The popular herbal supplement, St John's wort, is an ineffective treatment for depression, a major study has found. The use of herb has grown massively in recent years as more people opt for so-called natural medicines. Researchers have conducted the largest ever clinical trial into the impact of the herb on major depression - a moderately severe form of the condition. The researchers, from Duke University Medical Center in North Carolina, found it had no more impact than a dummy medicine. Dr Jonathan Davidson, director of the Anxiety and Traumatic Stress Program at Duke, said: "Major depression is treatable. But this research suggests that major depression of at least moderate severity should not be treated with St. John's wort. (C) BBC

Keyword: Depression
Link ID: 1840 - Posted: 04.10.2002

Hibernation isn't the cushy nap it's cracked up to be. Surviving the winter months means living in a hypothermic limbo that doesn't even qualify as real sleep. Plus, some hibernating animals wake up at regular intervals. Why they do this has been a persistent mystery. But now a group of researchers says that animals periodically rouse themselves from hibernation to rev up their immune systems and fight off infections. The golden-mantled ground squirrel, found throughout much of the western United States, hibernates for 5 to 7 months of the year. After spending the spring and summer fattening up on seeds, nuts, forest fungus, and campers' handouts, the squirrels nest in shallow burrows. While hibernating, the animals throttle down many body systems--slowing their heartbeats, lowering their body temperatures, and shifting their immune systems into low gear. But even after they begin to hibernate, the squirrels still wake up every 7 to 30 days for periods of 8 to 20 hours. A team of neuroscientists led by Brian Prendergast of Ohio State University, Columbus, and David Freeman of the University of California, Berkeley, reasoned that the squirrels might wake to fire up their immune systems. To test this hypothesis, the team simulated bacterial infection in the animals by injecting the dead outer cell coats of bacteria. Nonhibernating squirrels spiked a fever within 2 hours, but hibernating squirrels became feverish only when they awoke on schedule a few days later, the team reports in the April issue of the American Journal of Physiology: Regulatory Integrative and Comparative Physiology. These results suggest to the researchers that reviving the immune system could be the main reason for the hibernation interruptions. Copyright © 2002 by the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Keyword: Biological Rhythms; Neuroimmunology
Link ID: 1839 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Copyright © 2002 AP Online By KEN GUGGENHEIM, Associated Press WASHINGTON - A study showing 1,400 college students are killed each year in alcohol-related accidents should change the views of people who see drinking on campus as little more than a rite of passage, researchers and university officials said Tuesday. The federally appointed task force that issued the report plans to distribute the study to college presidents, along with findings about which anti-drinking strategies work and which don't. General campaigns warning of the dangers of alcohol have not been effective, researchers said. They said it is better to teach students to resist peer pressure, show them how alcohol may interfere with academic goals and strictly enforce minimum age laws. Copyright © 2001 Nando Media

Keyword: Drug Abuse
Link ID: 1838 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Increased anger probably a physical, not emotional, result, South Korean study says By Janice Billingsley HealthScoutNews Reporter (HealthScoutNews) -- The increased anger and irritability stroke sufferers often exhibit may be related to brain damage from the stroke rather than to distress about their condition, scientists in South Korea report. Moreover, that anger and irritability is more common in stroke victims than currently recognized, they add. In a study of 145 people who had suffered a stroke, researchers from the Asian Medical Center in Seoul found a correlation between symptoms of anger and aggression and lesions on parts of the brain that are responsible for producing serotonin -- a brain chemical that moderates behavior. SOURCES: Jong S. Kim, M.D., Karina Davidson, Ph.D., April 2002 Neurology Copyright © 2002 ScoutNews, LLC. All rights reserved.

Keyword: Stroke; Emotions
Link ID: 1837 - Posted: 06.24.2010

A tiny device that blocks off a "useless" part of the heart may help to prevent a stroke among people who are at increased risk. Scientists say it could help people who suffer from an irregular heartbeat - a condition known as atrial fibrillation. It is estimated that a high proportion of strokes that occur among this group are caused by a blood clot that forms in a small pouch in the heart's upper left chamber. The new device effectively seals off this area - known as the left atrial appendage. Theoretically, this should prevent a blood clot formed in the pouch from travelling to the brain and causing a stroke. (C) BBC

Keyword: Stroke
Link ID: 1836 - Posted: 04.09.2002

NewScientist.com news service A man with Parkinson's disease whose own neural stem cells were extracted from his brain, grown in the lab, and re-implanted a few months later has shown improvement in his symptoms a year after the transplant, a team of neurosurgeons announced on Monday. The significance of the experiment is still unclear, since only one patient has undergone the procedure and a longer follow-up must be done to assess the real benefits. But if additional transplants confirm the improvement seen in the first patient, the technique might rival, and possibly outshine, other cell-based therapies under investigation. © Copyright Reed Business Information Ltd.

