http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. (Medical Xpress)—A research team including members of the Department of Bioengineering in the University of Pennsylvania School of Engineering and Applied Science has discovered that drug intervention to reduce intercellular signaling between astrocytes following traumatic brain injury reduces cognitive deficits and damage. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-therapeutic-traumatic-brain-injury.html Neuroscience Tue, 09 Apr 2013 07:30:01 EST news284710693 Each year more than three million Americans are living with traumatic brain injury (TBI), a condition that is associated with physical, cognitive, and emotional problems that often affect their sexuality, and subsequently their marital stability, identity, and self-esteem. Taking an in-depth look at the impact of TBI on sexuality, an investigative team critically reviews fourteen studies representing a collective study sample of nearly 1,500 patients, partners, spouses, control individuals, and rehabilitation professionals to examine brain injury and sexuality. It is published in NeuroRehabilitation: An International Journal. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-sexuality-traumatic-brain-injury.html Psychology & Psychiatry Fri, 05 Apr 2013 11:26:00 EST news284379948 Cognitive problems with memory and behavior experienced by individuals with schizophrenia are linked with changes in brain activity; however, it is difficult to test whether these changes are the underlying cause or consequence of these symptoms. By altering the brain activity in mice to mimic the decrease in activity seen in patients with schizophrenia, researchers reporting in the Cell Press journal Neuron on March 20 reveal that these changes in regional brain activity cause similar cognitive problems in otherwise normal mice. This direct demonstration of the link between changes in brain activity and the behaviors associated with schizophrenia could alter how the disease is treated. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-brain-responsible-cognitive-symptoms-schizophrenia.html Neuroscience Wed, 20 Mar 2013 12:00:01 EST news282999473 Compulsive hoarders are more likely to suffer from executive dysfunction, a cognitive deficit that inhibits flexible thinking and categorisation skills, a study has found. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-compulsive-hoarders-struggle-categorise.html Psychology & Psychiatry Fri, 15 Mar 2013 09:17:36 EST news282557839 (Medical Xpress)—Before examinations and in critical situations, we need to be particularly receptive and capable of learning. However, acute exam stress and stage fright causes learning blockades and reduced memory function. Scientists from the Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry in Munich have now discovered a mechanism responsible for these cognitive deficits, which functions independently of stress hormones. In animal studies, the researchers show that social stress reduces the volume of Homer-1 in the hippocampus – a region of the brain that plays a central role in learning. This specific protein deficiency leads to altered neuronal activity followed by deterioration in the animals' learning performance. In the experiments, it was possible to prevent the cognitive deficit by administering additional volumes of the protein to the mice. This suggests that Homer-1 could provide a key molecule for the development of drugs for the treatment of stress-induced cognitive deficits. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-homer-stress-induced-cognitive-deficits-lack.html Neuroscience Thu, 28 Feb 2013 07:48:10 EST news281260079 Good mental health and clear thinking depend upon our ability to store and manipulate thoughts on a sort of "mental sketch pad." In a new study, Yale School of Medicine researchers describe the molecular basis of this ability—the hallmark of human cognition—and describe how a breakdown of the system contributes to diseases such as schizophrenia and Alzheimer's disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-human-cognition-slow-firing-neurons.html Neuroscience Wed, 20 Feb 2013 12:17:02 EST news280584997 Mild traumatic brain injury (TBI), including concussion, is one of the most common types of neurological disorder, affecting approximately 1.3 million Americans annually. It has received more attention recently because of its frequency and impact among two groups of patients: professional athletes, especially football players; and soldiers returning from mid-east conflicts with blast-related TBI. An estimated 10 to 20 percent of the more than 2 million U.S. soldiers deployed in Iraq or Afghanistan have experienced TBI. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-veterans-mild-traumatic-brain-injury.html Psychology & Psychiatry Thu, 07 Feb 2013 10:54:07 EST news279456840 A team of researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College has discovered that amyloid peptides are harmful to the blood vessels that supply the brain with blood in Alzheimer's disease—thus accelerating cognitive decline by limiting oxygen-rich blood and nutrients. In their animal studies, the investigators reveal how amyloid-β accumulates in blood vessels and how such accumulation and damage might be ultimately prevented. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-blood-vessels-amyloid-worsen-cognitive.html Alzheimer's disease & dementia Mon, 04 Feb 2013 15:00:34 EST news279197409 Researchers have overcome a major challenge to treating brain diseases by engineering an experimental molecular therapy that crosses the blood-brain barrier to reverse neurological lysosomal storage disease in mice. