Along with aiding efforts to study addicted smokers, a new drug that attaches only to areas of the brain that have been implicated in nicotine addiction may help studies of people battling other disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease and schizophrenia.

Developed by UC Irvine Transdisciplinary Tobacco Use Research Center scientists, the new drug – Nifrolidine – is a selective binding agent that identifies specific areas of the brain responsible for decision-making, learning and

Statement from the Naturally Nutrient Rich Coalition

The United States Departments of Agriculture (USDA) and Health and Human Services (HHS) today released the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans – science-based dietary guidance that is updated every five years by the government.

The 2005 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee indicated most Americans consume too many foods that are high in calories but low in nutrients. To address this concern, the new Guidelines reinfor

Ventricular assist devices (VADs), blood pumps used in heart failure situations, now have the potential for use in additional patient groups. Scientists and clinicians gathered at the 11th Congress of the International Society of Rotary Blood Pumps in Germany last year to discuss past lessons learned and future directions for this technology.

Increasing experience, better understanding, and advances in VADs now suggest that its smaller size offers an advantage in permitting its us

University of Michigan researchers are part of a team that has developed a new tool to assess the quality of home health care, with the goal of improving care and providing meaningful feedback about the care.

In the current issue of The Gerontologist, the team reports on home care quality indicators based on 22 measures. Home care agencies, governments and consumers can use the results of these 22 measures to evaluate the quality of home care. The assessment is a project of int

An innovative scheme is underway in the West of Scotland to combat depression. The new project, lead by a University of Glasgow researcher, adds structure to NHS care by integrating GP, patient and secondary care in the treatment of depression, and employs a novel electronic referral system that speeds up patient assessment.

Although the New Year is typically a time full of joy and optimistic hopes the future, many people experience seasonal ‘blues’. However, an ambitious projec

To commemorate 100 years since the term ’hormone’ was first coined, the Society for Endocrinology’s flagship journal will be publishing a series of special, free, reviews that recognise the past 100 years of hormones, and look to the future of the expanding science of endocrinology.

Published in January’s issue of Journal of Endocrinology is a fascinating biography of Ernest Starling, the man who addressed the Royal College of Physicians in June 1905 and first used

An international project in nanobiotechnology is being launched at the University of Kent 30-31 January 2005. The project’s primary objectives are the establishment and maintenance of a European centre of excellence in the area and it is funded for five-years in the first instance.

Novel and Improved Nanomaterials, Chemistries and Apparatus for Nano-Biotechnology (NACBO) is co-ordinated by the University of Kent and is funded with a total of 15.6m Euro, of which 8m Euro is grante

A genetically unusual population of ants is changing some of the fundamental ways researchers think about insect colonies.

Social insects, like ants and bees, thrive on the caste system – a precise division of duties among colony members. In most of these societies, environment is thought to influence whether larvae develop into queens or sterile female workers, said Steve Rissing, a professor of evolution, ecology and organismal biology at Ohio State University.

But in

A group of researchers headed by Giovanni A. Fava (University of Bologna) reports on a new method for treating anxiety, well-being therapy, a psychotherapeutic strategy for increasing psychological well-being.

There is increasing awareness that the goal of treatment in generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) should not simply be a response, but restoration of normal function. The aim of this study was to apply a novel psychotherapeutic approach for increasing the level of remission i

In a pilot randomized controlled trial a group of researchers of the Technion Institute of Technology (Israel) suggest the usefulness of pet therapy for improving apathy in schizophrenic patients. The paper was published in the January issue of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics.

Anhedonia, a component of the negative symptom dimension and a core phenomenon in schizophrenia, is associated with poor social functioning and is resistant to treatment. We tested the hypothesis that animal-assisted

High consumption of red and processed meat over a long period of time is associated with an increased risk for a certain type of colon cancer, according to a study in the January 12 issue of JAMA.

Meat consumption has been associated with colorectal cancer in previous studies, but the strength of the association and types of meat involved have not been consistent, according to background information in the article. Few studies have evaluated long-term meat consumption or the relat

New research involving more than one million people indicates that having high fasting serum glucose levels and diabetes are risk factors for several major cancers, according to a study in the January 12 issue of JAMA.

Diabetes mellitus is a serious and costly disease that is becoming increasingly common in many countries, including Korea, the site of this study, according to background information in the article. Recent data show that approximately 150 million people have diabetes

The likelihood of a large number of future cases of vCJD remains small claim researchers from Imperial College London.

According to research published today in Journal of the Royal Society Interface, the team believe there will be around 70 future cases of vCJD arising from the consumption of BSE-infected beef. At most this could rise to a total of around 600 deaths, although the researchers feel this is unlikely.

This work follows on from a study in 2003 at Derriford Ho

Mayo Clinic Proceedings study finds small tumors detectable with gamma camera

Using a new specially designed gamma camera for breast imaging, Mayo Clinic researchers report in the January issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings their success with a system they call molecular breast imaging. “By optimizing the camera to detect smaller breast lesions, this technique should aid in the detection of early-stage breast cancer, something that was not possible with conventional gamma cameras,”

A new report by the National Academies’ National Research Council on the health effects of perchlorate, a chemical that in high doses can decrease thyroid function in humans and that is present in many public drinking-water supplies, says daily ingestion of up to 0.0007 milligrams per kilogram of body weight can occur without adversely affecting the health of even the most sensitive populations. That amount is more than 20 times the “reference dose” proposed by the U.S. Environmental Protect

A little anxiety can be a good thing when it comes to cancer symptoms according to researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. They report that people with low overall anxiety levels were more apt to ignore symptoms of rectal cancer for long periods of time, thereby delaying treatment. In contrast, people with at least moderate levels of anxiety tended to quickly recognize symptoms such as rectal bleeding as a sign of serious illness.

“Almost everyone has