http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. We're all fatheads. That is, our brain cells are packed with fat molecules, more of them than almost any other cell type. Still, if the brain cells' fat content gets too high, they'll be in trouble. In a recent study in mice, researchers at Johns Hopkins pinpointed an enzyme that keeps neurons' fat levels under control, and may be implicated in human neurological diseases. Their findings are published in the May 2013 issue of Molecular and Cellular Biology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-fatheads-neurons-excess-fat.html Medical research Mon, 08 Apr 2013 10:58:41 EST news284637510 (Medical Xpress)—Trinity College Dublin scientists have made a significant breakthrough in understanding the immune system that could lead to new treatments for diseases such as sepsis and Type 2 diabetes. A team led by Professor of Biochemistry, Luke O'Neill of the School of Biochemistry and Immunology in the Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute has revealed that during an infection, immune cells switch their "engine" from the more sedate "battery" power, to using the equivalent of petrol to supercharge the engine needed to fight the infection. The work has just been published in the international leading science journal Nature. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-reveal-immune-turbo-charged-hybrid-car.html Immunology Thu, 04 Apr 2013 06:17:21 EST news284275032 Results of a study using several imaging methods showed that CCSVI (chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency) occurs at a low rate in both people with multiple sclerosis (MS) and non-MS volunteers, contrary to some previous studies. The research by an interdisciplinary team at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) was published in a recent early online edition of the Annals of Neurology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-incidence-venous-insufficiency-ms.html Neuroscience Thu, 07 Mar 2013 16:31:17 EST news281896271 A study by Queen's University Belfast has found that the dispensing of psychotropic drugs to older people in Northern Ireland increases on entry to care homes. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-psychotropic-drug-entry-homes.html Health Thu, 21 Feb 2013 00:20:03 EST news280605304 Parents, teachers and psychologists know boys and girls behave differently. However, that difference isn't taken into account by most methods used to assess the risk to children from chemical exposure, according to Cheryl Rosenfeld, associate professor of biomedical sciences in the University of Missouri's Bond Life Sciences Center. A series of experiments by Rosenfeld studied the effects of prenatal exposure to bisphenol A (BPA) on later reproductive-associated behaviors using a socially and genetically monogamous rodent, the California mouse, which may better mirror most human societies than other rodents. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-bisphenol-affects-sex-specific-reproductive-behaviors.html Health Mon, 11 Feb 2013 11:48:14 EST news279805678 Young elite players at professional soccer clubs are at risk of burnout before they leave school because of the perfectionist standards they feel coaches, parents and team members demand of them, according to a new study. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-young-soccer-players-burnout.html Health Tue, 29 Jan 2013 17:00:04 EST news278687281 New University at Buffalo research demonstrates how defects in an important neurological pathway in early development may be responsible for the onset of schizophrenia later in life. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-stem-cell-schizophrenia.html Genetics Tue, 22 Jan 2013 16:56:00 EST news278096151 (Medical Xpress)—A protein known as Sp2 is key to the proper creation of neurons from stem cells, according to researchers at North Carolina State University. Understanding how this protein works could enable scientists to "program" stem cells for regeneration, which has implications for neural therapies. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-lack-protein-sp2-disrupts-neuron.html Neuroscience Mon, 14 Jan 2013 16:56:16 EST news277404968 (Medical Xpress)—Yellow coat color mice in Cheryl Rosenfeld's lab are not fortunate sons and daughters.Conventional knowledge says these mice will likely live fatter, more diseased lives than their black, brown and mottled (tiger-striped) siblings. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-previous-bpa.html Medical research Wed, 02 Jan 2013 14:23:46 EST news276359010 Johns Hopkins researchers have uncovered strong evidence that mice have a specific set of nerve cells that signal itch but not pain, a finding that may settle a decades-long debate about these sensations, and, if confirmed in humans, help in developing treatments for chronic itch, including itch caused by life-saving medications. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-itchy-wool-sweaters-scientists-uncover.html Neuroscience Wed, 02 Jan 2013 13:00:14 EST news276354003 (Medical Xpress)—John Ioannidis, a researcher at Stanford University has, along with graduate student Joshua Nicholson, published a commentary piece in the journal Nature, taking the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to task for maintaining a system that they say rewards conformity while ignoring innovation. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-nih-grant-totally-broken.html Other Thu, 06 Dec 2012 08:10:01 EST news274000897 New drugs derived from components of a specific diet used by children with severe, drug-resistant epilepsy could offer a new treatment, according to research published today in the journal Neuropharmacology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-discovery-treatment-epilepsy.html Neuroscience Tue, 20 Nov 2012 19:20:05 EST news272649854 (Medical Xpress)—New insights into sperms' swimming skills shed light on male infertility, which affects one in 20 men, and could provide a new avenue to the development of a male contraceptive pill. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-closer-male-contraceptive-pill.html Genetics Mon, 08 Oct 2012 08:26:35 EST news268903578 (Medical Xpress)—Scientists at The University of Nottingham say adverse side-effects caused by the anti-parasitic drug quinine in the treatment of malaria could be controlled by what we eat. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-diet-combat-adverse-side-effects-quinine.