Newsline — Friday, August 28, 2015 9:00
Study Shows No Benefit of Omega-3 Supplements for Cognitive Decline
The Molecular Origins of Parkinson’s Disease
Thursday, August 27, 2015 9:00
Researchers from The Rockefeller University and Columbia University recently used a new strategy to help identify the molecular changes that drive the loss of neurons in Parkinson’s disease. Published in the journal Nature Neuroscience, the research identified two proteins that appear to have an effect in the set of neurons most affected by the disease. “Within a dying nerve cell, the levels of hundreds of proteins change,” said the study’s lead author. “Some of these shifts are consequences, others are causes. We set out to find which cause cell death among neurons.” Using a new combination of techniques, researchers were able to identify two “master regulatory molecules.” This discovery offers an unexpected explanation as to why one population of neurons degenerates in Parkinson’s disease, while those similar do not suffer from the same degree of degeneration. To read more about this study, click here.
Kidney Impairment Decreases Blood Flow to the Brain
Wednesday, August 26, 2015 13:00
According to a recent population-based study published in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, impaired kidney function may lead to decreased blood flow to the brain. The study’s findings linked poor kidney function to stroke and dementia. The results, independent from known cardiovascular risk factors, provide a possible explanation for why stroke and dementia are more common in patients with chronic kidney disease compared to the general population. “ … Given that kidney disease and hypoperfusion of the brain are both possibly reversible, there might be an opportunity to explore how improving these conditions can ultimately reduce one’s risk of developing brain disease,” said the study’s lead researchers. The findings from the study also show that the kidney-brain link is not confined to patients with chronic kidney disease, but extends to persons from the general population without overt disease. To read more about this study, click here.
Hearing Loss Negatively Affects Quality of Life
Wednesday, August 26, 2015 9:00
According to research presented at the American Psychological Association’s annual meeting, hearing loss is undertreated despite evidence that hearing-aid technology can significantly lessen depression and anxiety, in addition to improving cognitive function. In a study of 2,304 people with hearing loss, those who didn’t wear hearing aids were 50-percent more likely to suffer from depression than people who did wear them. Additionally, hearing aid users were much more likely to participate in social activities regularly. “Anger, frustration, depression and anxiety are all common among people who find themselves hard of hearing,” said the lead author of the study. A technology known as a hearing loop could also help those with hearing loss become more social and involved. Like Wi-Fi for hearing aids, the technology uses an inductive loop to transmit sound signals directly into an in-ear hearing aid or cochlear implant, where it is received by an inductive device called a telecoil. A technology known as a “hearing loop” could also help those with hearing loss become more social and involved. Like Wi-Fi for hearing aids, the…
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Can Music Help People with Epilepsy?
Tuesday, August 25, 2015 9:00
According to new research presented at the American Psychological Association’s annual meeting, the brains of people with epilepsy appear to react differently to music compared to those who do not have the disorder. During the study, researchers from The Ohio State University compared the neural processing abilities of the brains of people with and without epilepsy using an electroencephalogram, and collected data from 21 patients between 2012 and 2014. The researchers recorded brainwave patterns while patients listened to 10 minutes of silence; followed by either Mozart’s Sonata in D Major, Andante Movement II (K448) or John Coltrane’s rendition of My Favorite Things, followed by a second 10-minute period of silence, the other of the two musical pieces and finally a third 10-minute period of silence. The order of the music was randomized, meaning some participants listened to Mozart first and other participants listened to Coltrane first. The researchers found significantly higher levels of brainwave activity in participants when they were listening to music. More importantly, brainwave activity in people with epilepsy tended to synchronize more with the…
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Study Finds Where Our Brain Stores the Time and Place of Memories
Tuesday, August 25, 2015 9:00
For the first time, an exact location within the brain has been shown to be the resting place of memories and other records of time. Researchers from Ohio State University conducted a study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in which participants used a smartphone app to create specific memories of locations and actions, which were then tracked through neural imaging in later tests. “If the participants didn’t recall the images, we didn’t see this relationship,” said the lead author of the study. “We also don’t get this effect if we only asked about the time and not the place of the memory. We found that time and space are very much intertwined in our representations of memories. We found that the hippocampus represents time and space for at least a month of memories spanning up to 30 kilometers (19 miles) in space. It is the first time we’ve been able to study memories on the scale of our lives.” To learn more about this study, click here.
New Clues Found to Vision Loss in Macular Degeneration
Monday, August 24, 2015 9:00
A pathway has been identified that is responsible for the formation of atypical blood vessels which can lead to blindness in the case of macular degeneration. Researchers from the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis reported in the journal Nature Communications that this immune-system dysfunction could be the primary mechanism for macular-degeneration based vision loss, spanning samples from the 1980s to the present day. “Our research increases our understanding of how specific immune cells can contribute to vision loss in macular degeneration, and it also may help us identify treatments by giving us a molecular pathway to target,” said the principal investigator of the study. “When we inhibit this pathway, we can alter the immune cells and interfere with abnormal blood vessel growth in mice. Doing so might open therapeutic avenues to halt vision loss or even restore sight in people who have macular degeneration, the leading cause of blindness in people over 50.” To learn more about this study, click here.
Higher Risk of Death from Heart Attack and Stroke for People with Spinal Arthritis
Friday, August 21, 2015 13:00
A study proposes that there is a direct link between ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and the likelihood of fatal strokes or heart attacks, when compared to the general population. The research, conducted by specialists from Toronto Western Hospital’s Spodyloarthritis Program, was published in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine, stating a 35-percent higher chance of death from heart attack and 60-percent increase in stroke mortality for those already diagnosed with AS. “Another additional factor to consider is that male AS patients have 82-percent higher risk of vascular mortality compared to females with AS,” said a lead researcher. “This further underscores the importance of understanding all of the additional health risks associated with AS and the need for more research to fully understand the connection between chronic inflammation and heart disease and stroke.” To learn more about this study, click here.
New, Rapid Dementia-screening Tool Rivals Standard Clinical Evaluations
Friday, August 21, 2015 9:00
A new method of screening for dementia may expedite the process greatly, possibly trimming the procedure from five hours to five minutes. Researchers from Florida Atlantic University wrote in the journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia that their new method, known as Quick Dementia Rating System (QDRS), has proven to be comparable to leading traditional procedures despite its notable brevity. “Most patients never receive an evaluation by a neurologist, geriatric psychiatrist or geriatrician skilled in dementia diagnoses and staging. Early detection will be important to enable future interventions at the earliest stages when they are likely to be most effective,” said Galvin. “The QDRS has the potential to provide a clearer, more accurate staging for those patients who are unable to see these more specialized clinicians and get them the treatment, referrals and community services they so desperately need.” To learn more about this study, click here.
Receptors in Brain Linked to Schizophrenia, Autism
Thursday, August 20, 2015 13:00
Loss of a major receptor within a group of critical inhibitory neurons could be linked with the development of autism, schizophrenia and other neurodevelopmental disorders. A new study conducted by the Salk Institute for Biological Sciences, published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry, suggests that the mGluR5 receptor is a major player in the parvalbumin-positive interneurons, and that tampering with its development led to behavioral deficits in mice, which resembled symptoms of the most common developmental conditions. “We found that without this receptor in the parvalbumin cells, mice have many serious behavioral deficits,” said the lead researcher of the study. “And a lot of them really mimic closely what we see in schizophrenia. The cells are still alive, and if we can figure out how to go in and change some of these molecular switches, we might actually be able to put the cells back into healthy, functioning states.” To learn more about this study, click here.