Study finds potential new cause of mental decline in old age
... in old age. This research adds a new way in which damage to the brain may result in dementia and other ment...ll brain shrinkage, or they might reflect specific damage to brain tissue around blood vessels. Dr. Alasdair MacLullich, of the University's Geriatric Medicin...Marijuana-like compounds may aid array of debiliating conditions ranging from Parkinson's to pain
...ana-like compound can protect brain cells from the damage produced by the disorder Parkinson's disease. "Fo...mpounds have neuroprotective value when brain cell damage is already present and whether they can prevent the progression of brain cell loss. "Learning more a...Several new techniques show promise for spinal cord repair
... Failure of axons to regenerate after spinal cord damage is attributed to a number of molecules present after injury that inhibit regrowth, including myelin (nerve covering) components and the scar tissue that forms after spinal cord injury, including the molecule chondroitin sulfate. "We hypothesized tha...OHSU study: Testosterone deprivation makes men forget
...e studies like this on people who have hippocampal damage from early Alzheimer's disease or lesions due to strokes, this is the pattern." The study examined 30 individuals - 14 men undergoing androgen deprivation treatment for prostate cancer and 16 healthy, age-matched men - from the Portland area. P...Promise of stem cells amplified
...of California , Irvine , have reversed spinal cord damage in paralyzed adult rats, allowing them to walk again. The researchers, led by Hans Keirstead, PhD, used human embryonic stem cells, which have the potential to become any cell type in the entire body--and turned them into oligodendrocytes--a type of ...New understanding of neural circuits may help development of thought-controlled prosthetic devices
... foot. An injury that causes the loss of a limb or damage to the spinal cord can sever this communication li... brain-machine interface, could bypass the loss or damage by directly interpreting nerve cell signals and then launching movement in a prosthetic limb. ...High-fat diets hammer memory, more than a waistline worry
...a neurotoxin called kainic acid, which is known to damage nerve cells in the hippocampus, a brain region involved in learning and memory. When mice on the control diet or the high-sugar diet were exposed to kainic acid, their learning and memory were somewhat impaired. In contrast, the memory of mice on the...Researchers monitor progression of Parkinson's disease by studying molecular changes in brain
...ment for Parkinson's patients that will repair the damage to the brain at the molecular level and make possible the treatment of patients who have progressed beyond the earliest stages of the disease....Northwestern University receives $7.5 million for regenerative medicine
...we hope some day to reverse paralysis by repairing damage to the central nervous system and to cure diabetes, the multiple scaffold technologies we are developing are fairly generic," said Stupp. "That increases the likelihood this research will see other uses in regenerative medicine, including cardiovascu...Mayo Clinic research shows stroke rehabilitation best served by physical training
...y designed an investigation in rats that had brain damage similar to that suffered by human stroke patients. "We were surprised amphetamine use didn't have more of the effect that was suggested by previous studies,'' says Dr. Brown. He adds, "Instead, we found that physical training consisting of teaching ...American Thoracic Society Journal news tips for October 2004 (second issue)
...s induced pulmonary cell reactivity and epithelial damage in animals. The study population consisted of 8 women and 4 men, all healthy volunteers who averaged 27 years of age. Each subject had a normal physical exam, a normal lung function test, and no clinically relevant lab findings. Smokers were exclu...Life saving option replaces open heart surgery in newborns
...ue may reduce the high death rate and neurological damage associated with open-heart surgery on newborns with a congenital heart defect, according to Emile Bacha, M.D., a pediatric cardiac surgeon who helped develop the technique with his colleague, Ziyad M. Hijazi, M.D. "In hypoplastic left heart syndrome ...Ephedrine and unheralded sudden cardiac death
...d supply to the heart becomes constricted, causing damage to the heart muscle and heart disease. However, sometimes the condition develops without any symptoms, leading to a sudden heart attack. Death can be the first symptom people with ischemic heart disease experience," Dr. Adamson said. "We wanted to de...Gastric bypass and stomach-stapling patients should recognize risk of nerve injury post-surgery
...or weight reduction develop peripheral neuropathy, damage to any of the body's nerves outside of the brain and spinal cord. The development of nerve damage is associated with malnutrition, and so the researchers contend may be largely preventable with prop...Exercise prevents Parkinson's symptoms in lab model mimicking human form of the disease
... called free radicals. The free radicals, in turn, damage the brain cells. The key to the protective effect ...finding that exercise protects the SN in mice from damage caused by MPP+ suggests that exercise might also protect humans from the same type of damage caused ...Global air pollution map produced by Envisat's SCIAMACHY
...man-made gas, excess exposure to which causes lung damage and respiratory problems. It also plays an important role in atmospheric chemistry, because it leads to the production of ozone in the troposphere which is the lowest part of the atmosphere, extending up to between eight and 16 kilometres high. Ni...Hunt for autism genes to be led by Hopkins researchers
...mal production of the genes' products, which might damage cells, says Chakravarti. But unlike those with disorders such as Down syndrome, people with autism don't have extra chromosomes, just -- and only perhaps, at this point -- extra segments of chromosomes. So existing techniques to count and look at the...Cleveland stem cell investigators awarded $3.1 million
... from individuals, ages 50 to 90, to withstand DNA damage associated with aging and with environmental toxins. In addition to being director of the Center for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, Dr. Gerson is director of the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center and University Hospital's Ireland Cancer Center. ...Breathing problems during sleep may affect mental development in infants and young children
...ive function, might be particularly susceptible to damage from SDB, writes Hunt. In addition, other researchers have reported that the effects of SDB appear to have long-term consequences for children. For example, a University of Louisville study found that young children who snored loudly and frequently ...Glue-like polymer could replace sutures used for cataract surgery
... Both techniques have their drawbacks. Sutures can damage the tissue and increase the risk of inflammation, while self-sealing can be associated with leakage and an increased risk of infection, the researchers say. In some eyes allowed to self-seal, the incision does not always heal on its own and may subse...