The first over-the-counter slimming pill to go on sale in Britain could be available in pharmacies as early as next year. The drug, which has been marketed in the US under the name Alli since June, is a half-strength version of a pill called Xenical that is currently only available in Britain under prescription for treating obesity.

Mutations in a protein called dynein, required for the proper functioning of sensory nerve cells, can cause defects in mice that may provide crucial clues leading to better treatments for a human nerve disorder known as peripheral neuropathy, which affects about three percent of all those over age 60.

Fresh fears over a possible link between the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine and autism have been raised after a new study found that almost double the number of children could have the condition than previously thought.

A nurse disregarded the wishes of a four-year-old's parents by giving her the MMR jab.

The Child Study Center at New York University said on Wednesday that it would halt an advertising campaign aimed at raising awareness of children's mental and neurological disorders after the effort drew a strongly negative reaction.

©New York Times

Disorders like autism, depression, bulimia and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder were the focus of the pro bono campaign.

Most of these people are not aware they are synaesthetes and feel certain about the way they perceive things: they think the way they experience the world is normal. But, when they realize that something is not quite right, they become disappointed.

- The research field has grown from grapheme-colour synaesthesia to include other forms of synaesthesia in which flavours are evoked by music or words (lexical-gustatory synaesthesia), space structures by time units, colours by music, etc.

- Experts on Experimental Psychology from the University of Granada (Universidad de Granada) are studying this phenomenon. The results of this research have been published by the following scientific journals, among others: Cortex, Experimental Brain Research and Consciousness and Cognition.

Scientists have for the first time identified brain sites that fire up more when people make impulsive decisions. In a study comparing brain activity of sober alcoholics and non-addicted people making financial decisions, the group of sober alcoholics showed significantly more "impulsive" neural activity.

The researchers also discovered that a specific gene mutation boosted activity in these brain regions when people made impulsive choices. The mutation was already known to reduce brain levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine. The newly found link involving the gene, impulsive behavior and brain activity suggests that raising dopamine levels may be an effective treatment for addiction, the scientists say.

The research is reported in the Dec. 26, 2007 issue of the "Journal of Neuroscience."

It's good news that we are living longer, but bad news that the longer we live, the better our odds of developing late-onset Alzheimer's disease.

Many Alzheimer's researchers have long touted fish oil, by pill or diet, as an accessible and inexpensive "weapon" that may delay or prevent this debilitating disease. Now, UCLA scientists have confirmed that fish oil is indeed a deterrent against Alzheimer's, and they have identified the reasons why.

Patients who experience symptoms described as transient neurological attacks, such as temporary amnesia or confusion, may have a higher risk for stroke and dementia, according to a study in the December 26 issue of JAMA.

Transient neurological attacks (TNAs) are episodes involving temporary (less than 24 hours) neurological symptoms. These symptoms can be nonfocal (that can include nonlocalizing cerebral symptoms), focal (known as transient ischemic attacks [TIAs], similar to ischemic stroke, except for duration [commonly 2-15 minutes, maximum 24 hours]), or a mixture of both focal and nonfocal. Although it has been well-documented that patients with TIA are at high risk of major vascular disease, few studies have examined whether nonfocal TNAs are a serious health threat, according to background information in the article.

Japan's prime minister apologized Tuesday to four people who contracted hepatitis C from tainted blood products and promised to enact legislation to compensate them.

Yasuo Fukuda met the hepatitis sufferers at his office. They are among hundreds seeking damages from the government and pharmaceutical companies in the blood products scandal. Part of the meeting was broadcast on television.

©AP/ Yoshikazu TSUNO

Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, left, bows as he apologizes to victims and relatives of hepatitis C, who were caused by tainted blood products, at his office in Tokyo on Tuesday December 25, 2007. Fukuda and his ruling coalition would seek new legislation to compensate all the victims of dirty blood products contaminated with hepatitis C

"I apologize for the years of indescribable suffering you have gone through," said the prime minister, who has struggled to regain public support following a series of scandals. "The only way to respond to your wishes is to enact legislation, and I'll do my utmost to achieve that goal."

The plaintiffs say they contracted hepatitis C, mainly in the 1980s, from defective blood-clotting agents that the government and the pharmaceutical companies kept using despite knowledge of their potential contamination.

Hepatitis C is a chronic, blood-borne virus that can cause liver ailments, including cancer, cirrhosis and liver failure. It is treatable, but those who have the disease are often unaware of their infection.