Keyword: Parkinsons; Stem Cells
Link ID: 1835 - Posted: 06.24.2010

by E. Fuller Torrey, M.D. Psychiatric Times April 2002 Vol. XIX Issue 4 Evidence is accumulating that the occurrence of severe psychiatric disorders, especially schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, may be increasing. The most visible manifestation of this is the increasing number of severely mentally ill individuals among the homeless population and in the nation's jails. Multiple studies have reported that at least one-third of the approximately 600,000 homeless individuals have a severe psychiatric disorder, and there are suggestions that the problem is getting worse. Similarly, a 1999 U.S. Department of Justice study reported that 16% of inmates in local jails and state prisons -- 275,900 individuals -- had been treated psychiatrically (Ditton, 1999). There are, therefore, five times more psychiatric patients in jails and prisons than the 55,000 remaining patients in state psychiatric hospitals. Headlines are increasingly proclaiming statements such as: "Mental Illness Behind Bars: A Tragic Situation Getting Worse" (Kupers, 2000). (C)2002 CME Inc.

Keyword: Schizophrenia
Link ID: 1834 - Posted: 04.09.2002

by Charles L. Scott, M.D., and Phillip J. Resnick, M.D. Psychiatric Times April 2002 Vol. XIX Issue 4 Because of the increasing concern regarding violence in our communities, clinicians are often asked to evaluate an individual's risk for future aggression. Dangerousness assessments are required in a wide range of situations, such as involuntary hospitalizations, emergency psychiatric evaluations, release of a patient from a hospital, release of a patient from seclusion or restraints, and the evaluation of patients who threaten others. The accuracy of a clinician's assessment of future violence appears related to many factors, including the circumstances of the evaluation as well as the length of time over which violence is predicted. In a classic review of clinicians' accuracy at predicting violent behavior toward others, Monahan concluded that psychiatrists and psychologists are accurate in no more than one out of three predictions of violent behavior among institutionalized patients followed over many years who had both committed violence in the past and who were diagnosed as mentally ill (Monahan and Steadman, 1994, as cited in Borum et al., 1996).

Keyword: Schizophrenia; Aggression
Link ID: 1833 - Posted: 04.09.2002

by Elizabeth F. Loftus, Ph.D., and Deborah Davis, Ph.D. Psychiatric Times April 2002 Vol. XIX Issue 4 Several years ago, in a widely circulated Peanuts cartoon, Lucy hung out her shingle and offered psychiatric help in recovering repressed memories. She told Charlie Brown: "The fact that you can't remember being abducted by aliens and satanically abused is proof that it really happened." About that same time, Walter Goodman reviewed Ofra Bikel's award-winning television program Divided Memories for the New York Times. His review, "Growth Industry: Helping Recall Sexual Abuse," asked if repressed-memory therapy was a cure or a fad. By the time that Divided Memories aired, thousands of people, mostly women, had recovered memories of extreme sexual abuse that had allegedly been totally repressed. A small percentage later recanted their stories, and some sued their therapists for planting false memories.

Keyword: Learning & Memory
Link ID: 1832 - Posted: 04.09.2002

Protein packaging may enhance MRI contrast. PHILIP BALL Images of body tissues and organs could soon be brighter and sharper thanks to a technique developed by Italian chemists. They have made the chemical contrast agents used in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) produce a stronger signal by trapping them in protein cages just 12 millionths of a millimetre (nanometres) or so wide1. Such improvements increase the contrast of the images, so they should reveal more detailed information, enabling doctors to better discriminate between different tissue types. The researchers, Silvio Aime and co-workers at the University of Turin, hope to persuade their protein cages to latch onto particular cells, as this would help them to pinpoint diseased tissues. One of the best MRI contrast agents is a molecule containing atoms of the element gadolinium. Injected into the bloodstream, the gadolinium compound accumulates in abnormal tissues such as scar tissue and tumours, so they become brighter in MRI scans. The agent is ultimately passed out of the body in urine. * Aime, S., Frullano, L. & Crich, S.G. Compartmentalization of a gadolinium complex in the apoferritin cavity: a route to obtain high relaxivity contrast agents for mangetic resonance imaging. Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 41, 1017 - 1019, (2002). © Nature News Service / Macmillan Magazines Ltd 2002

