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Reducing the number of animals used in testing: EPA and endocrine disruptor testing requirements
Date: Nov-06-2013An original article by scientists at People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) evaluated acceptance of Other Scientifically Relevant Information (OSRI) by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the agency's Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program (EDSP) in lieu of requiring new testing on animals and found it to be low and at times inconsistent. The findings are published online in an "early view" edition of the journal Birth Defects Research Part B: Developmental and Reproductive Toxicology...
Sleepless surgeons operate as well as refreshed ones
Date: Nov-06-2013All surgery has its risks, but the prospect of being cut open by someone who has not slept the night before may not necessarily be cause for alarm. Researchers from the University of Western Ontario claim that there is no correlation between lack of sleep and adverse patient outcomes. In a study, published in JAMA, researchers challenged the idea that sleepy surgeons do not perform as well as their sleep-refreshed counterparts. In a retrospective cohort study using administrative health care databases in Ontario, Canada, Dr...
Link between stem cells and cognitive gain after brain injury
Date: Nov-06-2013A stem cell therapy previously shown to reduce inflammation in the critical time window after traumatic brain injury also promotes lasting cognitive improvement, according to preclinical research led by Charles Cox, M.D., at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) Medical School. The research was published in STEM CELLS Translational Medicine. Cellular damage in the brain after traumatic injury can cause severe, ongoing neurological impairment and inflammation. Few pharmaceutical options exist to treat the problem...
Depression 'second leading cause of disability worldwide'
Date: Nov-06-2013The Anxiety and Depression Association of America states that major depressive disorder is the leading cause of disability in the US. Now, new research has revealed that it is the second leading cause of disability worldwide. This is according to a study published in the journal PLOS Medicine...
New algorithm 'boosts accuracy' of physical activity apps
Date: Nov-06-2013There are many cell phone apps that track your physical activity. These are useful, not only for your own sense of achievement, but also for doctors who look to these apps to track a patient's movement and develop tailored treatments. Now, researchers have created a way to make these apps even more accurate. A team from Northwestern University in Chicago and Evanston say that previous research surrounding physical activity apps has shown that the majority of people who use them carry their cell phones in a bag, purse or pocket, or they attach it to a belt...
Study in mice may aid in the development of more effective treatments for anxiety disorders
Date: Nov-06-2013Excessive fear can develop after a traumatic experience, leading to anxiety disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder and phobias. During exposure therapy, an effective and common treatment for anxiety disorders, the patient confronts a fear or memory of a traumatic event in a safe environment, which leads to a gradual loss of fear. A new study in mice, published online in Neuron, reports that exposure therapy remodels an inhibitory junction in the amygdala, a brain region important for fear in mice and humans...
Simulation-based operating room team training improves performance & patient safety
Date: Nov-06-2013A study conducted by an inter-professional team of LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans faculty found that simulation-based operating room team training of medical and nursing students resulted in more effective teamwork by improving attitudes, behaviors, interaction and overall performance leading to potential increased patient safety and better clinical outcomes. The study is published online in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons. "Effective teamwork in the operating room is often undermined by the 'silo mentality' of the differing professions," says lead author John T...
Neuroimaging study sheds light on mechanisms of cognitive fatigue in multiple sclerosis
Date: Nov-06-2013A new study by Kessler Foundation scientists sheds light on the mechanisms underlying cognitive fatigue in individuals with multiple sclerosis. Cognitive fatigue is fatigue resulting from mental work rather than from physical labor. Genova H et al: Examination of cognitive fatigue in multiple sclerosis using functional magnetic resonance imaging and diffusion tensor imaging" was published in PlosOne. This is the first study to use neuroimaging to investigate aspects of cognitive fatigue. The study was funded by grants from the National MS Society and Kessler Foundation...
Thermal pain thresholds lower in those with congenital blindness
Date: Nov-06-2013An international team of scientists investigated whether congenitally blind subjects experience pain differently than sighted individuals. Their results, published in the current issue of PAIN®, reveal compelling evidence that congenitally blind individuals are hypersensitive to pain caused by thermal stimuli. The findings are important because a key biological function of acute pain is to prevent bodily injury. Vision plays a critical role, as it allows a person to immediately detect and avoid potentially hazardous situations...
In new model, kidney repair may not require stem cells
Date: Nov-06-2013Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI) researchers have a new model for how the kidney repairs itself, a model that adds to a growing body of evidence that mature cells are far more plastic than had previously been imagined. After injury, mature kidney cells dedifferentiate into more primordial versions of themselves, and then differentiate into the cell types needing replacement in the damaged tissue. This finding conflicts with a previously held theory that the kidney has scattered stem cell populations that respond to injury. The research appears online in PNAS Early Edition...
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