New blood test finds allergies before implant surgery

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Imagine what Paula Spurlock must have been going through. Shortly after having a hip replaced in 2011, the trouble started. "I had horrible itching, really bad migraines and intense pain throughout my body," she said. "I couldn't take it. Every single thing in me itched."

Wireless signals could transform brain trauma diagnostics

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Berkeley — New technology developed at the University of California, Berkeley, is using wireless signals to provide real-time, non-invasive diagnoses of brain swelling or bleeding.

The device analyzes data from low energy, electromagnetic waves, similar to the kind used to transmit radio and mobile signals. The technology, described in the May 14 issue of the journal PLOS ONE, could potentially become a cost-effective tool for medical diagnostics and to triage injuries in areas where access to medical care, especially medical imaging, is limited.

Getting a grip on sleep

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All mammals sleep, as do birds and some insects. However, how this basic function is regulated by the brain remains unclear. According to a new study by researchers from the RIKEN Brain Science Institute, a brain region called the lateral habenula plays a central role in the regulation of REM sleep. In an article published today in the Journal of Neuroscience, the team shows that the lateral habenula maintains and regulates REM sleep in rats through regulation of the serotonin system.

Vicious cycle: Obesity sustained by changes in brain biochemistry

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PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — With obesity reaching epidemic levels in some parts of the world, scientists have only begun to understand why it is such a persistent condition. A study in the Journal of Biological Chemistry adds substantially to the story by reporting the discovery of a molecular chain of events in the brains of obese rats that undermined their ability to suppress appetite and to increase calorie burning.

Long-term ADHD treatment increases brain dopamine transporter levels, may affect drug efficacy

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Long-term treatment of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) with certain stimulant medications may alter the density of the dopamine transporter, according to research published May 15 in the open access journal PLOS ONE by Gene-Jack Wang and colleagues from Brookhaven National Laboratory and the intramural program at NIH.

Repeat brain injury raises soldiers' suicide risk

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People in the military who suffer more than one mild traumatic brain injury face a significantly higher risk of suicide, according to research by the National Center for Veterans Studies at the University of Utah.

A survey of 161 military personnel who were stationed in Iraq and evaluated for a possible traumatic brain injury – also known as TBI – showed that the risk for suicidal thoughts or behaviors increased not only in the short term, as measured during the past 12 months, but during the individual's lifetime.

Brain rewires itself after damage or injury, life scientists discover

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When the brain's primary "learning center" is damaged, complex new neural circuits arise to compensate for the lost function, say life scientists from UCLA and Australia who have pinpointed the regions of the brain involved in creating those alternate pathways — often far from the damaged site.

Study finds 'owning' a darker skin can positively impact racial bias

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Scientists from Royal Holloway University have found that when white Caucasians are under the illusion that they have a dark skin, their racial bias changes in a positive way.

In the study that was funded by the European Research Council and published today in Cognition, the team used the tried and tested Rubber Hand Illusion, where participants are asked to look at a fake hand being touched, while at the same time, the experimenter touches the participants' own hand which is hidden out of view.

Cardio and weight training reduces access to health care in seniors

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Forget apples – lifting weights and doing cardio can also keep the doctors away, according a new study by researchers at the University of British Columbia and Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute.

Hysterectomy does not increase risk of cardiovascular disease

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Having a hysterectomy with or without ovary removal in mid-life does not increase a woman's risk of cardiovascular disease compared to women who reach natural menopause, contrary to many previously reported studies, according to research published online today in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.