Prozac during adolescence protects against despair in adulthood, study finds
Adolescents treated with the antidepressant fluoxetine - better known by its commercial name, Prozac - appear to undergo changes in brain signaling that result in changed behavior well into adulthood,...
View ArticleMayo Clinic wins FDA approval to test stem-cell heart therapy
A decade-long Mayo Clinic research project on using stem cells to repair damaged heart tissue has won federal approval for human testing, a step that could have implications for millions of Americans...
View ArticleGP health checks have impact on risk factors
(Medical Xpress)—New research from the University of Adelaide suggests there are ongoing benefits in managing risk factors from annual GP health checks, amid growing international concern that such...
View ArticleInconsistent? Good: Once viewed as a flaw in the motor system, variability...
Anyone who has ever stepped on a tennis court understands all too well the frustration that comes with trying to master the serve, and instead seeing ball after ball go sailing out of bounds in...
View ArticleChildhood obesity can only be tackled with broad public health interventions
(Medical Xpress)—Public health researchers from The University of Manchester have found single dietary interventions are not effective at increasing fruit and vegetable consumption among overweight...
View ArticleSpirituality, religion may protect against major depression by thickening...
A thickening of the brain cortex associated with regular meditation or other spiritual or religious practice could be the reason those activities guard against depression – particularly in people who...
View ArticleStandardised cigarette packs trigger 'rise in Quitline calls'
(Medical Xpress)—Plain, standardised tobacco packaging sparked a 78 per cent increase in calls to an Australian stop-smoking helpline just one month after its introduction, figures in the Medical...
View ArticleStudy: Brain interactions differ between religious and non-religious subjects
(Medical Xpress)—An Auburn University researcher teamed up with the National Institutes of Health to study how brain networks shape an individual's religious belief, finding that brain interactions...
View ArticleActivation of a single neuron type can trigger eating
Activation of a single type of neuron in the prefrontal cortex can spur a mouse to eat more—a finding that may pinpoint an elusive mechanism the human brain uses to regulate food intake.
View ArticleCheap genome tests to predict future illness? Don't hold your breath
Sydney's Garvan Institute is this week promoting its acquisition of an Illumina machine which it says can sequence the whole human genome for $1,000. The institute hopes genomic sequencing will become...
View ArticleFAK helps tumor cells enter the bloodstream
Cancer cells have something that every prisoner longs for—a master key that allows them to escape. A study in The Journal of Cell Biology describes how a protein that promotes tumor growth also enables...
View ArticlePeople who enjoy life maintain better physical function as they age
People who enjoy life maintain better physical function in daily activities and keep up faster walking speeds as they age, compared with people who enjoy life less, according to a new study in CMAJ...
View ArticleUS children's hospitals vary widely in tonsillectomy care
(HealthDay)—A tonsillectomy is one of the most routine surgeries for children, but what medication kids get during and after the procedure varies widely among U.S. hospitals, a new study finds.
View ArticlePromising new drug targets for cocaine addiction found
Researchers from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have identified a new molecular mechanism by which cocaine alters the brain's reward circuits and causes addiction. Published online in the...
View ArticleBoosting vitamin D could slow progression, reduce severity of multiple sclerosis
For patients in the early stages of multiple sclerosis (MS), low levels of vitamin D were found to strongly predict disease severity and hasten its progression, according to a new study led by Harvard...
View ArticleMiddle-school girls continue to play soccer with concussion symptoms, study...
Concussions are common among middle-school girls who play soccer, and most continue to play with symptoms, according to a study by John W. O' Kane, M.D., of the University of Washington Sports Medicine...
View ArticleAnatomic, not ischemic, burden predicts poor outcomes in CAD
(HealthDay)—For patients with coronary artery disease treated with optimal medical therapy (OMT), anatomic, but not ischemic, burden predicts poor outcomes, according to a study published online Jan....
View ArticleCocaine users enjoy social interactions less
Regular cocaine users have difficulties in feeling empathy for others and they exhibit less prosocial behavior. A study at the Psychiatric Hospital of the University of Zurich now suggests that cocaine...
View ArticleAccess to guns increases risk of suicide, homicide
Someone with access to firearms is three times more likely to commit suicide and nearly twice as likely to be the victim of a homicide as someone who does not have access, according to a comprehensive...
View ArticleForget about forgetting: The elderly know more and use it better
What happens to our cognitive abilities as we age? If your think our brains go into a steady decline, research reported this week in the Journal Topics in Cognitive Science may make you think again....
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