Changes in the brain that are important indicators of bipolar disorder are not prominent until young adulthood and are reduced in persons taking mood-stabilizing medications, Yale School of Medicine researchers report this month in Biological Psychiatry.

The researchers used magnetic resonance imaging to measure a part of the brain that regulates emotions, the ventral prefrontal cortex, that lies above the eyes. The changes in persons with bipolar disorder were not prominent until yo

Children’s Rehabilitative Services (CRS) at St. Joseph’s Children’s Health Center in Phoenix is using a special ultrasound to identify the risk for stroke in children who have sickle cell disease. The transcranial Doppler (TCD) ultrasound measures blood flow in the arteries, identifying the narrowness of the artery and assessing stroke risk.

The TCD ultrasound, which is placed at the base of the patient’s skull, measures the blood flow in the arteries. The more rapid

The diagnostic value of CT enteroclysis is superior to conventional enteroclysis, previously considered the gold standard, as an imaging method for the evaluation of the small bowel in patients with Crohn’s disease, a new study shows.

Crohn’s disease is an inflammatory disease of the intestinal wall. Complications of Crohn’s disease, such as abscesses, and stenoses, are found in approximately 40% of patients. Patients with inflammatory and some-times even obstructiv

Investigators have discovered that some type of protective system goes into action in some cases when a baby’s immune system is deficient. This discovery indicates a hidden safety net that might have far-reaching consequences for treating diseases of the immune system such as AIDS. The Mayo Clinic-led study was conducted with colleagues in Toronto and Baltimore, and is reported in the early online edition of the Feb. 1 Journal of Immunology.

The researchers studied 20 patients who as

Regular use of selective COX-2 inhibitors significantly reduces the risk of breast cancer. A case-control study published today in the open access journal BMC Cancer observed that daily use of selective COX-2 inhibitors, including celecoxib (Celebrex) and rofecoxib (Vioxx), was associated with a 71% reduction in the risk of breast cancer. Non-selective COX-2 inhibitors, such as aspirin and ibuprofen, also reduced the risk of breast cancer. This study highlights the potential of nonsteroida

Researchers at the Yale Fertility Center are now offering a cutting edge reproductive procedure called oocyte cryopreservation that allows women to freeze their eggs and use them at a later time to conceive a child.

Pasquale Patrizio, M.D., professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences and Director of the Yale Fertility Center, is introducing this technique at Yale in collaboration with an oocyte cryopreservation expert from Bologna, Italy. They w

Cleaner method of making spices, perfumes moves one step closer to reality

Materials scientists at Lehigh University and catalyst chemists at Cardiff University have uncovered secrets of the “nanoworld” that promise to lead to cleaner methods of producing, among other things, spices and perfumes.

The materials scientists, headed by Christopher Kiely of Lehigh, have determined the structure of a type of gold-palladium nanoparticle, which is the active component of

Intracellular observation of RNA metabolism will help identify disease-associated RNAs

For the first time, researchers can now peer inside intact cells to not only identify RNA-binding proteins, but also observe–in real-time–the intricate activities of these special molecules that make them key players in managing some of the cell’s most basic functions. Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine who developed the new technology see this advance as one o

Identification of precursor cell may lead to tumor immunotherapy as well as new treatment for rare disorder

Mount Sinai School of Medicine researchers have identified the precursors of cells in the skin that are part of the first line of defense against invading pathogens. The study will appear on Nature Immunology’s website this week and will be published in a future issue.

A tight network of cells covering the entire body is formed in the skin by a group of cells

Study finds genetically engineered muscle-derived stem cells improved cartilage repair in rats

Damage to articular cartilage (cartilage covering the ends of bones where they meet in a joint) frequently occurs due to injury or illness, and can lead to degenerative disease. Treatments and experimental approaches to repair this articular cartilage have achieved limited results, but currently there is no method to fully restore this type of injured cartilage. Tissue engineering in

Hormone use and abuse in sport and development conference

Many of the performance-enhancing drugs used in sport are analogues of natural hormones found in the body. What do these hormones do? How do they affect athletes, and how can you detect them? How do they affect normal young adults? What happens to a young adult when the balance of hormones goes wrong? How does nutrition affect physical performance?

Some of the world’s top researchers will meet to discuss the

Sneaky Super Bowl party shows we eat over 50 percent more

Attention Party Animals! If you want to have fun this Super Bowl without feeling guilty about all the super-snacking, use smaller serving bowls. We use the size of the bowls on a table as a rule-of-thumb as to how much we should take.

Researchers at the Cornell University Food and Brand Lab invited forty graduate students to a Super Bowl party and served them roasted nuts and Chex Mix from one of two buffet tables

APA provides tips for mind/body health

Prevention is a key message during National Heart Health month, and the American Psychological Association (APA) today released strategies to help Americans manage stress.

Research shows that 20 percent of Americans are worried that stress will affect their health, yet 36 percent say they deal with stress by eating or drinking alcohol. While these behaviors may reduce stress in the short term, they contribute to an unhealthy li

Study shows one third of candidates are unlikely to benefit from ICD

Last year, about 170,000 people in North America had devices surgically implanted to stop potentially fatal arrhythmias. For many, these were life-saving, but for others they were unnecessary, uncomfortable, and sometimes dangerous. Now a new, noninvasive test may help determine which patients are most likely to benefit from the device, known as implantable cardiac defibrillator (ICD). A large, multicenter, NIH-spo

Human adenoviruses may cause human obesity, but more research is needed before a screening test and vaccine become reality. Meanwhile, one researcher advises, ’Eat right, exercise, wash your hands’

There is a lot of good advice to help us avoid becoming obese, such as “Eat less,” and “Exercise.” But here’s a new and surprising piece of advice based on a promising area of obesity research: “Wash your hands.”

There is accumulating evidence that certain viruses may cause

Study finds statins have beneficial effect on rheumatoid arthritis cells in vitro

Statins, a class of drugs widely used to treat high cholesterol, have also recently been studied for their potential role in inflammation and other cell processes, including immune response. They have also been shown to induce apoptosis (cell death) in normal cells and tumor cells. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) causes proliferation of synovial tissue, which lines the joints, but little is known about the