http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. A protein profile of people with restless leg syndrome (RLS), identifies factors behind disrupted sleep, cardiovascular dysfunction and pain finds research in BioMed Central's open access journal Fluids and Barriers of the CNS. The research gives insights into the disorder, and could be useful in the development of new treatments. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-06-protein-profile-restless-leg-syndrome.html Medical research Thu, 06 Jun 2013 20:00:02 EST news289756420 Johns Hopkins researchers believe they may have discovered an explanation for the sleepless nights associated with restless legs syndrome (RLS), a symptom that persists even when the disruptive, overwhelming nocturnal urge to move the legs is treated successfully with medication. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-restless-legs-syndrome-insomnia-brain.html Neuroscience Tue, 07 May 2013 12:40:01 EST news287148641 (HealthDay)—People suffering from restless legs syndrome may find some relief by taking one of several drugs approved to treat the condition, a new review confirms. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-drugs-relieve-restless-legs-syndrome.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Mon, 04 Mar 2013 17:50:01 EST news281638738 Working with mice, Johns Hopkins researchers have established a link between elevated levels of a stress hormone in adolescence—a critical time for brain development—and genetic changes that, in young adulthood, cause severe mental illness in those predisposed to it. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-mouse-links-adolescent-stress-severe.html Neuroscience Thu, 17 Jan 2013 14:00:09 EST news277653353 Parkinson's experts across the world have been reporting a remarkable phenomenon—many patients treated with drugs to increase the activity of dopamine in the brain as a therapy for motor symptoms such as tremors and muscle rigidity are developing new creative talents, including painting, sculpting, writing, and more. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-parkinson-treatment-trigger-creativity.html Parkinson's & Movement disorders Mon, 14 Jan 2013 11:15:06 EST news277384495 (Medical Xpress)—The causes of learning problems associated with an inherited brain tumor disorder are much more complex than scientists had anticipated, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis report. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-lags-tumor-disorder.html Neuroscience Fri, 21 Dec 2012 16:49:25 EST news275330958 (Medical Xpress)—To John Salamone, professor of psychology and longtime researcher of the brain chemical dopamine, scientific research can be very slow-moving. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-dopamine-pleasure-anymore.html Neuroscience Mon, 03 Dec 2012 07:09:38 EST news273740962 Although placebos have played a critical role in medicine and clinical research for more than 70 years, it has been a mystery why these inactive treatments help to alleviate symptoms in some patients – and not others. Now researchers have for the first time identified genetic differences between placebo responders and non-responders, providing an important new clue to what has come to be known as "the placebo effect." http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-genetic-marker-placebo-response-ibs.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Tue, 23 Oct 2012 17:00:06 EST news270225268 (Medical Xpress) -- Research from Karolinska Institutet has identified a monoamine stabiliser as a potential new drug for the treatment of alcohol dependence. Tested on rats, whose reward system is gradually blunted by long-term alcohol abuse, the compound OSU6162 balances dopamine levels in the brain. This serves to reduce the craving for more alcohol to maintain normal feelings of wellbeing while removing the pleasure from drinking. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-potential-drug-alcohol.html Addiction Fri, 27 Jul 2012 04:55:19 EST news262583710 Raising levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine in the frontal cortex of the brain significantly decreased impulsivity in healthy adults, in a study conducted by researchers at the Ernest Gallo Clinic and Research Center at the University of California, San Francisco. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-dopamine-brain-frontal-cortex-decreases.html Neuroscience Wed, 25 Jul 2012 12:38:41 EST news262438701 Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania researchers have discovered a mechanism involving the neurotransmitter dopamine that switches fruit fly behavior from being active during the day (diurnal) to nocturnal. This change parallels a human disorder in which increased agitation occurs in the evening hours near sunset and may also be due to higher than normal dopamine levels in the brain. Sundown syndrome occurs in older people with dementia or cognitive impairment. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-sundown-syndrome-like-symptoms-fruit-flies.html Genetics Mon, 14 May 2012 09:39:09 EST news256207143 Parkinson's disease, a disorder which affects movement and cognition, affects over a million Americans, including actor Michael J. Fox, who first brought it to the attention of many TV-watching Americans. It's characterized by a gradual loss of neurons that produce dopamine. Mutations in the gene known as DJ-1 lead to accelerated loss of dopaminergic neurons and result in the onset of Parkinson's symptoms at a young age. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-parkinson-tracks.html Parkinson's & Movement disorders Wed, 02 May 2012 12:10:04 EST news255177939 An agent under consideration for use in PET imaging combats neuronal death to relieve Parkinsonian symptoms in animal models, according to a study published on April 2nd in the Journal of Experimental Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-heart-gray-parkinson-disease.html Parkinson's & Movement disorders Mon, 02 Apr 2012 12:00:03 EST news252584374 Some Parkinson's Disease patients can suddenly become creative when they take dopamine therapy, producing pictures, sculptures, novels and poetry. But their new-found interests can become so overwhelming that they ignore other aspects of their everyday life, such as daily chores and social activities, according to research published in the March issue of the European Journal of Neurology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-parkinson-disease-patients-creative-dopamine.html Parkinson's & Movement disorders Thu, 23 Feb 2012 10:04:23 EST news249213844 Mark Twain said, "Giving up smoking is the easiest thing in the world. I know because I've done it thousands of times." Many smokers would agree that it's difficult to stay away from cigarettes. A new study in Biological Psychiatry this month now suggests that low dopamine levels that occur as a result of withdrawal from smoking actually promote the relapse to smoking. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-dopamine-relapse.html Psychology & Psychiatry Wed, 08 Feb 2012 11:02:39 EST news247921352 Scientists at the Gladstone Institutes, an independent and nonprofit biomedical-research organization, have identified a protein that exacerbates symptoms of Parkinson's disease—a discovery that could one day lead to new treatments for people who suffer from this devastating neurodegenerative illness. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-scientists-protein-contributes-symptoms-parkinson.html Neuroscience Wed, 25 Jan 2012 12:00:07 EST news246709059