Keyword: Brain imaging
Link ID: 1831 - Posted: 06.24.2010

ORLANDO, Fla., — Researchers at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine have identified a set of compounds that appear to overcome an important barrier to regenerating damaged nerves. Their findings could lead to new treatments for spinal cord injury, multiple sclerosis and other neurological conditions. Targeting a newly discovered mechanism that inhibits the growth of damaged nerves, the researchers found that these compounds caused dissected rat nerves to regenerate under controlled laboratory conditions. Findings were described today at the 223rd national meeting of the American Chemical Society, the world’s largest scientific society. The results add to a growing body of evidence that repairing spinal cord injury — once thought impossible — may one day occur, says Ronald L. Schnaar, Ph.D., a professor in the Department of Pharmacology at the university, located in Baltimore, Md., and lead investigator in the study.

Keyword: Regeneration; Glia
Link ID: 1830 - Posted: 06.24.2010

ORLANDO, Fla., — Pregnant or nursing women may be able to reduce their chances of developing postpartum depression and improve the neurological development of their babies by increasing their consumption of the essential fatty acid DHA, according to David Kyle, Ph.D., the U.S. director of the Mother and Child Foundation. DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) is an omega-3 fatty acid mostly found in fish like tuna and salmon and in algae. Approximately 15-20 percent of women who give birth in the United States develop postpartum depression, according to Kyle, who spoke today at the 223rd national meeting of the American Chemical Society, the world’s largest scientific society. “We believe that the high incidence of postpartum depression in the United States may be triggered by a low dietary intake of DHA,” he said. Kyle’s organization studies nutrition for mothers and its effect on their babies. While DHA has been recognized as beneficial to infants, there has been less public awareness of the apparent link between DHA and postpartum depression, according to Kyle.

Keyword: Depression; Development of the Brain
Link ID: 1829 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Tampa, FL — A gene implicated in Alzheimer’s disease makes it harder for the brain to recover memory functions after brain injury, according to a new study by researchers at the University of South Florida and the Veteran’s Administration Defense and Veterans Head Injury Program. The study is published in the April 9 issue of the journal Neurology. This is the first study in humans to show that recovering memory after brain injury is harder for people who have the E4 type of the apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene – which is already known to influence Alzheimer’s disease. "Although APOE has been implicated in traumatic brain injury recovery before, this is the first time that is has been associated with a specific deficit," said lead author Fiona Crawford, PhD, of the Roskamp Institute at USF.

Keyword: Alzheimers; Brain Injury/Concussion
Link ID: 1828 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Tiny Australian biotech Prana has an experimental drug that shows preliminary promise in altering the disease's progression Inside the recesses of the brain, neurons carry a protein called amyloid, which researchers believe may play a crucial role in the onset of Alzheimer's. For reasons still not completely understood, the protein builds into a plaque in people who have the disease, amassing in certain regions of the brain and possibly disrupting signals between brain cells. Researchers are studying whether this may lead to symptoms of the degenerative brain disease that afflicts 4 million Americans -- more than 12% of the population over age 60. Now, a tiny Australian company headed by one of the world's leading Alzheimer's researchers -- Colin Masters, medical professor at University of Western Australia -- believes it may have accomplished something that a dozen of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world have been unable to do. On Apr. 4, Melbourne-based Prana Biotechnology (PRNAF ) announced clinical-trial results for its experimental compound, PBT-1, suggesting that the drug appears to lower the level of amyloid in patients' blood and slows the progression of the disease. Prana's trials involved just 32 patients (16 actually took PBT-1), so it's way too early to be calling its results a major breakthrough. But the results are encouraging. Copyright 2002 , by The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. All rights reserved.

