ScienceDaily: Top Health News

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• Human brain treats prosthetic devices as part of the body
• Brain injury may be autoimmune phenomenon, like multiple sclerosis
• New clues to causes of peripheral nerve damage
• Folate and vitamin B12 reduce disabling schizophrenia symptoms in some patients
• Origin of aggressive ovarian cancer discovered
• How the body's energy molecule transmits three types of taste to the brain
• Circuitry of cells involved in immunity, autoimmune diseases exposed: Connections point to interplay between salt and genetic factors
• Flip of a single molecular switch makes an old mouse brain young
• Use it or lose it: Molecular mechanism for why a stimulating environment protects against Alzheimer's disease
• Study pinpoints, prevents stress-induced drug relapse in rats
• Solving the 'Cocktail Party Problem': How we can focus on one speaker in noisy crowds
• How the brain suppresses pain during times of stress
• Alzheimer's risk gene discovered by screening brain's connections: Signs of disease decades before illness strike
• One region, two functions: Multitasking key to overall brain function
• Portion of hippocampus found to play role in modulating anxiety
• Schizophrenia: A disorder of neurodevelopment and accelerated aging?
• Early evidence shows 'good' cholesterol could combat abdominal aortic aneurysm
• Family intervention improves mood symptoms in children and adolescents at risk for bipolar disorder
• New opportunities for 3-D technology in medicine
• Genomic screening to detect preventable rare diseases in healthy people?
• Visceral fat causally linked to intestinal cancer
• Newly identified biomarkers may help predict progression of Barrett's esophagus to esophageal adenocarcinoma
• Improved ultrasound imaging coming soon
• Wide variation in Cesarean delivery rates among US hospitals
• Novel small molecules used to visualize prostate cancer
• Novel storage mechanism allows command, control of memory
• How cells optimize the functioning of their power plants
• Metastasis: Understanding how cancer cells 'hijack' blood cells
• Scientists make mouse model of human cancer, demonstrate cure
• Hope for stopping melanoma from spreading

Human brain treats prosthetic devices as part of the body Posted: 06 Mar 2013 07:11 PM PST People with spinal cord injuries show a strong association of wheelchairs as part of their body, not an extension of immobile limbs. The human brain can learn to treat relevant prosthetics as a substitute for a non-working body part, according to new research.

Brain injury may be autoimmune phenomenon, like multiple sclerosis Posted: 06 Mar 2013 07:11 PM PST A new study suggests that brain injury from repeat blows to the head – observed among football players and soldiers – might not be a traumatic phenomenon, but an autoimmune phenomenon. It indicates that brain injury may be the result of an out-of-control immune response, much like multiple sclerosis. This is an entirely new way of thinking about how trauma could cause long term degeneration and opens the door to investigating a vaccine/drug to prevent head trauma.

New clues to causes of peripheral nerve damage Posted: 06 Mar 2013 07:08 PM PST Although peripheral neuropathies afflict some 20 million Americans, their underlying causes are not completely understood. Now, scientists have shown that damage to energy factories in Schwann cells, which grow alongside neurons and enable nerve signals to travel from the spinal cord to the tips of the fingers and toes, may play a central role.

Folate and vitamin B12 reduce disabling schizophrenia symptoms in some patients Posted: 06 Mar 2013 01:22 PM PST Adding the dietary supplements folate and vitamin B12 to treatment with antipsychotic medication improved a core symptom component of schizophrenia in a study of more than 100 patients. The study focused on negative symptoms of schizophrenia -- which include apathy, social withdrawal, and a lack of emotional expressiveness. While the level of improvement across all participants was modest, results were more significant in individuals carrying specific variants in genes involved with folate metabolism.

Origin of aggressive ovarian cancer discovered Posted: 06 Mar 2013 10:44 AM PST Researchers have discovered a likely origin of epithelial ovarian cancer (ovarian carcinoma), the fifth leading cause of cancer death among women in the United States.

How the body's energy molecule transmits three types of taste to the brain Posted: 06 Mar 2013 10:43 AM PST Scientists have discovered how ATP -- the body's main fuel source -- is released as the neurotransmitter from sweet, bitter, and umami, or savory, taste bud cells. The CALHM1 channel protein, which spans a taste bud cell's outer membrane to allow ions and molecules in and out, releases ATP to make a neural taste connection. The other two taste types, sour and salt, use different mechanisms.

