In experiments with rats, researchers have identified the change in brain circuitry that drives development of a compulsion to seek drugs, even when that compulsion is self-destructive. The researchers demonstrated the function of the circuitry by selectively switching off drug-seeking in the animals. They said their findings show the key role of the brain region, known as the striatum, which is a region activated by reward.
The researchers drew on previous studies indicating that when drug-seeking transforms from a goal-directed behavior to a compulsion, control over that behavior shifts from the ventral to dorsal region of the striatum. In their experiments, the researchers first trained rats to press a lever to obtain cocaine, which also activated a signal light. The researchers manipulated the schedule of cocaine-receiving and lever-pressing so that it would induce compulsive lever-pressing in the rats to obtain cocaine.
Could a simple vitamin A and zinc supplement help protect young children from malaria? A randomized double blind trial would suggest the answer is yes.
Jean-Bosco Ouedraogo of the Institut de Recherche en Sciences de la Santé (IRSS) in Bobo Dioulasso, Burkina Faso, and colleagues explain that vitamin A and zinc play a critical role in the normal function of the immune system, and may even play a synergistic role for reducing the risk of infection including malaria caused by Plasmodium falciparum.
St. Paul, Minn. - The Minnesota Court of Appeals has ruled that a mother who didn't like the way her baby's circumcision looked cannot sue a Fridley hospital for medical malpractice.
Daniel J. DeNoon
Web MDWed, 06 Feb 2008 07:29 UTC
The measles vaccine doesn't cause long-lasting measles infection or raise abnormal immune responses in kids with autism, a new study confirms.
Comment: Again, another faulty study tries to debunk the MMR-autism link. Anyone can spot the make-believe science by simply noticing that they
never compare an unvaccinated population to a vaccinated one. This is Science 101: having a control group which does not receive the medication. It is never done with the vaccines. UPI reporter, Dan Olmsted called this
The Amish Elephant:
A specter is haunting the medical and journalism establishments of the United States: Where are the unvaccinated people with autism?
That is just about the only way to explain what now appears to be a collective resistance to considering that question. And like all unanswered questions, this raises another one: Why?
What is the problem with quickly and firmly establishing that the autism rate is about the same everywhere and for everybody in the United States, vaccinated or unvaccinated? Wouldn't that stop all the scientifically illiterate chatter by parents who believe vaccinations made their children autistic? Wouldn't it put to rest concerns that -- despite the removal of a mercury-containing preservative in most U.S. vaccines -- hundreds of millions of children in the developing world are possibly at risk if that preservative is in fact linked to autism?
Calling this issue The Amish Elephant reflects reporting earlier this year in Age of Autism that the largely unvaccinated Amish may have a relatively low rate of autism. That apparent dissimilarity is, in effect, a proverbial elephant in the living room -- studiously ignored by people who don't want to deal with it and don't believe they will have to.
And as Dr. Richard Halvorsen, author of
The Truth About Vaccines,
notes:
"One vaccine expert disclosed to me that we will probably never be able to test the safety of vaccines while we bundle so many of them together and administer them at the same time.
"This means it's almost impossible to distinguish the side effects of one from another."
One has to wonder why we need a vaccine for three mild diseases that almost never have any serious side affects and in which the CDC itself reports that outbreaks occur in 100% vaccinated populations (CDC,
Morbidity and Mortality Report, Oct 4, 1984).
The Food and Drug Administration has launched a misguided attack on estriol despite overwhelming evidence it is safe and effective for women in menopause, according to Erika Schwartz MD.
|
| ©compoundingfacts.org
|
Wyeth petitioned the FDA to impose far-reaching restrictions on physicians' ability to prescribe and pharmacists' ability to prepare and dispense bioidentical hormones.
The first warning sign came when a sharp-eyed worker sorting pills noticed that the odd blue flecks dotting the finished drug capsules matched the paint on the factory doors.
After the flecks were spotted again on the capsules, a blood-pressure medication called diltiazem, the plant began placing covers over drugs in carts in its manufacturing areas.
But the factory owner, Canadian drug maker Biovail Corp., never tried to find out whether past shipments of the drug were contaminated - or prevent future contamination, according to U.S. regulators.
Greg Milam
Sky NewsMon, 04 Feb 2008 19:58 UTC
Scientists in France have developed human skin which may reduce chemical testing on animals.
Cosmetics giant L'Oreal showed Sky News their new product called Episkin in an exclusive visit to their laboratory in Lyon, France. The skin is grown from cells removed from donor skin left over after cosmetic surgery.
Researchers at Barts and The London School of Medicine have discovered that drinking just 500ml of beetroot juice a day can significantly reduce blood pressure. The study, published online today in the American Heart Association journal Hypertension, could have major implications for the treatment of cardiovascular disease.
Lead by Professor Amrita Ahluwalia of the William Harvey Research Institute at Barts and The London School of Medicine, and Professor Ben Benjamin of Peninsula Medical School, the research reveals that it is the ingestion of dietary nitrate contained within beetroot juice - and similarly in green, leafy vegetables - which results ultimately in decreased blood pressure. Previously the protective effects of vegetable-rich diets had been attributed to their antioxidant vitamin content.
Lack of folate, also called vitamin B-9, may triple the risk of developing dementia in old age, according to a study published Tuesday.
Comment: Again, another faulty study tries to debunk the MMR-autism link. Anyone can spot the make-believe science by simply noticing that they never compare an unvaccinated population to a vaccinated one. This is Science 101: having a control group which does not receive the medication. It is never done with the vaccines. UPI reporter, Dan Olmsted called this The Amish Elephant: And as Dr. Richard Halvorsen, author of The Truth About Vaccines, notes: One has to wonder why we need a vaccine for three mild diseases that almost never have any serious side affects and in which the CDC itself reports that outbreaks occur in 100% vaccinated populations (CDC, Morbidity and Mortality Report, Oct 4, 1984).