http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. Every cell in our bodies runs on a 24-hour clock, tuned to the night-day, light-dark cycles that have ruled us since the dawn of humanity. The brain acts as timekeeper, keeping the cellular clock in sync with the outside world so that it can govern our appetites, sleep, moods and much more. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-body-clocks-depressed-people-cell.html Medical research Mon, 13 May 2013 15:00:18 EST news287657541 (HealthDay)—With four to five times more males affected by autism spectrum disorders than females, much less is known about girls with autism. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-girls-autism-treatments-boys.html Autism spectrum disorders Thu, 02 May 2013 05:15:57 EST news286690550 Maternal use of valproate (a drug used for the treatment of epilepsy and other neuropsychological disorders) during pregnancy was associated with a significantly increased risk of autism in offspring, according to a study in the April 24 issue of JAMA. The authors caution that these findings must be balanced against the treatment benefits for women who require valproate for epilepsy control. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-anti-epileptic-drug-pregnancy-autism.html Autism spectrum disorders Tue, 23 Apr 2013 16:51:05 EST news285954651 Stress triggered neuropsychiatric disorders take an enormous personal, social and economic toll on society. In the US more than half of adults are exposed to at least one traumatic event throughout their lives. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a debilitating anxiety disorder associated with exposure to a traumatic event outside the range of normal human experience. PTSD typically follows a chronic, often lifelong, course. Patients have diminished quality of life, are more likely to manifest other psychiatric disorders such as depression and six times more likely as demographically matched controls to attempt suicide. Prevention and treatment of PTSD remains a challenge with improved therapies needed to help save billions of dollars in medical care and provide enormous society benefit. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-intranasal-neuropeptide-therapeutic-potential-post-traumatic.html Psychology & Psychiatry Sun, 21 Apr 2013 19:01:00 EST news285789540 (Medical Xpress)—A new study in a mouse model has shown that neuropsychiatric disorders in adults were more likely to develop if the mice had suffered immune challenges before birth and stresses after birth. The study also demonstrated that there are interactions between environmental factors that increase the likelihood of brain disorders developing. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-combination-stresses-brain-disorders.html Medical research Fri, 01 Mar 2013 05:45:33 EST news281339107 Differences in the physical connections of the brain are at the root of what make people think and behave differently from one another. Researchers reporting in the February 6 issue of the Cell Press journal Neuron shed new light on the details of this phenomenon, mapping the exact brain regions where individual differences occur. Their findings reveal that individuals' brain connectivity varies more in areas that relate to integrating information than in areas for initial perception of the world. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-brain-clues-people-differently.html Neuroscience Wed, 06 Feb 2013 13:20:01 EST news279378172 The pattern of blood flow in the prefrontal cortex in the brains alters with age during multi-tasking, finds a new study in BioMed Central's open access journal BMC Neuroscience. Increased blood volume, measured using oxygenated haemoglobin (Oxy-Hb) increased at the start of multitasking in all age groups. But to perform the same tasks, healthy older people had a higher and more sustained increase in Oxy-Hb than younger people. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-brain-copes-multi-tasking-age.html Neuroscience Thu, 17 Jan 2013 19:00:02 EST news277661639 More than 85,000 synthetic chemicals are registered for commercial use with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and only about half of those produced in large quantities are tested for their potential toxic effects on humans. Children are particularly vulnerable to environmental toxins and a detailed look at how and why, and what can be done to protect children's health, is presented in a two-part article published in Alternative and Complementary Therapies from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-children-higher-negative-health-effects.html Health Wed, 09 Jan 2013 11:11:53 EST news276952305 Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) researchers have identified a potential medical treatment for the cognitive effects of stress-related disorders, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The study, conducted in a PTSD mouse model, shows that an experimental drug called S107, one of a new class of small-molecule compounds called Rycals, prevented learning and memory deficits associated with stress-related disorders. The findings were published today in the online edition of Cell. