http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. People who are obese and also have high blood pressure and other risk factors called metabolic abnormalities may experience a faster decline in their cognitive skills over time than others, according to a study published in the August 21, 2012, print issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-obesity-metabolic-factors-linked-faster.html Neuroscience Mon, 20 Aug 2012 16:00:05 EST news264692556 Metabolic syndrome, a term used to describe a combination of risk factors that often lead to heart disease and type 2 diabetes, seems to be linked to lower blood flow to the brain, according to research by the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-cardiac-factors-linked-blood-brain.html Cardiology Wed, 18 Jul 2012 09:55:50 EST news261824074 Cognitive skills such as learning and memory diminish with age in everyone, and the drop-off is steepest in Alzheimer's disease. Texas scientists seeking a way to prevent this decline reported exciting results this week with a drug that has Polynesian roots. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-easter-island-drug-cognition-life.html Alzheimer's disease & dementia Fri, 29 Jun 2012 15:04:57 EST news260201011 (Medical Xpress) -- Most agree that the earlier you expose a child to a language, the easier it is for that child to pick it up. The same rules apply for deaf children. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-early-exposure-language-deaf-children.html Psychology & Psychiatry Tue, 05 Jun 2012 07:05:17 EST news258098627 Working memory training is unlikely to be an effective treatment for children suffering from disorders such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity or dyslexia, according to a research analysis published by the American Psychological Association. In addition, memory training tasks appear to have limited effect on healthy adults and children looking to do better in school or improve their cognitive skills. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-memory-adhd-boosting-iq.html Psychology & Psychiatry Thu, 31 May 2012 10:55:42 EST news257680534 Women who are obese before they become pregnant are at higher risk of having children with lower cognitive function - as measured by math and reading tests taken between ages 5 to 7 years - than are mothers with a healthy prepregnancy weight, new research suggests. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-link-pre-pregnancy-obesity-scores.html Health Tue, 08 May 2012 13:20:01 EST news255701155 Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have found clinical evidence that the drug gabapentin, currently on the market to treat neuropathic pain and epilepsy, helps people to quit smoking marijuana (cannabis). Unlike traditional addiction treatments, gabapentin targets stress systems in the brain that are activated by drug withdrawal. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-scientists-anticonvulsant-drug-marijuana-smokers.html Addiction Tue, 24 Apr 2012 10:37:38 EST news254482631 Researchers estimate nearly 800,000 preventable adverse drug events may occur in nursing homes each year. Many of these incidents could be prevented with safety practices such as medication reconciliation, a process in which health care professionals, such as physicians, pharmacists and nurses, review medication regimens to identify and resolve discrepancies when patients transfer between health care settings. In nursing homes, both registered nurses (RNs) and licensed practical nurses (LPNs) often are responsible for this safety practice. A recent study by a University of Missouri gerontological nursing expert found, when observed, these nurses often differed in how they identified discrepancies. Recognizing the distinct differences between RNs and LPNs could lead to fewer medication errors and better patient care. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-collaboration-nursing-home-rns-lpns.html Health Wed, 14 Mar 2012 13:38:01 EST news250951074 Maternal obesity may contribute to cognitive impairment in extremely premature babies, according to a new study by researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-maternal-obesity-brain-premature-infants.html Health Thu, 08 Mar 2012 11:27:36 EST news250428228 Medical researchers at the University of Alberta have discovered a promising new therapy for Huntington disease that restores lost motor skills and may delay or stop the progression of the disease based on lab model tests, says the lead researcher. Because the new therapy uses a molecule already being used in clinical trials for other diseases, it could be used in a clinical trial for Huntington disease within the next one to two years. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-treatment-huntington-disease.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Mon, 13 Feb 2012 15:00:07 EST news248366614 A new study on children who are raised bilingual examined the effects on children's development of growing up speaking two languages. The study found that different factors were responsible for the language- and non-language-related outcomes of bilingualism found in previous research. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-role-bilingualism-children.html Psychology & Psychiatry Wed, 08 Feb 2012 04:30:02 EST news247894927 A Wayne State University researcher believes studying people's ability to find their way around may help explain why loss of mental capacity occurs with age. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-strategy-shift-age-difficulties.html Psychology & Psychiatry Mon, 06 Feb 2012 09:54:23 EST news247744450 Over the first few years of life, human cognition continues to develop, soaking up information and experiences from the environment and far surpassing the abilities of even our nearest primate relatives. In a study published online today in Genome Research, researchers have identified extended synaptic development in the human brain relative to other primates, a finding that sheds new light on the biology and evolution of human cognition. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-synaptic-cognitive-edge-primates.html Genetics Wed, 01 Feb 2012 17:00:08 EST news247337372 Attentiveness in kindergarten accurately predicts the development of "work-oriented" skills in school children, according to a new study published by Dr. Linda Pagani, a professor and researcher at the University of Montreal and CHU Sainte-Justine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-lifelong-payoff-attentive-kindergarten-kids.html Psychology & Psychiatry Mon, 30 Jan 2012 03:54:10 EST news247118025 Older people with low levels of vitamin B12 in their blood may be more likely to lose brain cells and develop problems with their thinking skills, according to a study published in the September 27, 2011, print issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. Foods that come from animals, including fish, meat, especially liver, milk, eggs and poultry, are usually sources of vitamin B12. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-vitamin-b12-brain-shrinkage-cognitive.html Neuroscience Mon, 26 Sep 2011 16:00:04 EST news236267527 Wouldn't it be nice if all those hours kids spent glued to their PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 or Nintendo DS video games actually resulted in something tangible? Better grades, perhaps? Improved concentration? Superior driving skills? http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-xbox-remote-video-games-boost.html Psychology & Psychiatry Thu, 15 Sep 2011 12:27:16 EST news235308425 Brain damage can cause significant changes in behaviour, such as loss of cognitive skills, but also reveals much about how the nervous system deals with consciousness. New findings reported in the July 2011 issue of Elsevier's Cortex demonstrate how the unconscious brain continues to process information even when the conscious brain is incapacitated. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-07-brain-patient-doesnt.html Neuroscience Thu, 14 Jul 2011 09:54:51 EST news229856074 Researchers at the RIKEN Brain Science Institute (BSI) and their collaborators have shed light on the function of a little-studied amyloid peptide in promoting Alzheimer's disease (AD). Their surprising findings reveal that the peptide is more abundant, more neurotoxic, and exhibits a higher propensity to aggregate than amyloidogenic agents studied in earlier research, suggesting a potential role in new approaches for preventing AD-causing amyloidosis. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-07-overlooked-peptide-reveals-clues-alzheimer.html Neuroscience Sun, 03 Jul 2011 13:00:22 EST news228916442 (Medical Xpress) -- In recent years, much sleep research has focused on memory, but now results of a new study by University of Massachusetts Amherst psychologist Rebecca Spencer and colleagues suggest another key effect of sleep is facilitating and enhancing complex cognitive skills such as decision-making. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-excellent-science-based-advice.html Psychology & Psychiatry Wed, 25 May 2011 05:40:50 EST news225520747 A study, completed by researchers from Trinity College and the Research Institute for a Tobacco Free Society, Dublin, Ireland, compares former smokers to current smokers, and obtains insight into how to quit smoking might be discovered by studying the brains of those who have successfully managed to do so. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-04-brain-imaging-smokers-greater-willpower.html Neuroscience Tue, 26 Apr 2011 10:05:01 EST news223031080 Subtle differences in brain anatomy among older individuals with normal cognitive skills may be able to predict both the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease in the following decade and how quickly symptoms of dementia would develop. In their analysis of magnetic resonance (MR) images from two separate study groups, researchers from Rush University Medical Center and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) found that, among individuals in whom specific brain structures were thinnest, the risk of developing Alzheimer's was three times greater than in those with above-average thickness. The study appears in April 13 issue of Neurology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-04-differences-brain-alzheimer-disease.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Wed, 13 Apr 2011 16:36:21 EST news221931363