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Molecular link between diabetes and schizophrenia connects food and mood

Defects in insulin function – which occur in diabetes and obesity – could directly contribute to psychiatric disorders like schizophrenia.

Vanderbilt University Medical Center investigators have discovered a molecular link between impaired insulin signaling in the brain and schizophrenia-like behaviors in mice. The findings, reported June 8 in PLoS Biology, offer a new perspective on the psychiatric and cognitive disorders that affect patients with diabetes and suggest new strategies for treating these conditions.

Healthy diet could slow or reverse early effects of Alzheimer's disease

Patients in the early to moderate stages of Alzheimer's Disease could have their cognitive impairment slowed or even reversed by switching to a healthier diet, according to researchers at Temple University.

Shortcut through eyelid gives surgeons less-invasive approach to fix brain fluid leaks

Surgeons at Johns Hopkins have safely and effectively operated inside the brains of a dozen patients by making a small entry incision through the natural creases of an eyelid to reach the skull and deep brain.

They say access to the skull and brain through either lid, formally known as a transpalpebral orbitofrontal craniotomy, sharply contrasts with the more laborious, physically damaging and invasive, traditional means of entry used in brain surgery that requires opening the top half of the skull.

Vacuum cleaner sucks up strokes

Quebec City – A clot vacuum cleaner that sucks out stroke-producing blockages from blood vessels in the brain sounds like science fiction.

But 27 Calgary patients who were rescued from massive strokes know the endovascular procedure is for real, Dr. Mayank Goyal told the Canadian Stroke Congress today.

The innovative technique uses a tool called the Penumbra System® of Continuous Aspiration Thrombectomy to break down and gently aspirate stroke-causing blood clots to open up the blocked vessels.

Intervention program helps breast cancer patients live longer after recurrence

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A psychological intervention program designed for breast cancer patients reduces the risk of dying if the cancer recurs, new research shows.

The study is the latest in a series at Ohio State University that have shown that an intervention program that teaches patients how to cope with the disease can boost their health, well-being and even their chances of survival.

Psychological intervention provides enduring health benefits for women with breast cancer

Psychological intervention provides enduring health benefits for women with breast cancer

Importance of insulin delivery devices for diabetes management

Importance of insulin delivery devices for diabetes management

Computational model sheds light on how the brain recognizes objects

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Researchers at MIT's McGovern Institute for Brain Research have developed a new mathematical model to describe how the human brain visually identifies objects. The model accurately predicts human performance on certain visual-perception tasks, which suggests that it's a good indication of what actually happens in the brain, and it could also help improve computer object-recognition systems.

Training eye movement may reduce driver distraction

Rockville, MD — More than 16 people are killed and more than 1,300 people are injured each day in crashes involving a distracted driver, a phenomenon that could be reduced with the right application of motion information and appropriate eye movements.

Two studies conducted at Vanderbilt University and published in the Journal of Vision found that these factors can be beneficial to teaching people how to track objects without getting distracted or confused.

Sleep problems are common in US soldiers returning from wartime deployment

WESTCHESTER, IL - There is an extremely high prevalence of sleep disturbances in U.S. soldiers returning from wartime deployment, according to a research abstract that will be presented Tuesday, June 8, 2010, in San Antonio, Texas, at SLEEP 2010, the 24th annual meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies LLC.

Study is first to show that highly variable sleep schedules predict elevated suicide risk

WESTCHESTER, IL – Highly variable sleep schedules predict an elevated risk for suicide independent of depression in actively suicidal young adults, according to a research abstract that will be presented Tuesday, June 8, 2010, in San Antonio, Texas, at SLEEP 2010, the 24th annual meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies LLC.

More adults report excessive sleepiness in the US than in Europe

WESTCHESTER, IL – Excessive sleepiness is more common in the U.S. than in Europe, which raises concerns for public health and safety, according to a research abstract that will be presented Tuesday, June 8, 2010, in San Antonio, Texas, at SLEEP 2010, the 24th annual meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies LLC.

Under 50? Silent duo could put you at risk for a big stroke

Quebec City − Being young doesn't mean you are immune to a stroke. You may feel healthy; you may be 18 or a vigorous 50. And yet you could be more vulnerable than you know. That could be because of the role played by silent risk factors in stroke.

Now, as a result of research from Hopital Notre Dame in Montreal, two silent factors − leukoaraiosis and silent brain infarcts − are not so silent any more.

CXCR4 protein lets brain repair damage from multiple sclerosis

A protein that helps build the brain in infants and children may aid efforts to restore damage from multiple sclerosis (MS) and other neurodegenerative diseases, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found.

In a mouse model of MS, researchers found that the protein, CXCR4, is essential for repairing myelin, a protective sheath that covers nerve cell branches. MS and other disorders damage myelin, and this damage is linked to loss of the branches inside the myelin.

New AAN guideline on determining brain death provides more clarity and direction

ST. PAUL, Minn. – In an effort to create a uniform and accurate method for determining brain death, the American Academy of Neurology has issued an updated guideline that provides doctors with a step-by-step process for determining brain death in adults. The guideline is published in the June 8, 2010, issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.