Synbiotic modulation of gut flora improves minimal hepatic encephalopathy in cirrhotic patients
...ily symbiotic preparation. Twenty took fermentable fibers for 30 days, and fifteen received a placebo treatment for 30 days. At 30 days, all patients were re-screened for MHE. The researchers also assessed gut flora in fecal samples at day 1, day 30, and day 44. They compared their findings with the gut flo...Researchers invent way to determine optimal conditions for spinal cord nerve regen in lab animals
... for measuring the growth of new spinal cord nerve fibers in rats, an advance that allows them to quickly determine nerve regeneration rate and what variables in the nerve-growth environment best support it. The finding is important because it is a first step in laboratory animal models that will help scie...Study finds nerve damage can affect opposite side of body
...e actually located near the spinal cord, and nerve fibers called axons extend into the limbs. When axons ar... no change in nerve endings. "This loss of nerve fibers in the contralateral limb is so precise being confined to areas innervated by the matching nerve t...UNC neuroscientist awarded renewal of federal grant that began in 1957
... document the existence of nociceptors, thesensory fibers specially activated by tissue damage and their relation tothe sensation of pain. "His nociceptor work has had an enormous impact on modern pain research," said Dr. William Snider, director of the UNC Neuroscience Center and professor of neurology and...Reduced scarring helps nerves grow through spinal injuries
...some proteoglycans by 80-95 percent allowing nerve fibers (called axons) to grow across spinal cord injuries in just four days. "We have found a promising new approach to control inflammation and scar formation, which will be an important part of future strategies to encourage axon regeneration and recovery...Tiny molecular motors shed light on cell function, say Stanford researchers
...ellular motion by attaching to and "walking" along fibers of actin. The interaction of actin and myosin is the mechanism behind cell actions such as muscle contractions, the pinching off of two daughter cells from a mother cell during division and the hauling of cargo molecules around in a cell. Of the 18 t...Newborn brain injuries stem from infections, not delivery
...l infections. White matter, the tracts of nerve fibers that communicate messages in the brain, is generally injured at so-called "end zones" between the long, penetrating arteries that supply blood to the brain. These zones are susceptible to the type of fall in cerebral blood flow and oxygen that could...Multiple sclerosis not as progressive or disabling as once thought
...urred vision or problems with eye movements. Nerve fibers malfunction to produce MS symptoms when the protective sheath around them is damaged. Researchers suspect the damage may be caused by a virus or by environmental pathogens. No one knows why, but women are slightly more likely to get MS than men, ...New dressing for wounds developed at Hebrew University
...tilage, blood vessel walls and membranes. Collagen fibers are the "warp and woof" of these connective tissues and are responsible for keeping all the body's organs and tissues in their correct functional structure. There are different collagen-containing preparations on the market today made for treating w...Smokers may want to kick butt before dental procedures
...cterial infection of the gums, bone and attachment fibers that support the teeth and hold them in the jaw. Once smokers quit, oral health begins to improve. "Patients who want to quit smoking are urged to increase brushing and flossing their teeth and gums," said Rethman. "It's suggested that the fresh c...Brain signals from the paralyzed or injured captured by computer
...called muscle spindles that are embedded in muscle fibers measure the length and speed of muscle stretch, while other sensors in the skin respond to stretch and pressure. When an individual is paralyzed by injury or disease, neural signals from these sensors cannot reach the brain, and thus cannot be used t...Environmental influences found to have role for development and function of the pain system
...i during development. Maintained input over "pain" fibers after injury may instead perturb normal developmen...es to electrical stimulation of the afferent nerve fibers that had innervated the injured tissue. Spinal preparations obtained from rats with an injured paw s...Outpatient treatment shrinks liver tumors to acceptable size for laser procedure
...nough, an interventional radiologist inserts laser fibers into the tumor and heats the tumor to 100 degrees in a procedure called laser-induced thermotherapy (LITT). "This was initiated because we could not perform the laser therapy on tumors that were too large," Dr. Vogl said. "We see a lot of patients w...Rat study shows exposure to Ecstasy early in pregnancy induces brain, behavior changes
...-percent increase in the number of dopamine neuron fibers in the frontal cortex compared with control animal...also saw similar but smaller increases in dopamine fibers in the striatum (a brain area involved in locomotion and reward) and the nucleus accumbens (the prim...Taking Ecstasy during pregnancy may cause brain damage, behavior problems in babies
...d a 502% increase in the number of dopamine neuron fibers in the frontal cortex as compared to controls. The frontal cortex is important in planning, impulse control and attention. Similar but smaller increases in dopaminergic fiber density were also evident in the striatum -- an area involved in movement ...Dental procedure may reduce risk of premature birth
... (a serious gum infection that destroys attachment fibers and supporting bone that hold teeth in the mouth) ...s bacterial infections that destroy the attachment fibers and supporting bone that hold your teeth in your mouth. When the attachment fibers are destroyed, gu...UCI biomedical engineer receives $1.8 million grant
... tissue for this project, George will use collagen fibers harvested from connective tissue in the tails of rats and human lung cells. Once created, the viable lung tissue will be approximately the size and thickness of a penny, and live on a specialized solution of salts, sugars and antibiotics. George's r...Myosin molecule walks like a person, experiment shows
... the protein molecule moves its load along helical fibers of actin has been a mystery. "Studies have suggested two main models for movement," Selvin said. "One is the hand-over-hand (or foot-over-foot) 'walking' model in which the two feet alternate in the lead. The other model is the 'inchworm' model in...World Trade Center dust analysis offers good news for New Yorkers
...d reported that the dust had a high level of glass fibers and a high pH. "Most of the acute responses were probably due to the very long fibers which we reported in our first paper and the high pH of the cement dust that was released in the fir......In Alzheimer's patients, many of the brain's nerve fibers are lost, and an abnormal buildup of protein damages nerve cells. Though the causes are mostly unknown, save for a suspected genetic link in some cases, the effects are all too apparent. Patients who start out with absentmindedness and mild memory lo...