Health News

World-first treatment for oral cancer

Thought LeadersProfessor Mark McGurkDirector of the Head and Neck Academic CentreUniversity College London Hospital Professor Mark McGurk speaks to News-Medical about his groundbreaking research that has led to the discovery of a world-first treatment for oral cancer. What inspired your research into head and neck cancer? I have been working on head and neck cancer […]

Health Problems

Constipation in the Elderly

The elderly are five times more likely than younger adults to develop problems related to constipation. Causes of constipation in the elderly Some of the reasons for this propensity include poor diet, lack of adequate fluids in diet, lack of exercise, the use of certain drugs to treat other medical conditions, and poor bowel habits. […]

Health News

Stable connections between nerve cells are the basis of memory

Memories are part of our lives, the good and the bad. Through our senses, experiences reach our brain where networks of nerve cells encode them into a memory. It was previously unclear why only certain nerve cells join together for this purpose. Researchers from the Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry in Munich have now discovered […]

Health News

A tailor-made molecule that ties nerve connections

Researchers from the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), UK and Japan have developed a neurologically acting protein and tested it in laboratory studies. In mice, the experimental compound ameliorated symptoms of certain neurological injuries and diseases, while on the microscopic level it was able to establish and repair connections between neurons. This proof-of-principle study […]

Health News

JNK protein triggers nerve cells to withdraw their synapses when stressed

Synapses are tiny cell protrusions where electrochemical impulses pass between nerves. Prolonged stress in the brain causes synapse withdrawal and maladaptive changes to circuits that are linked to the development of major depressive disorder. Postdoctoral Researcher Patrik Hollós and colleagues used a light-activated optogenetic tool to switch off the activity of a protein called JNK […]

Health Problems

Optic nerve ultrasound may ID increased intracranial pressure

(HealthDay)—Optic nerve ultrasonography can help diagnose increased intracranial pressure with high specificity and sensitivity for patients with traumatic and nontraumatic brain injury, according to a review published online Nov. 19 in Annals of Internal Medicine. Alex Koziarz, from University of Toronto, and colleagues conducted a systematic review to examine the accuracy of optic nerve ultrasonography […]

Health Problems

Thresholds found for unilateral optic nerve lesions in MS

(HealthDay)—A new anatomic threshold may be useful for identifying unilateral optic nerve lesions in patients with multiple sclerosis, according to a study published in the May issue of the Annals of Neurology. Rachel C. Nolan-Kenney, from the New York University School of Medicine in New York City, and colleagues measured optical coherence tomography for 1,530 […]