http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. It seems that even for the smallest of people, a gentle massage may be beneficial. Newborn intensive care units (NICUs) are stressful environments for preterm infants; mechanical ventilation, medical procedures, caregiving activities and maternal separation create these stressful conditions. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-massage-therapy-shown-stress-response.html Pediatrics Tue, 14 May 2013 16:57:14 EST news287769428 The issue of sleep deprivation has gone beyond the counting of sheep and into the scientific domain, as European researchers set up 'sleep labs' to study the biomedical and sociological factors keeping us awake at night. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-scientists.html Health Fri, 03 May 2013 07:20:02 EST news286782589 (Medical Xpress)—Exposure to noise, for example from road traffic, may adversely affect the cardiovascular system. Until now, underlying mechanisms linking noise to elevated cardiovascular risk have rarely been explored in epidemiological studies. Scientists of Helmholtz Zentrum München have now shown that exposure to noise during everyday life influences heart rate variability, i.e. the ability of the heart to adjust the rate at which it beats to acute events. The results were published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-exposure-everyday-noise-heart-variability.html Health Thu, 02 May 2013 07:20:01 EST news286695411 (Medical Xpress)—Monitoring heart rate patterns can help identify risk and treat people who are dependent on alcohol by predicting their craving levels, researchers at the University of Sydney have shown. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-heart-alcohol.html Addiction Mon, 22 Apr 2013 07:57:35 EST news285836249 A high heart rate (pulse) at rest is linked to a higher risk of death even in physically fit, healthy people, suggests research published online in the journal Heart. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-high-heart-rest-higher-death.html Cardiology Mon, 15 Apr 2013 18:30:02 EST news285245731 New scientific evidence seems to confirm the famous Roman saying "Mens sana in corpore sano". Researchers from the University of Granada have demonstrated that people who normally practice sport have a better cognitive performance than those with poor physical health. More specifically, the results of this research indicate that the former have a better sustained attention span (they react more rapidly to an external stimulus introduced randomly while carrying out a monotonous task). Their autonomic nervous system also appears to work better when dealing with cognitive loads over a longer time period. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-people-sports-attention-span-poor.html Health Wed, 10 Apr 2013 10:42:47 EST news284809360 Neurologists at Mayo Clinic in Arizona have taken a promising step toward identifying a test that helps support the diagnosis of concussion. Their research has shown that autonomic reflex testing, which measures involuntary changes in heart rate and blood pressure, consistently appear to demonstrate significant changes in those with concussion. They presented the findings at the American Academy of Neurology annual meeting in San Diego this week. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-mayo-clinic-gauge-severity-concussions.html Neuroscience Tue, 19 Mar 2013 16:06:23 EST news282927977 Three studies released today present possible positive news for people with Parkinson's disease. The studies, which will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 65th Annual Meeting in San Diego, March 16 to 23, 2013, report on treatments for blood pressure problems, the wearing-off that can occur when people have taken the main drug for Parkinson's for a long time, and for people early in the disease whose symptoms are not well-controlled by their main drugs. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-drugs-quality-life-people-parkinson.html Parkinson's & Movement disorders Thu, 14 Mar 2013 16:20:13 EST news282496805 Obesity and its related conditions such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and stroke are among the most challenging of today's healthcare concerns. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-scientists-culprit-obesity-associated-high-blood.html Medical research Thu, 31 Jan 2013 12:00:05 EST news278854273 A new study led by Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) researchers has found that leptin, a hormone that plays a key role in energy metabolism, fertility, and bone mass, also regulates airway diameter. The findings could explain why obese people are prone to asthma and suggest that body weight–associated asthma may be relieved with medications that inhibit signaling through the parasympathetic nervous system, which mediates leptin function. The study, conducted in mice, was published in the online edition of the journal Cell Metabolism. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-obese-people-higher-asthma.html Medical research Tue, 08 Jan 2013 12:00:05 EST news276862025 Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have managed to graft beta cells into the eyes of mice in order to study them in a living organism over a prolonged period of time. As a result, the group and a team of colleagues from the University of Miami have gained detailed knowledge of how the autonomic nervous system regulates beta-cell insulin secretion. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-nerves-insulin-secretion.html Medical research Mon, 10 Dec 2012 15:00:01 EST news274361411 Australian researchers have discovered for the first time that reduced heart rate variability – or changes in heart beat timing – best predicts cognitive disturbances, such as concentration difficulties commonly reported by people with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). This adds to the growing body of evidence linking autonomic nervous system imbalance to symptoms of this poorly understood disorder. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-chronic-fatigue-syndromea-stress.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 15 Nov 2012 10:52:40 EST news272199138 An Australian study reveals that people with the rare genetic disorder known as Prader-Willi Syndrome may have an impaired autonomic nervous system. This discovery opens up a new way of looking at the insatiable appetite experienced by all sufferers, as well as their very high risk of cardiovascular disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-prader-willi-syndrome.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 15 Nov 2012 10:49:05 EST news272198903 Regular, daily practice of calm or paced breathing may ease hot flashes, shows a new study published online in Menopause, the journal of the North American Menopause Society. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-daily-breather-ease-hot.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Mon, 24 Sep 2012 15:57:40 EST news267721052 Researchers studying the origins of sudden cardiac death have found that in both men and women a thin placenta at birth was associated with sudden cardiac death. A thin placenta may result in a reduced flow of nutrients from the mother to the foetus. The authors suggest that sudden cardiac death may be initiated by impaired development of the autonomic nervous system in the womb, as a result of foetal malnutrition. The new study, published today in the International Journal of Epidemiology, also found that sudden death was associated independently with poor educational attainment. However, sudden cardiac death was not associated with maternal body size, foetal size at birth, or the length of gestation. