Health

Animal studies confirm hormone replacement can improve learning

For estrogen to enhance learning and memory, nerve cells in the brain called cholinergic neurons are essential to the process, suggest animal studies performed by researchers from the University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy. “Estrogen replacement in postmenopausal women has important effects on mood and cognition. This research was focused on trying to understand what estrogen does in the brain to reduce the effects on brain aging and cognitive decline,” said Robert Gibbs, associate professor of pharmaceutical sciences at the University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy.

Cannabis-based drugs possible next year in U.K.

Cannabis-based drugs could be prescribed in the United Kingdom as early as 2003 following word from a British pharmaceutical company that four Phase III clinical trials showed the drugs successfully treated symptoms associated with multiple sclerosis and neuropathic pain. In the trials, the pot-based medicine achieved statistically significant reductions in neuropathic (nerve-damage) pain, as well as statistically significant improvements in other symptoms of MS, most notably spasticity and sleep disturbance.

Researchers identify decision-making area of the brain

New research has provided the first neuro-imaging evidence that the brain’s frontal lobes play a critical role in planning and choosing actions. The research team has found that a small region in the frontal lobe of the human brain is selectively activated when an individual intends to make a particular action and not another. These findings help explain why individuals with frontal lobe damage sometimes act impulsively and often have problems making decisions.

Hibernating Squirrels Provide Clues for Stroke, Parkinson’s

A compound that enables squirrels to hibernate may one day help minimize brain damage that results from stroke. In an animal model for stroke, delta opioid peptide reduced by as much as 75 percent the damage to the brain’s striatum, the deeper region of the brain and a major target for strokes, according to researchers. In fact, evidence suggests that the compound, which puts cells in a temporary state of suspended animation, may help protect brain cells from the ravages of Parkinson’s disease as well.

Human Neural Stem Cells Can Become Dopamine-Making Brain Cells

Biologists have shown for the first time in the laboratory that they can convert some adult human neural stem cells to brain cells that can produce dopamine, the brain chemical missing in Parkinson’s disease. If the researchers can better understand the process and harness this ability, the work may someday lead to new strategies in treating neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s.

Firefly Light Illuminates Course of Herpes Infection in Mice

Researchers are using a herpes virus that produces a firefly enzyme to illuminate the virus’s course of infection in mice and to help monitor the infection’s response to therapy. “This study demonstrates the feasibility of monitoring microbial infections in living animals in real time,” says study leader David A. Leib. “The technique enables us to follow an infection over time as it progresses and resolves, and we can do this repeatedly using the same animal.”

Gut Bacteria Interact with Intestine to Regulate Blood Supply

Bacteria aren’t always bad. In fact, they can be extremely helpful partners. According to research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, microbes found naturally in the mouse and human gut interact with intestinal cells, called Paneth cells, to promote the development of blood vessels in the intestinal lining. “This study provides insights into the mutually beneficial partnerships forged between mammals and their native microbes,” says the principal investigator. “These symbiotic relationships probably are most important in the gut, which contains the largest and most complex collection of bacteria.”

New Technique Lets Doctors Examine Milk Ducts for Breast Problems

A new technique enables doctors to directly examine the lining of milk ducts in the breast for early signs of cancer and other abnormalities, according to research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. The researchers used the technique, known as ductoscopy, to detect breast abnormalities in women with a condition called pathologic nipple discharge (PND).

Sexual development, childhood obesity link is opposite for boys and girls

A new analysis of a major study of childhood nutrition shows that early sexually-maturing girls are more likely than other girls to be obese, while in boys early developers are less likely to be obese than other males. Although previous studies have suggested that sexual maturity is associated with obesity in females, little was known about the relationship in boys until now

Teen brain more sensitive to addictive drugs

Researchers have found evidence in animals that the young, adolescent brain may be more sensitive to addictive drugs such as cocaine and amphetamines than either the adult or newborn. The work may help someday lead to a better understanding of how the adolescent human brain adapts to such drugs, and provide clues into changes in the brain that occur during drug addiction.

Bacterial protein kills tumors

The use of live bacteria to treat cancer goes back a hundred years. But while the therapy can sometimes shrink tumors, the treatment usually leads to toxicity, limiting its value in medicine. Now, researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago have isolated a protein secreted by bacteria that kills cancer cells but appears to have no harmful side effects. Tested in mice injected with human melanomas, the protein shrank the malignancies, but, in contrast with other studies using whole bacteria, caused no deaths or adverse reactions in the laboratory animals.

Bread crusts rich in antioxidants

The best thing since sliced bread may be bread crust: Researchers in Germany have discovered that the crust is a rich source of antioxidants and may provide a much stronger health benefit than the rest of the bread. This is good news for those who like to complement their holiday meals with bread stuffing, which is rich in crust, but bad news for those who prefer to remove crusts from their bread, as they may be sacrificing healthful antioxidants.