By TRACY WHEELER Akron (Ohio) Beacon Journal Most infectious diseases are caused by bacteria or viruses. That's not the case, however, with chronic wasting disease and its family of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies. The microscopic villains in these disorders are proteins called prions that are abnormally shaped. Instead of being straight rods, these prions twist into odd forms that can latch onto normal, straight proteins and mutate them as well. A chain of destructive, misshapen prions wreaks havoc on the brain.

Keyword: Prions
Link ID: 3044 - Posted: 11.20.2002

Measuring Proteins in Brain Fluid May Provide Answers ... Or Not By Sid Kirchheimer -- While the exact cause of Alzheimer's disease is unclear, many experts agree that it often results in changes in the levels of two specific proteins floating in the fluid that "buffers" the brain. Several studies show that compared to others, Alzheimer's patients have higher levels of tau protein and lower levels of beta-amyloid 42 protein in their cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). These proteins, the theory goes, stagnate in these altered states and form plaques that damage brain cells, causing memory loss and other symptoms associated with the disease. Now, German researchers say these same altered protein levels are found in some people with the earliest signs of memory loss that progress to AD -- suggesting a new way to predict who will likely develop Alzheimer's. Their research shows a significant portion of people with memory impairment later develop AD. © 1996-2002 WebMD Inc.

Keyword: Alzheimers
Link ID: 3043 - Posted: 06.24.2010

By ERIC NAGOURNEY Elderly people who draw on both sides of the brain seem to do better at some mental tasks than those who use just one side, a new study in the journal NeuroImage reports It supports a theory that as the brain ages, it may shift its workload so that some tasks once performed primarily by one side are shared more evenly by both. Older people best able to press both brain sides into service do better on skills tests compared with those less adept at using both sides, the study says. The lead author, Dr. Roberto Cabeza of the Center for Cognitive Neuroscience at Duke, likened the process to what occurs as people age and their muscles weaken. Instead of picking up a heavy object with one arm, they might use two, Dr. Cabeza noted. Copyright The New York Times Company

Keyword: Alzheimers; Laterality
Link ID: 3042 - Posted: 11.20.2002

Stuttering and a serious sleep disorder may both be linked to brain damage, scientists believe. Researchers in the United States have found that patients with sleep apnoea have fewer brain cells in key areas. They are also more likely to have had a speech impediment as a child. The researchers believe that both conditions can be attributed to damage in the brain. Around 4% of men suffer from sleep apnoea. Sufferers snore very loudly and actually stop breathing several times a night. Traditionally, doctors believed that the condition was caused by enlarged tonsils blocking a narrowed airway. (C) BBC

Keyword: Language; Sleep
Link ID: 3041 - Posted: 11.19.2002

NewScientist.com news service The buzz from your morning cup of coffee may not be caused by caffeine after all. According to new research, decaffeinated coffee may be just as good at raising the blood pressure, at least for drinkers not used to the black stuff. Numerous studies have shown that too much caffeine interferes with sleep patterns, but the long term health effects of the drug are more controversial. Some scientists claim that daily caffeine stimulation increases our risk of high blood pressure and heart disease later in life. But overall, the evidence is equivocal, says Alice Lichtenstein of the American Heart Association's Nutrition Committee. Now, the small Swiss-led study suggests that to focus on caffeine alone may be wrong. © Copyright Reed Business Information Ltd.

Keyword: Drug Abuse
Link ID: 3040 - Posted: 06.24.2010

By ERIC NAGOURNEY Y ou think you've got all the bases covered. Ever-determined — and ignoring a lack of solid evidence in these areas — you cranked up the Baby Mozart CD while the kid was still in utero, and "Die Zauberflöte" still lingers in the air for hours as a reminder to those little synapses of his to gird for the standardized tests ahead. You've even dangled alphabet flash cards in front of the baby's face, when no one was looking. Hello, Ivy League. It's all over but the waiting. But aren't we forgetting something? You know, the sticky mittens. Copyright The New York Times Company

