http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. Neurological disorders can have a devastating impact on the lives of sufferers and their families. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-deep-brain-drugs-dont.html Neuroscience Fri, 17 May 2013 09:29:38 EST news288001707 Two professors believe they may have a promising lead from which to develop a new treatment for obesity and diabetes. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-treatment-obesity-diabetes.html Overweight and Obesity Thu, 25 Apr 2013 07:35:54 EST news286094146 Slow oscillations in brain activity, which occur during so-called slow-wave sleep, are critical for retaining memories. Researchers reporting online April 11 in the Cell Press journal Neuron have found that playing sounds synchronized to the rhythm of the slow brain oscillations of people who are sleeping enhances these oscillations and boosts their memory. This demonstrates an easy and noninvasive way to influence human brain activity to improve sleep and enhance memory. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-memory.html Neuroscience Thu, 11 Apr 2013 12:00:17 EST news284898573 (Medical Xpress)—Researchers have found that missteps in a basic cellular process, RNA splicing, is the culprit behind a class of rare neurological disorders manifested by intellectual disability and stunted development. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-errors-rna-splicing-class-neurological.html Genetics Fri, 29 Mar 2013 06:50:17 EST news283758597 (HealthDay)—Researchers are testing whether applying electrical stimulation directly to the brains of people with Alzheimer's disease might improve thinking, focus and alertness. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-implanted-brain-alzheimer.html Alzheimer's disease & dementia Thu, 28 Mar 2013 13:59:57 EST news283697990 (Medical Xpress)—If mild cranial electrical stimulation helps lessen fibromyalgia pain, as studies seem to suggest, does it do this by changing activity in certain brain regions? http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-nursing-mild-electrical-pulses-aid.html Neuroscience Mon, 04 Mar 2013 07:27:16 EST news281604384 Researchers have electronically linked the brains of pairs of rats for the first time, enabling them to communicate directly to solve simple behavioral puzzles. A further test of this work successfully linked the brains of two animals thousands of miles apart—one in Durham, N.C., and one in Natal, Brazil. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-brain-to-brain-interface-transmission-tactile-motor.html Neuroscience Thu, 28 Feb 2013 11:30:34 EST news281273422 (HealthDay)—Treating major depression safely and affordably is a challenge. Now, Brazilian researchers have found that two techniques often used individually produce better results when used together. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-electrical-brain-drug-depression.html Psychology & Psychiatry Wed, 06 Feb 2013 17:20:04 EST news279392682 Wearing a nerve stimulator for 20 minutes a day may be a new option for migraine sufferers, according to new research published in the February 6, 2013, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-nerve-migraine.html Neuroscience Wed, 06 Feb 2013 16:00:03 EST news279386401 People experiencing chronic shortness of breath may soon have a new way to help alleviate their discomfort, according to a Penn State College of Medicine pulmonology researcher. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-treatment-relieve-chronic-shortness.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Wed, 19 Dec 2012 16:34:13 EST news275157248 (Medical Xpress)—A Massey University researcher has found drinking alcohol after suffering a soft tissue injury significantly increases recovery times. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-alcohol-hinders-recovery-injury.html Health Wed, 12 Dec 2012 08:02:54 EST news274521767 By using noninvasive stimulation, researchers were able to temporarily improve the ability of people with spinal cord injuries to use their hands. The findings, reported on November 29th in Current Biology, a Cell Press publication, hold promise in treating thousands of people in the United States alone who are partially paralyzed due to spinal cord injury. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-spinal-cord-injury-noninvasive.html Neuroscience Thu, 29 Nov 2012 12:59:22 EST news273416324 For the very first time researchers have streamed braille patterns directly into a blind patient's retina, allowing him to read four-letter words accurately and quickly with an ocular neuroprosthetic device. The device, the Argus II, has been implanted in over 50 patients, many of who can now see color, movement and objects. It uses a small camera mounted on a pair of glasses, a portable processor to translate the signal from the camera into electrical stimulation, and a microchip with electrodes implanted directly on the retina. The study was authored by researchers at Second Sight, the company who developed the device, and has been published in Frontiers in Neuroprosthetics on November 22. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-patient-words-retina.html Neuroscience Thu, 22 Nov 2012 02:00:01 EST news272744273 (HealthDay)—Adults with painful osteoarthritis of the knee should turn to exercise—aerobic, aquatic or strength training—as a good nonsurgical way to ease their pain and improve their functioning, a new review suggests. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-ease-pain-knee-arthritis.html Arthritis & Rheumatism Tue, 06 Nov 2012 17:50:01 EST news271441731 In a painless clinical procedure performed on a patient with electrodes temporarily implanted in his brain, Stanford University doctors pinpointed two nerve clusters that are critical for face perception. The findings could have practical value in treating people with prosopagnosia—the inability to distinguish one face from another—as well in gaining an understanding of why some of us are so much better than others at recognizing and remembering faces. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-precisely-electrical-brain-perception.html Neuroscience Tue, 23 Oct 2012 17:00:01 EST news270225642 Clinical evidence of the safety and effectiveness of electrical stimulation of a muscular valve in the esophagus demonstrates promising results in resolving symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux (GERD) and is being presented at the 77th Annual Scientific Meeting of the American College of Gastroenterology in Las Vegas, NV. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-electrical-esophagus-treatment-unresolved-reflux.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Mon, 22 Oct 2012 09:46:22 EST news270117874 Diabetic patients who suffer from a common complication of diabetes called gastroparesis may find that chronic electrical stimulation (ES) at specific acupuncture points could relieve gastroparesis symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, early satiety, abdominal fullness, upper abdominal pain and bloating, according to study results unveiled today at the American College of Gastroenterology's (ACG) 77th Annual Scientific meeting in Las Vegas. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-chronic-electrical-acupressure-relieve-stomach.html Diabetes Mon, 22 Oct 2012 09:29:05 EST news270116913 (Medical Xpress)—A study conducted to learn more about mimicry of facial features has found that people tend to mimic smiles directed at them by other people based on their own feelings of status and power. The team, led by Evan Carr of the University of California presented its findings at this year's Society for Neuroscience conference in New Orleans. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-people-based-status-power.html Psychology & Psychiatry Wed, 17 Oct 2012 07:00:01 EST news269674431 Electrical stimulation using extradural electrodes—placed underneath the skull but not implanted in the brain—is a safe approach with meaningful benefits for patients with Parkinson's disease, reports the October issue of Neurosurgery, official journal of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-less-invasive-method-brain-patients-parkinson.html Parkinson's & Movement disorders Tue, 16 Oct 2012 12:53:45 EST news269610783 How does electrical stimulation affect the brain? A project by Aalto University and the University of Helsinki, launched in early 2012, studies the impact mechanism of deep brain stimulation and develops electrochemical sensors for more effective measuring of neurotransmitters in the brain. The long-term goals of the research are more specific treatment for Parkinson's disease and many other diseases of the nervous system. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-chronic-pain-pacemaker-brain.html Neuroscience Fri, 21 Sep 2012 07:01:55 EST news267429707 An analysis of patient data from 29 randomized controlled trials suggests that acupuncture may be better than no acupuncture or sham acupuncture for the treatment of some chronic pain, according to a report published Online First by Archives of Internal Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-acupuncture-sham-chronic-pain.html Other Mon, 10 Sep 2012 16:00:02 EST news266501332 Researchers at the University of Leicester have announced that the UK's first operation to tackle heart failure (HF) with a novel nerve-stimulating device will be performed today (Thursday August 23) at Glenfield Hospital. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-uk-tackle-heart-failure-nerve-stimulating.html Cardiology Thu, 23 Aug 2012 04:41:29 EST news264915604 Artificial retina implants for treating neurodegenerative diseases and blindness were developed by the EU-funded 'Diamond to retina artificial micro-interface structures' (Dreams) project. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-diamond-implants.html Medical research Mon, 30 Apr 2012 05:16:22 EST news254981769 (HealthDay) -- Heroin addicts often have an increased sensitivity to pain, and this sensitivity does not subside over the course of treatment with methadone or other opioids, new research finds. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-heroin-addicts-higher-pain-sensitivity.html Addiction Wed, 25 Apr 2012 17:50:02 EST news254593847 (HealthDay) -- Cells that normally form scar tissue after a heart attack can be reprogrammed into functional heart cells in mice, according to an experimental study published online April 18 in Nature. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-fibroblasts-reprogrammed-functioning-heart-cells.html Medical research Mon, 23 Apr 2012 06:40:02 EST news254374839 What characterizes many people with depression, schizophrenia and some other mental illnesses is anhedonia: an inability to gain pleasure from normally pleasurable experiences. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-brain-mechanism-reward-enjoyment.html Neuroscience Wed, 21 Mar 2012 12:44:37 EST news251552669 (HealthDay) -- Emotions influence the experience of somatosensory sensations of both pain and itch, with negative emotions eliciting higher levels of itch and pain compared to positive emotions, according to research published online March 8 in the British Journal of Dermatology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-effect-emotions-pain-intensity.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Fri, 16 Mar 2012 14:26:47 EST news251126776 A new study reveals for the first time that activating the brain's visual cortex with a small amount of electrical stimulation actually improves our sense of smell. The finding published in the Journal of Neuroscience by researchers at the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital - The Neuro, McGill University and the Monell Chemical Senses Center, Philadelphia, revises our understanding of the complex biology of the senses in the brain. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-eyes-roses-visual-cortex.html Neuroscience Tue, 28 Feb 2012 17:00:17 EST news249669648 Loss of bone density leads to brittle bones that fracture easily. It is a major complication of spinal cord injury (SCI), which affects about 250,000 Americans every year. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-high-doses-loss-bone-spinal.html Health Thu, 16 Feb 2012 13:31:06 EST news248621456 The incredible ability of our brain to create a three-dimensional (3D) representation from an object's two-dimensional projection on the retina is something that we may take for granted, but the process is not well understood and is likely to be highly complex. Now, new research published by Cell Press in the January 12 issue of the journal Neuron provides the first direct evidence that specific brain areas underlie perception of different 3D structures and sheds light the way that the primate brain reconstructs real-world objects. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-brain-3d.html Neuroscience Wed, 11 Jan 2012 12:00:04 EST news245504280