http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. Although a family history of Alzheimer's disease is a primary risk factor for the devastating neurological disorder, mutations in only three genes – the amyloid precursor protein and presenilins 1 and 2 – have been established as causative for inherited, early-onset Alzheimer's, accounting for about half of such cases. Now Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers have discovered a type of mutation known as copy-number variants (CNVs) – deletions, duplications, or rearrangements of human genomic DNA – in affected members of 10 families with early-onset Alzheimer's. Notably, different genomic changes were identified in the Alzheimer's patients in each family. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-06-rare-genomic-mutations-families-early-onset.html Alzheimer's disease & dementia Mon, 17 Jun 2013 12:45:27 EST news290691918 A new study shows compelling evidence that associations between cognitive ability and cortical grey matter in old age can largely be accounted for by cognitive ability in childhood. The joint study by the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital, The Neuro, McGill University and the University of Edinburgh, UK was published today, June 4 in Molecular Psychiatry. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-06-cognitive-ability-differences-elderly.html Psychology & Psychiatry Tue, 04 Jun 2013 11:35:47 EST news289564541 Johns Hopkins researchers say they have discovered specific chemical alterations in two genes that, when present during pregnancy, reliably predict whether a woman will develop postpartum depression. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-genetic-predictors-postpartum-depression-uncovered.html Psychology & Psychiatry Tue, 21 May 2013 04:00:02 EST news288291866 Children who have suffered maltreatment are 36% more likely to be obese in adulthood compared to non-maltreated children, according to a new study by King's College London. The authors estimate that the prevention or effective treatment of 7 cases of child maltreatment could avoid 1 case of adult obesity. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-child-maltreatment-adult-obesity.html Overweight and Obesity Tue, 21 May 2013 04:00:01 EST news288291900 In a first-of-its-kind effort to illuminate the biochemical impact of trauma, researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center have discovered a connection between the quantity of cannabinoid receptors in the human brain, known as CB1 receptors, and post-traumatic stress disorder, the chronic, disabling condition that can plague trauma victims with flashbacks, nightmares and emotional instability. Their findings, which appear online today in the journal Molecular Psychiatry, will also be presented this week at the annual meeting of the Society of Biological Psychiatry in San Francisco. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-brain-imaging-links-cannabinoid-receptors-post-traumatic.html Psychology & Psychiatry Tue, 14 May 2013 04:00:01 EST news287688428 (Medical Xpress)—By studying what happens in the normal brain when neurons fire, Australian scientists have been able to identify a finely and dynamically regulated process. They also describe how dysfunction of this process is associated with schizophrenia. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-faulty-neural-schizophrenia-revealed.html Psychology & Psychiatry Thu, 02 May 2013 08:34:39 EST news286702472 Scientists from King's College London have identified patterns of epigenetic changes involved in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) by studying genetically identical twins who differ in autism traits. The study, published in Molecular Psychiatry, is the largest of its kind and may shed light on the biological mechanism by which environmental influences regulate the activity of certain genes and in turn contribute to the development of ASD and related behaviour traits. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-epigenetic-biological-mechanism-autism.html Autism spectrum disorders Tue, 23 Apr 2013 04:00:01 EST news285877545 (Medical Xpress)—Researchers in Australia have uncovered what they describe as differences in brain behavior for people diagnosed with either bipolar disorder (BP) or borderline personality disorder (BPD). As they describe in their paper published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry, brain scans of people diagnosed with one or the other of the disorders show differences in the ways emotions are processed, leading perhaps to a true biological marker for the two ailments. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-effort-reveals-differences-brain-mental.html Psychology & Psychiatry Thu, 04 Apr 2013 05:38:14 EST news284272640 A new study finds that two genes individually associated with rare autism-related disorders are also jointly linked to more general forms of autism. The finding suggests a new genetic pathway to investigate in general autism research. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-misregulated-genes-big-autism-role.html Genetics Thu, 21 Mar 2013 09:35:36 EST news283077329 For the first time, an international team of researchers has found that a combination of a particular virus in the mother and a specific gene variant in the child increases the risk of the child developing schizophrenia. