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Metformin should be in the first line of defense against type 2 diabetes

A new review of studies confirms that the drug metformin should be in the first line of defense against type 2 diabetes. Using metformin alone can improve control of blood glucose, while also reducing risk factors for heart disease such as excess body weight, cholesterol levels and hypertension, the review found.

20 Jul 2005

Older-style antidepressants, as well as anticonvulsant drugs, can help ease the disabling pain caused by nerve tissue damage

For many years antidepressants, which are believed to work by dampening pain signals, have been the first-line drugs for neuropathic pain. "It is usual to start with an antidepressant like amitriptyline, and if this fails then try an anticonvulsant," says Phil Wiffen, a researcher at Churchill Hospital in Oxford, England. "The results of these meta-analyses suggest this is probably still the best approach to take."

19 Jul 2005

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) occurs far more frequently than generally believed

Although estimates vary widely, when combined with the milder afflictions of Alcohol Related Birth Defects (ARBD) and several others, the Centers for Disease Control puts the frequency of FAS/ARBD as high as one in 100.

19 Jul 2005

Vagal nerve stimulation, an innovative therapy for depression

The Saint Louis University Health Sciences Center medical team involved in the research and development of an innovative therapy for depression - vagal nerve stimulation (VNS) - is starting a new clinic for patients who have treatment-resistant depression.

19 Jul 2005

Researchers have identified a protein that is crucially involved in how our memories are stored and processed

University of Queensland researchers have identified a protein that is crucially involved in how our memories are stored and processed, paving the way for new strategies to treat conditions certain mental disorders.

18 Jul 2005

ACE inhibitors should be available at no cost to the 8 million Americans over age 65 who have diabetes

Nothing in life is free, the old saying goes. But maybe some things should be, according to a new University of Michigan Health System study.

18 Jul 2005

Discovery of a chemical messenger called neuropeptide Y (NPY) in taste bud cells

The tongue's ability to differentiate between sweet and bitter tastes may reside in the same taste bud cells, a new study reports.

18 Jul 2005

Nerve cells can also release neurotransmitters outside of synapses

Every neurobiology textbook invariably states that nerve cells communicate with each other through synapses, the specialized cell-cell contacts found at the end of the cells' threadlike extensions. In the journal Science, researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Sciences and the University of California at San Diego report that nerve cells, or neurons, may not have to rely on traditionally defined synapses to "talk" to each other.

18 Jul 2005

Scientists have begun to clarify how one of the body's molecules controls the trafficking of T cells through the blood

...lymph nodes and on to tissues to fight infection -- a crucial response that sometimes goes awry, attacking the body's own tissues and causing autoimmune diseases.

17 Jul 2005

Single mutation in a human sodium channel gene can trigger pain in people with primary erythromelalgia

Yale School of Medicine researchers report the first demonstration that a single mutation in a human sodium channel gene can trigger pain in people with an inherited pain syndrome known as primary erythromelalgia, according to a study published this month in the journal Brain.

13 Jul 2005

Transplanted neural stem cells may serve not only as replacement cells for tissue repair, but in some circumstances may also protect the brain from inflammation

Researchers at the San Raffaele Hospital (Milan, Italy) published unexpected results of studies in which immature nerve cells (adult mouse neural stem cells) injected into the blood of mice with MS-like disease were able to suppress the immune attacks that damage the brain and spinal cord tissues.

13 Jul 2005

Researchers gain better understanding of how nerves need to be reconnected after spinal cord injury

Nerve cells relay messages at blink-of-the-eye speeds by squirting chemicals called neurotransmitters across tiny gaps called synapses to awaiting message receptors. But lots of different receptors and neurotransmitters work simultaneously. Which goes where to send the proper message?

13 Jul 2005

Research shows key difference between the eye's light-detecting system and the nose's odor-detecting system

Johns Hopkins scientists have uncovered new details of how smelly things create signals in the nose that eventually go to the brain. The findings raise issues about how the process involved has been described for many years in biology textbooks.

