Researchers tracking the ebb and flow of cognitive function in the human brain have discovered surprising differences in the ability of younger and older adults to shut down a brain network normally active during periods of passive daydreaming. The differences, which are especially pronounced in people with dementia, may provide a clear and powerful new method for diagnosing individuals in the very early stages of Alzheimer’s disease.
“In young adults, there are parts of the brain that
Brain researchers would dearly love to reliably identify changes in brain structure and metabolism associated with early Alzheimer’s disease — before symptoms emerge.
Such information would buy precious time and perhaps permit potential therapies to delay or even prevent the memory-robbing disease. Now, a new study by NYU School of Medicine researchers brings this goal one step closer to being realized.
Using a new technique to measure the volume of the brain, they were able
Children with unusually delayed speech tend to listen with the right side of the brain rather than the left side of the brain, according to a study published in the December issue of the journal Radiology. Preliminary study results were presented at the Radiological Society of North America’s (RSNA) Annual Meeting in 2002.
The research represents the first time functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has been used to investigate brain activity associated with speech delay. “With t
A gene responsible for lymphatic vessel formation
Novel discoveries at the University of Helsinki, Finland, about the development of the lymphatic network may help researchers to better understand the mechanisms of cancer and its metastasis, and also diseases such as lymphedema, wound healing and inflammatory and autoimmune disorders.
Lymphatic vascular network is essential in transporting the tissue fluids and immune cells from tissues to the nearby lymph nodes and back to t
Adding greenery in the form of a garden to the often sterile, cold environment of hospitals and other healthcare facilities can reduce stress in patients, visitors and staff and even lessen a patient’s pain in some instances, says a Texas A&M University authority on health care design.
Roger Ulrich, professor and director of the Center for Health Systems & Design at Texas A&M’s College of Architecture, says a growing body of research is giving credibility to the widely held belief
Duke University Medical Center researchers have shown an association between changes in nitrate, a biochemical marker of nitric oxide production, and physiological changes in arteries’ reaction to stress. They hope their discovery could eventually lead to a non-invasive method of determining which patients are at risk for developing cardiovascular disease.
Such a simple diagnostic is important, they said, because up to half of patients who develop heart disease do not have the typical risk
Avoiding the sun is not the best strategy for reducing overall rates of cancer, claims a senior doctor in a letter to this week’s BMJ. Recommending moderate exposure to the sun would be more prudent.
Sun exposure is the main source of vitamin D, which reduces the risk of colon, breast, prostate, and other cancers, writes Professor Cedric Garland at the University of California.
People in the United Kingdom cannot synthesise vitamin D from November to March, so become deficient
Results of a US study in this week’s issue of THE LANCET provide details of the underlying physical causes of attention-deficit hyperactivity syndrome, with reductions in size of some brain areas and an increase in grey matter proportions being characteristic of children with the disorder.
Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a serious neuropsychiatric problem in schoolchildren (an estimated 3-6% of US schoolchildren are affected, for example). The disorder is characterise
A technique that combines high-level magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with a new spectroscopic method may result in an accurate, non-invasive way to make breast cancer diagnoses. In this technique, MRI is used to detect breast lumps, while spectroscopy measures molecules known to accumulate in cancer cells.
According to a study in the Nov. 21 online version of the journal Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, researchers at The Cancer Center at the University of Minnesota have developed a magneti
People who take a commonly prescribed yet problematic drug called Coumadin to prevent stroke or blood clots may soon have a hassle-free alternative, according to research at Stanford University School of Medicine. Results from a 7,329-person international study have found that a new drug called ximelegatran prevents strokes as effectively as Coumadin without the side effects or inconvenience.
“We think this will result in a huge shift in anti-coagulation therapy,” said Gregory Albers, MD, p
Findings may lead to new drug targets for treating schizophrenia
A mouse study reported in this week’s Science magazine shows that three drugs, each acting on a different chemical transmitter in the brain, all produce the same schizophrenia-like symptoms by acting on a single “master molecule” in the brain.
The findings, reported by researchers at Rockefeller University with collaboration from three pharmaceutical and biotech companies, provides, for the first time, a cellul
A study led by scientists at The Wistar Institute defines a functional role for the tumor suppressor proteins BRCA1 and BRCA2 in breast cancer. The findings, presented in November issue of the journal Molecular Cell, also identify a number of novel proteins that work alongside BRCA1 and BRCA2 and might also play a part in breast cancer. These proteins offer an important set of new targets for possible anti-cancer drugs.
The link between the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes and hereditary breast cancer
For decades, doctors have known that patients who develop higher than normal blood sugar eventually require medication and ultimately need to take insulin, having progressed to what is known as Type 2, or adult-onset diabetes. So when a natural protein analog known as GLP-1 was found to lower blood sugar levels in laboratory mice, researchers began investigating its effectiveness in diabetes patients in clinical trials. Once again, they found that GLP-1 lowered blood sugar and increased insulin produ
Air pollution is associated with an increased risk of dying from SARS, according to a report published this week in Environmental Health: A Global Access Science Source. The study shows that patients with SARS are more than twice as likely to die from the disease if they come from areas of high pollution. 5,327 cases of SARS have been diagnosed in mainland China since November 2002 and so far 349 patients have died from their disease. SARS death rates vary between regions of China, with high
UCLA-led study finds SARS death rate doubles in cities with poor air quality
A new study led by researchers at the UCLA School of Public Health associates air pollution with an increased risk of dying from Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, or SARS.
Published this week in the peer-reviewed journal Environmental Health: A Global Access Science Source, the study shows that patients with SARS are more than twice as likely to die from the disease if they come from areas of high
Combining radiation with an agent that blocks VEGF, a protein that promotes the development of blood vessels and the growth of cancerous tumors – a process known as angiogenesis – may be more effective against brain tumors than either treatment alone, researchers at Jefferson Medical College have found.
Scientists led by Phyllis Wachsberger, Ph.D., assistant professor of radiation oncology at Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, and Adam Dicker, M.D., as
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