MINNEAPOLIS – Two new studies may offer hope for people with migraine. The two studies released today will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 66th Annual Meeting in Philadelphia, April 26 to May 3, 2014. Both studies involve drugs that are aimed at preventing migraine attacks from occurring, rather than stopping the attacks once they have started. These studies are the first to test monoclonal antibodies for the prevention of migraine, and both are directed against a relatively new target in migraine prevention, the calcitonin gene-related peptide, or ...

An inexpensive glaucoma drug, when added to a weight loss plan, can improve vision for women with a disorder called idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH), according to a study funded by the National Institutes of Health. IIH, also called pseudotumor cerebri, predominantly affects overweight women of reproductive age. An estimated 100,000 Americans have it, and the number is rising with the obesity epidemic. The most common symptoms are headaches and visual problems, including blind spots, poor side vision, double vision and temporary episodes of blindness. About ...

In a study that included more than 71,000 stroke patients, implementation of a quality initiative was associated with improvement in the time to treatment and a lower risk of in-hospital death, intracranial hemorrhage (bleeding in the brain), and an increase in the portion of patients discharged to their home, according to the study appearing in the April 23/30 issue of JAMA, a neurology theme issue. Intravenous tissue plasminogen activator (tPA; an enzyme that helps dissolve clots) reduces long-term disability when administered early to eligible patients with acute ...

Patients with arteriovenous malformations (abnormal connection between arteries and veins) in the brain that have not ruptured had a lower risk of stroke or death for up to 12 years if they received conservative management of the condition compared to an interventional treatment, according to a study in the April 23/30 issue of JAMA, a neurology theme issue. Interventional treatment for brain arteriovenous malformations (bAVMs) with procedures such as neurosurgical excision, endovascular embolization, or stereotactic radiosurgery can be used alone or in combination to ...

In patients with idiopathic intracranial hypertension and mild vision loss, the use of the drug acetazolamide, along with a low-sodium weight-reduction diet, resulted in modest improvement in vision, compared with diet alone, according to a study in the April 23/30 issue of JAMA, a neurology theme issue. Idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH) is a disorder primarily of overweight women of childbearing age, characterized by increased intracranial pressure with its associated signs and symptoms, including debilitating headaches and vision loss. Acetazolamide is commonly ...

The majority of adults surveyed indicated they would want administration of clot-dissolving medications if incapacitated by a stroke, a finding that supports clinicians' use of this treatment if patient surrogates are not available to provide consent, according to a study in the April 23/30 issue of JAMA, a neurology theme issue. "In life-threatening emergencies involving incapacitated patients without surrogates, clinicians may intervene without obtaining informed consent, applying the presumption that reasonable people would consent to treatment in such circumstances. ...

Using an ambulance that included a computed tomography (CT) scanner, point-of-care laboratory, telemedicine connection and a specialized prehospital stroke team resulted in decreased time to treatment for ischemic stroke, according to a study in the April 23/30 issue of JAMA, a neurology theme issue. Stroke is a leading cause of death and disability. In acute ischemic stroke, thrombolysis (dissolving of blood clots) using intravenous tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) is the treatment of choice after excluding bleeding in the brain by imaging. Past studies have shown ...

Although some studies have suggested that the drug lorazepam may be more effective or safer than the drug diazepam in treating a type of epileptic seizures among children, a randomized trial finds that lorazepam is not better at stopping seizures compared to diazepam, according to a study in the April 23/30 issue of JAMA, a neurology theme issue. Status epilepticus is a prolonged epileptic seizure or seizures that occurs approximately 10,000 times in children annually in the United States. Rapid control of status epilepticus is essential to avoid permanent injury and ...

Administering a clot-dissolving drug to stroke victims quickly — ideally within the first 60 minutes after they arrive at a hospital emergency room — is crucial to saving their lives, preserving their brain function and reducing disability. Given intravenously, tPA (tissue plasminogen activator) is currently the only Food and Drug Administration–approved therapy shown to improve outcomes for patients suffering acute ischemic stroke, which affects some 800,000 Americans annually. Now, a UCLA-led study demonstrates that hospitals participating in the "Target: ...

(Chicago) – A recently FDA-approved device has been shown to reduce seizures in patients with medication-resistant epilepsy by as much as 50 percent. When coupled with an innovative electrode placement planning system developed by physicians at Rush, the device facilitated the complete elimination of seizures in nearly half of the implanted Rush patients enrolled in the decade-long clinical trials. That's good news for a large portion of the nearly 400,000 people in the U.S. living with epilepsy whose seizures can't be controlled with medications and who are not candidates ...

Last month, scientists announced the first hard evidence for cosmic inflation, the process by which the infant universe swelled from microscopic to cosmic size in an instant. This almost unimaginably fast expansion was first theorized more than three decades ago, yet only now has "smoking gun" proof emerged. What is this result and what does it mean for our understanding of the universe? Late last week, two members of the discovery team discussed the finding and its implications with two of the field's preeminent thought leaders. Walter Ogburn is a postdoctoral researcher ...

There's a new secret to get your child to behave at the dinner table—cut up their food and they'll relax. A new Cornell study published in Eating Behaviors, found that when 6-10 year old children ate foods they had to bite with their front teeth— such as drumsticks, whole apples, or corn on the cob— they were rowdier than when these foods had been cut. "They were twice as likely to disobey adults and twice as aggressive toward other kids," said Brian Wansink, Professor and Director of the Cornell Food and Brand Lab. During a 4-H summer camp, 12 elementary children ...