Circuitry of cells involved in immunity, autoimmune diseases exposed: Connections point to interplay between salt and genetic factors Posted: 06 Mar 2013 10:42 AM PST New work expands the understanding of how Th17 cells develop, and how their growth influences the development of immune responses. By figuring out how these cells are "wired," the researchers make a surprising connection between autoimmunity and salt consumption, highlighting the interplay of genetics and environmental factors in disease susceptibility.

Flip of a single molecular switch makes an old mouse brain young Posted: 06 Mar 2013 10:42 AM PST The flip of a single molecular switch helps create the mature neuronal connections that allow the brain to bridge the gap between adolescent impressionability and adult stability. Now researchers have reversed the process, recreating a youthful brain that facilitated both learning and healing in the adult mouse.

Use it or lose it: Molecular mechanism for why a stimulating environment protects against Alzheimer's disease Posted: 06 Mar 2013 10:42 AM PST Researchers provide specific pre-clinical scientific evidence supporting the concept that prolonged and intensive stimulation by an enriched environment, especially regular exposure to new activities, may have beneficial effects in delaying one of the key negative factors in Alzheimer's disease.

Study pinpoints, prevents stress-induced drug relapse in rats Posted: 06 Mar 2013 10:42 AM PST Scientists have identified specific key steps in the chain of events that causes stress-related drug relapse. They identified the exact region of the brain where the events take place in rat models and showed that by blocking a step, they could prevent stress-related relapse to drug seeking.

Solving the 'Cocktail Party Problem': How we can focus on one speaker in noisy crowds Posted: 06 Mar 2013 10:42 AM PST In the din of a crowded room, paying attention to just one speaker's voice can be challenging. Research demonstrates how the brain homes in on one speaker to solve this "Cocktail Party Problem." Researchers discovered that brain waves are shaped so the brain can selectively track the sound patterns from the speaker of interest while excluding competing sounds from other speakers. The findings could have important implications for helping individuals with a range of deficits.

How the brain suppresses pain during times of stress Posted: 06 Mar 2013 10:40 AM PST How does the brain suppress pain? For the first time, it has been shown that suppression of pain during times of fear involves complex interplay between marijuana-like chemicals and other neurotransmitters in a brain region called the amygdala.

Alzheimer's risk gene discovered by screening brain's connections: Signs of disease decades before illness strike Posted: 06 Mar 2013 10:38 AM PST Scientists have discovered a new genetic risk factor for Alzheimer's disease by screening people's DNA and then using an advanced type of scan to visualize their brains' connections. The researchers discovered a common abnormality in our genetic code that increases the risk of Alzheimer's. To find the gene, they used a new imaging method that screens the brain's connections -- the wiring, or circuitry, that communicates information. Switching off such Alzheimer's risk genes (nine of them have been implicated over the last 20 years) could stop the disorder in its tracks or delay its onset by many years.

One region, two functions: Multitasking key to overall brain function Posted: 06 Mar 2013 10:38 AM PST A region of the brain known to play a key role in visual and spatial processing has a parallel function: sorting visual information into categories. Different types of information can be simultaneously encoded within the posterior parietal cortex.

Portion of hippocampus found to play role in modulating anxiety Posted: 06 Mar 2013 10:38 AM PST Researchers have found the first evidence that selective activation of the dentate gyrus, a portion of the hippocampus, can reduce anxiety without affecting learning. The findings suggest that therapies that target this brain region could be used to treat certain anxiety disorders, such as panic disorder and PTSD, with minimal cognitive side effects.

Schizophrenia: A disorder of neurodevelopment and accelerated aging? Posted: 06 Mar 2013 05:42 AM PST Many lines of evidence indicate that schizophrenia is a disorder of neurodevelopment. For example, genes implicated in the heritable risk for schizophrenia are also implicated in the development of nerve cells and their connections. Numerous findings in brain imaging studies describe the changes in brain structure and function associated with schizophrenia as emerging early in the course of the disorder. Some early brain imaging studies even found little or no evidence of progression of structural deficits. Yet, a new generation of studies now also describes degenerative processes in schizophrenia that resemble accelerated aging.

