http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. An experimental procedure successfully tested in obese laboratory rats may provide a less-invasive alternative to bariatric weight-loss surgery, researchers report online in Endocrinology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-alternative-bariatric-weight-loss-surgery.html Surgery Tue, 30 Apr 2013 12:18:56 EST news286543129 A study published in the current issue of Cell Transplantation (21:8), now freely available on-line, has found that when mesenchymal cells derived from skeletal muscle (SM-MSCs) or adipose tissue (ADSCs) were injected into the heart muscle (myocardium) of separate groups of laboratory rats that had suffered a myocardial infarction, rats in both groups experienced significantly improved left ventricle function and smaller infarct size after cell therapy. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-organ-derived-stem-cell-heart-function.html Cardiology Tue, 27 Nov 2012 12:18:55 EST news273241126 For the time being, this is basic research but the long term objective is to find new ways of treating Parkinson's disease. This increasingly common disease is caused by degeneration of the brain cells producing signal substance dopamine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-brain-cells.html Medical research Fri, 26 Oct 2012 11:20:01 EST news270466418 (Medical Xpress)—The party drug mephedrone can cause lasting damage to the brain, according to new research led by the University of Sydney. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-mephedronea-popular-party-drugcan-permanent.html Psychology & Psychiatry Wed, 19 Sep 2012 07:23:15 EST news267258188 New research offers a possible strategy for treating central nervous system diseases, such as brain and spinal cord injury, brain cancer, epilepsy, and neurological complications of HIV. The experimental treatment method allows small therapeutic agents to safely cross the blood-brain barrier in laboratory rats by turning off P-glycoprotein, one of the main gatekeepers preventing medicinal drugs from reaching their intended targets in the brain. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-strategy-delivery-medicines-brain.html Medical research Fri, 07 Sep 2012 12:41:10 EST news266240425 UT Dallas researchers recently demonstrated how nerve stimulation paired with specific experiences, such as movements or sounds, can reorganize the brain. This technology could lead to new treatments for stroke, tinnitus, autism and other disorders. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-brain-tinnitus-treatments.html Neuroscience Thu, 19 Jul 2012 11:02:31 EST news261914544 (Medical Xpress) -- UT Dallas researchers recently demonstrated how nerve stimulation paired with specific experiences, such as movements or sounds, can reorganize the brain. This technology could lead to new treatments for stroke, tinnitus, autism and other disorders. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-nerve-brain.html Neuroscience Thu, 19 Jul 2012 09:11:07 EST news261907861 The widespread practice of allowing laboratory rats and mice to eat as much as they want may be affecting the outcome of experiments in which scientists use these "test-tubes-on-four-feet" to test new drugs and other substances for toxicity and other effects. That's the conclusion of a new analysis published in ACS' journal Chemical Research in Toxicology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-all-they-can-eat-diet-lab-mice-rats.html Medical research Wed, 18 Jul 2012 15:13:36 EST news261843207 Researchers from the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL) at the University of Barcelona (UB) have coordinated a research into how the IDPN nitrile causes neurological syndromes similar to those of the amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a severe neuromuscular degenerative disease. The study, led by Jordi Llorens, has been recently published in Neuropathology and Applied Neurobiology journal. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-poisoning-industrial-compounds-similar-effects.html Neuroscience Tue, 17 Jul 2012 12:54:33 EST news261748463 Studies suggest that neurotrophic factors, which play a role in the development and survival of neurons, have significant therapeutic and restorative potential for neurologic diseases such as Huntington's disease. However, clinical applications are limited because these proteins cannot easily cross the blood brain barrier, have a short half-life, and cause serious side effects. Now, a group of scientists has successfully treated neurological symptoms in laboratory rats by implanting a device to deliver a genetically engineered neurotrophic factor directly to the brain. They report on their results in the latest issue of Restorative Neurology and Neuroscience. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-device-implanted-brain-therapeutic-potential.html Neuroscience Mon, 18 Jun 2012 12:33:21 EST news259241577 Researchers interested in determining the direct effects of a high saturated fat and high cholesterol (HFHC) diet on implanted fetal hippocampal tissues have found that in middle-aged laboratory rats the HFHC diet elevated microglial activation and reduced neuronal development. While the resulting damage was due to an inflammatory response in the central nervous system, they found that the effects of the HFHC diet were alleviated by the interleukin (IL)-1 receptor antagonist IL-1Ra, leading them to conclude that IL-Ra has potential use in neurological disorders involving neuroinflammation. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-western-diet-detrimental-fetal-hippocampal.html Medical research Mon, 23 Apr 2012 12:54:01 EST news254404375 Treatment with vitamin D reduced the size of uterine fibroids in laboratory rats predisposed to developing the benign tumors, reported researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-vitamin-d-fibroid-tumors-rats.html Obstetrics & gynaecology Thu, 01 Mar 2012 13:46:51 EST news249831959 (Medical Xpress) -- During depression, the brain becomes less plastic and adaptable, and thus less able to perform certain tasks, like storing memories. Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have now traced the brain's lower plasticity to reduced functionality in its support cells, and believe that learning more about these cells can pave the way for radical new therapies for depression. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-discoveries-depression.html Psychology & Psychiatry Tue, 28 Feb 2012 06:17:23 EST news249632223 Beyond the personal tragedy of chronic alcoholism there is heartbreak in the biological sense, too. Scientists know severe alcoholism stresses the heart and that mitochondria, the cellular energy factories, are especially vulnerable to dysfunction. But they don't know the precise mechanism. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-heart-probing-chronic-alcoholism-cellular.html Cardiology Thu, 23 Feb 2012 12:20:01 EST news249221198 For years, researchers seeking new therapies for traumatic brain injury have been tantalized by the results of animal experiments with stem cells. In numerous studies, stem cell implantation has substantially improved brain function in experimental animals with brain trauma. But just how these improvements occur has remained a mystery. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-scientists-stem-cell-implants-traumatic.html Medical research Thu, 12 Jan 2012 12:50:06 EST news245592296 In an experiment on rats, European researchers have proved that eating strawberries reduces the harm that alcohol can cause to the stomach mucous membrane. Published in the open access journal Plos One, the study may contribute to improving the treatment of stomach ulcers. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-strawberries-stomach-alcohol.html Other Tue, 25 Oct 2011 11:18:23 EST news238760291 Compounds in blueberries might turn out to have a powerful effect on formation of strong, healthy bones, if results from studies with laboratory rats turn out to hold true for humans. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-blueberries-lab-rats-strong-bones.html Medical research Tue, 21 Jun 2011 11:03:35 EST news227873001 Synthetic fat substitutes used in low-calorie potato chips and other foods could backfire and contribute to weight gain and obesity, according to a study published by the American Psychological Association. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-fat-substitutes-linked-weight-gain.html Neuroscience Mon, 20 Jun 2011 16:21:42 EST news227805455 Depression and anxiety may result from short-term digestive irritation early in life, according to a study of laboratory rats by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine. The findings suggest that some human psychological conditions may be the result, rather than the cause, of gastrointestinal disorders such as irritable bowel syndrome. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-digestive-problems-early-life-depression.html Medical research Thu, 12 May 2011 17:00:01 EST news224427975