Digital Speech Analysis Tests Sobriety
...tters andwords. In the current study, Cummings is finding that alcohol has a majoreffect on the excitation parameters that reflect the steadiness withwhich a person produces speech. Four speaker samples may not sound like enough for a comprehensivestudy, but Cummings said they form a sufficient database to...Testosterone May Affect Learning Skills; May Be Put In Tablet Form
... role in the brain. "This is an interesting, early finding and it highlights the importance of studying the effects of sex hormones on brain function," says Adrian Dobs, M.D., senior author and an associate professor of medicine. Results of the study, funded by the National Institutes of Health, will be pres...Discovery Hints At Multitude Of New Targets For Drugs
...or of pharmacology in the Duke medical center. The finding extends earlier work in his laboratory showing that the estrogenreceptor, a distinctly different kind of steroid receptor, also shows similarmulitple modes of interaction with drugs or hormones. "The discovery of such complexity in one rece...Alzheimer's disease center seeks patients for new drug studies
... disease are memory loss, confusion, difficulty in finding the correct words for articulate conversation, difficulty recalling names and repetition of previous conversation. Researchers at UT Southwestern are hoping to enroll about 15 patients and have set a maximum of 24 patients for the study. The 48-week...What Makes Tics Tick? Clues Found In Tourette Twins' Caudates
...frontal and cingulate cortex. Thus, the new NIMH finding adds to evidence that the disorders are "overlapping neurobehavioral conditions," suggest the researchers. They speculate that the caudate nucleus may be related to the compulsive component of tics, whereas the dopamine dysfunction there may be the...Drug And Radiation Treatment May Shrink Pancreatic And Gastric Tumors
...inoperable tumors in the pancreas andstomach. The finding may be an important step toward a therapy for pancreatic andstomach malignancies. No effective treatments for these cancers currentlyexist. Indeed, the five-year survival rate for patients with pancreatic canceris less than five percent. The treatm...Routine Dental X-ray May Be A Valuable Tool In Stroke Prevention
... 40 percent of patients with calcification had the finding in both carotid arteries. While most of these patients had no stroke symptoms and only three had a history of transient ischemic attacks, or mini-strokes, many had several risk factors for atherosclerosis. Interviews with patients who had c...Common Carbohydrates May Prove To Be Substitute For Dietary Fiber
... turnaround from previous beliefs, researchers are finding a growinglist of benefits to human and animal digestive systems from certain formsof indigestible oligosaccharides -- naturally occurring groups of carbohydratescontaining simple sugar molecules -- found in many fruits and vegetables. For years, oli...Duke Study Uses Tiny Temperature Changes To Probe Water-Exclusion At Protein Binding Sites
...nd would. In 1996, his team followed up this finding by reporting that the waythe atoms are arranged in a molecule plays a crucial role in determininghow important water reorganization is to ligand binding. If removing water from the binding site were not important, he reasoned,then the net tempe...Substance from Grapefruit Juice May Make Medications Safer
...P3A4 that is present in the small intestine. This finding is important because it narrows the search for the substance in grapefruit juice that is responsible for its effects on drug metabolism. Isolating this substance could enable manufacturers to produce safer and more effective medications. One of the......g Administration approval, Barnessays, which means finding a research partner with enough interest tocooperate on extensive clinical studies. Suitable partners could includemanufacturers of emerging digital mammogram scanners, medical researchcenters or insurance companies....Cancer Protection Compound Abundant In Broccoli Sprouts
...ocuseson identifying chemoprotective nutrients and finding ways to maximize theireffects. Brassica isa plant genus more commonly known as the mustard family, and includes inaddition to broccoli,Brussels sprouts, cabbage, kale, cauliflower and turnips. "Man-made compounds that increase the resistance of...Unique Interactive Health Kiosks Distributed In Michigan
...gram but is concerned about radiation exposure and finding cancer. The program will address her concerns by reviewing specific information about the low level of radiation used in mammograms and the benefits of early detection. "We think our kiosk will allow a person to create their own educational experie...Mammography Messages Need To Be Tailored For Older Women
...hat: breast cancer is a young woman's disease finding a cancerous lump would likely leadto a mastectomy ...nk you need a mammogram," Skinner says. Fear of finding a cancerous lump was the majorbarrier for those already considering getting tested. Skinnersays thes...Rats Receiving Ginkgo Biloba Learn Quicker, Live 20 Percent Longer Than Controls, UB Study Finds
...cal Sciences and author of the study. "That finding leads us to speculate that in addition to ginkgo biloba's purported beneficial effects on brain function, which our study supports, the extract may also have a positive effect on longevity." Results of the study appear in the current issue of ...Researchers Finding May Boost Effectiveness Of Anti-HIV Drugs
...Medical Center researchers have found. The finding raises hope that the effectiveness of protease inhibitorscould be boosted by combining the anti-HIV drugs with medication to block theaction of the protein protecting the virus. That strategy might also reduce the cost of the now-very-expensi...Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Enhances Short-Term Brain Plasticity
...alledtranscranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). The finding suggests new ways to helppeople recover normal function after stroke, amputation, and other injuries. TMS is a non-invasive technique that consists of a magnetic fieldemanating from a wire coil held outside the head. The magnetic field induc...Survey Finds Increasing Popularity Of Acute Stroke Teams In U.S. Hospitals
...can benefit from having these teams." One finding of the survey, which should appeal to smaller hospitals, isthe cost, according to Alberts. "With most programs costing less than $10,000 per year, it should notplace a great financial burden on hospitals," Alberts said. "And while we don'thav...Addicted Doctors Need Special Service
... a major problem in accessing effective treatment, finding themselves isolated and carrying a stigma, such that they feel that they cannot seek treatment from colleagues'. Strang et al suggest that three components of care are essential:- access to treatment should be simple particularly in times of crisis...Four-Year Study Shows Long-Term Effectiveness Of Proscar In Treating Enlarged Prostates
...stinguished Chair in Urology."The most significant finding of this study is the dramatic decreasein the number of men requiring prostate surgery or developing urinaryretention." "Another important outcome of this research is that thebeneficial effects of this drug PROSCAR continued over the entirefour year...