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-experimental-molecular-therapy-blood-brain-barrier.html Medical research Mon, 04 Feb 2013 15:00:19 EST news279195985 (Medical Xpress)—Too many athletes may be going back onto the field, court or rink too soon after a concussion, according to a new study that recommends athletes undergo post-exertion neurocognitive testing before being cleared to return to play. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-return-to-play-decisions-commonly-post-exertion-neurocognitive.html Health Thu, 31 Jan 2013 08:40:01 EST news278841524 (Medical Xpress)—New research from King's College London's Institute of Psychiatry and Karolinska Institutet, Sweden, has found that adolescents whose verbal performance drops off are at increased risk of developing schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders many years later. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-decline-ability-adolescence-linked-psychosis.html Psychology & Psychiatry Tue, 22 Jan 2013 17:19:21 EST news278097511 (HealthDay)—Middle-aged patients with type 2 diabetes show accelerated cognitive decline in information processing speed and executive function, according to a study published online Dec. 28 in Diabetes Care. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-cognitive-decline-t2dm-middle-age.html Diabetes Mon, 21 Jan 2013 13:40:01 EST news277994575 Older adults who have suffered from aphasia for a long time can nevertheless improve their language function and maintain these improvements in the long term, according to a study by Dr. Ana Inés Ansaldo, PhD, a researcher at the Research Centre of the Institut universitaire de gériatrie de Montréal (University Geriatrics Institute of Montreal) and a professor in the School of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology at the Faculty of Medicine of Université de Montréal. The study was published in Brain and Language. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-intensive-aphasia-older-patients.html Neuroscience Wed, 09 Jan 2013 04:33:12 EST news276928315 Researchers have discovered that adding lovastatin, a widely used cholesterol-lowering drug, to traditional antimalarial treatment decreases neuroinflammation and protects against cognitive impairment in a mouse model of cerebral malaria. Although there are differences between mouse models of cerebral malaria and human disease, these new findings indicate that statins are worthy of consideration in clinical trials of cerebral malaria, according to an article published in the Dec. 27 issue of PLOS Pathogens. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-statin-drug-malaria-effects.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 27 Dec 2012 17:00:03 EST news275848796 (Medical Xpress)—A new study focusing on how people with dementia become lost while driving, how missing drivers are found, and the role of public notification systems like Silver Alert in these discoveries suggests techniques that may help recover drivers with dementia and prevent potentially harmful incidents. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-techniques-recovery-incidents-drivers-dementia.html Alzheimer's disease & dementia Fri, 14 Dec 2012 14:38:38 EST news274718307 Common medication to treat insomnia, anxiety, itching or allergies can have a negative impact on memory or concentration in the elderly, according to Dr. Cara Tannenbaum, Research Chair at the Institut universitaire de gériatrie de Montréal (IUGM, Montreal Geriatric University Institute) and Associate Professor of Medicine and Pharmacy at the University of Montreal (UdeM). Up to ninety percent of people over the age of 65 take at least one prescription medication. Eighteen percent of people in this age group complain of memory problems and are found to have mild cognitive deficits. Research suggests there may be a link between the two. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-memory-medicine-cabinet.html Medications Tue, 06 Nov 2012 03:15:33 EST news271394113 New research presented in October at the 6th Neurodegenerative Conditions Research and Development Conference in San Francisco demonstrates the role of the investigational compound IRX4204 in alleviating cognitive decline in animal models of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The presentation entitled "Investigation of the RXR-specific agonist IRX4204 as a Disease Modifying Agent of Alzheimer's Disease Neuropathology and Cognitive Impairment" was made by lead researcher Giulio Maria Pasinetti, MD, PhD, of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-drug-animal-alzheimer-parkinson-dementia.html Alzheimer's disease & dementia Fri, 26 Oct 2012 14:10:01 EST news270475571 In a national research partnership, Dr Sarah Heron from the University of South Australia's Sansom Research Institute, epilepsy research group, has been working to map the genes responsible for a rare form of epilepsy - autosomal dominant nocturnal frontal lobe epilepsy (ADNFLE). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-gene-secrets-autosomal-dominant-nocturnal.html Genetics Mon, 22 Oct 2012 08:18:45 EST news270112684 Just six months of exercise can improve memory, language, thinking and judgment problems by almost 50 per cent, says a study presented today at the Canadian Stroke Congress. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-memory.html Cardiology Mon, 01 Oct 2012 03:00:01 EST news268277633 Each year in Quebec, nearly 6000 people undergo coronary bypass surgery. Recovery is long and quality of life is greatly affected, in particular because most patients experience cognitive deficits that affect attention and memory for weeks or even months after the surgery. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-brain-lessen-cognitive-impairments-coronary.html Psychology & Psychiatry Tue, 18 Sep 2012 04:15:49 EST news267160537 (Medical Xpress)—A large meta-analysis conducted by researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center has concluded that breast cancer patients treated with chemotherapy are at risk for mild cognitive deficits after treatment. The meta-analysis, or analytic review of previously published studies, found that study participants on average had mild impairments in verbal abilities (such as difficulty choosing words) and visuospatial abilities (such as getting lost more easily). The study noted that cognitive functioning varies across survivors, with some reporting no impairments and others reporting more severe or pervasive deficits. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-evidence-chemo-brain-breast-cancer.html Cancer Tue, 04 Sep 2012 13:08:16 EST news265982870 A low dose of the sedative clonazepam alleviated autistic-like behavior in mice with a mutation that causes Dravet syndrome in humans, University of Washington researchers have shown. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-low-dose-sedative-alleviates-autistic-like-behavior.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Wed, 22 Aug 2012 13:20:51 EST news264860438 (Medical Xpress) -- Johns Hopkins researchers say they have discovered a cause-and-effect relationship between two well-established biological risk factors for schizophrenia previously believed to be independent of one another. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-link-biological-factors-schizophrenia.html Psychology & Psychiatry Tue, 17 Jul 2012 06:36:30 EST news261725780 A recently evolved pattern of gene activity in the language and decision-making centers of the human brain is missing in a disorder associated with autism and learning disabilities, a new study by Yale University researchers shows. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-evolution-gift-root-autism.html Genetics Thu, 10 May 2012 12:00:10 EST news255868881 New research by scientists at the University of Cambridge suggests that chronic cocaine abuse accelerates the process of brain ageing. The study, published today 25 April in Molecular Psychiatry, found that age-related loss of grey matter in the brain is greater in people who are dependent on cocaine than in the healthy population. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-chronic-cocaine-aging-brain.html Addiction Tue, 24 Apr 2012 07:32:49 EST news254471547 Spanish researchers at the Institute of Neurosciences at Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona (INc-UAB) identified the fundamental role played by the Nurr1 gene in neuron survival associated with synaptic activity. The discovery, published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, allows scientists to study a new target that could help to understand the relationship between alterations in neural connections, which are known to cause early cognitive deficit, and the neurodegeneration characteristic of Alzheimer's disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-gene-key-role-neuronal-survival.html Neuroscience Mon, 16 Apr 2012 10:19:58 EST news253790390 Women undergoing treatment for breast cancer can experience cognitive declines, such as decreased verbal fluency or loss of memory and attention. Often experienced by patients undergoing chemotherapy, the declines have become known as "chemo brain." However, a health psychologist at the University of Missouri says "chemo brain" isn't always to blame. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-stress-contributes-cognitive-declines-women.html Psychology & Psychiatry Wed, 11 Apr 2012 14:09:14 EST news253372146 A recent study by National University of Singapore (NUS) researchers revealed that Asian breast cancer patients who had received or were undergoing chemotherapy treatment showed symptoms of "chemobrain", in which they encounter memory loss, difficulty in decision making and speech problems. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-asian-breast-cancer-survivors-cognitive.html Cancer Thu, 15 Mar 2012 09:50:02 EST news251023796 Chronic stress has a more powerful effect on the brain during adolescence than in adulthood and now there's proof at the molecular level, according to findings published in Neuron by University at Buffalo researchers. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-chronic-stress-adolescence-molecular.html Neuroscience Wed, 07 Mar 2012 12:29:57 EST news250345777 Down syndrome (DS) is the most common genetic disorder in live born children arising as a consequence of a chromosomal abnormality. It occurs as a result of having three copies of chromosome 21, instead of the usual two. It causes substantial physical and behavioral abnormalities, including life-long cognitive dysfunction that can range from mild to severe but which further deteriorates as individuals with DS age. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-cognitive-dysfunction-syndrome-alzheimer-disease.html Psychology & Psychiatry Thu, 01 Mar 2012 10:11:23 EST news249819061