http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. A small group of elusive neurons in the brain's cortex play a big role in ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), a swift and fatal neurodegenerative disease that paralyzes its victims. But the neurons have always been difficult to study because there are so few of them and they look so similar to other neurons in the cortex. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-neon-exposes-hidden-als-cells.html Neuroscience Tue, 30 Apr 2013 17:04:26 EST news286560257 A new study of brain rhythms in bats and rats challenges a widely used model - based on studies in rodents - of how animals navigate their environment. To get a clearer picture of the processes at work in the mammal brain during spatial navigation, neuroscientists must closely study a broad range of animals, say the two University of Maryland College Park scientists involved in the study. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-rats-brains-differently.html Neuroscience Thu, 18 Apr 2013 14:00:16 EST news285511953 The human body has the ability to ward off viruses by activating a naturally occurring protein at the cellular level, setting off a chain reaction that disrupts the levels of cholesterol required in cell membranes to enable viruses to enter cells. The findings, discovered by researchers in molecular microbiology and immunology at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, hold promise for the development of therapies to fight a variety of viral infections. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-stuyd-reveals-natural-blocks-viruses.html Medical research Wed, 17 Apr 2013 12:00:01 EST news285415372 Johns Hopkins scientists have found out how a gout-linked genetic mutation contributes to the disease: by causing a breakdown in a cellular pump that clears an acidic waste product from the bloodstream. By comparing this protein pump to a related protein involved in cystic fibrosis, the researchers also identified a compound that partially repairs the pump in laboratory tests. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-protein-well-known-cousin-gout-linked-relative.html Medical research Mon, 08 Apr 2013 13:08:56 EST news284645322 Women tend to carry excess fat in their hips and thighs, while men tend to carry it on their stomachs. But after menopause, things start to change: many women's fat storage patterns start to resemble those of men. This indicates that there's a link between estrogen and body fat storage. This connection is well documented, but the underlying mechanisms remained poorly understood until now. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-weight-menopause-estrogen-deficiency-affects.html Diabetes Wed, 27 Mar 2013 13:58:05 EST news283611479 Poor diet and lifestyle choices set the stage for obesity and diabetes, but the immune system plays a relatively underappreciated role in accelerating this process. Metabolic changes in fat cells stimulate the release of inflammatory signals known as cytokines, which block insulin signaling at a cellular level, as well as other factors that recruit immune cells into fatty tissue to perpetuate the cycle of declining metabolic function. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-protein-fat-cells-inflammatory-gears.html Medical research Fri, 15 Mar 2013 09:24:26 EST news282558150 The search for the perfect diet—one that promotes weight loss and optimal health—has left many people empty handed. A Perspectives article written by University of Cincinnati (UC) researchers and appearing in the Feb. 22, 2013, edition of Science suggests that a broad focus on the negative effects of high-fat or processed carbohydrate-rich diets could be misplaced. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-misled-macronutrients-alternative-diet.html Health Thu, 21 Feb 2013 14:00:08 EST news280675324 The most common inherited form of mental retardation and autism, fragile X syndrome, turns some brain cells into chatterboxes, scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis report. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-fragile-brain-cells.html Neuroscience Wed, 20 Feb 2013 12:36:01 EST news280586147 (Medical Xpress)—USC neuroscientists have isolated chills at a cellular level, identifying the sensory network of neurons in the skin that relays the sensation of cold. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-cold-scientists-ability.html Medical research Thu, 14 Feb 2013 02:50:25 EST news280032606 Healthy menopausal women carrying a well-known genetic risk factor for Alzheimer's disease showed measurable signs of accelerated biological aging, a new study has found. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-biological-aging-women-alzheimer-factor.html Alzheimer's disease & dementia Wed, 13 Feb 2013 17:00:04 EST news279997134 Today health is a matter of living a risk-conscious lifestyle and being in control of one's body and life. Yet 100 years ago, health was not a private matter but rather a national duty. This is found in a new doctoral thesis in religious studies from the University of Gothenburg. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-health-national-duty-private.html Health Tue, 05 Feb 2013 09:51:24 EST news279280258 Pemphigus vulgaris is a life-threatening autoimmune skin disease that is occurs when the body's immune system generates antibodies that target proteins in the skin known as desomogleins. Desmogleins help to form the adhesive bonds that hold skin cells together and keep the skin intact. Currently, pemphigus vulgaris is treated by long-term immune suppression; however, this can leave the patient susceptible to infection. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-small-peptide-ameliorates-autoimmune-skin.html Immunology Wed, 09 Jan 2013 12:00:06 EST news276953717 (Medical Xpress)—Worried about all the time you spent in the sun during your teen years? There's good reason, says Dr. Jane M. Grant-Kels, chair of the Department of Dermatology at the University of Connecticut Health Center. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-skin-advanced-tools-cancer.html Cancer Mon, 07 Jan 2013 07:00:01 EST news276763407 A new understanding of what takes place on the cellular level during the development of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, ALS and Huntington's diseases, offers promise towards possible new strategies for combating such diseases, say Hebrew University of Jerusalem researchers. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-srategies-neurodegenerative-diseases.html Medical research Thu, 06 Dec 2012 10:44:36 EST news274013065 Despite researchers' best efforts, no drug exists that can slow, halt or reverse the onslaught of Alzheimer's disease. A progressive and fatal neurodegenerative disorder, Alzheimer's has stolen the memories and livelihoods of millions—leaving patients and their families struggling to cope with the disease's devastating consequences. But today, scientists at the Gladstone Institutes propose a new research avenue that has the potential to change all that. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-apoe-ideal-halting-alzheimer-disease.html Alzheimer's disease & dementia Wed, 05 Dec 2012 12:00:06 EST news273925722 One of the biggest puzzles in neuroscience is how our brains encode thoughts, such as perceptions and memories, at the cellular level. Some evidence suggests that ensembles of neurons represent each unique piece of information, but no one knows just what these ensembles look like, or how they form. