Tag: Nervous System

What is Hyperglycemia?

Skip to: What is hyperglycemia? What causes hyperglycemia? What are the symptoms? How to prevent hyperglycemia? Hyperglycemia is a medical condition characterized by high blood glucose levels. The condition is primarily caused by significantly lower blood insulin levels or improper functioning of insulin. What is hyperglycemia? Hyperglycemia is characterized by fasting and 2-hour postprandial blood

Can Acupuncture Prevent Disease?

Skip to: A Promise for PTSD Patients Warm Acupuncture for A Restful Night’s Sleep Scalp Acupuncture to Stimulate Brain Activation in the Elderly The exact means by which acupuncture affects the central nervous system is unclear. The practice of acupuncture is widespread – both in the world, and across the body. It can be applied

Differences in MS patients’ cerebrospinal fluid may be key to drugs that halt progression

The disability burden for people with multiple sclerosis (MS) can vary significantly depending on whether they have a relapsing/remitting form of the disease, where they experience periods of clinical remission, or a progressive form, where they have continued neurological deterioration without clinical remission. Effective therapies exist for managing relapsing/remitting MS, but treatment for progressive MS

How a popular antidepressant drug could rewire the brain

Prozac®, the trade name for the drug fluoxetine, was introduced to the U.S. market for the treatment of depression in 1988. Thirty years later, scientists still don’t know exactly how the medication exerts its mood-lifting effects. Now, researchers report that, in addition to the drug’s known action on serotonin receptors, fluoxetine could rearrange nerve fibers

Exercise improves brain function in overweight and obese individuals

New findings out of the University of Tübingen show that, on top of its benefits for metabolism, mood, and general health, exercise also improves brain function. In recent studies, researchers learned that obese and overweight individuals are prone to insulin resistance in the brain, where it provides information about current nutritional status, as well as

ALS patients may benefit from more glucose

Increased glucose, transformed into energy, could give people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, improved mobility and a longer life, according to new findings by a University of Arizona-led research team. Physicians have long known that people with ALS experience changes in their metabolism that often lead to rapid weight loss in a process called

Molecular scissors stabilize the cell’s cytoskeleton

Researchers at the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI in Villigen, Switzerland, have for the first time elucidated the structure of important enzymes in human cells that alter essential building blocks of the cellular cytoskeleton. This reveals the missing part of a cycle that regulates the build-up or breakdown of supporting elements of the cell. The enzymes

Broken brain cells repaired in dementia mouse model: If translated to humans, results suggest new directions for combating cognitive decline in elderly

Dysfunctional neurons in the hippocampus of adult female mice modeling dementia can be repaired and reconnected to distant parts of the brain, reports a new study published in JNeurosci. The similarity between the mouse model and the human condition underscores the therapeutic potential of targeting these cells in dementia patients. The hippocampus generates new brain

Detecting dementia’s damaging effects before it’s too late

Scientists might have found an early detection method for some forms of dementia, according to new research by the University of Arizona and the University of Toronto’s Baycrest Health Sciences Centre. According to the study published in the journal Neuropsychologia last month, patients with a rare neurodegenerative brain disorder called Primary Progressive Aphasia, or PPA,

Already the thought of coffee provides an energy boost

Just the thought of coffee causes stimulating effects Coffee is not only in the German one of the most popular pick-me-up. However, you do not need to drink a hot drink again, to get up to speed in the swing. Even the thought of coffee provides an energy boost. The researchers have now found now.

Research reveals how the most common ALS mutation dooms cells: Scientists offer insight into the toxicity at the heart of devastating neurological disorders

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital scientists have cracked the mystery surrounding the most common genetic cause of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig’s disease. The research suggests possible new approaches to diagnosis and treatment of the lethal disorder. The findings appear online today in the journal Molecular Cell. About 35 percent of ALS cases

Scientists hunt down the brain circuit responsible for alcohol cravings: Study may open the door to developing drug therapies or even gene therapies for alcohol addiction

Scientists at Scripps Research have found that they can reverse the desire to drink in alcohol-dependent rats — with the flip of a switch. The researchers were able to use lasers to temporarily inactivate a specific neuronal population, reversing alcohol-seeking behavior and even reducing the physical symptoms of withdrawal. “This discovery is exciting — it

Elucidation of structural property in Li-ion batteries that deliver ultra-fast charging: Improving Li-ion batteries by coating their cathode with BaTiO3 nanodots

Scientists at Tokyo Tech and Okayama University found a way of greatly improving the performance of LiCoO2 cathodes in Li-ion batteries by decorating them with BaTiO3 nanodots. Most importantly, they elucidated the mechanism behind the measured results, concluding that the BaTiO3 nanodots create a special interface through which Li ions can circulate easily, even at

Sun Protection to patients with rare genetic disease

Skin cells taken from patients with a rare genetic disorder are up to ten times more sensitive to damage from ultraviolet A (AVA) radiation in laboratory tests, than those from a healthy population, according to new research from the University of Bath. It is hoped that the work, which has involved designing a brand new

EEG helps scientists predict epileptic seizures minutes in advance: Prevention: Edible acid can stabilize misfiring neurons

Elizabeth Delacruz can’t crawl or toddle around like most youngsters nearing their second birthday. A rare metabolic disorder that decimated her mobility has also led to cortical blindness — her brain is unable to process images received from an otherwise healthy set of brown eyes. And multiple times a day Elizabeth suffers seizures that continually

Physicists find the limits of multitasking in biological networks

Many complex systems in biology can be conceptualized as networks. This perspective helps researchers understand how biological systems work on a fundamental level, and can be used to answer key questions in biology, medicine, and engineering. Blood flow in the brain is a prime example. Blood travels through a network of vessels and can be