Researchers have identified a protein in the brain that halts the progression of Alzheimer’s disease in human brain tissue. The protein, known as “transthyretin,” protects brain cells from gradual deterioration by blocking another toxic protein that contributes to the disease process.
Children who have problems breathing during sleep tend to score lower on tests of mental development and intelligence than do other children their age, according to two studies funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Both studies appear in the October issue of “Journal of Pediatrics”.
Malaria research scientists from around the globe have published new insights into the international burden of malaria and what can be done about it. The new data are presented in a supplement to the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene titled “The Intolerable Burden of Malaria II: What’s New What’s Needed”.
Using brain imaging, neuroscientists at the NIH’s National
Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) have pinpointed the site
of a defect in a brain circuit associated with a specific
thinking deficit. Their study demonstrates how a rare
genetic disorder, Williams Syndrome, can offer clues as to
how genetic flaws may translate into cognitive symptoms in
more common and complex major mental disorders.
A new study shows that caregivers of dementia patients who
must make the difficult decision to place their relatives
into institutionalized care get no relief from depression
and anxiety, and in fact suffer additional emotional trauma
following their decision.
A clinical trial of 439 adolescents with major depression
has found a combination of medication and psychotherapy to
be the most effective treatment.
Fibromyalgia is a complex chronic pain illness that is recognized by the American Medical Association, the National Institutes of Health and the American College of Rheumatology. FM experts estimate that approximately 5% of the population worldwide suffer with FM. While it is most common in women, the illness strikes men, women and children of all ages and ethnic backgrounds. For those with severe symptoms, FM can be extremely debilitating and interfere with even routine daily activities.
The problem of drug addiction exists in some form or the other in almost every country of the world. The reasons for drug addiction are varied. These could be on account of individual and social differences and also due to other ascertainable factors such as economic, physical, mental and cultural status of the individual.
Multiple sclerosis is a chronic degenerative disease of the central nervous system in which gradual destruction of myelin occurs in patches throughout the brain or spinal cord (or both), interfering with the nerve pathways and causing muscular weakness, loss of coordination and speech and visual disturbances. Yoga has been found in reducing fatigue.
The Diagnostic and Statistical manual of the American Psychiatric Association (1968) defines alcoholism as drinking that chronically interferes with physical, personal or social functioning.