many risks associated with general anesthesia. And yet, no new anesthetics have been developed for more than 40 years,” said Roderic G. Eckenhoff, M.D., lead author of… Continue reading Progress Made Toward A New Kind of Anesthesia
Progress in Fighting Diseases of Aging?
Scientists have found a new way to increase the length of human telomeres, protective caps on chromosomes that have been linked to aging and disease. The researchers, from the Stanford University School of Medicine, said the cells treated with the new method behave as if they are much younger than untreated cells. Thanks to the… Continue reading Progress in Fighting Diseases of Aging?
The Protein That Zaps Toxins
Researchers from Ohio State have discovered how a small protein in the immune system can disable dangerous bacterial toxins. The toxins have surfaces that help the bacteria to stay alive. At the same time, though, the pliability of the surfaces make the toxins vulnerable to the immune-system proteins called defensins. Defensins, peptides that consist of… Continue reading The Protein That Zaps Toxins
Update on Pancreatic-Cancer Treatments
Scientists are working to develop breakthrough therapies for pancreatic cancer, one of the deadliest cancers affecting both men and women. Pancreatic cancer is a disease that frequently presents no symptoms until it reaches very advanced stages. Surgery is the only chance for a cure, but most patients are not surgical candidates because of the location… Continue reading Update on Pancreatic-Cancer Treatments
Update on Mild Cognitive Impairment
A new comprehensive review of studies about mild cognitive impairment (MCI) says that physical and mental activity can help reduce the risk of the frightening condition. The doctors, from the University of Michigan Medical School, published their review in the Journal of the American Medical Association. “MCI is hard for both clinicians and for patients… Continue reading Update on Mild Cognitive Impairment
Lyme Disease Ups Spread of Emerging Tick Infection
Research led by the Yale School of Public Health and published in December 2014 in the journal PLOS ONE used laboratory experiments, mathematical models, and fieldwork data to find that mice infected with the agent that causes Lyme disease (Borrelia burgdorferi) are at increased risk for also transmitting Babesia microti, the pathogen responsible for babesiosis,… Continue reading Lyme Disease Ups Spread of Emerging Tick Infection