Brain

A new cognitive test for detecting Alzheimer's disease is quicker and more accurate than many current tests, and could help diagnose early dementia, concludes a study published on bmj.com today.

An estimated 24 million people throughout the world have dementia and the number affected will double every 20 years. Early diagnosis is crucial to effective treatment, but there is no available short cognitive test that is quick to use, examines various skills, and is sensitive to Alzheimer's disease.

Washington, DC – A team of U.S. investigators led by neuroscientists at Georgetown University Medical Center (GUMC) are steadily uncovering the role that amyloid precursor protein (APP) - the protein implicated in development of Alzheimer's disease - plays in normal brain function. In the June 10 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience, they discovered that APP interacts with another protein known as Reelin to promote development of abundant connections between brain neurons.

Los Angeles, London, New Delhi, Singapore and Washington DC (June 9, 2009) The nature of the U.S. Navy workplace leads to higher heavy drinking for sailors than for civilians, according to an article in the May issue of the Journal of Mixed Methods Research published by SAGE.

PROVIDENCE, RI – Don't feel like you are getting full when eating a large meal? New research from The Miriam Hospital suggests that a physiological response may partially explain why severely obese individuals may not feel satisfied after eating and often have difficulty controlling the amount of food they consume during a meal.

Philadelphia, PA, 9 June 2009 – When mothers become infected with influenza during their pregnancy, it may increase the risk for schizophrenia in their offspring. Influenza is a very common virus and so there has been substantial concern about this association. A new study in the June 15th issue of Biological Psychiatry, published by Elsevier suggests that the observed association depends upon a pre-existing vulnerability in the fetus.

Philadelphia, PA, 9 June 2009 - Researchers have been seeking a safe and effective way to treat cognitive impairments associated with schizophrenia by enhancing N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) glutamate receptors. Functional deficits in NMDA receptors may contribute to the underlying neurobiology of this disorder. The first generation of studies trying to stimulate NMDA receptors administered large amounts of substances, like glycine or D-serine, which indirectly enhance NMDA receptor function.

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Over thousands of years, humans have evolved to naturally understand things like facial expressions and social interactions. But a University of Missouri researcher has found there is an ever-widening gap between what humans can naturally learn and what they need to learn to be successful adults in today's modern society. Schools have traditionally helped bridge the gap between evolution and new knowledge, but in the U.S. more may need to be done.

WESTCHESTER, Ill. – The naturalistic respiratory muscle training with high resistance wind instruments may potentially reduce musicians' risk for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), according to a research abstract that will be presented on Tuesday, June 9, at SLEEP 2009, the 23rd Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies.

WESTCHESTER, Ill. –According to a research abstract that will be presented on Tuesday, June 9, at SLEEP 2009, the 23rd Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies, patients suffering from chronic primary insomnia (PIs) have higher levels of brain activation compared to normal sleepers during a working memory test.

WESTCHESTER, Ill. - According to a research abstract that will be presented on Tuesday, June 9, at SLEEP 2009, the 23rd Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies, students who consider themselves to be evening types (that is someone who feels more alert and does their best work later in the day) have poorer sleep hygiene scores than morning and intermediate types. Sleep hygiene is the group of behaviors linked to good sleep and alertness. Examples include having a regular bedtime routine, a regular wake time, a regular bed time, and sleeping in a comfortable bed.

WESTCHESTER, Ill. – Self-reported nightmares among patients seeking emergency psychiatric evaluation uniquely predicted elevated suicidal symptoms, according to a research abstract that will be presented on Tuesday, June 9, at SLEEP 2009, the 23rd Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies.

Results indicate that severe nightmares were independently associated with elevated suicidal symptoms after accounting for the influence of depression, whereas symptoms of insomnia were not. These findings suggest that nightmares stand alone as a suicide risk factor.

WESTCHESTER, Ill. – A research abstract that will be presented on Tuesday, June 9, at SLEEP 2009, the 23rd Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies, is the first demonstration of a specific neurochemical abnormality in adults with primary insomnia (PI), providing greater insight to the limited understanding of the condition's pathology.

LA JOLLA, CA, June 8, 2009 –As survival rates among some patients with cancer continue to rise, so does the spread of these cancers to the brain – as much as 40 percent of all diagnosed brain cancers are considered metastatic, having spread from a primary cancer elsewhere in the body.

Now, scientists from The Scripps Research Institute have discovered a molecular mechanism that plays a pivotal role in controlling cancer growth in the brain. The discovery could provide a basis for potentially effective therapies for the treatment of brain metastasis.

Lyme disease is emerging in Canada, and is expected to increase with climate change, but effective, enhanced surveillance and clinician awareness will be key to minimizing the impact of the disease, write researchers in a review in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) http://www.cmaj.ca/press/pg1221.pdf (www.cmaj.ca).

Dry eye disease is common among American men older than 50 and increases with age, high blood pressure, benign prostate disease and the use of antidepressants, according to a report in the June issue of Archives of Ophthalmology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.