Keyword: Development of the Brain
Link ID: 3039 - Posted: 06.24.2010

By MARY DUENWALD Do happy people live longer? A growing body of evidence suggests they may. Recent studies have correlated long life with optimism, with positive thinking, and with a lack of hostility, anxiety and depression. One thing that remains unclear, however, is whether happiness can actually cause longevity. Perhaps happy people live longer because they practice healthy behaviors, or for some other unknown reason. "It is definitely the case that certain people who are psychologically healthier live longer," said Dr. Howard S. Friedman of the University of California at Riverside, a psychologist who has studied personality traits that correlate with longevity. "But the explanations are usually complicated." Copyright The New York Times Company

Keyword: Emotions; Stress
Link ID: 3038 - Posted: 11.19.2002

By SANDRA BLAKESLEE LOS ANGELES — Tito Mukhopadhyay sits in a darkened laboratory, pointing at flashes of light on a computer screen. On his right is a neuroscientist, one of several who are testing Tito's ability to see, hear and feel touch. At his left, Tito's mother, Soma, watches quietly. Tito, who is 14, often stops the testing with bursts of activity. His body rocks rhythmically. He stands and spins. He makes loud smacking noises. His arms fly in the air as if yanked by a puppeteer. His fingers flutter. Tito reaches for a yellow pad and writes to explain his behavior: "I am calming myself. My senses are so disconnected, I lose my body. So I flap. If I don't do this, I feel scattered and anxious." Copyright The New York Times Company

Keyword: Autism
Link ID: 3037 - Posted: 06.24.2010

By CAROL KAESUK YOON Despite the release of a flurry of new results in what is becoming an increasingly intense debate, scientists still have not reached a consensus as to whether the nation's most commonly used herbicide is harming amphibians in the wild. The new studies raise questions about whether atrazine, used primarily for killing weeds in cornfields, is acting as an endocrine disrupter in amphibians, interfering with normal hormonal functions, and causing males to become hermaphrodites, producing eggs in their testes. Some 60 million to 70 million pounds of atrazine are applied each year in the United States, and it has been found in rivers, ponds, snowmelt and rainwater. Scientists have taken a particular interest in the new studies because such a widespread endocrine disrupter could help explain worldwide declines of amphibians. Copyright The New York Times Company

Keyword: Hormones & Behavior; Sexual Behavior
Link ID: 3036 - Posted: 11.19.2002

WASHINGTON - Hostility may predict heart disease more often than traditional coronary heart disease (CHD) risk factors like high cholesterol, cigarette smoking and weight, according to research reported on in the November issue of Health Psychology, published by the American Psychological Association (APA). Using a sample of 774 older White men (average age was 60) from the Normative Aging Study, lead researcher Raymond Niaura, Ph.D., and colleagues sought to determine whether hostility was an independent influence or a contributing factor in CHD development. Hostility levels, blood lipids, fasting insulin, blood pressure, body measurement index (BMI), weight-hip ratio (WHR), diet, alcohol intake, smoking and education attainment were assessed over a three year period beginning in 1986. Incidences of CHD were more common in those with higher levels of hostility then those with other risk factors such as high cholesterol, alcohol intake or smoking tobacco, said Dr. Niaura. In this sample of older men with high levels of hostility, 5.8 percent (45) experienced at least one episode of CHD during their involvement with the NAS study. According to the authors, hostility is associated with and predicts incidents of coronary heart disease above and beyond the influence of known risk factors that include blood lipid profiles, sociodemographic characteristics, alcohol consumption and smoking. Specifically, HDL-cholesterol levels did significantly protect against CHD but hostility levels predicted incidences of CHD independent of the protective effect of HDL. © PsycNET 2002 American Psychological Association

Keyword: Aggression; Emotions
Link ID: 3035 - Posted: 06.24.2010

The chemical in turkey that may cause people to nod off after Thanksgiving dinner also plays a role in maintaining good mood and memory, especially among people with a family history of depression, says new research published in the journal Brain, Behavior, and Immunity. Lead author Wim J. Riedel, Ph.D., and colleagues at the Brain and Behavior Institute at the University of Maastricht in the Netherlands examined the effects of the body's depletion of an amino acid called tryptophan on mood and cognitive function. They also measured how long the effects of the depletion lasted. Tryptophan, known for its presence in turkey and commonly blamed in the media for creating the sluggish after-meal sensations experienced by many Thanksgiving diners, is a metabolic precursor to the chemical messenger known as serotonin. In addition to turkey, the chemical is found in foods like milk, bread, cheese and bananas. Tryptophan depletion decreases serotonin levels in the brain, which in turn can lead to depression and other problems. While the study is not definitive and does not offer a solid conclusion that eating more tryptophan will enhance memory or mood, it does indicate a possible connection.