Keyword: Alzheimers
Link ID: 1826 - Posted: 04.09.2002

A form of Mad Cow Disease, which effects Elk and Deer is spreading westwards across North America and Canada. Officials have reported cases in captive herds, which will now have to be culled. Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD), or as it is more commonly known, Mad Elk Disease, has been found before in wild deer as well as wild and captive elk. There are also reports of the first case of the disease in mules. Cases of Mad Elk Disease have been found for the first time on the west side of the Rocky Mountains, indicating that CWD had crossed the US continental divide. (C) BBC

Keyword: Prions
Link ID: 1825 - Posted: 04.08.2002

By REUTERS WASHINGTON, (Reuters) — A single dose of an antibody that cleans up brain-clogging proteins improves memory in mice and could be a step toward an Alzheimer's disease vaccine for people, researchers reported today. The experiment, reported in the journal Nature Neuroscience, also sheds new light on the causes of Alzheimer's, which affects four million Americans. A team at Lilly Research Laboratories in Indianapolis, owned by Eli Lilly; Washington University in St. Louis; and Université Louis Pasteur in Strasbourg, France, has been reporting steady progress in mice with an antibody called m266. In the mice, which are genetically engineered to develop a syndrome similar to Alzheimer's, the antibody homes in on the beta amyloid peptide, which forms the brain-clogging "plaques" seen in the disease. Copyright 2002 The New York Times Company

Keyword: Alzheimers
Link ID: 1824 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Protein regulates how neurons relay signals through brain cells, UCI team finds Irvine, Calif., — UC Irvine researchers have found a novel role for a protein linked to another known protein that causes the brain plaques in Alzheimer's disease. The findings provide a greater understanding of the molecular events that underlie this degenerative brain disease, and could affect the way researchers are currently looking for treatments for Alzheimer's. The study appears in the April 2 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. UCI neurobiologists Frank LaFerla and Malcolm Leissring identified an important function for this protein, called AICD, whose normal activity was previously unknown. The researchers found that AICD is involved in regulating calcium signaling, which nerve cells in the brain use to communicate and relay chemical "messages" through a cell and is vital in maintaining cell health. © copyright 2001 UC Regents

Keyword: Alzheimers
Link ID: 1823 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Mobility, not muscle, might be the secret of arachnid male success. JOHN WHITFIELD For a male spider, bigger isn't necessarily better. In many species, smaller males win the mating game by being nimbler climbers, say researchers. Spiders show some of the most extreme size differences between the sexes in nature. A female black widow, for example, is 100 times heavier than a male. Female spiders generally stay put and let males come to them. For the male, this often involves a perilous vertical ascent. * Moya-Larano, J., Halaj, J. & Wise, D.H. Climbing to reach females: Romeo should be small. Evolution, 56, 420 - 425, (2002). © Nature News Service / Macmillan Magazines Ltd 2002

Keyword: Sexual Behavior
Link ID: 1822 - Posted: 06.24.2010

DURHAM, N.C. -- Duke University Medical Center researchers have discovered the brain region that automatically watches for patterns in sequences of events, even when the pattern emerges by random happenstance. According to the scientists, such compulsive pattern-perception evolved to enable humans in the natural world to escape danger, for example by recognizing that a nearby twig snap and a growl signaled a looming predator. However, they said, in today's artificial world such pattern perception also gives rise to maladaptive superstitions such as the gambler's belief that a pair of dice is "due" to roll a seven. In an article posted online April 8, 2002, in Nature Neuroscience, researchers Scott Huettel, Beau Mack and Gregory McCarthy reported experiments in which they asked subjects to watch simple random sequences of a circle or a square flash onto a screen. During the experiments, the scientists imaged the subjects' brains using a high-resolution functional MRI (fMRI) machine in the medical center's Brain Imaging and Analysis Center. The center is a joint facility of Duke and the University of North Carolina.

Keyword: Attention; Vision
Link ID: 1821 - Posted: 04.08.2002

Jay Ingram One of the challenges to understanding Alzheimer's disease is to be able to assemble all the signs of the disease into a sensible picture. There are several: the deposits of junk proteins in brain cells; the death of the cells themselves; actual shrinkage of parts of the brain; and, most obvious, the all-too-familiar symptoms. Now some dramatic brain imaging studies are providing clues to how this all comes together. The most recent study was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences by a group in England. It produced images of the progress of the disease in people, some of whom hadn't actually begun to exhibit any symptoms but were known to have a familial predisposition to Alzheimer's. Brain imaging cannot reveal events inside brain cells, or even the death of individual cells, but it can show where the brain is shrinking. In this study, the first signs of trouble appear in the part of the brain called the hippocampus, which is known to be important for memory. There is a dramatic loss of tissue in this relatively small part of the brain early in the disease process. Dramatic, in that the amount of brain tissue loss can range up to 80 per cent or more. Early, because it is already underway before any symptoms of the disease are apparent. Copyright 1996-2002.

Keyword: Alzheimers; Brain imaging
Link ID: 1820 - Posted: 04.08.2002