http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress provides the latest news from National Institutes of Health Scientists at the National Institutes of Health report they have discovered in mouse studies that a small molecule released in the spinal cord triggers a process that is later experienced in the brain as the sensation of itch. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-scientists-molecule-triggers-sensation.html Medical research Thu, 23 May 2013 14:00:01 EST news288536360 Scientists have reversed behavioral and brain abnormalities in adult mice that resemble some features of schizophrenia by restoring normal expression to a suspect gene that is over-expressed in humans with the illness. Targeting expression of the gene Neuregulin1, which makes a protein important for brain development, may hold promise for treating at least some patients with the brain disorder, say researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-gene-reverses-schizophrenia-like-abnormalities-mice.html Neuroscience Wed, 22 May 2013 12:00:05 EST news288435164 (Medical Xpress)—Scientists supported by the National Institutes of Health have a new theory as to why a woman's fertility declines after her mid-30s. They also suggest an approach that might help slow the process, enhancing and prolonging fertility. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-molecular-explanation-age-related-fertility-decline.html Medical research Wed, 22 May 2013 08:10:03 EST news288427276 Pregnant mothers' exposure to the flu was associated with a nearly fourfold increased risk that their child would develop bipolar disorder in adulthood, in a study funded by the National Institutes of Health. The findings add to mounting evidence of possible shared underlying causes and illness processes with schizophrenia, which some studies have also linked to prenatal exposure to influenza. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-flu-pregnancy-quadruple-child-bipolar.html Psychology & Psychiatry Tue, 14 May 2013 09:16:32 EST news287741770 (Medical Xpress)—Patients with advanced alveolar soft part sarcoma (ASPS), a rare cancer, achieved some control of their disease using an experimental anti-cancer drug called cediranib. The results from this largest clinical trial on ASPS to date were published online ahead of print on April 29, 2013, in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. The phase II trial was funded by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-experimental-drug-beneficial-nih-trial.html Cancer Tue, 07 May 2013 17:20:01 EST news287165013 (Medical Xpress)—Researchers at the National Institutes of Health have uncovered firm evidence for what many mothers have long suspected: women's brains appear to be hard-wired to respond to the cries of a hungry infant. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-women-men-brains-differently-hungry.html Neuroscience Tue, 07 May 2013 07:55:11 EST news287132079 National Institutes of Health researchers used the popular anti-wrinkle agent Botox to discover a new and important role for a group of molecules that nerve cells use to quickly send messages. This novel role for the molecules, called SNARES, may be a missing piece that scientists have been searching for to fully understand how brain cells communicate under normal and disease conditions. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-botox-wrinkle-brain.html Medical research Thu, 02 May 2013 12:00:10 EST news286714608 (Medical Xpress)—Distinct patterns of brain activity are linked to greater rates of relapse among alcohol dependent patients in early recovery, a study has found. The research, supported by the National Institutes of Health, may give clues about which people in recovery from alcoholism are most likely to return to drinking. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-brain-patterns-relapse-alcoholism.html Psychology & Psychiatry Thu, 02 May 2013 06:50:02 EST news286695340 When you have your cholesterol checked, the doctor typically gives you levels of three fats found in the blood: LDL, HDL and triglycerides. But did you know your body contains thousands of other types of fats, or lipids? http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-biology-fats-body.html Medical research Mon, 29 Apr 2013 09:32:48 EST news286446761 (Medical Xpress)—A study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health gives insight into changes in the reward circuitry of the brain that may provide resistance against cocaine addiction. Scientists found that strengthening signaling along a neural pathway that runs through the nucleus accumbens—a region of the brain involved in motivation, pleasure, and addiction—can reduce cocaine-seeking behavior in mice. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-pathway-cocaine-addiction.html Neuroscience Tue, 16 Apr 2013 05:53:06 EST news285310374 Women who had sufficient amounts of vitamin D were 32 percent less likely to develop fibroids than women with insufficient vitamin D, according to a study from researchers at the National Institutes of Health. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-vitamin-d-uterine-fibroids.html Health Mon, 15 Apr 2013 11:32:51 EST news285244358 A new genetically engineered lab rat that has the full array of brain changes associated with Alzheimer's disease supports the idea that increases in a molecule called beta-amyloid in the brain causes the disease, according to a study, published in the Journal of Neuroscience. The study was supported by the National Institutes of Health. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-next-generation-alzheimer-disease.html Alzheimer's disease & dementia Tue, 09 Apr 2013 17:00:07 EST news284745162 Two researchers at the National Institutes of Health discovered a new genetic link between the rapid growth of healthy fetuses and the uncontrolled cell division in cancer. The findings shed light on normal development and on the genetic underpinnings of common cancers. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-genetic-link-fetal-growth-cancer.html Genetics Tue, 09 Apr 2013 04:20:29 EST news284700022 People with serious mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and major depression can lose weight and keep it off through a modified lifestyle intervention program, a National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)-funded study reported online today in the New England Journal of Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-people-mental-illnesses-weight.html Overweight and Obesity Thu, 21 Mar 2013 16:30:02 EST news283096256 A compact, self-contained sensor recorded and transmitted brain activity data wirelessly for more than a year in early stage animal tests, according to a study funded by the National Institutes of Health. In addition to allowing for more natural studies of brain activity in moving subjects, this implantable device represents a potential major step toward cord-free control of advanced prosthetics that move with the power of thought. The report is in the April 2013 issue of the Journal of Neural Engineering. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-wireless-implanted-sensor-broadens-range.html Neuroscience Tue, 19 Mar 2013 11:03:13 EST news282909706