Keyword: Learning & Memory; Emotions
Link ID: 3034 - Posted: 11.19.2002

Government contracts with IBM to build two that will be fastest in world By Michael Stroh Sun Staff IBM Corp. has won a government contract to build two supercomputers whose speed, company officials say, could for the first time approach the theoretical raw processing power of the human brain. The $290 million contract between IBM and the Department of Energy was expected to be made public today at Supercomputing 2002, the annual high-performance computing conference being held this week in downtown Baltimore. The first machine, dubbed ASCI Purple, will be capable of performing 100 trillion calculations per second when it's delivered in 2004, the company said. That would make it nearly three times faster than the world's reigning supercomputer champion, Earth Simulator, built for the Japanese government by the NEC Corp. Copyright © 2002, The Baltimore Sun

Keyword: Robotics
Link ID: 3033 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Study Suggests Benefits of Lorenzo's Oil, but Its First Patient Waits for More By Fredrick Kunkle Washington Post Staff Writer He is bearded now, and handsome, as anyone might have expected from seeing photographs of him as a boy. Awakening from a deep sleep, he blinks his large brown eyes, and a vague look of alarm seems to flit across his face. He blinks again, languidly, as if brushing away remnants of a dream. But the ruddy-faced young man, cocooned in blankets on a brisk autumn day, has been unable to escape his solitary dreamworld since a rare genetic disease began attacking nerve cells in his brain some 20 years ago. The disease -- adrenoleukodystrophy, or ALD -- has left him unable to see, speak or move. © 2002 The Washington Post Company

Keyword: Development of the Brain
Link ID: 3032 - Posted: 06.24.2010

By LORIE JEWELL NEW PORT RICHEY - When you've read some 8,000 books, picking a favorite is no small task. Kim Peek doesn't even try. ``I've liked them all,'' he quipped. Originally diagnosed an autistic savant, doctors later upgraded their interpretation of Peek, 51, to megasavant after studying his amazing ability to consume and remember information spanning about 15 subject areas. He can share the most minute details of world history, literature, classical music, the Bible, sports, movies and telephone systems. © 2002, Media General Inc.

Keyword: Autism; Laterality
Link ID: 3031 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Scientists have developed a sensor that can record brainwaves without the need for electrodes to be inserted into the brain or even placed on the scalp. They believe the new sensor will lead to major advances in the collection and display of electrical information from the brain - and could even be used to control machines in a more effective way than is currently possible. Conventional electroencephalograms (EEGs) are collected either by inserting needle electrodes directly into the brain or by fixing electrodes to the scalp. This process often leads to trauma, so that it may be necessary to remove some of the patient's hair. In addition, the process of attaching conventional electrodes may lead to skin abrasion and irritation. Now a team from the Centre for Physical Electronics at the University of Sussex has developed a far more user-friendly technique. (C) BBC

Keyword: Epilepsy; Brain imaging
Link ID: 3030 - Posted: 11.17.2002

By CLIFFORD J. LEVY LINCOLN PARK, N.J. — A few miles off the highway in this secluded town stands a sprawling nursing home that has become a virtual annex to New York State's psychiatric system. Confined on the third floor of the home, which has no mental health credentials and has been admonished by New Jersey officials for providing inadequate care, are more than 125 people who were sent here by state psychiatric hospitals in New York. Locked away at a similarly checkered nursing home near a cornfield in Andover Township, N.J., about 50 miles from Manhattan, are more than 200 other former New York psychiatric patients. Still others just like them have been sent by New York officials to problem-plagued nursing homes and adult homes as far-flung as the Boston area, including several deemed so violent and disastrous that Massachusetts officials threatened to close them down. At one last year, a resident from New York gouged out the eye of another resident with his bare hands, the officials said. Over the past eight years, the Pataki administration has been essentially exporting hundreds of its most troubled psychiatric patients to other states, turning over responsibility for their care to homes there that have little if any expertise and often have tarnished histories, according to interviews with officials, visits to the facilities and an analysis of Medicaid and other state records. Copyright The New York Times Company

