http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. (Medical Xpress) -- Despite a century of research, memory encoding in the brain has remained mysterious. Neuronal synaptic connection strengths are involved, but synaptic components are short-lived while memories last lifetimes. This suggests synaptic information is encoded and hard-wired at a deeper, finer-grained molecular scale. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-brain-memory-code.html Neuroscience Fri, 09 Mar 2012 13:31:47 EST news250522295 Johns Hopkins and National Taiwan University researchers have discovered more details about how an energy sensing "thermostat" protein determines whether cells will store or use their energy reserves. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-cell-energy-sensor-mechanism-linked.html Medical research Tue, 21 Feb 2012 13:22:25 EST news249052933 For some, the pain is so great that they can't even bear to have clothes touch their skin. For others, it means that every step is a deliberate and agonizing choice. Whether the pain is caused by arthritic joints, an injury to a nerve or a disease like fibromyalgia, research now suggests there are new solutions for those who suffer from chronic pain. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-neuron-memory-key-chronic-pain.html Neuroscience Mon, 13 Feb 2012 15:46:01 EST news248370338 A protein kinase known as ROCK1 can exacerbate an important process called fission in the mitochondria, the power plants of cells, leading to diabetic kidney disease, said researchers from Baylor College of Medicine in a report that appears online today in the journal Cell Metabolism. (ROCK1 stands for (Rho-associated coiled-coil containing protein kinase 1.) http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-diabetic-kidney-failure-rocky-road.html Medical research Tue, 07 Feb 2012 12:46:34 EST news247841114 Protein p53 is known for controlling the life and death of a cell and has a key role in cancer research. P53 is known to be inactive in 50 percent of cancer patients. If researchers succeed in re-establishing the presence of p53 in patients, they may hold the key to a promising avenue of research. However, p53 does not act alone. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-magic-chain-reaction-required-tumor.html Cancer Fri, 20 Jan 2012 12:37:12 EST news246285425 An enzyme that appears to play a role in controlling the brain's response to nicotine and alcohol in mice might be a promising target for a drug that simultaneously would treat nicotine addiction and alcohol abuse in people, according to a study by researchers at the Ernest Gallo Clinic and Research Center, affiliated with the University of California, San Francisco. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-enzyme-alcoholism.html Medical research Mon, 12 Sep 2011 15:00:01 EST news235043020 A new study describes how hyperactivation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) promotes neurodegeneration in Huntington's disease (HD). The article appears online on July 18, 2011, in The Journal of Cell Biology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-07-ampk-amplifies-huntington-disease.html Medical research Mon, 18 Jul 2011 12:28:15 EST news230210876 Have a tough time remembering where you put your keys, learning a new language or recalling names at a cocktail party? New research from the Lisman Laboratory at Brandeis University points to a molecule that is central to the process by which memories are stored in the brain. A paper published in the June 22 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience describes the new findings. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-memory-molecule-key-protein-complex.html Neuroscience Thu, 23 Jun 2011 11:56:45 EST news228048989 Scientists may have a way to make the powerful cancer drug cisplatin less toxic to the kidneys and more effective against some cancers. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-potential-treatment-cancer-drug-kidney.html Cancer Thu, 02 Jun 2011 10:11:44 EST news226228285 (PhysOrg.com) -- New research by scientists in Arizona in the US has demonstrated that an enzyme makes the body remember and remain sensitive to pain after an injury has healed. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-protein-pain.html Neuroscience Fri, 13 May 2011 06:40:01 EST news224480455 (Medical Xpress) -- Could veterans of war, rape victims and other people who have seen horrific crimes someday have the traumatic memories that haunt them weakened in their brains? In a new study, UCLA life scientists report a discovery that may make the reduction of such memories a reality. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-04-traumatic-memories-erased.html Neuroscience Wed, 27 Apr 2011 15:55:20 EST news223138485 Researchers have found that a synthetic version of hypericin, a compound naturally found in St. John's wort, may be a promising treatment for patients with recurrent malignant brain tumors. Their findings were published online on March 31, 2011 in the journal Cancer. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-04-scientists-potential-benefit-hypericin-recurrent.html Cancer Mon, 11 Apr 2011 09:16:43 EST news221732186