From the monthly archives:

August 2011

Mind-Altering Microbes: Probiotic Bacteria May Lessen Anxiety and Depression

August 30, 2011 Cognitive Function

Probiotic bacteria have the potential to alter brain neurochemistry and treat anxiety and depression-related disorders according to research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The research, carried out by Dr Javier Bravo, and Professor John Cryan at the Alimentary Pharmabiotic Centre in University College Cork, along with collaborators from the Brain-Body Institute [...]

Tagged as: Anxiety, Probiotics, Stress

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New Drug From MIT Cures Nearly All Viral Infections, Including Common Cold and Influenza

August 30, 2011 Colds & Flu

Most bacterial infections can be treated with antibiotics such as penicillin, discovered decades ago. However, such drugs are useless against viral infections, including influenza, the common cold, and deadly hemorrhagic fevers such as Ebola.
Now, in a development that could transform how viral infections are treated, a team of researchers at MIT’s Lincoln Laboratory has designed [...]

Tagged as: Anti-Viral Support, Colds and Flu

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Free Radicals Crucial to Suppressing Appetite

August 29, 2011 News & Research

Obesity is growing at alarming rates worldwide, and the biggest culprit is overeating. In a study of brain circuits that control hunger and satiety, Yale School of Medicine researchers have found that molecular mechanisms controlling free radicals — molecules tied to aging and tissue damage — are at the heart of increased appetite in diet-induced [...]

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Chinese Club Moss Extract (Huperzine A) May Improve Cognition In Alzheimer’s Disease

August 29, 2011 Cognitive Function

Existing evidence suggests that patients with Alzheimer’s disease who have taken Huperzine A have improved general cognitive function, global clinical status, functional performance and reduced behavioural disturbance compared to patients taking placebos.
The research team came to this conclusion after studying data in six trials that involve a total of 454 patients.
Part of the damage involved [...]

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Natural Alzheimer’s-Fighting Compound Created Inexpensively in Lab

August 29, 2011 Cognitive Function

Scientists at Yale University have developed the first practical method to create a compound called huperzine A in the lab. The compound, which occurs naturally in a species of moss found in China, is an enzyme inhibitor that has been used to treat Alzheimer’s disease in China since the late 1990s and is sold in [...]

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Building a Better Antipsychotic Drug by Treating Schizophrenia’s Cause: How Drugs Act On Dopamine-Producing Neurons

August 29, 2011 Cognitive Function

The classic symptoms of schizophrenia — paranoia, hallucinations, the inability to function socially — can be managed with antipsychotic drugs. But exactly how these drugs work has long been a mystery.
Now, researchers at Pitt have discovered that antipsychotic drugs work akin to a Rube Goldberg machine — that is, they suppress something that in turn [...]

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Wide Gap in Immune Responses of People Exposed to the Flu

August 29, 2011 Colds & Flu

Why do some folks who take every precaution still get the flu, while others never even get the sniffles?
It comes down to a person’s immune system response to the flu virus, says Alfred Hero, professor at the University of Michigan College of Engineering. In one of the first known studies of its kind, Hero and [...]

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Poor Sleep Quality Increases Risk of High Blood Pressure

August 29, 2011 Hypertension

Reduced slow wave sleep (SWS) is a powerful predictor for developing high blood pressure in older men, according to new research in Hypertension: Journal of the American Heart Association.
SWS, one of the deeper stages of sleep, is characterized by non-rapid eye movement (non-REM) from which it’s difficult to awaken. It’s represented by relatively slow, synchronized brain [...]

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Why Only Some Obese People Develop Chronic Diseases: Disease-Causing Fat Cells Found In Those With Metabolic Syndrome

August 29, 2011 News & Research

UC Davis Health System researchers have discovered biological indicators that help explain why some obese people develop chronic diseases such as diabetes and heart disease, and others do not. The researchers took a novel approach of looking specifically at the body fat of people with metabolic syndrome — a condition characterized by increased blood pressure, high-fasting blood-sugar levels, excess abdominal fat and abnormal cholesterol levels.

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Aerobic Exercise Bests Resistance Training At Burning Belly Fat

August 29, 2011 News & Research

Aerobic exercise is your best bet when it comes to losing that dreaded belly fat, a new study finds. When Duke University Medical Center researchers conducted a head-to-head comparison of aerobic exercise, resistance training, and a combination of the two, they found aerobic exercise to be the most efficient and most effective way to lose the belly fat that’s most damaging to your health.

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Caffeine Lowers Risk Of Skin Cancer: Coffee-Based Sunscreen Might Work Best

August 29, 2011 Cancer

There might be a time when instead of just drinking that morning cup of coffee you lather it on your skin as a way of preventing harmful sun damage or skin cancer. A new Rutgers study strengthens the theory that caffeine guards against certain skin cancers at the molecular level by inhibiting a protein enzyme in the skin, known as ATR.

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No Bones About It: Eating Dried Plums Helps Prevent Fractures and Osteoporosis, Study Suggests

August 29, 2011 News & Research

When it comes to improving bone health in postmenopausal women — and people of all ages, actually — a Florida State University researcher has found a simple, proactive solution to help prevent fractures and osteoporosis: eating dried plums.

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