Newsline — Wednesday, July 4, 2012 8:00
TV Reporter Suffers Stroke-like Bell’s Palsy Attack
Research Links Cat Litter Box to Suicide in Women
Tuesday, July 3, 2012 14:32
An international study has found that a common parasite found in cat litter box may cause undetected brain changes in women that makes them more prone to committing suicide. It’s common knowledge that pregnant women infected with the toxoplasma gondii parasite – which is spread through cat feces, undercooked meat or unwashed vegetables – could risk still birth or brain damage if transmitted to an unborn infant. But this study of more than 45,000 women in Denmark shows brain changes following infection by a common parasite. For more information, click here to read the full article.
Most Commonly Mutated Cancer Gene May Play Role in Stroke
Tuesday, July 3, 2012 8:00
The gene p53 is the most commonly mutated gene in cancer, dubbed the “guardian of the genome” because it blocks cells with damaged DNA from propagating and eventually becoming cancerous. However, new research led by Ute M. Moll, MD, professor of pathology at Stony Brook University School of Medicine, and colleagues has revealed a novel role for p53 that goes beyond cancer in the development of ischemic stroke. The researchers have identified an unexpected critical function of p53 in activating necrosis – an irreversible form of tissue death that is triggered during oxidative stress and ischemia. The findings now are available in the journal Cell. For more information, click here to read the full release.
Diabetes Prevention and Management May Prevent Cognitive Decline
Monday, July 2, 2012 8:00
Preventing diabetes or delaying its onset has been thought to stave off cognitive decline. This connection is strongly supported by the results of a nine-year study led by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and the San Francisco VA Medical Center. Previously, studies have looked at cognitive decline in people who already had diabetes. This new research demonstrates that the greater risk of cognitive decline also is present among people who develop diabetes later in life. In addition, it links the risk of cognitive decline to the severity of diabetes. For more information, click here to read the full release.
Motocross Rider Makes Return from Spine Injury
Friday, June 29, 2012 8:00
New Jersey resident Demetrius Economou has been riding Motocross since age five. As an adult, he moved into the competitive world of Motocross racing. Riders such as Demetrius undergo a significant amount of bodily stress and strain as they attempt to negotiate 200-pound bikes around hairpin turns. As such, the competitor began experiencing chronic and debilitating pain in his lower back and hips. Eventually, this led to the need for a surgical procedure – minimally invasive sacroiliac joint fusion – from which he now is recovering. For more information, click here to read the full release.
Supreme Court Upholds Constitutionality of Health-care Law Taxation
Thursday, June 28, 2012 9:49
The U.S. Supreme Court has decided to uphold the constitutionality of President Obama’s health-care law, ruling that the government may impose tax penalties on those without health insurance starting in 2014. For more information, click here to read the full release.
Gene Mutations May Lead to Rare Brain Asymmetry
Thursday, June 28, 2012 9:19
Hemimegalencephaly is a rare condition in which the brain grows asymmetrically, with one hemisphere becoming massively enlarged. Though it frequently is diagnosed in children with severe epilepsy, the disease’s causes remain unknown. Current treatment is radical: surgical removal of some or all the diseased half of the brain. A team of doctors and scientists, led by researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, now say de novo somatic mutations in a trio of genes that help regulate cell size and proliferation may be a cause of hemimegalencephaly. That’s according to a paper published in the June 24, 2012, online issue of Nature Genetics. For more information, click here to read the full release.
Fish Oil May Not Benefit Brain Health
Wednesday, June 27, 2012 8:00
Omega-3 fatty acids have been touted for preserving cognitive function and memory, but a new review by The Cochrane Library finds that said benefits may be overstated. According to research, healthy elderly people who take omega-3 supplements fared no better on thinking and verbal skills examinations than those who were given a placebo. Previously, many studies have associated omega-3 consumption with better brain health and a lower risk of Alzheimer’s disease. One study from Columbia University researchers determined that people who ate diets higher in omega-3s had lower blood levels of beta amyloid – the telltale protein that gums up the brains of Alzheimer’s patients. In another study that appeared in the journal Neurology this past February, researchers concluded that people with the highest levels of omega-3s in their blood had bigger brain volumes and performed better on visual memory and abstract reasoning tests when compared with those who had the lowest omega-3 levels. For more information, click here to read the full release.
Researchers Find Tablet Computers May Interfere with Magnetically Programmable Shunt Valve Settings
Tuesday, June 26, 2012 12:00
University of Michigan researchers have found that the Apple iPad 2 can interfere with settings of magnetically programmable shunt devices, which are often used to treat children with hydrocephalus. The iPad 2 contains magnets that can change valve settings in the shunt if the tablet computer is held too close to the valve (within 2 in.). Such a change may result in shunt malfunction until the problem is recognized and the valve adjusted to the proper setting. Patients and their caregivers should monitor use of the tablet computer to ensure that no change is made to the valve settings. The results of this study can be found in the article “Programmable shunt valve affected by exposure to a tablet computer. Laboratory investigation,” by Strahle and colleagues, published in the August 2012 issue of the Journal of Neurosurgery: Pediatrics and available online today. For more information, click here to read the full release.
Sleep Debt Increases Risk of Stroke Symptoms Despite Healthy BMI
Tuesday, June 26, 2012 8:00
A study by researchers from the University of Alabama at Birmingham indicates that not getting enough sleep can increase the risk for stroke symptoms in people with a healthy body mass index who are at low risk for obstructive sleep apnea and have no history of stroke. The study – which was presented on June 11, 2012, at the SLEEP 2012 conference in Boston – examines self-reported sleep data from 5,666 people ages 45 and older who were tracked for up to three years. Those with a low risk for obstructive sleep apnea and a BMI of 18.5 to 24.99, which is considered optimal, had a four-time greater risk of stroke symptoms in participants who had fewer than six hours of sleep per night versus participants in the same BMI range who had seven to eight hours of sleep per night. The study found no link between short sleep periods and stroke symptoms among overweight and obese participants. For more information, click here to read the full release.