A recent study of individuals with drug and treatment-resistant depression that received Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) in the subcallosal cingulate region of the brain (SCG or Cg25) indicates that deep brain stimulation is relatively safe and results in improvement in patients about one month after treatment. The improvement in the depression continued during the one [...]
The Netherlands, with its very permissive marijuana laws, is known as the cannabis capital of the planet. Surprisingly, a survey published this month in PLoS Medicine, a journal of the Public Library of Science, indicates that the Dutch don’t actually experiment with marijuana as much as most people would expect. Despite much tougher drug laws [...]
Increased frequency of congenital male urologic anomalies, such as undescended testicles and hypospadias, occurred in boys whose mothers had higher levels of certain chlorine containing chemical pollutants, according to scientists at the American Urological Association meeting in Orlando Florida. Studies recently presented, reported that maternal exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals – [...]
Due to the intoxicating effects marijuana possesses, it has been made illegal in most countries. But this very quality is due to the fact that it marijuana mimics the effects of chemicals that the brain already uses for many important functions. Brain mechanisms use cannabis like compounds called endocannabinoids to [...]
The new obesity drug lorcaserin is in Phase 3 (final stage) trials, which are double-blind, randomized, drug trials with 3,200 patients in 100 centers in the United States. Echocardiograms were done to make sure that the new drug had no adverse effects on heart valves and so far it looks safe. Locaserin is the first [...]
–Stem cells have been in the news a great deal lately and it’s because they can replace dead or damaged cells in a huge variety of locations in the human body. They can become almost any type of tissue in the body(with a few exceptions). New sources of stem cells that are easily obtained will [...]
Researchers at the Univ. of Georgia, have been able to identify critical genes used in memory and manipulate them to turn them off, so the memory of mice is impaired, or enhance them.
The smart mouse named “Doogie” (after Doogie Houser MD), is a mouse that over expresses the smart gene in the hippocampus, a part [...]
A vaccine that blocks a hormone receptor that causes high blood pressure (angiotensin II receptors), thereby relaxing arteries to reduce blood pressure, appears to be a future replacement for current blood pressure medication. The vaccine would need to be given every four to six months. This would help patients who have difficulty taking their blood [...]
Heart attacks kill cells in the heart muscle. Medical research scientists have sought to repair the heart muscle itself after a patient experiences a heart attack. The Weil Institute of Critical Care Medicine, located in Rancho Mirage, California. The essence of the discovery is that by using stem cells obtained from the bone [...]
Since a smoking ban started in France one year ago, the admissions of patients with heart attacks dropped 15 percent at emergency rooms. French government authorities told the UK National Sanitary Institute that there has been a 15 percent reduction in admissions of patients with acute heart attack and stroke to emergency departments since [...]
