Health News

NPY and leptin receptor in the hypothalamus of rats with chronic immobilization stress

Date: Jul-26-2013
A recent study entitled "Neuropeptide Y and leptin receptor expression in the hypothalamus of rats with chronic immobilization stress" showed that the body weight and food intake of rats subjected to chronic immobilization stress were significantly decreased; the expression of leptin receptor and the co-localization coeffient in these leptic receptor neurons in the arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus were both upregulated, while the number of neuropeptide Y neurons was decreased. These findings which were in Neural Regeneration Research (Vol. 8, No...

Women want answers on sex after heart attacks

Date: Jul-26-2013
Women want their doctors' help in overcoming fears about having sex after suffering a heart attack, according to research published in the Journal of the American Heart Association. Researchers from the University of Chicago surveyed 17 women who were selected from a trial called TRIUMPH (Translational Research Investigating Underlying Disparities in Acute Myocardial Infarction Patients' Health Status). This is a large study analyzing sexual outcomes following myocardial infarction (heart attacks)...

A billion people could benefit from a natural pest control protein effective against hookworm

Date: Jul-26-2013
A benign crystal protein, produced naturally by bacteria and used as an organic pesticide, could be a safe, inexpensive treatment for parasitic worms in humans and provide effective relief to over a billion people around the world. Researchers from the University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, report on this potentially promising solution in a study published ahead of print in the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology...

Psychopathic criminals do not lack empathy, they just fail to use it automatically

Date: Jul-26-2013
Criminal psychopathy can be both repulsive and fascinating, as illustrated by the vast number of books and movies inspired by this topic. Offenders diagnosed with psychopathy pose a significant threat to society, because they are more likely to harm other individuals and to do so again after being released. A brain imaging study in the Netherlands shows individuals with psychopathy have reduced empathy while witnessing the pains of others. When asked to empathize, however, they can activate their empathy...

The Blue Brain Project creates neural simulations that hint at the origin of brain waves

Date: Jul-26-2013
For almost a century, scientists have been studying brain waves to learn about mental health and the way we think. Yet the way billions of interconnected neurons work together to produce brain waves remains unknown. Now, scientists from EPFL's Blue Brain Project in Switzerland, at the core of the European Human Brain Project, and the Allen Institute for Brain Science in the United States, show in the journal Neuron how a complex computer model is providing a new tool to solve the mystery. The brain is composed of many different types of neurons, each of which carry electrical signals...

How do babies learn avoidance of heights?

Date: Jul-26-2013
Infants develop a fear of heights as a result of their experiences moving around their environments, according to new research published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. Learning to avoid cliffs, ledges, and other precipitous hazards is essential to survival and yet human infants don't show an early wariness of heights. As soon as human babies begin to crawl and scoot, they enter a phase during which they'll go over the edge of a bed, a changing table, or even the top of a staircase...

The dangerous new Middle East coronavirus may have an African origin

Date: Jul-26-2013
The MERS-coronavirus is regarded as a dangerous novel pathogen: Almost 50 people have died from infection with the virus since it was first discovered in 2012. To date all cases are connected with the Arabian peninsula. Scientists from the University Bonn (Germany) and South Africa have now detected a virus in the faeces of a South African bat that is genetically more closely related to MERS-CoV than any other known virus. The scientists therefore believe that African bats may play a role in the evolution of MERS-CoV predecessor viruses...

Stem cell gene therapy used to treat a fatal genetic brain disease in mice for the first time

Date: Jul-26-2013
Scientists from The University of Manchester have used stem cell gene therapy to treat a fatal genetic brain disease in mice for the first time. The method was used to treat Sanfilippo - a fatal inherited condition which causes progressive dementia in children - but could also benefit several neurological, genetic diseases. Researchers behind the study, published in the journal Molecular Therapy this month, are now hoping to bring a treatment to trial in patients within two years...

Study shows good doctor-patient relationships facilitate discussions about health care costs

Date: Jul-26-2013
Strong relationships with physicians, particularly those that are long standing, are likely to increase patients' openness to talk about health care costs when decisions are being made about their treatment options. According to a new study[1] by Marion Danis from the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center[2] in the US, and colleagues, rushed visits with insufficient time to talk about important issues can undermine efforts to bring sensitive topics like costs into the doctor-patient relationship and can be counterproductive...

Adolescent girls who walk to school experience improved cognitive performance when compared to other modes of transport

Date: Jul-26-2013
Cognitive performance of adolescent girls who walk to school is better than that of girls who travel by bus or car. Moreover, cognitive performance is also better in girls who take more than 15 minutes than in those who live closer and have a shorter walk to school. These are some of the conclusions of a study published in Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine...