Curated News: Featured: MedWire

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Newly released research findings from University of Utah neuroscientists assert that there is no evidence within brain imaging that indicates some people are right-brained or left-brained. For years in popular culture, the terms left-brained and right-brained have come to refer to personality types, with an assumption that some people use the right side of their brain more, while some use the left side more. Following a two-year study, University of Utah researchers have debunked that myth through identifying specific networks in the left and right brain that process lateralized functions.

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Women with a history of childhood physical abuse are more likely to become obese adults, according to a new study by University of Toronto researchers. Results indicate that women who were physically abused in childhood were more likely to be obese than women from non-abusive homes

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The study, published in the August issue of Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, the scientific journal of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI), found there is an increased risk of ADHD in boys that have a history of allergy or asthma. The study also found an even stronger risk associated with milk intolerance.”

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School lunch consumption and two hours or more of daily TV viewing are linked with obesity for middle school children, but a new study in Pediatrics also reveals gender differences in the habits leading to weight gain for girls and boys.

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Pregnant women whose labors are induced or augmented may have an increased risk of bearing children with autism, especially if the baby is male, according to a large, retrospective analysis by researchers at Duke Medicine and the University of Michigan.

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About 20 percent of cardiac arrest survivors report having a near death experience with visions and perceptions, but are the experiences real? A University of Michigan study suggests the dying brain is capable of well-organized electrical activity during the early stages of clinical death. The study in PNAS provides the first scientific framework for the near-death experience.

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A team of neuroscientists has identified a modification to a protein in laboratory mice linked to conditions associated with Alzheimer’s Disease. Their findings also point to a potential therapeutic intervention for alleviating memory-related disorders.

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Meridian Health, a leading New Jersey health care system, has recently earned the highest designated Chest Pain Center Accreditation by the Society of Cardiovascular Patient Care (SCPC), a global not-for-profit organization committed to leading the fight to eliminate heart disease as the number one cause of death worldwide. As the only health care system in New Jersey to receive this recognition, Meridian distinguishes itself as providing the best care available for patients who present with symptoms of a heart attack.

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Scientists at Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute have identified a key factor that regulates the autophagy process, a kind of cleansing mechanism for cells in which waste material and cellular debris is gobbled up to protect cells from damage, and in turn, modulates aging.

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Before the digital age, neuroscientists got their information in the library like the rest of us. But the field’s explosion has created nearly 2 million papers -- more data than any researcher can read and absorb in a lifetime.

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Drinking two cups of hot chocolate a day may help older people keep their brains healthy and their thinking skills sharp, according to a study published in the August 7, 2013, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

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Pregnant women regularly consume food and beverages containing toxins believed to pose potential risks to developing fetuses, according to researchers at the University of California in Riverside and San Diego, suggesting that health care providers must do more to counsel their patients about the dangers of hidden toxins in the food supply.

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When it comes to some of the health hazards of light at night, a new study in hamsters suggests that the color of the light can make a big difference.

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Smokers discovered they smoked less even when they didn't mean to reduce their habit.

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The strikingly high prevalence of Type 2 diabetes in the American South can be partially traced to rapid economic growth between 1950 and 1980, new research suggests.

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Researchers at Missouri University of Science and Technology have developed a type of glass implant that could one day be used to repair injured bones in the arms, legs and other areas of the body that are most subject to the stresses of weight.

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A new stem cell-based approach to studying epilepsy has yielded a surprising discovery about what causes one form of the disease, and may help in the search for better medicines to treat all kinds of seizure disorders.

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Newly published research by investigators at the Johns Hopkins Children's Center and the Johns Hopkins Institute of Genetic Medicine reveals that a faulty genetic pathway already known for its role in some connective tissue disorders is also a potent player in many types of allergies. Scientists have long understood that allergies are the result of a complex interplay between environment and genes, but now, in what investigators believe is a scientific first, a single genetic pathway has been implicated in an array of allergic disorders.

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Researchers have developed a new screening and tracking tool for diagnosing autism. The method holds promise as a method to introduce interventions.

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Prominent sports medicine physician Dr. Pietro Tonino has some blunt advice for parents of high school athletes who want to play football this fall: Don’t let them do it.

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A new poll shows 82 percent of adults support banning smoking in cars when children under 13 are riding in the vehicle.

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Painstaking new analysis of the genetic sequence of the X chromosome—long perceived as the “female” counterpart to the male-associated Y chromosome—reveals that large portions of the X have evolved to play a specialized role in sperm production.

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New research in the Journal of Newborns & Infant Nursing Reviews concludes that so-called “kangaroo care” (KC), the skin-to-skin and chest-to-chest touching between baby and mother, offers developmentally appropriate therapy for hospitalized preterm infants.

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A new study from neuroscientists at the Wayne State University School of Medicine provides the first novel insights into the neural origins of hot flashes in menopausal women in years. The study may inform and eventually lead to new treatments for those who experience the sudden but temporary episodes of body warmth, flushing and sweating.

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Scientists have created a virtual model of the brain that daydreams like humans do. They hope the model will help them understand why certain portions of the brain work together when a person is mentally idle.

