Researchers have found provocative evidence that the brain dysfunction that underlies epilepsy may also determine whether people are at risk for suicide. The study, published online October 10, 2005 in the Annals of Neurology, also suggests that depression and suicide may have different brain mechanisms.
“For reasons that are not understood, depression both increases the risk for developing epilepsy and is also common among people with epilepsy who experience many seizures,” said
An intervention program designed to promote screening for colorectal cancer – and thereby decrease the number of cancers diagnosed – failed to increase screening rates in the managed care setting, a UCLA study has found.
During the two-year period monitored in the study, less than 30 percent of eligible patients received any screening for colorectal cancer in participating managed care practices, said Dr. Patricia Ganz, director of cancer prevention and control research at UC
Electronic tags broadcasting from the dorsal fins of salmon sharks reveal that these top predators migrate from the glacial waters of Alaska to the warm seas off Hawaii, according to a new study in the journal Science. The salmon shark’s ability to survive such a broad range of thermal conditions is attributed to high levels of specialized proteins that keep its heart muscle cells beating at very low temperatures, say the study’s authors.
“Sharks are declining global
An international survey published today (Thursday 6 October) in Europe’s leading cardiology journal, European Heart Journal[1], reveals that fewer than half of the heart patients in the study who smoked quit after suffering their first coronary event, with one out of five continuing to smoke despite advice to stop.
Epidemiologist and lead author of the study, Dr Wilma Scholte op Reimer, said it was “unbelievable” that so many carried on smoking after a life-threatening event
Actuarial model puts risks of making nanotubes on par with making wine
Using a method for assessing the premiums that companies pay for insurance, a team of scientists and insurance experts have concluded that the manufacturing processes for five, near-market nanomaterials — including quantum dots, carbon nanotubes and buckyballs — present fewer risks to the environment than some common industrial processes like oil refining. For two of the nanomaterials – nanotubes and alumoxa
Subtle differences in other genes — besides the defective gene known to cause the illness cystic fibrosis — can significantly modify the inherited disease’s severity, a large new multi-center national study has concluded.
The study, led by University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Case Western Reserve University researchers, for the first time shows that particular versions of the transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGFb1) gene are largely responsible for how badly th
Study finds no significant side effects in children treated up to two years
new study has found that an all-day, extended-release stimulant for treating attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) remains effective for up to two years without significant side effects. In the October issue of the Journal of the American Association of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, a multi-institutional research team reports finding that treatment with Concerta, a once-daily form of the dru
Researchers at National Jewish Medical and Research Center have discovered a mechanism in the body that could lead to autoimmune diseases, such as lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, or diabetes. The research team, led by John Cambier, Ph.D., found that potentially harmful B cells circulating in the body are not permanently silenced as previously thought; they can awaken and regain the ability to launch an attack against the body’s own tissue. The findings were published online October 2 by Nature Immunolog
Exercise, eating right could ease IBS, diarrhea and constipation in obese Americans
Physical activity may help reduce gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms in people who are obese. In a study published today in the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) journal Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, researchers found that a high body mass index (BMI) and lack of physical activity were associated with an increase in GI symptoms such as stomach pain, diarrhea, constipation and irr
When added to standard treatment, steroids significantly reduce the odds of developing heart damage in children with Kawasaki’s disease, according to a study in the October issue of Pediatrics. These findings address a gap in knowledge. Current guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics state that the evidence for steroid treatment is lacking and recommend the standard treatment for Kawasaki’s, which is aspirin and intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG).
“This gap in kno
In the human brain, cells talk to one another through the routine exchange of electrical signals. But when people fall into a deep sleep, the higher regions of the brain – regions that during waking hours are a bustling grid of neural dialogue – apparently lose their ability to communicate effectively, causing consciousness to fade.
Writing today (Sept. 30) in the journal Science, a team of researchers led by University of Wisconsin-Madison professor of psychiatry Giulio Tononi
Remains of photosynthesizing microbes in prehistoric rocks suggest Earth was not ice-bound
A study that applied innovative techniques to previously unexamined rock formations has turned up strong evidence on the “Slushball Earth” side of a decades-long scientific argument.
The study appears in the Sept. 29 Science Express. The lead author is Alison Olcott, a Ph.D. student of earth sciences in the USC College of Letters, Arts and Sciences.
Geologists agree
According to a study at Yale, one of the most effective ways to change negative attitudes about obese people is by addressing perceptions of normative beliefs within particular social groups.
Rebecca Puhl, associate research scientist in the Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity and lead author of the study, said the model used in this study, known as social consensus theory, is based on the experience that people generally adopt the attitudes of valued “in-groups,” such as peers.
Study first to prove beta glucan penetrates skin
The fight against aging has received a scientific boost thanks to an innovative study done in part by a University of Alberta spin-off company–research that dispels a hard-held belief about the natural ingredient, beta glucan. The study, published in the current issue of International Journal of Cosmetic Science, is the first to show that oat beta glucan can penetrate the skin despite years of doctors and scientists believing that
Gleevec (Imatinib) is a representative of the newest generation of cancer drugs. The substance conveys its potent anti-proliferative effect by selectively supressing the tyrosine kinase pathway. The Giessen lung researchers now issue a first report of this substance as a new target therapy for pulmonary hypertension. „In cancer, tissue proliferation is uncontrolled and leads to the spreading of the tumor,” primary investigator Prof. Friedrich Grimminger of the University of Giessen Lung Center e
Unwed mothers are significantly less likely to marry and more likely to cohabit than women without children. If they do marry, their husbands are more likely to have poor job prospects.
According to a new study by a Cornell University researcher, the findings suggest that unwed mothers are less likely than other women to improve their socio-economic status through marriage. Thus, he believes, the Bush administration’s “marriage promotion” policies may not be an effective
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