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-potential-treatment-cognitive-effects-stress-related.html Psychology & Psychiatry Thu, 30 Aug 2012 12:00:05 EST news265546491 (Medical Xpress) -- The brain has billions of neurons, arranged in complex circuits that allow us to perceive the world, control our movements and make decisions. Deciphering those circuits is critical to understanding how the brain works and what goes wrong in neurological disorders. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-simple-mathematical-underlie-brain-circuits.html Neuroscience Wed, 08 Aug 2012 14:55:01 EST news263656482 (HealthDay) -- As many as one in 20 children may predominantly walk on their toes in early childhood. Youngsters who have developmental delays or neuropsychiatric disorders, however, are more likely to walk on their toes, according to a new study from Sweden. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-toe-walking-common-kids-mental-woes.html Health Mon, 23 Jul 2012 10:20:01 EST news262256080 Max Planck scientists discover brain cells in monkeys that may be linked to self-awareness and empathy in humans. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-rare-neurons-monkey-brains.html Neuroscience Mon, 21 May 2012 12:44:47 EST news256823056 Geneva, Switzerland: The first European Clinical Practice Guidelines (CPGs) for the diagnosis and management of Wilson's disease are published today by the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) on the EASL website -- www.easl.eu.(1) Developed to assist physicians and healthcare providers in the clinical decision making process, the guidelines describe best practice for the diagnosis and treatment of patients with Wilson's disease -- a rare genetic(2) disorder that, if left untreated, is fatal. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-easl-publishes-european-clinical-guidelines.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Tue, 07 Feb 2012 05:00:01 EST news247811081 (Medical Xpress) -- Neuropsychiatric disorders are the second largest cause of morbidity and premature mortality worldwide. The scientific community has widely accepted that people who battle neuropsychiatric disorders such as depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, alcohol and substance abuse and hyperactivity disorder can also have poorly regulated biological rhythms, which leads to altered sleep/wake cycles and hormonal rhythms. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-failure-brain-clock-role-neuropsychiatric.html Psychology & Psychiatry Wed, 21 Sep 2011 07:31:26 EST news235808987 Narcolepsy is a rare disorder characterized by an excessive urge to sleep at inappropriate times and places. Narcoleptics are also often subject to "cataplexy," a sudden muscle weakness that is triggered by strong emotions. Although most cases of narcolepsy are thought to be caused by complex mechanisms, a small percentage of cases are associated with unidentified inherited mutations. Now, a new study published by Cell Press on September 8th in the American Journal of Human Genetics uncovers a mutation that causes narcolepsy in a large family affected by the disorder. The research sheds new light on the genetics of inherited narcolepsy and provides intriguing insight into other complex neuropsychiatric disorders. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-mutation-links-inherited-narcolepsy-multiple.html Genetics Thu, 08 Sep 2011 13:10:01 EST news234705125 New research led by The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) and the University of Toronto has identified more genes in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and shows that there is an overlap between some of these genes and those found in other neuropsychiatric conditions such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The study is published in the August 10 advance online edition of Science Translational Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-adhd-genes-links-susceptibility-autism.html Genetics Wed, 10 Aug 2011 17:10:12 EST news232214970 (Medical Xpress) -- University of Michigan researcher Gabrielle Rudenko and her Life Sciences Institute lab have solved the structure of a protein that is implicated in a number of neuropsychiatric disorders including autism spectrum disorder, schizophrenia and mental retardation. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-07-revealed-protein-implicated-autism-similar.html Medical research Fri, 08 Jul 2011 07:45:27 EST news229329904 Patients with thoracic aortic aneurysms that lead to acute aortic dissections are 12 times more likely to have duplications in the DNA in a region of chromosome 16 (16p13.1) than those without the disease, according to a study led by genetic researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-link-chromosome-region-thoracic-aortic.html Genetics Thu, 16 Jun 2011 17:21:57 EST news227463696