http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. "Use it or lose it." The saying could apply especially to the brain when it comes to protecting against Alzheimer's disease. Previous studies have shown that keeping the mind active, exercising and social interactions may help delay the onset of dementia in Alzheimer's disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-illuminates-molecular-mechanism-environment-alzheimer.html Alzheimer's disease & dementia Wed, 06 Mar 2013 12:00:15 EST news281792627 When motors break down, getting where you want to go becomes a struggle. Problems arise in much the same way for critical brain receptors when the molecular motors they depend on fail to operate. Now, researchers reporting in Cell Reports on February 7, have shown these broken motors induce stress and anxiety in mice. The discovery may point the way to new kinds of drugs to treat anxiety and other disorders. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-brain-broken-motors-anxiety.html Medical research Thu, 07 Feb 2013 12:00:08 EST news279458685 A first-of-its-kind antidepressant drug discovered by a Northwestern University professor and now tested on adults who have failed other antidepressant therapies has been shown to alleviate symptoms within hours, have good safety and produce positive effects that last for about seven days from a single dose.  http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-drug-hard-to-treat-depression-brain-receptors.html Medical research Fri, 07 Dec 2012 09:50:01 EST news274095217 A new drug may bring help for people with insomnia, according to a study published in the November 28, 2012, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-suvorexant-drug-approach-insomnia.html Neuroscience Wed, 28 Nov 2012 16:31:51 EST news273342621 Two proteins have a unique bond that enables brain receptors essential to learning and memory to not only get and stay where they're needed, but to be hauled off when they aren't, researchers say. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-unique-protein-bond-enables-memory.html Medical research Tue, 30 Oct 2012 17:46:30 EST news270837961 Scientists at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) have identified a potential new approach to preventing smoking relapse, which occurs frequently in smokers who attempt to quit, despite current treatments. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-camh-protein-discovery-treatment-relapse.html Health Mon, 22 Oct 2012 13:19:48 EST news270130771 Researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) have identified mechanisms in the brain responsible for regulating cocaine-seeking behavior, providing an avenue for drug development that could greatly reduce the high relapse rate in cocaine addiction. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-memories-trigger-cocaine-relapse.html Neuroscience Wed, 17 Oct 2012 09:41:23 EST news269685673 (Medical Xpress)—Researchers at the Aptuit Centre for Drug Discovery and Development in Italy, have found that a drug called GSK598809 is able to block a type of dopamine receptor in the brain that has been linked to nicotine addiction. The team, studying the impact of the drug on baboons and mice has found, as they describe in their paper published in the journal Neuropsychopharmacology, that when delivered to the brain, the drug appears able to reduce the cravings for nicotine found in the smoke of cigarettes and thus may someday soon serve as an aide to quitting the habit that kills millions the world over every year. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-experimental-drug-nicotine-craving.html Neuroscience Thu, 13 Sep 2012 07:16:15 EST news266739348 Heart failure is the most common cause of death throughout the world, typically the result of chronic high blood pressure, also known as hypertension. As a result, research efforts have focused on an array of approaches aimed at preventing and treating high blood pressure. Recently, Japanese researchers examined the utility of an anti-hypertensive drug, moxonidine, which acts on the imidazoline receptors in the cardiovascular center of the brainstem. They found, using an animal model, that the drug can improve heart function and survival independent of its effect on blood pressure. They also found the drug had a favorable effect on oxidative stress, which is related to insulin resistance, the underlying abnormality in diabetes, which is common in people with heart failure. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-second-generation-drug-hypertension-aids-heart.html Cardiology Sun, 22 Apr 2012 13:15:27 EST news254319272 A type of fake pot has raised new health concerns in the United States after at least three users were hospitalized for kidney failure, authorities in the western state of Wyoming said Monday. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-health-fake-pot.html Medications Mon, 05 Mar 2012 17:14:03 EST news250190036 Scientists at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) have identified a potential target for the development of anti-craving medications for people with addictions to stimulants such as methamphetamine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-camh-discovery-potential-anti-craving-medications.html Neuroscience Wed, 25 Jan 2012 09:33:34 EST news246706383 (Medical Xpress) -- A new study challenges conventional thinking about how brain cells die in Alzheimer’s disease. The findings demonstrate a previously unknown mechanism by which the cells die and will help lead researchers in new directions for treating the degenerative brain disease. The study by scientists at the University of Calgary’s Hotchkiss Brain Institute is published this week in the prestigious journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-brain-cells-die-alzheimer-disease.html Medical research Fri, 20 Jan 2012 06:30:01 EST news246261413 Researchers interested in the treatment of schizophrenia and dementia have clarified how antipsychotic drugs that target a complex of two receptors at the surface of cells in the brain work, according to a new study published online Nov. 23 in the journal Cell. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-method-advancing-antipsychotic-drugs.html Medical research Wed, 23 Nov 2011 12:27:12 EST news241273612 (Medical Xpress) -- The prefrontal cortex of the brain is involved in memory processes and the ability to concentrate attentively. Neuroscientists from VU University Amsterdam have shown how and where this occurs in the prefrontal cortex. The research provides insight into how the brain regulates attention and concentration and gives new clues for the treatment of memory problems in elderly people. The results will be published tomorrow in the scientific journal Science. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-attention-brain-unravelled.html Neuroscience Thu, 11 Aug 2011 14:16:40 EST news232290983 Nerve cells in the eye require vitamin C in order to function properly — a surprising discovery that may mean vitamin C is required elsewhere in the brain for its proper functioning, according to a study by scientists at Oregon Health & Science University recently published in the Journal of Neuroscience. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-07-scientists-role-vitamin-eye-.html Health Fri, 15 Jul 2011 14:50:01 EST news229958650 Researchers from the Universities of Bonn and Mainz have discovered a mechanism that seems to protect the brain from aging. In experiments with mice, they switched off the cannabinoid-1 receptor. As a consequence, the animals showed signs of degeneration -- as seen in people with dementia - much faster. The research results are presented in a current issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-07-bodyguard-brain-mechanism-aging.html Medical research Tue, 12 Jul 2011 09:48:45 EST news229682914