Brain

JCI online early table of contents: Nov. 3, 2008

METABOLISM: Keeping food consumption under control, a new role for the protein PrP

Tatsushi Onaka and colleagues, at Jichi Medical University, Japan, have provided new insight into the network of signals that emanate from the gut and the brainstem of rodents to regulate food intake.

Cold Spring Harbor Protocols features organ and cell culture methods

COLD SPRING HARBOR, N.Y. (Mon., Nov. 3, 2008) – Understanding the function of organs like the brain, kidney, and reproductive tissues requires experimental systems that allow for the study and manipulation of developing cells and tissues in the laboratory. This month's issue of Cold Spring Harbor Protocols (www.cshprotocols.org/TOCs/toc11_08.dtl) features two articles with detailed instructions for setting up these experimental culture systems.

Diabetes, high blood pressure may cause people with Alzheimer's disease to die sooner

ST. PAUL, Minn. – People with Alzheimer's disease who also have diabetes or high blood pressure may die sooner than people without such disorders, according to a study published in the November 4, 2008, issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

The study involved 323 people who had no memory problems when first tested but later developed dementia. Memory tests and physical exams were then given every 18 months.

Is ADHD more likely to affect movement in boys or girls?

ST. PAUL, Minn. – Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) appears to affect movement in boys more than it does in girls, according to a study published in the November 4, 2008, issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. ADHD is one of the most common mental disorders found in children. Symptoms include impulsiveness, hyperactivity, such as not being able to sit still, and inattention or constant daydreaming. Few studies have been done that compare ADHD and movement in both boys and girls.

PTSD symptoms associated with increased risk of death after heart events

Individuals who receive implantable cardiac defibrillators after a sudden heart event appear more likely to die within five years if they experience symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, regardless of the severity of their disease, according to a report in the November issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

MRI reveals relationship between depression and pain

The brains of individuals with major depressive disorder appear to react more strongly when anticipating pain and also display altered functioning of the neural network that modifies pain sensitivity, according to a report in the November issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

Rates of psychosis higher among minority groups in Britain

Both first- and second-generation immigrants to the United Kingdom appear to have a higher risk of psychoses than white British individuals, according to a report in the November issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

Seasonal affective disorder may be linked to genetic mutation, study suggests

With the days shortening toward winter, many people will begin to experience the winter blahs. For some, the effect can be devastating.

About 6 percent of the U.S. population suffers from seasonal affective disorder, or SAD, a sometimes-debilitating depression that begins in the fall and continues through winter. Sufferers may even find it difficult to get out of bed in the morning.

Rhode Island Hospital simulation center examines benefits and applications of medical simulation

PROVIDENCE, RI – Emergency medicine physicians and simulation experts from Rhode Island Hospital discuss the benefits of advanced medical simulation in five manuscripts appearing in the November 2008 issue of Academic Emergency Medicine (now available online). The articles describe how simulation centers, along with new portable simulation technology, offer unique training opportunities for dynamic, complex and unanticipated medical situations in acute care fields.

Fibromyalgia can no longer be called the 'invisible' syndrome

Reston, Va.—Using single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), researchers in France were able to detect functional abnormalities in certain regions in the brains of patients diagnosed with fibromyalgia, reinforcing the idea that symptoms of the disorder are related to a dysfunction in those parts of the brain where pain is processed.

Minor shift in vaccine schedule has potential to reduce infant illness, death

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – A new study by researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine and Vanderbilt University suggests that protecting infants from a common, highly contagious and even deadly disease may be as easy as administering a routine vaccine two weeks earlier than it is typically given.

Human genes sing different tunes in different tissues

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Scientists have long known that it's possible for one gene to produce slightly different forms of the same protein by skipping or including certain sequences from the messenger RNA. Now, an MIT team has shown that this phenomenon, known as alternative splicing, is both far more prevalent and varies more between tissues than was previously believed.

A double-barreled immune cell approach for neuroblastoma

Adding an artificial tumor-specific receptor to immune system cells called T-lymphocytes that target a particular virus extended and improved the cells' ability to fight a form of childhood cancer called neuroblastoma, said researchers form Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children's Hospital in a report that appears online today in the journal Nature Medicine.

New method provides panoramic view of protein-RNA interactions in living cells

DNA, it has turned out, isn't all it was cracked up to be. In recent years we learned that the molecule of life, the discovery of the 20th century, did not -- could not -- by itself explain the huge differences in complexity between a human and a worm. Forced to look elsewhere, scientists turned to RNA, a direct yet more complex transcript of DNA. But methodological problems have historically plagued the study of RNA regulation in living cells, limiting not only the accuracy of results but also our understanding of RNA's role in human disease.

Study links primary insomnia to a neurochemical abnormality in young and middle-aged adults

Westchester, Ill. — A study in the Nov. 1 issue of the journal Sleep is the first demonstration of a specific neurochemical abnormality in adults with primary insomnia, providing greater insight to the limited understanding of the condition's pathology.