PHILADELPHIA - Over the last few decades researchers have characterized a set of clock genes that drive daily rhythms of physiology and behavior in all types of species, from flies to humans. Over 15 mammalian clock proteins have been identified, but researchers surmise there are more. A team from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania wondered if big-data approaches could find them. To accelerate clock-gene discovery, the investigators, led by John Hogenesch, PhD, professor of Pharmacology and first author Ron Anafi, MD, PhD, an instructor ...

Health clinics that can provide primary care for low-income patients may ease the financial burden on both hospitals and insurance companies while improving patient health, researchers have concluded. A study of hospital admissions suggests that health clinics that avoid costs associated with insurance administration can help hospitals save money by lowering hospital admission rates and emergency room visits, according to Mark Agee, professor of economics, Penn State Altoona. The researchers estimated that the major hospital in the area saved $201,414 annually in lower ...

DALLAS – April 22, 2014 – Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center are making breakthroughs that could benefit people suffering from depression. A team of physician-scientists at UT Southwestern has identified a major mechanism by which ghrelin (a hormone with natural anti-depressant properties) works inside the brain. Simultaneously, the researchers identified a potentially powerful new treatment for depression in the form of a neuroprotective drug known as P7C3. The study, published online in April's issue of Molecular Psychiatry, is notable because although ...

Approximately 15 percent of all lung cancers are small cell lung cancers (SCLC), which grow rapidly and often develop resistance to chemotherapy. However, researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center have revealed new insights into the mechanisms leading to this resistance that may lead to improved therapies. Chemotherapies work primarily by mediating B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2) family proteins, which are responsible for regulating cell death. Depending on their function, this family of proteins can trigger a form of cell suicide known as apoptosis ...

(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) — The risk of pregnancy among women using a newer method of planned sterilization called hysteroscopic sterilization is more than 10 times greater over a 10-year period than using the more commonly performed laparoscopic sterilization, a study by researchers at Yale University and UC Davis has found. Published online today in the medical journal Contraception, the study found the higher risk of pregnancy with a newer sterilization method marketed under the brand name Essure®. "This study provides essential information for women and their doctors ...

London – PETA International Science Consortium Ltd.'s nanotechnology expert will present a poster titled "A tiered-testing strategy for nanomaterial hazard assessment" at the 7th International Nanotoxicology Congress to be held April 23-26, 2014, in Antalya, Turkey. Dr. Monita Sharma will outline a strategy consistent with the 2007 report from the US National Academy of Sciences, "Toxicity Testing in the 21st Century: A Vision and a Strategy," which recommends use of non-animal methods involving human cells and cell lines for mechanistic pathway–based toxicity studies. ...

Scientists at Rice University have created a nanoscale detector that checks for and reports on the presence of hydrogen sulfide in crude oil and natural gas while they're still in the ground. The nanoreporter is based on nanometer-sized carbon material developed by a consortium of Rice labs led by chemist James Tour and is the subject of a new paper published this month in the American Chemical Society journal ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces. Limited exposure to hydrogen sulfide causes sore throats, shortness of breath and dizziness, according to the researchers. ...

MISSOULA – Winsor Lowe, interim director of the University of Montana's Wildlife Biology Program, co-wrote a research paper published April 21 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on how streamwater chemistry varies across a headwater stream network. Lowe and co-authors from Virginia Tech, the U.S. Geological Survey, the University of Washington, the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, the University of Connecticut and the U.S. Forest Service Northern Research Station examined 664 water samples collected every 10 meters along 32 tributaries ...

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Two independent studies use two very different approaches to reach the same conclusion: some online retailers really do have an advantage over traditional brick-and-mortar stores. The studies find evidence from investors, analysts and consumers themselves that suggest online stores have a competitive edge when they don't have to collect sales tax from shoppers. Both studies were conducted by researchers at the Fisher College of Business at The Ohio State University and their colleagues. In one study, Brian Baugh, Itzhak Ben-David, and Hoonsuk Park ...

JUPITER, FL, April 22, 2014 – Scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have identified a protein complex that plays a critical but previously unknown role in learning and memory formation. The study, which showed a novel role for a protein known as RGS7, was published April 22, 2014 in the journal eLife, a publisher supported by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Max Planck Society and the Wellcome Trust. "This is a critical building block that regulates a fundamental process—memory," said Kirill Martemyanov, a TSRI associate ...

Almost one-third of adults in Canada have experienced child abuse — physical abuse, sexual abuse or exposure to intimate partner (parents, step-parents or guardians) violence in their home. As well, child abuse is linked to mental disorders and suicidal ideation (thoughts) or suicide attempts, found an article published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). "From a public health standpoint, these findings highlight the urgent need to make prevention of child abuse a priority in Canada," writes Dr. Tracie Afifi, departments of Community Health Sciences and Psychiatry, ...

A review of the literature on treating multiple sclerosis (MS) aims to provide physicians with evidence-based information on the latest treatments for this chronic disease. The article, published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) looks at the latest pharmacologic research as well as disease-modifying agents and the benefits and risks of various treatments. "Recently, several new compounds have been developed and approved with the aim of favourably changing the disease course, but with varied success," writes Dr. Loredana La Mantia, Cochrane Multiple Sclerosis ...

This news release is available in German. Reactive oxygen species are important intracellular signaling molecules, but their mode of action is complex: In low concentrations they regulate key aspects of cellular function and behavior, while at high concentrations they can cause "oxidative stress", which damages organelles, membranes and DNA. To analyze how redox signaling unfolds in single cells and organelles in real-time, an innovative optical microscopy technique has been developed jointly by the teams of LMU Professor Martin Kerschensteiner and TUM Professor ...