13 Jul 2005

Study proves Lorenzo's Oil prevents rare disease in boys

U.S. researchers have confirmed that a treatment called Lorenzo's Oil can prevent the onset of a rare but devastating neurological disease in young boys, X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy or X-ALD.

12 Jul 2005

New insights into brain cell metabolism from PET and MRI scans

By discovering a crucial piece of submicroscopic information about how the brain converts fuel into energy for neurons, Cornell University biophysicists have gleaned new insights into brain cell metabolism that will allow neurologists to better interpret data from such diagnostic tests as positron emission tomography (PET) scans and a specialized magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) test.

12 Jul 2005

Congenital central hypoventilation syndrome (CCHS) offers clues to SIDS, sleep apnea

Imagine raising a child who stops breathing when falling asleep - and has to be reminded to visit the bathroom after drinking a Big Gulp. That's the dilemma faced by parents of children born with congenital central hypoventilation syndrome (CCHS).

11 Jul 2005

Researchers find molecule ephrin-B3 inhibits regrowth of spinal nerve cells

A molecule that helps the body's motor nerve cells grow along proper paths during embryonic development also plays a major role in inhibiting spinal-cord neurons from regenerating after injury, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found.

11 Jul 2005

Lorenzo's oil prevents onset of pediatric neurological disorder

Use of Lorenzo's Oil in young boys who have been diagnosed with but are not yet showing signs of a pediatric neurological disorder known as X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy (X-ALD) may prevent the disease from developing in the body. According to a study of male children published today in the Archives of Neurology, use of the oil prevented onset of the disease in a majority of cases.

11 Jul 2005

Research explains one of the fundamental mysteries of multiple sclerosis

Scientists have pinpointed a chemical messenger that frees some white blood cells from the body's normal constraints, allowing the cells to act like renegades that could damage nerves in the central nervous system. The work, to be published in the July 15 issue of the Journal of Immunology and just published on-line, helps explain one of the fundamental mysteries of multiple sclerosis (MS).

11 Jul 2005

Catchers' mitts do not adequately protect players' hands from injury

"We found signs of early blood vessel damage that could lead to significant symptoms and could end a player's career," said T. Adam Ginn, M.D., chief resident in orthopaedics at Wake Forest Baptist, and one of the study's researchers. "The gloves' current design does not protect the hand from trauma."

6 Jul 2005

Nerve News and Research

Metformin should be in the first line of defense against type 2 diabetes

Older-style antidepressants, as well as anticonvulsant drugs, can help ease the disabling pain caused by nerve tissue damage

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) occurs far more frequently than generally believed

Vagal nerve stimulation, an innovative therapy for depression

Researchers have identified a protein that is crucially involved in how our memories are stored and processed

ACE inhibitors should be available at no cost to the 8 million Americans over age 65 who have diabetes

Discovery of a chemical messenger called neuropeptide Y (NPY) in taste bud cells

Nerve cells can also release neurotransmitters outside of synapses

Scientists have begun to clarify how one of the body's molecules controls the trafficking of T cells through the blood

Single mutation in a human sodium channel gene can trigger pain in people with primary erythromelalgia

Transplanted neural stem cells may serve not only as replacement cells for tissue repair, but in some circumstances may also protect the brain from inflammation

Researchers gain better understanding of how nerves need to be reconnected after spinal cord injury

Research shows key difference between the eye's light-detecting system and the nose's odor-detecting system

Study proves Lorenzo's Oil prevents rare disease in boys

New insights into brain cell metabolism from PET and MRI scans

Congenital central hypoventilation syndrome (CCHS) offers clues to SIDS, sleep apnea

Researchers find molecule ephrin-B3 inhibits regrowth of spinal nerve cells

Lorenzo's oil prevents onset of pediatric neurological disorder

Research explains one of the fundamental mysteries of multiple sclerosis

Catchers' mitts do not adequately protect players' hands from injury

How ELRIG Is Helping Mid-Career Scientists Navigate Leadership, Career Change and Redundancy

The role of UV-Vis in biopharma QC

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