http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. Brain function in adults as young as 35 may decline as their heart disease risk factors increase, according to new research in the American Heart Association journal Stroke. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-heart-disease-factors-decrease-brain.html Cardiology Thu, 02 May 2013 17:12:01 EST news286733511 Why does chronic stress lead to increased risk for dementia? The answer may lie in the elevation of stress steroids that is seen in the brain during stress, Sara K. Bengtsson suggests in the thesis she is defending at Umeå University in Sweden on March 22. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-chronic-stress-alzheimer-disease.html Alzheimer's disease & dementia Thu, 14 Mar 2013 09:33:45 EST news282472420 A ground-breaking trial that hopes to discover if a drug commonly used to treat high blood pressure could slow down the progression of Alzheimer's disease (AD) will begin shortly. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-common-blood-pressure-drug-alzheimer.html Alzheimer's disease & dementia Mon, 04 Mar 2013 19:20:01 EST news281624540 (Medical Xpress)—Before examinations and in critical situations, we need to be particularly receptive and capable of learning. However, acute exam stress and stage fright causes learning blockades and reduced memory function. Scientists from the Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry in Munich have now discovered a mechanism responsible for these cognitive deficits, which functions independently of stress hormones. In animal studies, the researchers show that social stress reduces the volume of Homer-1 in the hippocampus – a region of the brain that plays a central role in learning. This specific protein deficiency leads to altered neuronal activity followed by deterioration in the animals' learning performance. In the experiments, it was possible to prevent the cognitive deficit by administering additional volumes of the protein to the mice. This suggests that Homer-1 could provide a key molecule for the development of drugs for the treatment of stress-induced cognitive deficits. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-homer-stress-induced-cognitive-deficits-lack.html Neuroscience Thu, 28 Feb 2013 07:48:10 EST news281260079 In a new study in mice, a scientific collaboration centered at Brown University lays out in unprecedented detail a neurological signaling breakdown in Angelman syndrome, a disorder that affects thousands of children each year, characterized by developmental delay, seizures, and other problems. With the new understanding, the team demonstrated how a synthesized, peptide-like compound called CN2097 works to restore neural functions impaired by the disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-mice-yields-angelman-advance.html Medical research Wed, 13 Feb 2013 10:00:01 EST news279971245 It's been said that food is the language of love. If so, can certain foods—or aphrodisiacs—promote romantic feelings or sexual desire? http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-food-aphrodisiacs-expert-nutrition.html Health Wed, 06 Feb 2013 11:00:20 EST news279370813 Several studies have found evidence that children who undergo repeated surgical operations with general anesthesia before the age of 4 may be at an increased risk for learning disabilities. In the March issue of Anesthesiology, Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers report an animal study indicating that several factors – age, the specific anesthetic agent used and the number of doses – combine to induce impairments in learning and memory accompanied by the inflammation of brain tissue. An accompanying paper from the same team finds that the offspring of mice that received a specific anesthetic gas during pregnancy also showed the effects of neuroinflammation and impaired learning. Both articles have been released online. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-neuroinflammation-general-anesthesia-associated-disabilities.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 24 Jan 2013 11:57:52 EST news278251002 In a promising finding for epileptic patients suffering from persistent seizures known as status epilepticus, researchers reported today that new medication could help halt these devastating seizures. To do so, it would have to work directly to antagonize NMDA receptors, the predominant molecular device for controlling synaptic activity and memory function in the brain. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-therapies-persistent-seizures-epileptic-patients.html Neuroscience Wed, 16 Jan 2013 13:04:46 EST news277563845 (HealthDay)—In middle-aged people, a link may exist between weakened memory and genetic traits associated with obesity, raising the possibility that extra pounds change how our brains work, a new study suggests. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-ties-obesity-related-gene-weaker-memory.html Neuroscience Sat, 10 Nov 2012 06:10:01 EST news271749322 (Medical Xpress)—​A simple eye tracking test could hold the key to earlier Alzheimer's diagnosis, according to new research published in the Journal of the American Aging Association. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-eyes-key-alzheimer-disease.html Alzheimer's disease & dementia Thu, 23 Aug 2012 08:52:28 EST news264930731 There has been significant debate in policy circles about whether governments have over-reacted to ecstasy by issuing warnings against its use and making it illegal. In the UK, David Nutt said ecstasy was less dangerous than horseback riding, which led to him being fired as the government's chief drug advisor. Others have argued that ecstasy is dangerous if you use it a lot, but brief use is safe. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-debate-ecstasy-evidence-memory-impairments.html Addiction Wed, 25 Jul 2012 19:00:02 EST news262458068 (HealthDay News) -- Researchers say an investigational drug helped improve memory, language, attention and other mental skills in people with early Alzheimer's disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-alzheimer-drug-early-trial.html Alzheimer's disease & dementia Wed, 18 Jul 2012 17:07:30 EST news261850028 Researchers at the University of Colorado School of Medicine have found a drug that boosts memory function in those with Down syndrome, a major milestone in the treatment of this genetic disorder that could significantly improve quality of life. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-memantine-drug-shown-memory-syndrome.html Psychology & Psychiatry Tue, 17 Jul 2012 13:37:14 EST news261751027 (HealthDay) -- A supplement mixture (Souvenaid) containing dietary precursors and specific nutrients can improve memory in drug-naive patients with mild Alzheimer's disease (AD), according to a study published in the July issue of the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-supplement-mixture-memory-mild-alzheimer.html Alzheimer's disease & dementia Thu, 12 Jul 2012 05:50:02 EST news261287299 An inflated sense of memory function in people with dementia may influence their likelihood of seeking help, new Flinders University research shows. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-perceptions-memory.html Alzheimer's disease & dementia Wed, 11 Jul 2012 09:11:01 EST news261216650 In a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease, memory problems stem from an overactive enzyme that shuts off genes related to neuron communication, a new study says. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-epigenetic-culprit-memory-decline.html Medical research Wed, 29 Feb 2012 13:00:07 EST news249734266 Severe, rapid memory loss may be linked to -- and could predict -- a future deadly stroke, according to research presented at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference 2012. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-severe-rapid-memory-loss-linked.html Cardiology Wed, 01 Feb 2012 11:00:01 EST news247314350 New research from Uppsala University shows that reduced insulin sensitivity is linked to smaller brain size and deteriorated language skills in seniors. The findings are now published in the scientific journal Diabetes Care. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-insulin-resistance-linked-brain-health.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Wed, 01 Feb 2012 10:31:32 EST news247314682 Human memory has historically defied precise scientific description, its biological functions broadly but imperfectly defined in psychological terms. In a pair of papers published in the November 2 issue of The Journal of Neuroscience, researchers at the University of California, San Diego report a new methodology that more deeply parses how and where certain types of memories are processed in the brain, and challenges earlier assumptions about the role of the hippocampus. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-hippocampus-bigger-memory-role-previously.html Neuroscience Tue, 01 Nov 2011 17:36:17 EST news239387739 (Medical Xpress) -- Older patients with lower rates of left ventricular ejection fraction (a measure of how well the left ventricle of the heart pumps with each contraction) appear more likely than younger patients to have significantly reduced verbal memory function, according to a report in the August issue of Archives of Neurology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-age-severity-heart-failure-impairment.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Tue, 09 Aug 2011 02:20:02 EST news232073933 Many patients who undergo bone marrow or blood stem cell transplantation to treat blood cancers or a "pre-leukemic" condition called myelodysplasia experience a decline in mental and fine motor skills due to the toll of their disease and its treatment. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-patients-recover-chemo-brain-years-stem.html Cancer Tue, 03 May 2011 11:08:12 EST news223639658 In a paper to be published today in the journal Science, a team of Boston University researchers under the direction of Michael Hasselmo, professor of psychology and director of Boston University's Computational Neurophysiology Laboratory, and Mark Brandon, a recent graduate of the Graduate Program for Neuroscience at Boston University, present findings that support the hypothesis that spatial coding by grid cells requires theta rhythm oscillations, and dissociates the mechanisms underlying the generation of entorhinal grid cell periodicity and head-direction selectivity. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-04-probe-link-theta-rhythm-ability.html Neuroscience Thu, 28 Apr 2011 14:00:20 EST news223217954 John Gunstad, an associate professor in Kent State University's Department of Psychology, and a team of researchers have discovered a link between weight loss and improved memory and concentration. The study shows that bariatric surgery patients exhibited improved memory function 12 weeks after their operations. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-04-weight-loss-memory.html Other Tue, 12 Apr 2011 16:52:24 EST news221845929