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People with TBI may have long-term sleep disturbances

People who have had a traumatic brain injury (TBI) may still have sleep problems a year and a half after being injured, according to a study published in the April 27, 2016, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. In addition, people with TBI may also be unaware of just how much their sleep is disturbed.

28 Apr 2016

More neurological resources needed to manage Zika virus infections

WFN Zika-Info-Service: World Federation of Neurology establishes Work Group on Zika virus to support international efforts - Lack of neurological resources in countries most concerned by the virus.

28 Apr 2016

$Multidisciplinary experts assess effects of osteoporosis drugs on fracture healing$

Multidisciplinary experts assess effects of osteoporosis drugs on fracture healing

In people with osteoporosis, one fracture often leads to more fractures, and potentially a future of pain, disability, and poor quality of life. While studies have shown that such high-risk patients benefit from appropriate medication to reduce future fracture risk, more research is needed on the effect of osteoporosis medications on fracture healing.

28 Apr 2016

Diagnosing heart attacks in 1 hour: an interview with Dr Richard Body

Cardiac troponin is a highly sensitive and specific biomarker for myocardial injury but concentrations in the blood rise over several hours after the onset of an acute myocardial infarction.

28 Apr 2016

Researchers develop new quantitative assessment of motor control in kids with cerebral palsy

Children with cerebral palsy frequently undergo invasive surgeries -- lengthening tendons, rotating bones, transferring muscles to new locations -- in hopes of improving their physical ability to walk or move.

28 Apr 2016

Investigators explore possible causes for cancer recurrence after LRC

Although laparoscopic radical cystectomy (LRC) and robotic assisted radical cystectomy (RARC) continue to grow in popularity and are successful in the treatment of bladder cancer, they are still considered experimental approaches. Using data collected by the Section of Uro-Technology of the European Association of Urology (ESUT), a team of researchers found that about 5% of patients experienced unexpected relapses of cancer after LRC, even with favorable pathology.

27 Apr 2016

Scientists unravel mystery of disrupted communication between brain cells in Parkinson's patients

A possible cause has been found for the disrupted communication between brain cells exhibited by Parkinson's patients. Bettina Schwab, a researcher at the University of Twente in The Netherlands, discovered that this group of patients have increased concentrations of a certain type of protein. Ms Schwab defended her doctoral dissertation on Friday 22 April.

27 Apr 2016

Updated guidance on botulinum toxin formulations for four indications

The American Academy of Neurology has issued an update to its 2008 guidelines on the use of botulinum toxin for the treatment of spasticity, cervical dystonia, blepharospasm and migraine headache.

27 Apr 2016

Hydrocortisone drug can also prevent lung damage in premature babies

Research from Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago conducted in mice shows the drug hydrocortisone -- a steroid commonly used to treat a variety of inflammatory and allergic conditions -- can also prevent lung damage that often develops in premature babies treated with oxygen.

26 Apr 2016

Transforming MR images into body composition measurements: an interview with Olof Leinhard

Today's medical science utilizes relatively simple anthropometric measures that describe the body, such as body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference. All of these measures are approximations of the body with the intention to characterize what's inside reflecting underlying phenomena that underpin the risk for different diseases.

26 Apr 2016

Newly identified molecular pathway could lead to new treatments for reflux, incontinence disorders

Researchers at UMass Medical School have identified a new molecular pathway critical for maintaining the smooth muscle tone that allows the passage of materials through the digestive system.

25 Apr 2016

First breakthrough in gene therapy against aging

In September 2015, then 44 year-old CEO of BioViva USA Inc. Elizabeth Parrish received two of her own company's experimental gene therapies: one to protect against loss of muscle mass with age, another to battle stem cell depletion responsible for diverse age-related diseases and infirmities.

25 Apr 2016

Unique mouse model could help study genetic origins and potential treatments for ALS

University of Florida Health researchers have developed a unique mouse model that will allow researchers around the world to better study the genetic origins and potential treatments for a neurodegenerative brain disease that causes amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, often referred to as ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease, and frontotemporal dementia.

22 Apr 2016

Assessing body composition may help predict cardiovascular and total mortality

Researchers from the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA found that cardiovascular disease patients who have high muscle mass and low fat mass have a lower mortality risk than those with other body compositions. The findings also suggest that regardless of a person's level of fat mass, a higher level of muscle mass helps reduce the risk of death.

22 Apr 2016

CUMC researchers identify new neurodevelopmental syndrome

A multicenter research team led by Columbia University Medical Center has discovered a new neurodevelopmental syndrome and the genetic mutations that cause it. The discovery is an important step toward creating targeted therapies for individuals with this syndrome, which causes severe developmental delays, abnormal muscle tone, seizures, and eye complications.

22 Apr 2016

Microtubules affect mechanics of beating heart, study finds

On top of the meaning and mystery that humans heap on the heart, it is first and foremost, a muscle. And one that beats about once a second for a person's entire life, with no rest. Given its vital importance, it's ironic researchers have only recently made direct observations of its subcellular parts in motion.

22 Apr 2016

GSK3β inhibition may be potential therapeutic strategy for treating ACM

Arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy (ACM) is an inherited heart disease that results from mutations in genes that encode components of the cardiac desmosome, which forms the junction between cardiac muscle and the epithelium. Patients with ACM have an increased risk of sudden death due to the breakdown of the muscle wall of the heart with age.

22 Apr 2016

Subtle changes in protein-coding gene may cause different genetic disorders

It has been disorienting to the scientific and medical community as to why different subtle changes in a protein-coding gene causes many different genetic disorders in different patients -- including premature aging, nerve problems, heart problems and muscle problems. no other gene works like this. According to a new study, co-authored by Binghamton University faculty Eric Hoffman, it has to do with cell "commitment."

22 Apr 2016

Gladstone scientists bioengineer micro-scale heart tissues from stem cells

Scientists at the Gladstone Institutes have invented a new way to create three-dimensional human heart tissue from stem cells. The tissue can be used to model disease and test drugs, and it opens the door for a precision medicine approach to treating heart disease. Although there are existing techniques to make three-dimensional tissues from heart cells, the new method dramatically reduces the number of cells needed, making it an easier, cheaper, and more efficient system.

21 Apr 2016

Strength training lowers odds of death in older adults

Older adults who met twice-weekly strength training guidelines had lower odds of dying in a new analysis by researchers at Penn State College of Medicine, Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center and Columbia University. The study is the first to demonstrate the association in a large, nationally representative sample over an extended time period, particularly in an older population.

20 Apr 2016