• Alzheimer's Discovery Paves Way for New Drugs

    Added On : 21st November 2012

    alzheimer old manBritish scientists are a step closer to making drugs able to stop Alzheimer's in its tracks, after making a breakthrough in the understanding of what triggers the disease.

    The team at King's College London believe they have "the most detailed picture yet" of the chain reaction of events that causes brain cells to die because of Alzheimer's.

    They have even begun testing potential drugs to see if they can stop the process that leads to the cells dying, said academics at KCL's Institute of Psychiatry.

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  • Transcendental Meditation May Lower...

    Added On : 25th November 2012

    Transcendental Meditation May Lower Heart Risk

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  • Hi-tech 'Sunglasses' could Banish Jet-lag

    Added On : 25th November 2012

    jetlag sunglassesIt is one of the negative side-affects of long-haul travel, but suffering from jet lag could soon become a distant memory for weary travellers.

    Australian sleep researchers have developed a set of hi-tech "sunglasses", described as the world's first "time control" spectacles, which can imitate sunlight patterns.

    The team, from Flinders University, in Adelaide, say the glasses emit a soft green glow that helps a traveller adapt to changing sleep patterns and time zones in "small steps".

    It targets a part of the brain that regulates the human body-clock, by sending signals to the rest of the body that help it slowly realise it is in a different area of the world.

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  • Autism: Traffic Pollution Linked, Study Suggests

    Added On : 28th November 2012

    california trafficThe possibility that autism is linked to traffic pollution has been raised by researchers in California.

    Their study of more than 500 children said those exposed to high levels of pollution were three times more likely to have autism than children who grew up with cleaner air.

    However, other researchers said traffic was a "very unlikely" and unconvincing explanation for autism.

    The findings were presented in the Archives of General Psychiatry journal.

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  • Migraines May Ease With Age

    Added On : 29th November 2012

    In Swedish Study, Most Patients' Attacks Decreased or Disappeared Over 12-Year Follow-Up

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  • Extra Sleep can be More Effective than Painkillers

    Added On : 3rd December 2012

    girl sleepingSleeping for two hours extra a night can reduce sensitivity to pain and can be more effective than strong painkillers, according to a new study.

    Scientists say ten hours of sleep a night – rather than the recommended eight – is more effective in reducing pain than codeine.

    Researchers studied 18 volunteers over four nights and found that those who slept for 10 hours were able to keep their finger on a heat source for 25 seconds longer than those who had eight hours or fewer.

    The findings, published in the journal Sleep, also revealed the effect was greater than was seen in a previous study where volunteers were given 60mg of the painkiller codeine.

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  • New Sleeping Pill May Help Insomnia

    Added On : 4th December 2012

    Merck's experimental sleep drug suvorexant helps insomniacs fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer, early data suggest.

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  • Big Changes in Psychiatry's 'Bible' of Disorders

    Added On : 4th December 2012

    apaA major revision to the diagnostic "bible" -- which defines what is and what is not a mental illness -- has the final approval of the American Psychiatric Association (APA).

    The approval means the final draft of the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, or DSM-5, will be official when it is published in May 2013.

    Ten years in the making, the rewritten manual has been embroiled in controversy. One outspoken critic is Allen J. Frances, MD, chair of the task force that developed the previous edition, DSM-IV.

    In a critique published online by Psychology Today, Frances calls the DSM-5 "deeply flawed," with "changes that seem clearly unsafe and scientifically unsound."

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  • Are Children With ADHD Gifted?

    Added On : 5th December 2012

    Kids with ADHD have "gifts" -- and by helping them develop these gifts, parents give their children more control of problem behaviors, a child psychologist argues in her popular book.

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  • The 'Pacemaker' Implanted in the Brain...

    Added On : 6th December 2012

    alzheimers brainThe 'Pacemaker' Implanted in the Brain to Prevent Alzheimer's Patients Losing their Memory

    A 'pacemaker' has been implanted in to the brain of an Alzheimer's patient in a bid to reduce memory loss.

    The device, which uses deep brain stimulation, has already been used in thousands of people with Parkinson's disease as possible means of boosting memory and reversing cognitive decline.

    Now the first patient in the US has undergone the delicate surgery to try and halt the effects of dementia, which lowly robs its mostly elderly victims of a lifetime of memories and the ability to perform the simplest of daily tasks.

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