Health News

Study identifies essential molecule for transport of protein from neuron cell body to axon

Date: Jan-14-2014
Scientists have solved a longstanding mystery of the central nervous system, showing how a key protein gets to the right spot to launch electrical impulses that enable communication of nerve signals to and from the brain.Nerve impulses are critical because they are required for neurons to send information about senses, movement, thinking and feeling to other cell types in the neural circuitry.

Discovery of a new pathway for neuron repair

Date: Jan-14-2014
Penn State University molecular biologists have discovered a brand-new pathway for repairing nerve cells that could have implications for faster and improved healing. The researchers describe their findings in a paper titled "Dendrite injury triggers DLK-independent regeneration," which will be published in the 30 January 2014 issue of the journal Cell Reports. These findings demonstrate that dendrites, the component of nerve cells that receive information from the brain, have the capacity to regrow after an injury.

Sleep is the price we pay for learning

Date: Jan-14-2014
Why do animals ranging from fruit flies to humans all need to sleep? After all, sleep disconnects them from their environment, puts them at risk and keeps them from seeking food or mates for large parts of the day.Two leading sleep scientists from the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health say that their synaptic homeostasis hypothesis of sleep or "SHY" challenges the theory that sleep strengthens brain connections.

New home-based test could detect early Alzheimer's symptoms

Date: Jan-13-2014
According to the Alzheimer's Association, more than 5 million people in the US suffer from Alzheimer's disease. But new research suggests that early symptoms of the disease could now be detected early with the help of a 15-minute home-based test, meaning potential treatments could be started much earlier.Researchers from the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, led by Dr. Douglas Scharre of the Division of Cognitive Neurology at the university, published their findings in The Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences.

Infection-fighting cellular process 'a cause of childhood leukemia'

Date: Jan-13-2014
The American Cancer Society states that leukemia is the most common cancer in children and teens in the US, accounting for 1 in 3 cancers. Now, researchers have found that a cellular mechanism that fights off infection may contribute to the development of the disease in youngsters, opening doors for further research into treatment for the condition.Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is the most common form of leukemia among children.

Higher depression risk in boys who think they are underweight

Date: Jan-13-2014
The focus on teenage weight issues tends to center around girls, but boys are not immune to body image pressures. In two new studies, researchers found that teen boys of a healthy weight who think they are too skinny have a higher risk of being depressed, compared with other boys - even those who think they are overweight.The findings, which were published in the American Psychological Association's journal Psychology of Men & Masculinity, also suggest this fear of being underweight prompts many young boys to turn to steroids.

Green spaces have long-lasting benefit for mental health

Date: Jan-13-2014
UK researchers who analyzed data that tracked people's health for 5 years after they moved to greener areas suggests not only that it improved their mental health, but also that the benefit lasted long afterward.Writing about their findings in the journal Environmental Science & Technology, researchers from the University of Exeter Medical School suggest creating more green spaces in towns and cities - for example parks and gardens - could bring lasting benefits to public health.

Brain training boosted older adults' mental skills

Date: Jan-13-2014
Researchers found that giving a group of older adults a brief course of mental or cognitive training helped to improve their reasoning ability and processing speed, and hold onto the gains for up to 10 years, compared with a group of untrained controls. Plus, those who received additional training for another 3 years improved even further.Cognitive decline is not uncommon among older adults and can seriously affect their ability to lead a normal life and carry out everyday tasks.

UC San Francisco and Quest Diagnostics launch collaboration to advance the field of precision medicine

Date: Jan-13-2014
Quest Diagnostics, the world's leading provider of diagnostic information services, and the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), the nation's leading university focused exclusively on health, have formed a collaboration to accelerate the translation of biomedical research into advanced diagnostics in the field of precision medicine, for improved patient care, treatment and outcomes. Initial clinical areas of focus include autism, oncology, neurology and women's health.

AVMA salutes U.S. Senate for unanimously passing veterinary medicine mobility bill

Date: Jan-13-2014
In a move that brings Congress one step closer to allowing veterinarians the complete ability to provide care to their animal patients beyond their clinics, the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) praised the U.S. Senate for its passage of the Veterinary Medicine Mobility Act (S. 1171).