http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. A dysfunction of a certain Calcium channel, the so called P/Q-type channel, in neurons of the cerebellum is sufficient to cause different motor diseases as well as a special type of epilepsy. This is reported by the research team of Dr. Melanie Mark and Prof. Dr. Stefan Herlitze from the Ruhr-Universität Bochum. They investigated mice that lacked the ion channel of the P/Q-type in the modulatory input neurons of the cerebellum. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-dysfunction-cerebellar-calcium-channel-motor.html Neuroscience Thu, 21 Mar 2013 09:20:56 EST news283076448 Findings from a Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine study could lead to the development of new drugs to treat gout. The study, led by Liang Qiao, MD, and his colleagues and collaborators, was published March 19 in the journal Nature Communications. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-aid-drugs-gout.html Immunology Tue, 19 Mar 2013 16:02:20 EST news282927733 For the first time, scientists have discovered that five major psychiatric disorders—autism, attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder, bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder and schizophrenia—share several common genetic risk factors. In particular, variations in two genes involved in the balance of calcium in brain cells are implicated in several of these disorders and could be a target for new treatments. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-largest-reveals-major-psychiatric-disorders.html Psychology & Psychiatry Wed, 27 Feb 2013 18:30:01 EST news281206769 Using powerful X-rays at the Canadian Light Source synchrotron, scientists have reconstructed the scenario of heart arrhythmia in action, making critical progress towards preventing deadly conditions and saving lives. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-heart-arrhythmia-x-rays-cls.html Medical research Fri, 22 Feb 2013 11:01:35 EST news280753276 (HealthDay)—Children and teens who get migraine headaches suffer in multiple ways, missing school and fun time with friends while waiting for the debilitating pain to subside. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-proof-drugs-ease-kids-migraines.html Pediatrics Mon, 28 Jan 2013 17:00:01 EST news278613153 According to new research published Online First in the Lancet, body mass index may influence which blood pressure medications work best at reducing the major complications of high blood pressure (strokes, heart attacks, and death). The findings suggest that diuretic drugs seem to be a reasonable choice for obese patients, but significantly increase the risk of cardiovascular events in non-obese individuals. Calcium channel blockers, meanwhile, work equally well in people in all weight groups, including lean individuals. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-body-mass-index-blood-pressure.html Health Wed, 05 Dec 2012 18:30:01 EST news273948262 (HealthDay)—Taking too many medications at the same time could lead to repeated fainting episodes, a new study reveals. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-fainting-tied-meds.html Medications Mon, 05 Nov 2012 10:50:01 EST news271332427 (Medical Xpress)—Medications used to treat hypertension, diabetes and skin conditions could be doubling as treatments for Alzheimer's within 10 years according to researchers. A groundbreaking new study funded by Alzheimer's Society and led by King's College London identifies four existing drugs and one drug class which could reduce risk or slow down symptoms of the disease. The study, published in Nature Reviews Drug Discovery today forms a key part of ongoing drug discovery work which aims to accelerate the search for a cure and drugs for dementia by looking at existing treatments. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-everyday-drugs-combat-dementia-major.html Alzheimer's disease & dementia Thu, 01 Nov 2012 06:44:42 EST news270970967 University of Iowa researchers have previously shown that an enzyme called CaM kinase II plays a pivotal role in the death of heart cells following a heart attack or other conditions that damage or stress heart muscle. Loss of beating heart cells is generally permanent and leads to heart failure, a serious, debilitating condition that affects 5.8 million people in the United States. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-inhibiting-camkii-enzyme-therapies-heart.html Cardiology Thu, 11 Oct 2012 16:24:41 EST news269191475 People who cooked with a blend of sesame and rice bran oils saw a significant drop in blood pressure and improved cholesterol levels, according to new research presented at the American Heart Association's High Blood Pressure Research 2012 Scientific Sessions. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-sesame-rice-bran-oil-lowers.html Cardiology Wed, 19 Sep 2012 16:00:05 EST news267289062 (Medical Xpress) -- Because of its high water content and polymer network, peptide hydrogel is a promising material for protein storage and transfer without significant loss of their biological activity. These hydrogels have potential as injectable materials for medical applications, e.g., liquid injection agents that become gelatinous in the human body to keep drugs around cancerous tumors. In this study, scientists from Kansas State University, University of Nebraska, and PNNL used two native functional sequences from spider flagelliform silk protein and a trans-membrane motif of human muscle L-type calcium channel to design a self-assembling peptide, h9e. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-scientists-merge-spider-silk-human.html Medical research Fri, 02 Dec 2011 05:50:29 EST news242027414 Potential clues to how autism miswires the brain are emerging from a study of a rare, purely genetic form of the disorders that affects fewer than 20 people worldwide. Using cutting-edge "disease-in a-dish" technology, researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health have grown patients' skin cells into neurons to discover what goes wrong in the brain in Timothy Syndrome. Affected children often show symptoms of autism spectrum disorders along with a constellation of physical problems. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-neurons-grown-skin-cells-clues.html Medical research Sun, 27 Nov 2011 13:00:01 EST news241523114 The first transgenic mouse model of a rare and severe type of autism called Timothy Syndrome is improving the scientific understanding of autism spectrum disorder in general and may help researchers design more targeted interventions and treatments. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-clues-molecular-autism.html Medical research Mon, 12 Sep 2011 05:05:09 EST news235022640 Researchers at the Indiana University School of Medicine have discovered a peptide that short circuits a pathway for chronic pain. Unlike current treatments this peptide does not exhibit deleterious side effects such as reduced motor coordination, memory loss, or depression, according to an article in Nature Medicine posted online June 5, 2011. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-pain.html Neuroscience Sun, 05 Jun 2011 13:00:09 EST news226496956