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Researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have found that nerves play a critical role in both the development and spread of prostate tumors. Their findings, using both a mouse model and human prostate tissue, may lead to new ways to predict the aggressiveness of prostate cancer and to novel therapies for preventing and treating the disease. The study published online today in the July 12 edition of Science.

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Mexican American children are experiencing substantial burdens of obesity, pre-diabetes, and other health problems which historically would have been expected to develop much later in life. The findings of a new study by Texas Biomed scientists in San Antonio argue for early screening and intervention to delay or avoid chronic health problems as these children age.

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Older people with Alzheimer’s disease are less likely to also have cancer, and older people with cancer are less likely to also have Alzheimer’s disease, according to the largest study to date on the topic, which appears in the July 10, 2013, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

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Indiana University scientists have transformed mouse embryonic stem cells into key structures of the inner ear. The discovery provides new insights into the sensory organ's developmental process and sets the stage for laboratory models of disease, drug discovery and potential treatments for hearing loss and balance disorders.

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Depression down among adults over 50, including elderly age 80-84; signs of increased depression in slice of late middle age population.

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Drugs that help millions of people cope with acid reflux may also cause cardiovascular disease. It is the first time researchers have shown how proton pump inhibitors, or PPIs, might cause cardiovascular problems.

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The rates of regional brain loss and cognitive decline caused by aging and the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) are higher for women and for people with a key genetic risk factor for AD, say researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine in a study published online July 4 in the American Journal of Neuroradiology.

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New research from the University of Adelaide shows for the first time that immune cells known as macrophages are critical to fertility by creating a healthy hormone environment in the uterus.

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You are what you eat – and so are your offspring. And in the title bout featuring protein versus sugar, protein is the winner. That’s what a researcher at The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) found while studying the fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster) as part of a multi-institutional team.

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According to a study supervised by Ithaca College’s Exercise and Sport Sciences Chair Thomas Swensen, betaine—a nutrient found in shellfish and beets—boosts athletic performance by nearly six percent when added to a sports drink.

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Aspirin has been widely used for more than 50 years as a common, inexpensive blood thinner for patients with heart disease and stroke, but doctors have little understanding of how it works and why some people benefit and others don’t.

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Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute scientists have discovered a protein that regulates synaptic ion channels that have been tied to bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.

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On July 2nd, JoVE will publish a video article showing the details of a technique developed by researchers to improve language function in stroke patients with chronic speech-language impairment.

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A study by researchers at Hospital for Special Surgery has provided the first evidence that the shape of a person’s knee could be a factor in the decision of whether a patient should undergo anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction after an ACL tear.

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A key brain structure that regulates emotions works differently in preschoolers with depression compared with their healthy peers, according to new research at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

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Researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center have discovered a mechanism that triggers chronic inflammation in Alzheimer’s, atherosclerosis and type-2 diabetes. The results, published today in Nature Immunology, suggest a common biochemical thread to multiple diseases and point the way to a new class of therapies that could treat chronic inflammation in these non-infectious diseases without crippling the immune system. Alzheimer’s, atherosclerosis and type-2 diabetes—diseases associated with aging and inflammation—affect more than 100 million Americans.

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New research reveals that the likely culprit behind Alzheimer's has a different molecular structure than current drugs' target -- perhaps explaining why current medications produce little improvement in patients.

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Summer means more hours of daylight and for many, it contributes to trouble falling asleep. More than 40 million Americans suffer from chronic sleep disorders, resulting in $18 billion in cost to employers due to sleep loss issues.”The inability to get a good night's sleep can be a complex issue, and is not as easy to cure as telling people to count sheep,” says John Wilson, MD, neurologist at Gottlieb Memorial Hospital, part of Loyola University Health System.

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People who have a traumatic brain injury (TBI) may be more likely to have a future stroke, according to research that appears in the June 26, 2013, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

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For the first time, researchers have restored significant bladder function through nerve regeneration in rats with the most severe spinal cord injuries (SCI). The breakthrough paired a traditional nerve bridge graft with a novel combination of scar degrading and growth factor treatments to grow new nerve cells from the thoracic level to the lower spinal cord region.

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A new heart valve that can be implanted inside an existing valve will help adults with congenital heart disease avoid open heart surgeries.

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Scientists led by a UCSF neurology researcher are reporting that they have identified the likely genetic mechanism that causes some patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) to quickly progress to a debilitating stage of the disease while other patients progress much more slowly.

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Well-rested teenagers tend to make more healthful food choices than their sleep-deprived peers, according to a study led by Lauren Hale, PhD, Associate Professor of Preventive Medicine at Stony Brook University School of Medicine. The finding, presented at SLEEP 2013, the annual meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies, may be key to understanding the link between sleep and obesity.

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Elevated antibodies to gluten proteins of wheat found in children with autism in comparison to those without autism. Results from a new study also indicated an association between the elevated antibodies and the presence of gastrointestinal symptoms in the affected children. They did not find any connection, however, between the elevated antibodies and celiac disease, an autoimmune disorder known to be triggered by gluten.

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One in four people who survive a stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA) suffer from symptoms of PTSD within the 1st year post-event, and one in nine experience chronic PTSD more than a year later. The data, e-published by PLOS ONE, suggest that each year nearly 300,000 stroke/TIA survivors will develop PTSD symptoms as a result of their health scare.