http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. Postmenopausal women who use antidepressant medication or suffer from depression might be more likely to have a higher body mass index (BMI), larger waist circumference and inflammation—all associated with increased risk for diabetes and cardiovascular disease, according to a study led by University of Massachusetts Medical School investigator Yunsheng Ma, PhD, MD, MPH, and published in the June 13 issue of the American Journal of Public Health. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-06-depression-postmenopausal-women-diabetes-cardiovascular.html Health Thu, 13 Jun 2013 16:10:01 EST news290354875 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 University of Michigan researchers have determined how a gene that is known to be defective in Down syndrome is regulated and how its dysregulation may lead to neurological defects, providing insights into potential therapeutic approaches to an aspect of the syndrome. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-06-aspect-syndrome.html Neuroscience Wed, 05 Jun 2013 12:00:01 EST news289645819 A life-threatening condition that often requires transplantation and accounts for half of all acute liver failures, autoimmune hepatitis is often precipitated by certain anesthetics and antibiotics. Researchers say these drugs contain tiny molecules called haptens that ever so slightly change normal liver proteins, causing the body to mistake its own liver cells for foreign invaders and to attack them. The phenomenon disproportionately occurs in women, even when they take the same drugs at the same doses as men. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-estrogen-fuels-autoimmune-liver.html Medical research Tue, 30 Apr 2013 13:48:32 EST news286548506 Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) are degenerative motor neuron diseases in which the key mutated genes are involved in RNA metabolism. This similarity suggests that a common dysregulation of some aspect of RNA metabolism in motor neurons may underlie both disorders, although the exact cellular effects of the neurodegenerative mutations are unknown. Koji Yamanaka, Hitomi Tsuiji and colleagues from the RIKEN Brain Science Institute and other institutions in Japan have now obtained evidence that a cellular structure that edits messenger RNA (mRNA) transcripts is defective in both of these motor neuron diseases. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-messenger-rna-transcripts-defective-motor.html Medical research Fri, 26 Apr 2013 09:00:01 EST news286184312 An excess of the brain neurotransmitter glutamate may cause a transition to psychosis in people who are at risk for schizophrenia, reports a study from investigators at Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) published in the current issue of Neuron. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-high-glutamate-brain-kick-start-schizophrenia.html Neuroscience Thu, 18 Apr 2013 11:39:15 EST news285503947 Rocket attacks in Sderot, Israel significantly increase the likelihood of miscarriages, according to a new study by Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) researchers. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-israel-rocket-miscarriage-likelihood.html Psychology & Psychiatry Fri, 22 Feb 2013 12:06:50 EST news280757200 Originally, the label "borderline personality disorder" was applied to patients who were thought to represent a middle ground between patients with neurotic and psychotic disorders. Increasingly, though, this area of research has focused on the heightened emotional reactivity observed in patients carrying this diagnosis, as well as the high rates with which they also meet diagnostic criteria for posttraumatic stress disorder and mood disorders. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-borderline-personality-disorder-storm-emotion.html Psychology & Psychiatry Tue, 15 Jan 2013 09:02:25 EST news277462886 Bipolar disorder is a severe mood disorder characterized by unpredictable and dramatic mood swings between the highs of mania and lows of depression. These mood episodes occur among periods of 'normal mood', termed euthymia. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-happiness-sadness-circuits-contribute-bipolar.html Psychology & Psychiatry Mon, 14 Jan 2013 07:40:04 EST news277369918 Smoking cessation even a year prior to coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) surgery does not fully normalize the changes smoking has made to the saphenous (leg) veins used for the surgery and may lead to later graft failure, according to a study published in the January 2013 issue of The Annals of Thoracic Surgery. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-affects-heart-surgery-outcome-year.html Health Wed, 02 Jan 2013 11:05:57 EST news276347134 (Medical Xpress)—Neurobiologists at the Research institute of Molecular Pathology (IMP) in Vienna have discovered one of the key genes required to make a brain. Mutations in this gene, called TUBB5, cause neurodevelopmental disease in children. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-key-gene-brain.html Genetics Fri, 14 Dec 2012 07:17:37 EST news274691841 Following an infection, dysregulation of the immune system can result in a systemic inflammatory response and an often fatal condition called severe sepsis or septic shock. Sepsis is not uncommon, yet its cause and underlying immune dysfunction remain poorly understood. Regulatory T cells (Tregs), a component of the immune system, now appear to have an important role in suppressing the immune response in advance of sepsis, and understanding this role may lead to new therapeutic strategies for improving patient outcomes, as described in a review article in Journal of Interferon & Cytokine Research. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-closer-deadly-sepsis.html Medical research Fri, 16 Nov 2012 12:56:11 EST news272292918 A new study suggests that increasing the amount of sleep that adults get could lead to reduced food intake, but the hormonal process differs between men and women. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-duration-affects-hunger-differently-men.html Health Wed, 31 Oct 2012 16:52:11 EST news270921125 Prostate cancer is one of the most common cancers in men and early treatment is usually very successful. However, like other cancers, obesity increases the risk of aggressive prostate disease. New research, published in BioMed Central's open access journal BMC Medicine, finds that the fat surrounding the prostate of overweight or obese men with prostate cancer provides a favorable environment to promote cancer growth. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-obesity-prostate-cancer-gene.html Cancer Mon, 24 Sep 2012 19:00:01 EST news267705029 An international research group has identified four new gene loci predisposing people to the most common subtype of migraine, migraine without aura. About two-thirds of migraine sufferers belong to this group. The study will be published in Nature Genetics on June 10, 2012. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-gene-loci-predispose-people-common.html Genetics Sun, 10 Jun 2012 13:00:12 EST news258548619 Estrogen causes wounds in women to heal slower than in men - who have lower levels of estrogen - says a new study published in the April 2012 issue of the FASEB Journal. In the report, scientists from the University of California, Berkeley, provide the first evidence that mild injury response in the eye is fundamentally different in males and females because of estrogen. This discovery provides new clues for successfully treating a wide range of inflammatory diseases such as dry eye disease, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, multiple sclerosis, and scleroderma. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-estrogen-responsible-wound-women.html Medical research Mon, 02 Apr 2012 09:40:02 EST news252577281 Investigators at the National Institutes of Health have identified a genetic mutation in three unrelated families that causes a rare immune disorder characterized by excessive and impaired immune function. Symptoms of this condition include immune deficiency, autoimmunity, inflammatory skin disorders and cold-induced hives, a condition known as cold urticaria. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-genetic-mutation-cold-allergy-immune.html Medical research Wed, 11 Jan 2012 17:00:04 EST news245509827 The holidays are over, January has arrived, and many of us enter the New Year determined to live our lives a little healthier than last. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-spice-food-boost-disease-prevention-power.html Health Fri, 06 Jan 2012 14:50:02 EST news245078063 When a person with mild cognitive impairment is agitated or restless, caregivers can expect to find they are more edgy as well. According to research conducted at Virginia Tech, the more a caregiver's day is disrupted by the unsettled behaviors of their loved one, the more they find themselves unable to meet or balance their own home and family work loads. This heightens the effect of elevated stress levels on their own bodies, placing caregivers at risk for current and future health problems. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-caregivers-health-problems.html Psychology & Psychiatry Mon, 28 Nov 2011 14:15:48 EST news241712136