Health - Neurology latest news

Elderly people who take a cholesterol drug after a stroke or mini-stroke lower their risk of having another stroke just as much as younger people in the same situation, as per research reported in the September 3, 2008, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology........

Internal clocks tell night-migrating birds when to fly. Many migratory birds travel alone in a series of nocturnal flights. A new study shows that an internal time-keeping system ensures that migrants remain on schedule. European redstarts that were captured during their return migration from Africa behaved like clockwork in continuously illuminated flight chambers offering all-day-round feeding opportunities.

PCP2 Shapes Light Response of ON Bipolar Cells Ying Xu, Pyroja Sulaiman, Rod Feddersen, Jian Liu, Robert G. Smith, and Noga Vardi Activation of G-protein-coupled receptors (e.g., metabotropic glutamate receptors in retinal ON bipolar cells) causes GTP to bind to the G-protein in place of GDP, resulting in dissociation and activation of Gα and Gβγ subunits and subsequent downstream effects (e.g., closing of cation channels).

The motor neuron disease spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is the second most common genetic disorder leading to death in childhood. There is currently no cure for SMA, but some clinicians and researchers consider stem cell transplantation as a potential therapeutic strategy.

Yale School of medicine researchers reported that the chemical bisphenol-A (BPA), a building block for polycarbonate plastics found in common household items, causes the loss of connections between brain cells. This synaptic loss may cause memory/learning impairments and depression, according to study results published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

Deep brain stimulation, a surgical technique often viewed as a last resort for people with Parkinson's disease, halts the progression of dopamine-cell loss in animal models, according to preliminary research by scientists at the Neuroscience Institute at the University of Cincinnati (UC) and University hospital. The scientists also discovered clues to why the technique works.

Scientists in the US and Canada studying the effects of bisphenol-A (BPA), an ingredient of polycarbonate plastic used to make common everyday items for storing food and medicines, found it caused loss of connections between brain cells in primates and may lead to disruption in memory and learning as well as depression. Based on their findings the scientists suggest the US Environmental Protection Agency lower the current safe limit for human daily exposure to BPA.

Treatments that ramp up production of the tiny "motors" that power cells may have promise for treating one of the most common forms of inherited neuromuscular disease, according to a report in the September Cell Metabolism, a Cell Press publication. Neuromuscular disorders caused by defects in those mitochondrial motors affect a large number of children and adults worldwide, but today remain without treatment, the researchers said.

Akorn-Strides, LLC announced the approval of two ANDAs for Dexamethasone Sodium Phosphate Injection USP, 4 mg (base)/mL in 1mL, 5 mL, and 30 mL vials, and Dexamethasone Sodium Phosphate Injection USP, 10 mg (base)/mL in 10 mL vials. Akorn-Strides, LLC is a Joint Venture that was formed in 2005 by Akorn, Inc. (NASDAQ: AKRX) and Strides Arcolab Limited (NSE: STAR)(BSE: 532531).

WESTMEAD, Australia (MedPage Today) -- patients who snore heavily face a risk of carotid atherosclerosis 10 times greater than those with mild snoring, investigators here found.