Grape juice joins blueberries as possible anti-aging ’brain food’
Consuming Concord grape juice significantly improved laboratory animals’ short-term memory in a water maze test as well as their neuro-motor skills in certain of the coordination, balance and strength tests, according to preliminary research presented at the 1st International Conference on Polyphenols and Health recently held in Vichy, France.
“In the study we subjected 45 senescent rats-meaning
Scientists have developed biodegradable polymers that can mimic the ability of white blood cells to target inflamed blood vessel walls, according to a new study led by Ohio University researchers. The finding could be the first step in developing drugs that suppress specific sites of inflammation in medical conditions such as arthritis, heart disease and inflammatory bowel disease.
Researchers found that biodegradable beads coated with targeting molecules can travel through the bloodstream
Doctors regularly inject stem cells into patients whose bone marrow has been destroyed by chemotherapy or radiation, but they haven’t known where these cells go after being injected. Research at the Stanford University School of Medicine has yielded an unexpected answer: when injected into mice, these cells may set up camp in one tissue early on but then move to another location or disappear entirely.
Published in the Dec. 15 online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academies
A study published in the December issue of Archives of Neurology and currently available online shows that levetiracetam reduced phasic spasticity, which is marked by spasms and painful muscle cramps, in 100 percent of patients in a small clinical study.
“It’s amazing how many MS patients can’t walk, can’t move, and you treat their spasticity and they’re fine,” said Dr. Kathleen Hawker, assistant professor of neurology at UT Southwestern and lead author of the study. “Wh
Efficacy and tolerability of borage oil in adults and children with atopic eczema: randomised double blind, placebo controlled, parallel group trial BMJ Vol 327 pp 1385-7. Editorial: Evening primrose oil for atopic dermatitis BMJ Volume 327 pp 1358-9
Borage oil (sold as starflower oil in chemists and health food shops) does not improve symptoms of eczema, despite some studies suggesting a dose related benefit, finds a study in this week’s BMJ.
Purified borage oil contai
Thirty-five years after biologist Garrett Hardin issued his prophetic essay, “The Tragedy of the Commons,” which warned that human beings would ultimately destroy commonly shared resources, a re-examination of the state of common pool resources by three researchers, including Indiana University Bloomington political scientist Elinor Ostrom, offers an urgent yet hopeful message.
The authors of a new report, “The Struggle to Govern the Commons,” which will appear in a special Dec. 12 issue of
A research team at the University of Chicago has discovered a crucial signaling pathway that controls the growth of nascent nerves within the spinal cord, guiding them toward the brain during development.
The study, published in the Dec. 12, 2003, issue of the journal Science, solves a long-standing scientific mystery. It may also help restore function to people with paralyzing spinal cord injuries.
“This is the first guidance mechanism that regulates growth of nerve cells up and
Mayo Clinic Proceedings study emphasizes blood sugar level management
A study in the December issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings on blood-sugar levels in 1,826 intensive care unit patients showed that hyperglycemia (high blood-sugar levels) increased the patient’s chance of death. The findings have important implications for the management of blood sugar in critically ill patients.
Even a modest degree of hyperglycemia was associated with a substantial increase in deaths
Exposure to endotoxin, a bacterial substance found commonly in outdoor and indoor air, makes mite-allergic asthmatics more sensitive to house dust and may place them at increased risk of asthma attack.
The new research findings from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine are consistent with previous UNC studies showing exposure to ozone to make asthmatics more sensitive to allergens, the environmental triggers of allergic reactions. Both ozone and endotoxin are n
Breakthrough treatment benefits patients and is less expensive than standard therapy
An inhaled treatment for critically ill newborns is less invasive, more effective and costs less than the treatment that has traditionally been used to treat a potentially fatal condition called hypoxic respiratory failure (HRF), according to a study published today in the journal Pediatrics.
The study focuses on the positive effects of inhaled nitric oxide for the treatment of HRF and revea
Review of scientific data may allay parental concerns on vaccine safety
After reviewing dozens of scientific studies, a leading vaccine expert concludes that preservatives, additives and other substances contained in vaccines pose very little risk to children receiving those vaccines.
In addition to the primary ingredient that stimulates a protective immune response, various vaccines may contain small amounts of metals, proteins, and other chemicals, some of which are residu
Several studies presented during the 45th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology shed light on some promising new therapies that are in the pipeline for the treatment of thrombosis, as well as some potential risk factors, and may provide hope for the numerous patients suffering from this condition.
Thrombosis, or more specifically deep vein thrombosis (DVT), is a dangerous medical condition in which the formation of a blood clot blocks circulation in the deep veins of the lowe
A study led by Imperial College London has shown for the first time it is possible to help prevent organ rejection using a novel strategy that redirects the body’s immune response instead of suppressing it.
Writing in the Journal of Clinical Investigation today, researchers from the University of Cambridge, the University of Edinburgh, Lorantis Ltd and Imperial demonstrate that it is possible in mice to alter whether T white blood cells specialise to attack foreign tissue and th
Scientists who developed the first yeast model of Parkinson’s disease (PD) have been able to describe the mechanisms of an important gene’s role in the disease. Tiago Fleming Outeiro, Ph.D., and Susan Lindquist, Ph.D., of the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research in Cambridge, Massachusetts, studied the gene’s actions under normal conditions and under abnormal conditions to learn how and when the gene’s product, alpha-synuclein, becomes harmful to surrounding cells. The scie
With the holidays come the traditions of sharing meals, desserts and treats with family, friends and co-workers. But the need to reduce the amount of food we consume daily – during the holiday season and throughout the year — has acquired a greater sense of urgency in the wake of America’s obesity epidemic. As scientists look for ways to help us battle the bulge, a new study suggests that our own hormonal makeup may offer promising clues. A team of researchers has tested the hypothesis that gastri
For the first time, researchers have used functional magnectic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate infantbrain activity in response to speech. They found that, almost from birth, the brain’s left hemisphere plays the leading role in processing most language functions. Presented Dec. 2 at the 89th Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA), these preliminary findings challenge the previously held belief that left-hemisphere dominance doesn’
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