http://www.physorg.com/ en-us Physorg.com internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. A key brain protein called monoamine oxidase A (MAO-A) - is highly elevated during clinical depression yet is unaffected by treatment with commonly used antidepressants, according to an important study published today in the Archives of General Psychiatry. The study has important implications for our understanding of why antidepressants don't always work. http://www.physorg.com/news179504088.html Medicine & Health Tue, 08 Dec 2009 14:15:16 EST news179504088 (PhysOrg.com) -- A Michigan State University researcher is leading a clinical trial on an experimental medication he hopes will give doctors another weapon in the fight against depression and prove to be more effective among patients. http://www.physorg.com/news178999354.html Medicine & Health Wed, 02 Dec 2009 18:40:02 EST news178999354 In the December 2009 issue of the Journal of General Physiology, Moss et al. report a comprehensive investigation employing Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) to study the {gamma}-amino acid (GABA) transporter GAT1, a member of the family that includes transporters for neurotransmitters dopamine (DAT), serotonin (SERT), norepinephrine (NET) and glycine (GlyT). http://www.physorg.com/news178803576.html Medicine & Health Mon, 30 Nov 2009 11:50:01 EST news178803576 (PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers at the University of Cincinnati have documented that the brain hormone serotonin is made in human breast cancer cells and functions abnormally, contributing to malignant growth. http://www.physorg.com/news178308579.html Medicine & Health Tue, 24 Nov 2009 18:20:02 EST news178308579 (PhysOrg.com) -- Blame it on the heavy meal, the alcohol, or simply the opportunity afforded by a free afternoon on a traditional holiday. Just don't blame it on the tryptophan, say experts at the University of Cincinnati. http://www.physorg.com/news177926926.html Medicine & Health Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:12:30 EST news177926926 (PhysOrg.com) -- Diabetes is the most prevalent metabolic disease in developed countries and one that engenders - in addition to its high fatality - enormous health care costs. The physiological meaning of the ‘feel-good` hormone serotonin in insulin-producing cells of the pancreas was not understood for more than 40 years but has finally been resolved by scientists of the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Genetics in Berlin. The researchers Diego J. Walther, Nils Paulmann and colleagues report in the current issue of PloS Biology, that a lack of serotonin in the pancreas causes diabetes. http://www.physorg.com/news175962061.html Chemistry Wed, 28 Oct 2009 15:25:21 EST news175962061 A genetic tendency to depression is much less likely to be realized in a culture centered on collectivistic rather than individualistic values, according to a new Northwestern University study. http://www.physorg.com/news175895586.html Medicine & Health Tue, 27 Oct 2009 20:53:33 EST news175895586 A dramatic rise in antidepressant prescriptions issued by GPs has been caused by a year on year increase in the number of people taking antidepressant drugs on a long-term basis, according to researchers from the University of Southampton. http://www.physorg.com/news175431116.html Medicine & Health Thu, 22 Oct 2009 12:50:02 EST news175431116 New research clarifies how neurotransmitters like norepinephrine, serotonin, and dopamine, are regulated - a finding that may help fine-tune therapies for depression. http://www.physorg.com/news175092097.html Medicine & Health Sun, 18 Oct 2009 13:42:14 EST news175092097 Nortriptyline has been found to cause a ten-fold increase in suicidal thoughts in men when compared to its competitor escitalopram. These findings are published in the open access journal BMC Medicine. http://www.physorg.com/news174768043.html Medicine & Health Wed, 14 Oct 2009 20:10:01 EST news174768043 A new study from the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital (The Neuro) of McGill University reveals that different patterns of training and learning lead to different types of memory formation. The significance of the study, published in the Journal of Neuroscience, is that it identifies the molecular differences between spaced training (distributed over time) and massed training (at very short intervals), shedding light on brain function and guiding learning and training principles. http://www.physorg.com/news173616029.html Medicine & Health Thu, 01 Oct 2009 12:00:01 EST news173616029 (PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers in Denmark have studied almost half a million Danish children and found a slightly higher rate of septal heart abnormalities in babies whose mothers took an SSRI antidepressant drug during early pregnancy, especially if they took more than one type. http://www.physorg.com/news173424171.html Medicine & Health Tue, 29 Sep 2009 07:10:02 EST news173424171 UCLA researchers have discovered that a combination of drugs, electrical stimulation and regular exercise can enable paralyzed rats to walk and even run again while supporting their full weight on a treadmill. http://www.physorg.com/news172672409.html Medicine & Health Sun, 20 Sep 2009 13:34:11 EST news172672409 (PhysOrg.com) -- The University of Colorado at Boulder scientist who discovered that playing in the dirt might ease depression is probing the link between higher temperatures and elevated mood. http://www.physorg.com/news172238948.html Medicine & Health Tue, 15 Sep 2009 13:30:01 EST news172238948 Every 16 minutes, an American commits suicide. It's the 11th leading cause of death in this country, a fact being widely noted during National Suicide Prevention Week Sept. 6-12. And now researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) are looking deep inside the brain for ways to determine the reasons people commit suicide - and identify those most likely to attempt it. http://www.physorg.com/news171736852.html Medicine & Health Wed, 09 Sep 2009 17:41:47 EST news171736852 New research from Columbia University Medical Center has illuminated a previously unknown leptin-serotonin pathway in the brain that simultaneously promotes appetite and bone mass accrual. The research, which explains how leptin - well-known appetite-suppressing hormone - acts in the brain, is published in the Sept. 4 issue of Cell. http://www.physorg.com/news171199542.html Medicine & Health Thu, 03 Sep 2009 12:40:04 EST news171199542 The Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) was commissioned by the Federal Joint Committee (G-BA) to investigate whether patients with depression benefit from taking drugs belonging to the selective serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRI) drug class. Up till now, 2 of these drugs have been approved as antidepressants in Germany: venlafaxine and duloxetine. The Institute published its final report on 18 August. According to this report, the benefit of both drugs has been proven compared to a sham drug (placebo): patients respond better to the therapy and suffer less from the symptoms of depression. Moreover, there are indications that both drugs protect against relapse in addition to alleviating symptoms. http://www.physorg.com/news170419956.html Medicine & Health Tue, 25 Aug 2009 12:30:03 EST news170419956 Psychosocial therapy combined with medication can effectively improve depression and recovery in stroke patients, according to a new study reported in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association. http://www.physorg.com/news168796221.html Medicine & Health Thu, 06 Aug 2009 17:20:01 EST news168796221 A common variation of the gene involved in regulating serotonin and norepinephrine in the brain may be linked to problem behaviors in adults with developmental and intellectual disabilities, new research indicates. http://www.physorg.com/news167400248.html Medicine & Health Tue, 21 Jul 2009 13:20:02 EST news167400248 A lack of serotonin, commonly known as the "happiness hormone", in the brain slows the growth of mice after birth and is responsible for impaired maternal behavior later in life. This was the result of research conducted by Dr. Natalia Alenina, Dana Kikic, and Professor Michael Bader of the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch, Germany. http://www.physorg.com/news164974389.html Medicine & Health Tue, 23 Jun 2009 11:13:33 EST news164974389 (PhysOrg.com) -- Boys who carry a particular variation of the gene Monoamine oxidase A (MAOA), sometimes called the `warrior gene,` are more likely not only to join gangs but also to be among the most violent members and to use weapons, according to a new study from The Florida State University that is the first to confirm an MAOA link specifically to gangs and guns. http://www.physorg.com/news163419590.html Medicine & Health Fri, 05 Jun 2009 11:20:25 EST news163419590 The antidepressant citalopram does not appear to reduce the occurrence of repetitive behaviors in children and teens with autism spectrum disorders, according to a report in the June issue of Archives of General Psychiatry. http://www.physorg.com/news163093138.html Medicine & Health Mon, 01 Jun 2009 16:39:21 EST news163093138 A recent study finds that the antidepressant effects of drugs like Prozac involve both neurogenesis-dependent and -independent mechanisms, a finding that may lead to development of better treatments for depression and anxiety. The research, published by Cell Press in the May 28th issue of the journal Neuron, utilizes a new experimental mouse model of depression/anxiety that is the first to permit simultaneous examination of multiple effects of antidepressant treatment in the same animal. http://www.physorg.com/news162647379.html Medicine & Health Wed, 27 May 2009 12:52:33 EST news162647379 How would you respond if you were told that you had an 80% chance of surviving an operation - would you give consent? How about if you were told you had a 20% chance of dying? The answer may partly depend on your genetic make-up, according to new research from UCL (University College London) and funded by the Wellcome Trust. http://www.physorg.com/news160765568.html Medicine & Health Tue, 05 May 2009 18:06:30 EST news160765568 Findings from clinical studies used to gain Food and Drug Administration approval of common antidepressants are not applicable to most patients with depression, according to a report led by the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health. Published in the May issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry, the study suggests only a small percentage of people with depression qualify for these studies, and those who do not qualify are often treated with the same medications but may suffer poorer clinical outcomes. http://www.physorg.com/news160143778.html Medicine & Health Tue, 28 Apr 2009 13:23:57 EST news160143778 Polymorphisms are variations in genes which can result in changes in the way a particular gene functions and thus may be associated with susceptibility to common diseases. In a new study in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, psychologist Tina B. Lonsdorf and her colleagues from the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden and the University of Greifswald in Germany examined the effect of specific polymorphisms on how fear is learned and how that fear is subsequently overcome. http://www.physorg.com/news155938648.html Medicine & Health Tue, 10 Mar 2009 21:17:44 EST news155938648 Men with a common genetic variant produce more than twice as much of a hormone known to increase blood pressure and blood sugar when they are angry, according to researchers from Duke University Medical Center. http://www.physorg.com/news155572711.html Medicine & Health Fri, 06 Mar 2009 14:39:18 EST news155572711 (PhysOrg.com) -- It takes weeks or months for the effect of most antidepressants to kick in, time that can feel like an eternity to those who need the drugs the most. But new research suggests that a protein called p11, previously shown to play a role in a person`s susceptibility to depression, activates a serotonin receptor in the brain known for producing a rapid antidepressant response. If scientists could develop drugs to target this receptor, they might produce an effect in as little as two days. http://www.physorg.com/news154800119.html Medicine & Health Wed, 25 Feb 2009 16:03:28 EST news154800119 Researchers have known for decades that the brain has a remarkable ability to "reprogram" itself to compensate for problems such as traumatic injury. Now, a research article published in the February 2009 issue of the journal Genetics suggests that the brain may also be able to compensate for problems with key neurotransmitters such as serotonin and dopamine. This finding may open the doors to entirely new lines of research and treatments for a wide range of brain disorders, including addiction, depression, Parkinson's disease, and schizophrenia. http://www.physorg.com/news154350455.html Medicine & Health Fri, 20 Feb 2009 11:08:14 EST news154350455 Financial institutions continue to teeter on the brink of ruin. Banks are still devouring bailout money without loosening credit enough to make a difference in a recession that is sweeping the globe. And everyone keeps asking, "How in the world did so many financial titans take such huge risks with our nation's well being?" http://www.physorg.com/news153547432.html Medicine & Health Wed, 11 Feb 2009 04:27:00 EST news153547432