Brain

Patients can still benefit up to 4.5 hours after a stroke if a drug that dis-solves blood clots in the brain is administered. Thus far, three hours had been considered the useful limit for administering thrombolytic drugs. The results of the "European Cooperative Acute Stroke Study 3" (ECASS 3) have now been published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

PROVIDENCE, RI – A new study by researchers at the Bradley Hasbro Children's Research Center has found that children as young as four can develop full-blown obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and often exhibit many of the same OCD characteristics typically seen in older kids.

The study, published online by the Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, is the largest sample of young children with OCD published to date.

Nearly 60 percent of the nation's elderly have trouble sleeping, whether it's a lot of tossing and turning or outright bouts of insomnia. While for most people sleeplessness can be annoying at best or unhealthy at worst, for elderly individuals who have suffered from depression in the past, poor sleep may be the first sign that a new bout of depression is coming on.

SAN DIEGO – (September 30, 2008) While cholesterol-lowering drugs and new technologies have significantly advanced the nation's battle against heart disease, it continues to rank as the No. 1 killer of U.S. men and women. But if researchers at the La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology (LIAI) have their way, the body's immune system will become an important player in reducing heart disease.

Prion protein, a form of protein that triggers BSE, is associated with other brain diseases in cattle, raising the possibility of a significant increase in the range of prion disease. Publishing their findings in the open access journal BMC Veterinary Research, scientists have detected changes in the production and accumulation of the prion protein in the brains of cattle with a rare neurodegenerative disorder.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--MIT biological engineers have found a way to mass-produce smell receptors in the laboratory, an advance that paves the way for "artificial noses" to be created and used in a variety of settings.

The work could also allow scientists to unlock the mystery of how the sense of smell can recognize a seemingly infinite range of odors.

PITTSBURGH—Today's autism research draws on a variety of scientific disciplines, from genetics to functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to neural development. At the 35th Carnegie Symposium on Cognition, "Development and Brain Systems in Autism," 16 of the world's most prominent autism researchers will present their latest groundbreaking findings on the disorder and discuss the direction of future study that will continue to improve scientists' understanding of autism.

Heart patients are particularly vulnerable to depression and should be screened, and if necessary treated, to improve their recovery and overall health, according to a scientific advisory issued Monday by the American Heart Association and co-authored by a Yale School of Public Health researcher.

"Depression and heart disease seem to be very much intertwined," said Judith H. Lichtman, co-chair of the statement and associate professor of epidemiology at the Yale School of Public Health. "You can't treat the heart in isolation from the patient's mental health."

ST. PAUL, Minn. – A new study shows that people who take the commonly used blood thinning drug warfarin may have larger amounts of bleeding in the brain and increased risk of death if they suffer a hemorrhagic stroke. The study is published in the September 30, 2008, print issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

HOUSTON, TX — "Integrated" or "interdisciplinary" education evolved in the United States from the progressive education movement of the early 20th century. Integrated education features a student-centered approach to teaching that engages students and teachers as co-planners of learning experiences.

Pain is more than a symptom of osteoarthritis, it is an inherent and damaging part of the disease itself, according to a study published today in journal Arthritis and Rheumatism. More specifically, the study revealed that pain signals originating in arthritic joints, and the biochemical processing of those signals as they reach the spinal cord, worsen and expand arthritis. In addition, researchers found that nerve pathways carrying pain signals transfer inflammation from arthritic joints to the spine and back again, causing disease at both ends.

St. Louis, Sept. 29, 2008 — A protein that helps keep immune cells quiet is more abundant in the spinal fluid of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), further boosting suspicion that the protein, TREM-2, may be an important contributor to the disease.

Second Life, a virtual world created in 2003, currently boasts more than 12 million users worldwide who go there for everything from college recruiting to shopping. Now, Penn State researchers are investigating how virtual teams can better solve real world problems by collaborating in Second Life.

COLLEGE STATION, TX –- A new generation has come of age since the first celebration of Earth Day in 1970. For this and future generations, environmental awareness is an important and burgeoning point of reference.

SAN MARCOS, TX — The next time you see students playing an energized game of touch football or studying in the sunshine on a college quadrangle, consider this: campus green spaces can help students feel better about life and improve learning.