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-virus-genes-involved-causation-schizophrenia.html Psychology & Psychiatry Fri, 08 Mar 2013 11:07:13 EST news281963223 Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have found an explanation for why the level of kynurenic acid (KYNA) is higher in the brains of people with schizophrenia or bipolar disease with psychosis. The study, which is published in the scientific periodical Molecular Psychiatry, identifies a gene variant associated with an increased production of KYNA. The discovery contributes to the further understanding of the link between inflammation and psychosis – and might pave the way for improved therapies. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-gene-variant-psychotic-features-bipolar.html Psychology & Psychiatry Tue, 05 Mar 2013 04:00:05 EST news281643115 Some of the dramatic differences seen among patients with schizophrenia may be explained by a single gene that regulates a group of other schizophrenia risk genes. These findings appear in a new imaging-genetics study from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-gene-differences-people-schizophrenia.html Genetics Tue, 05 Mar 2013 04:00:01 EST news281643041 A study combining genetic data with brain imaging, designed to identify genes associated with the amyloid plaque deposits found in Alzheimer's disease patients, has not only identified the APOE gene—long associated with development of Alzheimer's—but has uncovered an association with a second gene, called BCHE. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-genome-wide-imaging-gene-alzheimer-plaques.html Alzheimer's disease & dementia Wed, 20 Feb 2013 15:48:47 EST news280597692 Through a series of investigations in mice and humans, Johns Hopkins researchers have identified a protein that appears to be the target of both antidepressant drugs and electroconvulsive therapy. Results of their experiments explain how these therapies likely work to relieve depression by stimulating stem cells in the brain to grow and mature. In addition, the researchers say, these experiments raise the possibility of predicting individual people's response to depression therapy, and fine-tuning treatment accordingly. Reports on separate aspects of the research were published in December on the Molecular Psychiatry website, and will also appear in the Feb. 7 issue of Cell Stem Cell. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-uncovers-key-antidepressant-response.html Psychology & Psychiatry Thu, 07 Feb 2013 12:00:01 EST news279448470 A patient's relationship with his or her doctor has long been considered an important component of healing. Now, in a novel investigation in which physicians underwent brain scans while they believed they were actually treating patients, researchers have provided the first scientific evidence indicating that doctors truly can feel their patients' pain – and can also experience their relief following treatment. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-physicians-brain-scans-doctors-patients.html Psychology & Psychiatry Tue, 29 Jan 2013 04:00:01 EST news278613656 Maternal inflammation during early pregnancy may be related to an increased risk of autism in children, according to new findings supported by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), part of the National Institutes of Health. Researchers found this in children of mothers with elevated C-reactive protein (CRP), a well-established marker of systemic inflammation. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-prenatal-inflammation-linked-autism.html Autism spectrum disorders Thu, 24 Jan 2013 13:40:44 EST news278257235 Johns Hopkins researchers have identified a rare gene mutation in a single family with a high rate of schizophrenia, adding to evidence that abnormal genes play a role in the development of the disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-evidence-mounts-role-mutated-genes.html Genetics Tue, 22 Jan 2013 04:00:01 EST news278012810 The discovery of the molecular pathway that drives the changes seen in the brains of Alzheimer's patients is reported today, revealing new targets for drug discovery that could be exploited to combat the disease. The study gives the most detailed understanding yet of the complex processes leading to Alzheimer's. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-discovery-molecular-pathway-alzheimer-disease.html Alzheimer's disease & dementia Tue, 20 Nov 2012 10:09:49 EST news272628571 Researchers at McMaster University have discovered new genetic evidence about why some people are happier than others. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-obese-happy-gene-common-perception.html Psychology & Psychiatry Tue, 20 Nov 2012 05:43:58 EST news272612627 Vanderbilt researchers are reporting today that a drug currently used to treat type 2 diabetes could be just as effective in treating addiction to drugs, including cocaine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-diabetes-drug-effective-addiction.html Diabetes Tue, 23 Oct 2012 11:32:17 EST news270210723 (Medical Xpress)—Researchers from the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Stony Brook University have developed a high-resolution, 3D optical Doppler imaging tomography technique that captures the effects of cocaine restricting the blood supply in vessels – including small capillaries – of the brain. The study, reported in Molecular Psychiatry, and with images on the journal's October 2012 cover, illustrates the first use of the novel neuroimaging technique and provides evidence of cocaine-induced cerebral microischemia, which can cause stroke. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-neuroimaging-technique-capturing-cocaine-devastating.html Psychology & Psychiatry Wed, 10 Oct 2012 17:51:28 EST news269110278 Two years ago, Randy Nelson, Ph.D., chair of neuroscience at Ohio State University, doctoral student Tracy Bedrosian, and colleagues reported that dim-light exposure at night was capable of triggering depressive-like behaviors in animals. The dim-light exposure, they explained, was comparable to having a television on in a darkened room. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-chronic-exposure-dim-depression.html Psychology & Psychiatry Mon, 24 Sep 2012 08:26:15 EST news267693922 Two papers that will appear in the journal Molecular Psychiatry, both receiving advance online release, may help identify gene variants that contribute to the risks of developing obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) or Tourette syndrome (TS). Both multi-institutional studies were led by Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) investigators, and both are the first genome-wide association studies (GWAS) in the largest groups of individuals affected by the conditions. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-gwas-obsessive-compulsive-disorder-tourette-syndrome.html Genetics Tue, 14 Aug 2012 06:10:01 EST news264143328 The second of two studies on latrepirdine, recently published in Molecular Psychiatry, demonstrates new potential for the compound in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, sleep disorders, and other neurodegenerative conditions. An international team led by Mount Sinai School of Medicine scientists found that latrepiridine, known commercially as Dimebon, reduced the level of at least two neurodegeneration-related proteins in mice. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-drug-toxic-substance-common-alzheimer.html Neuroscience Mon, 13 Aug 2012 11:31:28 EST news264076253 Investigators at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and Veterans Affairs (VA) Boston Healthcare System have identified a new gene linked to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The findings, published online in Molecular Psychiatry, indicate that a gene known to play a role in protecting brain cells from the damaging effects of stress may also be involved in the development of PTSD. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-scientists-gene-linked-ptsd.html Psychology & Psychiatry Tue, 07 Aug 2012 13:04:19 EST news263563450 Children who exhibit oppositional behavior run the risk of becoming addicted to nicotine, cannabis and cocaine whilst Inattention symptoms represent a specific additional risk of nicotine addiction. Nevertheless, hyperactivity in itself does not seem to be associated with any specific risk of substance abuse or dependence. This is what researchers at the Sainte-Justine University Hospital Center's (UHC) Research Center and the University of Montreal concluded following a 15-year population-based study published in Molecular Psychiatry. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-childhood-defiance-drug.html Psychology & Psychiatry Wed, 01 Aug 2012 12:01:50 EST news263041302 An international team of scientists led by researchers at Mount Sinai School Medicine have discovered that a drug that had previously yielded conflicting results in clinical trials for Alzheimer's disease effectively stopped the progression of memory deterioration and brain pathology in mouse models of early stage Alzheimer's disease. The findings, published July 31, 2012 in Molecular Psychiatry, demonstrate renewed potential for this compound and could lead to clinical trials in patients with early stages of the disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-alzheimer-drug-potential.html Psychology & Psychiatry Tue, 31 Jul 2012 04:00:01 EST news262888215 Chronic exposure to dim light at night can lead to depressive symptoms in rodents -- but these negative effects can be reversed simply by returning to a standard light-dark cycle, a new study suggests. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-effects-night-reversed.html Psychology & Psychiatry Tue, 24 Jul 2012 04:00:02 EST news262281950 (Medical Xpress) -- Johns Hopkins researchers say they have discovered a cause-and-effect relationship between two well-established biological risk factors for schizophrenia previously believed to be independent of one another. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-link-biological-factors-schizophrenia.html Psychology & Psychiatry Tue, 17 Jul 2012 06:36:30 EST news261725780 Emotional stress caused by last year's tsunami caused a part of some survivors' brains to shrink, according to scientists in Japan who grasped a unique chance to study the neurological effects of trauma. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-stress-shrank-brain-area-japan.html Psychology & Psychiatry Tue, 22 May 2012 04:30:18 EST news256879807