Keyword: Schizophrenia
Link ID: 3029 - Posted: 06.24.2010

By SHERYL GAY STOLBERG On a warm, breezy Friday in September, a parade of mothers in minivans arrived at a preschool in suburban Connecticut to drop off a collection of 4-year-olds. Among the young students was Sam G., a sturdy, big-eared boy with cheeks that flush easily and a personality that has earned him a reputation, politely speaking, as a handful. Like most 4-year-old boys, Sam loves things that move -- trains, planes and trucks, especially fire trucks -- and is usually on the move himself. When he enters a room, his clear blue eyes dart about, as though he cannot take in the sights fast enough. His knees and elbows are perpetually scraped. When his teachers read stories aloud, Sam often wanders about. This particular Friday was no exception. It was Bring-Your-Stuffed-Animal-to-School Day, and Sam burst through the door carrying a two-foot-tall black-and-white cow he calls Moo. Surveying the scene, he paused momentarily and then, as if someone had lighted a fuse underneath him, thrust his arms forward and began zipping around the room, the cow acting as his shield. During the next two hours, Sam tried to open the childproof window locks; he got into fights in the sandbox and repeatedly stood in the center of the room, swinging the cow by its tail. When his teacher finally put the animal on the shelf ''for a nap,'' Sam burst into tears. Copyright The New York Times Company

Keyword: ADHD; Development of the Brain
Link ID: 3028 - Posted: 11.17.2002

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS SAN FRANCISCO, — The Navy has agreed to scale back temporarily the testing of a new sonar system designed to detect enemy submarines. The agreement was reached on Friday after months of protests by environmentalists and two weeks after a federal magistrate judge blocked the testing, citing concerns about marine life. The accord is a compromise between the government and the ecologists who filed a lawsuit over the testing. It will last seven months while the Navy's operating permit is challenged in federal court. Copyright The New York Times Company

Keyword: Hearing; Animal Communication
Link ID: 3027 - Posted: 06.24.2010

NewScientist.com news service A fast-acting anti-impotence drug that works in the same way as Viagra but lasts up to three times longer has been approved for sale in the European Union. Tadalafil, trademarked as Cialis, was developed by US-based pharmaceutical companies Lilly and Icos, and should go on sale in Europe early in 2003. Lilly and Icos hope to gain approval next year to market the drug in the US. The European green light followed scrutiny of results of more than 60 trial studies, including final efficacy studies on over 1000 men. These trials showed the drug achieves its effect in as little as 16 minutes and last between 24 and 36 hours. © Copyright Reed Business Information Ltd.

Keyword: Sexual Behavior
Link ID: 3026 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Mutations that produce small brains may reveal how human intelligence evolved John Travis In the 1960s, Pakistan built a mammoth dam on the river Jhelum to generate electric power and store water for irrigation. Known as Mangla, the dam created an upstream lake that displaced about 20,000 families from the district of Mirpur. Around the same time, England's textile industry was facing a major shortage of skilled laborers, especially in the county of Yorkshire. Many of the people from Mirpur who were displaced by Mangla traveled to Bradford and other Yorkshire districts. The coincidental timing of the dam's construction and Yorkshire's need for workers has, nearly 4 decades later, provided scientists with insight into how the human brain develops and, possibly, into how it evolved from the smaller brains of our hominid ancestors. A few years ago, a physician from St. James' University Hospital in Leeds, England, noticed something unusual among the Pakistani families he examined at a Bradford clinic. "I was seeing a lot of children who had microcephaly with moderate mental retardation but no other disease features," recalls clinical geneticist C. Geoffrey Woods. Microcephaly is a rare condition characterized by an abnormally small head, the result of an undersized brain. In particular, the cerebral cortex—the layers of nerve cells that cover the brain's surface and are the seat of higher reasoning—is shrunken. "The cerebral cortex is the part of the brain that, for better or worse, makes us human," notes Christopher A. Walsh, a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) investigator at Harvard Medical School in Boston. "Children who have abnormal development of the cerebral cortex fail to achieve the kind of talents we pride ourselves on, such as language." From Science News, Vol. 162, No. 20, Nov. 16, 2002, p. 312. Copyright ©2002 Science Service. All rights reserved.

Keyword: Intelligence; Evolution
Link ID: 3025 - Posted: 06.24.2010