Early evidence shows 'good' cholesterol could combat abdominal aortic aneurysm Posted: 06 Mar 2013 05:41 AM PST New research provides early evidence that 'good' cholesterol may possess anti-aneurysm forming properties. In laboratory-based investigations, scientists found that increased levels of high-density lipoproteins (HDL), the so-called good cholesterol, blocked the development of aneurysms – dangerous 'ballooning' in the wall of a blood vessel – in the body's largest artery, the aorta.

Family intervention improves mood symptoms in children and adolescents at risk for bipolar disorder Posted: 06 Mar 2013 05:41 AM PST Psychologists have found that children and adolescents with major depression or subthreshold forms of bipolar disorder - and who had at least one first-degree relative with bipolar disorder - responded better to a 12-session family-focused treatment than to a briefer educational treatment.

New opportunities for 3-D technology in medicine Posted: 06 Mar 2013 05:39 AM PST Until now, physicians have largely been skeptical of the advantages of 3-D technology. But this may be about to change: the findings of a new study show that even experienced surgeons stand to benefit from the third dimension.

Genomic screening to detect preventable rare diseases in healthy people? Posted: 06 Mar 2013 05:38 AM PST Millions of people unknowingly carry rare gene mutations that put them at high risk of developing preventable diseases such as colorectal cancer, breast cancer, and several catastrophic blood vessel disorders. Experts now propose that screening healthy adults for these and other specific, rare genetic disorders could potentially prevent these diseases.

Visceral fat causally linked to intestinal cancer Posted: 06 Mar 2013 05:38 AM PST Visceral fat, or fat stored deep in the abdominal cavity, is directly linked to an increased risk for colon cancer, according to new data from a mouse study.

Newly identified biomarkers may help predict progression of Barrett's esophagus to esophageal adenocarcinoma Posted: 06 Mar 2013 05:38 AM PST A series of microRNA expression signatures may help to define progression of the precancerous condition Barrett's esophagus into esophageal adenocarcinoma.

Improved ultrasound imaging coming soon Posted: 05 Mar 2013 10:12 AM PST Ultrasound technology could soon experience a significant upgrade that would enable it to produce high-quality, high-resolution images, thanks to the development of a new key material.

Wide variation in Cesarean delivery rates among US hospitals Posted: 05 Mar 2013 10:12 AM PST Cesarean delivery is the most common surgery in the United States, performed on 1.67 million American women annually. Yet hospital cesarean rates vary widely according to new research.

Novel small molecules used to visualize prostate cancer Posted: 05 Mar 2013 10:11 AM PST Two novel radiolabeled small molecules targeting prostate-specific membrane antigen have excellent potential for further development as diagnostic and therapeutic radiopharmaceuticals, according to new research. The imaging agents -- 123I-MIP-1072 and 123I-MIP-1095 -- were shown to have a high sensitivity of lesion detection in bone, soft tissue and the prostate gland with minimal retention in non-target tissue.

Novel storage mechanism allows command, control of memory Posted: 05 Mar 2013 10:11 AM PST Introductions at a party seemingly go in one ear and out the other. However, if you meet someone two or three times during the party, you are more likely to remember his or her name. Your brain has taken a short-term memory -- the introduction -- and converted it into a long-term one. The molecular key to this activity is mTORC2 (mammalian target of rapamycin complex 2), according to researchers.

How cells optimize the functioning of their power plants Posted: 05 Mar 2013 10:10 AM PST Mitochondria, which are probably derived from distant bacterial ancestors incorporated into our cells, have their own DNA. However, we know little about how these organelles, which convert oxygen and consumed nutrients into energy, regulate the expression of their own genes.

Metastasis: Understanding how cancer cells 'hijack' blood cells Posted: 05 Mar 2013 10:07 AM PST A new research study has investigated how cancer cells 'hijack' blood cells known as platelets and enable cancer to spread around the body to promote the growth of new tumors.

Scientists make mouse model of human cancer, demonstrate cure Posted: 05 Mar 2013 10:04 AM PST Scientists report the first successful blocking of tumor development in a genetic mouse model of an incurable human cancer.

Hope for stopping melanoma from spreading Posted: 05 Mar 2013 10:04 AM PST Inhibition of the protein known as adenosine diphosphate ribosylation factor 6 (ARF6) reduces the spread of melanoma to the lungs in mice, according to a new study.

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