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-sudden-cardiac-death-thin-placenta.html Cardiology Wed, 19 Sep 2012 19:20:01 EST news267291308 Researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have discovered that a neuronal pathway—part of the autonomic nervous system—reaches the bones and participates in the control of bone development. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-neural-brain-to-bone-pathway-skeletal.html Medical research Mon, 03 Sep 2012 10:27:26 EST news265886837 Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE, or "mad cow disease") is a fatal disease in cattle that causes portions of the brain to turn sponge-like. This transmissible disease is caused by the propagation of a misfolded form of protein known as a prion, rather than by a bacterium or virus. The average time from infection to signs of illness is about 60 months. Little is known about the pathogenesis of BSE in the early incubation period. Previous research has reported that the autonomic nervous system (ANS) becomes affected by the disease only after the central nervous system (CNS) has been infected. In a new study published online in the August issue of The American Journal of Pathology, researchers found that the ANS can show signs of infection prior to involvement of the CNS. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-mad-cow-disease-cattle-widely.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Mon, 09 Jul 2012 00:00:03 EST news260951632 This weekend, many mothers-to-be celebrated Mother's Day, a welcome relief from the inherent stresses of pregnancy. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-mothers-saliva-stories-stress.html Pediatrics Mon, 14 May 2012 08:03:41 EST news256201390 (HealthDay) -- Women experiencing hot flashes have a significant reduction in heart rate variability during the hot flash, suggesting a role for the autonomic nervous system, according to a study published in the April issue of Menopause. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-reduction-heart-variability-hot.html Cardiology Fri, 06 Apr 2012 13:50:01 EST news252936722 A paper published online today in Nature describes the results of using bone marrow transplant (BMT) to replace faulty immune system cells in models of Rett Syndrome. The procedure arrested many severe symptoms of the childhood disorder, including abnormal breathing and movement, and significantly extended the lifespan of Rett mouse models. Exploring the function of microglia deficient in methyl-CpG binding protein 2 (Mecp2), the protein encoded by the "Rett gene," principal investigator Jonathan Kipnis, Ph.D. and his team at the University of Virginia School of Medicine uncovered a completely novel approach to this devastating neurological syndrome. The work was funded by the Rett Syndrome Research Trust and the Rett Syndrome Research Trust UK. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-bone-marrow-transplant-symptoms-rett.html Immunology Sun, 18 Mar 2012 14:00:20 EST news251297067 An article by researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM), New York Medical College (NYMC), and the Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons (CCPS) reviews evidence that yoga may be effective in treating patients with stress-related psychological and medical conditions such as depression, anxiety, high blood pressure and cardiac disease. Their theory, which currently appears online in Medical Hypotheses, could be used to develop specific mind-body practices for the prevention and treatment of these conditions in conjunction with standard treatments. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-yoga-ease-stress-medical-psychological.html Health Tue, 06 Mar 2012 11:55:43 EST news250257323 Participation in horticultural activities can improve confidence and social skills, cultivate a positive attitude, and rejuvenate the mind and body. Many studies have emphasized the effects of horticultural activities in relation to physical and psychological rehabilitation, but few have considered the influence of these types of activities on mentally challenged people's autonomic nervous system (ANS) and on the stress hormone cortisol. A new study examined how activities such as pressing flowers, planting, creating flower arrangements, and making topiaries affect stress relief for patients who are mentally challenged. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-heart-stress-mentally-adults.html Psychology & Psychiatry Mon, 12 Dec 2011 15:20:01 EST news242912973 New research from the Heart and Stroke Foundation and the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation may help explain why people with spinal cord injury (SCI) have a higher risk of developing heart disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-spinal-cord-injuries-heart-disease.html Cardiology Mon, 24 Oct 2011 04:19:20 EST news238648753 A new study has found that processes that control heart rate play an important role in the quality of life experienced by patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The study, which was published in the journal Respirology, indicates that heart-related treatments may improve the wellbeing of some individuals with COPD. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-heart-health-impacts-wellbeing-patients.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Fri, 14 Oct 2011 10:32:09 EST news237807114 There is no scientific basis for teaching boys and girls separately, according to Lise Eliot from The Chicago Medical School. Her review reveals fundamental flaws in the arguments put forward by proponents of single-sex schools to justify the need of teaching teach boys and girls separately. Eliot shows that neuroscience has identified few reliable differences between boys' and girls' brains relevant to learning or education. Her work is published online in Springer's journal Sex Roles. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-parents-misled-advocates-single-sex.html Psychology & Psychiatry Thu, 18 Aug 2011 10:28:37 EST news232882102 There is increasing evidence from human and animal studies that offspring of parents who were physically or psychologically stressed are at higher risk of developing obesity, and that these offspring may in turn "transmit" that increased risk to the next generation. Now research conducted at the University of Minnesota and Georgetown University suggests that a mother's nutritional or psychological stress during pregnancy and lactation may create a signature on her child's genes that put the child at increased risk for obesity later in life, especially if the child is female. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-04-maternal-stress-pregnancy-affect-child.html Health Tue, 12 Apr 2011 14:10:15 EST news221835597 The persistent fatigue that plagues one out of every three breast cancer survivors may be caused by one part of the autonomic nervous system running in overdrive, while the other part fails to slow it down. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-04-breast-cancer-patients-persistent-fatigue.html Cancer Wed, 06 Apr 2011 16:58:08 EST news221327877