Culture

NEW ORLEANS – New research suggests weight training for two years significantly improves the motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease compared to other forms of exercise such as stretching and balance exercises. The clinical trial, which compared two forms of exercise for Parkinson's disease, was released today and will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 64th Annual Meeting in New Orleans April 21 to April 28, 2012.

Stroke-related language impairment adds about $1,703 per patient to medical costs the first year after stroke, according to research reported in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association.

Researchers retrospectively examined the records of 3,200 South Carolina Medicare patients who had ischemic strokes in 2004 and found:

AMHERST, Mass. – For years, biologists have been amazed by the power of gecko feet, which let these 5-ounce lizards produce an adhesive force roughly equivalent to carrying nine pounds up a wall without slipping. Now, a team of polymer scientists and a biologist at the University of Massachusetts Amherst have discovered exactly how the gecko does it, leading them to invent "Geckskin," a device that can hold 700 pounds on a smooth wall.

Scientists have taken a remarkably detailed look at the initial steps that occur in the body when type 1 diabetes mellitus first develops in a child or young adult.

The analysis comes from a team of researchers and physicians at the University of Rochester Medical Center who have expertise both in the laboratory and in treating patients. The team studied children from ages 8 to 18 within 48 hours of their diagnosis with type 1 diabetes, an autoimmune disease where the body's immune system attacks the cells in the pancreas that make insulin.

Waltham, Mass. – February 16, 2012 – MicroCHIPS, Inc., a developer of implantable drug delivery devices and biosensors, announces today the results of the first successful human clinical trial with an implantable, wirelessly controlled and programmable microchip-based drug delivery device. The MicroCHIPS study was published in today's online edition of the journal Science Translational Medicine.

(Cambridge, MA) – About 15 years ago, MIT professors Robert Langer and Michael Cima had the idea to develop a programmable, wirelessly controlled microchip that would deliver drugs after implantation in a patient's body. This week, the MIT researchers and scientists from MicroCHIPS Inc. reported that they have successfully used such a chip to administer daily doses of an osteoporosis drug normally given by injection.

Troy, N.Y. – Attracting and retaining the world's brightest students is on the mind of every university official. But a new, unprecedented study in the journal Science suggests leaders in higher education face an understated, even more pressing challenge: the retention of professors.

February 16, 2012 -- Soldiers in the National Guard with no history of alcohol abuse are at significant risk of developing alcohol-related problems during and after deployment, according to a new study published in Drug and Alcohol Dependence journal. Researchers at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health and colleagues at three other institutions found that the soldiers at greatest risk of developing alcohol-related problems also experienced depression and/or PTSD during or after deployment.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Feb. 16, 2012) — Results have just been released from an NIH study conducted at multiple sites, including the University of Kentucky, indicating that an autoinjector pen is a faster and possibly more effective way for emergency medical personnel to treat serious seizures. The study appears in the Feb. 16, 2012 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine.

Loss of bone density leads to brittle bones that fracture easily. It is a major complication of spinal cord injury (SCI), which affects about 250,000 Americans every year.

A new clinical trial conducted by University of Iowa researchers shows that delivering high doses of "load," or stress, to bone through programmed electrical stimulation of the muscle significantly slows the loss of bone density in patients with SCI.

New York (February 16, 2012)—The Republic of Congo has formally expanded Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park to protect an increasingly rare treasure: one of Africa's most pristine forests and a population of "naïve" chimpanzees with so little exposure to humans that the curious apes investigate the conservationists who study them rather than run away.

Known as the Goualougo Triangle, the 100-plus square-mile dense swamp forest and its unique great ape population was first reported in 1989 by WCS conservationists.

University of Texas at Austin researchers have demonstrated a new and more effective method for regrowing blood vessels in the heart and limbs — a research advancement that could have major implications for how we treat heart disease, the leading cause of death in the Western world.

URBANA – In a worst-case scenario simulation of a foot-and-mouth disease outbreak in Mexico, researchers found that establishing a good surveillance system and raising a more resilient breed of cattle could lessen the blow to the Mexican cattle industry should an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) or other infectious disease occur.

DETROIT – Drug delivery directly into muscle using an autoinjector is faster and may be more effective in stopping prolonged seizures, according to a study sponsored by the National Institutes of Health and conducted by a Wayne State University School of Medicine researcher.

The trial compared the effectiveness of two Federal Drug Administration-approved anti-seizure medications and how they are administered to patients suffering prolonged seizures before they arrive at hospitals.

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