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Tue, 11 Sep 2012 06:25:58 EST news266563525 Chronic infections are a large and growing problem throughout the developed world, and intensive research is being conducted in ways to combat the recalcitrant bacteria. When bacteria aggregate into so-called biofilm, they become resistant to antibiotics. Until now scientists have only been able to speculate about what happens when bacteria overpower the immune system during a chronic infection. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-scientific-method-unmasks-chronic-infections.html Medical research Wed, 08 Aug 2012 11:54:29 EST news263645661 (Medical Xpress) -- Even with an imminent Supreme Court ruling on the health care overhaul law, it's still the primary care physician and the local community that will determine the path of true health care reform. That's the message from "Communities of Solution: The Folsom Report Revisited," a policy paper published online in the May/June issue of Annals of Family Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-health-reform-local-court-decision.html Health Thu, 21 Jun 2012 06:33:48 EST news259478449 Researchers have unveiled a novel strategy for neutralizing unwanted molecules and clearing them from the body. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-antitoxin-strategy-pathogens.html Medical research Mon, 18 Jun 2012 10:03:53 EST news259232620 (Medical Xpress) -- A new University at Buffalo study of publications in the world's top five general medical journals finds that when clinical trials do not account for participants who dropped out, results are biased and may even lead to incorrect conclusions. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-skewed-results-failure-account-clinical.html Other Thu, 14 Jun 2012 06:28:17 EST news258874068 (Medical Xpress) -- A significant breakthrough on why women go into labour early or develop the disease  pre-eclampsia has been made by scientists. The discovery concerning the conditions which threaten the life of both the newborn baby and the mother was made by researchers at the Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute (TBSI) at Trinity College Dublin and Coombe Women and Infants University Hospital.  The findings have just been published in the Journal of Immunology.   http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-breakthrough-premature-birth.html Immunology Wed, 30 May 2012 06:27:30 EST news257578035 Experts from Durham University have identified a new gene that could help the development of fertility treatments in humans in the future. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-gene-involved-sperm-to-egg-key-fertility.html Medical research Tue, 01 May 2012 03:25:59 EST news255061537 In an age when even preschoolers have electronic toys and devices, many parents wonder how to get their children to be more physically active. Now, two studies published by University at Buffalo researchers provide some answers. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-kids-toy-choices.html Health Wed, 18 Apr 2012 17:14:49 EST news253988082 (Medical Xpress) -- To provide elderly, hospitalized patients with the best care possible, the medical community needs to reevaluate its reliance on medical technologies, says Bruce J. Naughton, MD, associate professor of medicine at the University at Buffalo and a specialist in geriatrics, which deals specifically with the problems of aging. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-elderly-patients-intervention-geriatrics-specialist.html Health Mon, 16 Apr 2012 06:31:19 EST news253776647 A Kansas State University veterinary medicine student is investigating ways to improve horse vaccinations and defend them against pathogen challenges at an early age. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-equine-health-vaccinations-newborn-foals.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Wed, 04 Apr 2012 11:22:06 EST news252757314 (Medical Xpress) -- Murdoch University researchers have helped to identify a new human infection in Australia after the disease contributed to the death of a Canberra man. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-potentially-deadly-infection-australia.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Mon, 19 Mar 2012 08:08:44 EST news251363283 Scientists from Trinity College Dublin have discovered a new 'off switch' in our immune response which could be boosted in diseases caused by over-activation of our immune system, or blocked to improve vaccines. The findings are published this week in the journal Nature Communications. The research was funded by Health Research Board, Ireland and Science Foundation Ireland. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-scientists-immune-response.html Immunology Tue, 28 Feb 2012 11:47:37 EST news249652053 University at Buffalo researchers are expressing concern about a new, under-recognized, much more potent variant of a common bacterium that has surfaced in the U.S. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-klebsiella-pneumoniae-superbug.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Fri, 17 Feb 2012 15:09:45 EST news248713775 For decades, the blood thinner heparin has been used to prevent and treat blood clots. Could it be just as effective in treating cancer? http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-molecular-weight-heparin-cancer-treatment.html Cancer Wed, 15 Feb 2012 17:00:01 EST news248543938 New research demonstrates that previous models used to examine cancer may not be complex enough to accurately mimic the true cancer environment. Using oral cancer cells in a three-dimensional model of lab-made tissue that mimics the lining of the oral cavity, the researchers found that the tissue surrounding cancer cells can epigenetically mediate, or temporarily trigger, the expression or suppression of a cell adhesion protein associated with the progression of cancer. These new findings support the notion that drugs that are currently being tested to treat many cancers need to be screened using more complex tissue-like systems, rather than by using conventional petri dish cultures that do not fully manifest features of many cancers. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-lab-made-tissue-slack-petri-dishes.html Cancer Wed, 11 Jan 2012 10:11:48 EST news245499079 Lung cancer patients could receive safer and more efficient treatment through a system being developed by researchers at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-inhaler-treatment-lung-cancer.html Cancer Tue, 11 Oct 2011 12:10:36 EST news237553828 (Medical Xpress) -- A Murdoch University scientist is closer to understanding why early brain development is so critical to mental health and function in the long term. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-07-scientists-brain-discovery.html Neuroscience Wed, 06 Jul 2011 08:14:00 EST news229158755