Brain’s amygdala plays pivotal role during an emotional experience, strengthening connections between neurons

A research team led by UC Irvine neuroscientists has identified how the brain processes and stores emotional experiences as long-term memories. The research, performed on rats, could help neuroscientists better understand why emotionally arousing events are remembered over longer periods than emotionally neutral events, and may ultimately find application in treatments

Recruitment has started on the first UK course to train medical care practitioners to manage some of the caseload of GPs, thus improving patient access to treatment.

The Postgraduate Diploma in Medical Care Practice, the first of its kind to be offered by a British university, is to be run by the University of Hertfordshire in collaboration with East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust. It has been designed to fit the curriculum framework developed under the leadership of the Royal

University of Cincinnati (UC) environmental health researchers have found that 17 percent of infants living near “stop and go” traffic suffer from wheezing.

The study is the first of its kind to analyze the effects of “stop and go” bus and truck diesel traffic versus highway traffic on infant respiratory health.

Published in the August issue of the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, results of the four-year study suggest that the type of traffic and distance from

Workers in salt factories, who inhale large amounts of salt particles, are at risk of high blood pressure due to the increased salt intake. A study published today in the Open Access journal Environmental Health shows for the first time that breathing in large quantities of salt particles has just the same effect on blood pressure as eating a salty diet. Wearing face masks and plastic eyeglasses is enough to protect workers who are highly exposed to salt from salt-related high blood pressure.

Choosing a hospital that either performs many cystectomies–the surgical removal of the urinary bladder–or has a high nurse-to-patient ratio minimizes post-operative complications after the procedure, according to a new study. The report, published in the September 1, 2005 issue of CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, indicates that post-operative mortality and complications were reduced by up to 75 percent in the best-case scenarios.

This year more

Clues looking into the root causes of alcoholism are emerging from new findings that center on the genetic patterns of young drinkers, with particular focus on why adolescents are more likely to drink large quantities of alcohol even if they need more alcohol to get the effects they desire.

“The study offers a unique perspective on the beginnings of the alcohol experience and usage patterns of 12-year-olds,” explained principal investigator Marc Schuckit, M.D., professor of psych

Researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center have uncovered a crucial molecular link between a viral infection and development of a common and fatal form of liver cancer. In the process, they have identified a possible way to treat this disease as well as a number of other cancers.

In findings reported in the journal Molecular Cell, the researchers traced the pathway by which the hepatitis B virus (HBV) leads to development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC)

Researchers at the University of Edinburgh have begun a year long study that aims to shed light on the best ways of helping elderly people to maintain their physical independence and recover after operations. The study will draw in volunteers from central and south Edinburgh, who will attend training sessions at the Royal Infirmary.

The group of 40 volunteers will help the team from the University’s Geriatric Medicine section by learning simple pushing movements designed to t

Two laws recently passed by Congress with strong industry backing have had a chilling effect on government efforts to protect public health, according to a UCSF study.

The laws make all raw data produced by federally funded research available for public review, and require that any data disseminated by the government adhere to definitions of quality set by the law – definitions that industry interests helped develop. The new laws allow industry advocates to more easily challen

Sandia National Laboratories has completed a two-year study of the potential health effects associated with accidental exposure to depleted uranium (DU) during the 1991 Gulf War.

The study, “An Analysis of Uranium Dispersal and Health Effects Using a Gulf War Case Study,” performed by Sandia scientist Al Marshall, employs analytical capabilities used by Sandia’s National Security Studies Department and examines health risks associated with uranium handling.

U.S.

Findings show new link between obesity and type 2 diabetes

A study led by researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) has shown that a protein found in fat cells is a newly discovered cause of insulin resistance, establishing a previously unidentified molecular link between obesity and type 2 diabetes and offering a potential new target for the development of drugs to treat diabetes. The findings appear in the July 21, 2005, issue of the journal Nature.

Acco

A study led by Mayo Clinic Cancer Center adds evidence to a growing body of knowledge that shows women with benign breast disease have a higher risk for breast cancer, and that certain types of breast disease may predict the near-term development of breast cancer. The findings will be published in the July 21 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine.

“Our findings indicate a link between select types of benign breast lesions and the later development of breast cancer,” says

Maintaining a healthy weight in children may be one good way to keep a healthy blood lipid profile and a happy heart, a new study has found.

A study of 400 high school age children with a variety of fitness and fatness levels showed that fatter youths had unfavorable lipid profiles, including higher levels of triglycerides and higher ratios of total cholesterol to the protective HDL cholesterol or high density lipoprotein.

“This ratio tells about the balance of the ‘bad’

Results from a new study suggest that extremely obese people are more likely than normal-weight people to injure themselves.

Researchers collected health and injury data during a one-year period on more than 2,500 adults living in Colorado . More than one out of four (26 percent) of the extremely obese male participants reported personal injuries, and more than one out of five (21.7 percent) extremely obese women also reported injuries.

By comparison, about 17 percent of

New research suggests that medications commonly referred to as fertility drugs may be ineffective for women who lack a gene called the estrogen receptor beta. The study showed that fertility drugs did not improve ovulation rates in mice that were genetically engineered to lack estrogen receptor beta. The estrogen receptor beta is one of two estrogen receptor proteins which mediate the effects of estrogen hormones and are present throughout the female reproductive tissues. These new data indicat

A study published in the recent issue of Journal of Marriage and Family examines the effectiveness of in-hospital paternity establishment for babies born to unwed parents. The research shows that though establishing paternity at any time increases the amount of formal and informal child support and the amount of father-child visits, in-hospital establishment is associated with better outcomes. Analysis of interviews conducted a year after the baby’s birth with mothers who remained single show