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-brain-encode-behavior.html Neuroscience Wed, 21 Nov 2012 12:00:12 EST news272714326 While it is well known that starfish, zebrafish and salamanders can re-grow damaged limbs, scientists understand very little about the regenerative capabilities of mammals. Now, researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center's Institute for Regenerative Medicine report on the regenerative process that enables rats to re-grow their bladders within eight weeks. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-scientists-mammal-bladder-regeneration.html Medical research Fri, 12 Oct 2012 17:00:01 EST news269279832 (Medical Xpress)—With an incredible diversity of cell types, the central nervous system (CNS), comprising the brain, spinal cord and retina, can be considered to be the most complex organ in the body. Professor Bill Harris, an experimental biologist and Head of the Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience, is fascinated by how this complex and sophisticated system is built out of a collection of undifferentiated cells. By putting an advanced technology to novel use, he has been able to observe for the first time the entire process of retinal development at the cellular level in zebrafish embryos. This has achieved a long-sought goal in developmental neurobiology: a complete analysis of the building of a vertebrate CNS structure in vivo. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-imaging-retinal-clues-neural-complexities.html Medical research Tue, 25 Sep 2012 07:31:45 EST news267777084 (Medical Xpress)—Although they're a common nuisance in the home, fruit flies have made great contributions to research in genetics and developmental biology. Now a Tel Aviv University researcher is again turning to this everyday pest to answer crucial questions about how neurons function at a cellular level—which may uncover the secrets of neurological disorders such as Alzheimer's disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-neurons-reveal-root-alzheimer-disease.html Medical research Mon, 24 Sep 2012 09:54:43 EST news267699162 (Medical Xpress)—Researchers have taken a key step towards recovering specific brain functions in sufferers of brain disease and injuries by successfully restoring the decision-making processes in monkeys. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-prosthetic-device-impaired-decision-making-ability.html Neuroscience Thu, 13 Sep 2012 19:00:10 EST news266764211 Scientists have restored the sense of smell in mice through gene therapy for the first time—a hopeful sign for people who can't smell anything from birth or lose it due to disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-gene-therapy-aid-diseases-cilia.html Medical research Sun, 02 Sep 2012 13:00:01 EST news265786223 (Medical Xpress) -- Research has shown that women are at greater risk of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) than men. Now, scientists based at the UCSF-affiliated San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center (SFVAMC) have found that women with the condition might be more likely to experience faster aging at the cellular level and increased risk for diseases of aging than men with PTSD. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-women-health-due-ptsd.html Psychology & Psychiatry Thu, 16 Aug 2012 09:27:25 EST news264327944 Cleveland Clinic researchers have discovered that a naturally occurring molecule may play a role in preventing plaque buildup inside arteries, possibly leading to new plaque-fighting drugs and improved screening of patients at risk of developing atherosclerosis. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-molecule-atherosclerosis.html Cardiology Wed, 11 Jul 2012 13:12:06 EST news261231103 Finding a way to restore hair growth after substantial hair loss is something of an obsession worldwide. Investigators at the Society of Nuclear Medicine's 2012 Annual Meeting presented how stem cell research for the development of new hair follicles can be monitored with an optical imaging technique that uses bioluminescence, the same process that allows fireflies to light up. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-bioluminescence-imaging-stem-cell-therapy.html Medical research Mon, 11 Jun 2012 14:10:01 EST news258639369 It is well-known that the risks of breast cancer increase dramatically for women over the age of 50, but what takes place at the cellular level to cause this increase has been a mystery. Some answers and the possibility of preventative measures in the future are provided in a new study by researchers at the DOE's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-aging-breast-cancer-uncover-cellular.html Cancer Mon, 04 Jun 2012 11:57:12 EST news258029819 The ability to anticipate future events allows us to plan and exert control over our lives, but it may also contribute to stress-related increased risk for the diseases of aging, according to a study by UCSF researchers. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-stressful-situations-cellular-aging.html Psychology & Psychiatry Tue, 21 Feb 2012 16:11:15 EST news249063064 Two biochemical methods, developed at the Centre of Excellence for High Field Magnetic Resonance at the MedUni Vienna by Vladimir Juras from the University Department of Radiodiagnostics, are enabling Achilles tendon damage to be visualised at an early stage. The processes used are sodium imaging and T2 mapping. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-methods-enable-early-achilles-tendon.html Other Tue, 31 Jan 2012 07:54:01 EST news247218818 Early detection of melanoma, the most aggressive skin cancer, is critical because melanoma will spread rapidly throughout the body. Now, University of Missouri researchers are one step closer to melanoma cancer detection at the cellular level, long before tumors have a chance to form. Commercial production of a device that measures melanoma using photoacoustics, or laser-induced ultrasound, will soon be available to scientists and academia for cancer studies. The commercial device also will be tested in clinical trials to provide the data required to obtain U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval for early diagnosis of metastatic melanoma and other cancers. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-photoacoustic-device-cancer-cells-tumors.html Cancer Thu, 05 Jan 2012 11:52:09 EST news244986717 Armed with a new ability to find retinal anomalies at the cellular level, neurobiologists at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital have made a discovery they hope will ultimately lead to a treatment for cancer of the retina. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-ornl-image-analysis-prowess-advances.html Medical research Wed, 21 Dec 2011 16:47:21 EST news243708428 (Medical Xpress) -- In many cases, a delay occurs between the time you are presented information and the time you respond with an action or decision. Most of us call it a thought, while some scientists call it working memory. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-thought-scientists-sensor-memory.html Neuroscience Wed, 21 Dec 2011 06:14:55 EST news243670384