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Omega-3 Deficiencies Linked to Mental Disorders


Press TV
Sun, 20 Dec 2009 15:29 UTC
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© Getty Images
Deficiencies in omega-3 fatty acids may place individuals at an increased risk of developing mental disorders, a new study finds.

Omega-3 fatty acids are essential fatty acids that cannot be produced by the body and are supplied from food intake. Oily fish like salmon, walnuts and ground flax seeds are rich sources of these fatty acids.

While the cardioprotective benefits of these fats had long been recognized, the new study, however, is the first to report their benefits to brain health.

According to the study published in Behavioral Neuroscience, two omega-3 fatty acids known as docosahexaenoic acid and eicosapentaenoic acid play a critical role in maintaining the health of the nervous system.
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Mental Illness Common in Male and Female Killers

Ian Munro
The Age
Sun, 20 Dec 2009 17:00 UTC
A study of killers in Victoria has identified startling links between mental illness and homicide, with four out of every five women who kill found to have suffered a mental disorder before offending.

Among men who kill, one in three was diagnosed with a mental disorder.

Mental health problems across both groups included depression and personality disorders, but most common was schizophrenia, which was diagnosed for 38 of the 435 killers. Men with schizophrenia were found to be eight times more likely to kill, and women with schizophrenia 29 times more likely to kill, than non-sufferers.

The findings come as the former clinical director of the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine, Paul Mullen, said Victoria had gone too far in de-institutionalising mental health.

Now a Monash University professor emeritus of forensic psychiatry, he said the push for ever shorter hospital stays meant many people with serious disorders such as schizophrenia were not adequately treated.
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Daily Pot Smoking May Hasten Onset of Psychosis


ScienceDaily
Sun, 20 Dec 2009 15:00 UTC
Progression to daily marijuana use in adolescence may hasten the onset of symptoms leading up to psychosis, an Emory University study finds. The study was published in the November issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry.

The researchers analyzed data from 109 hospitalized patients who were experiencing their first psychotic episode. The results showed that patients who had a history of using marijuana, or cannabis, and increased to daily pot smoking experienced both psychotic and pre-psychotic symptoms at earlier ages.

"We were surprised that it wasn't just whether or not they used cannabis in adolescence that predicted the age of onset, rather it was how quickly they progressed to becoming a daily cannabis user that was the stronger predictor," said Michael Compton, lead author and assistant professor of psychiatry in the Emory School of Medicine.
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Fear of Lawsuits May Prompt Some Doctors to Over-Prescribe Antibiotics


ScienceDaily
Sun, 20 Dec 2009 00:00 UTC
A new study led by a team of researchers at New York Medical College suggests that that medical liability concerns may be playing a role in the increase of MRSA in healthcare settings by encouraging clinicians to prescribe antibiotics more often and more broadly than clinical circumstances and evidence-based guidelines warrant.

The study appeared in the September-October issue of the American Journal of Therapeutics.

The team analyzed census figures, statistics on population density of attorneys and physicians, and data on antibiotic utilization for the United States, Canada, and 15 European countries. They compared this to statistics on the percentage of methicillin resistance among clinical isolates of S. aureus. They found a strong correlation between the prevalence of methicillin resistance and density of attorneys in countries in Europe and North America. They found no correlation between prevalence of methicillin resistance and physician density.
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Skull Bone May Hold the Key to Tackling Osteoporosis


ScienceDaily
Sun, 20 Dec 2009 00:00 UTC
Scientists at Queen Mary, University of London have uncovered fundamental differences between the bone which makes up the skull and the bones in our limbs, which they believe could hold the key to tackling bone weakness and fractures.

It is well know that bones in the arms and legs become weak and vulnerable to breaks when they are not maintained by weight bearing exercise. However skull bone, which bears almost no weight remains particularly resistant to breaking.

The new research published in PLoS ONE offers an explanation for this phenomenon for the first time. The researchers say that their new understanding of the differences between the two types of bone could lead to new ways to treat or prevent osteoporosis.
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Emu Oil is a Miracle from Down Under

Flora Stay
Natural News
Sun, 20 Dec 2009 05:12 UTC
The emu, a native of Australia, is a large, ostrich looking bird that doesn't fly. The Australian Aborigines first discovered the benefits of emu oil and have been using it for thousands of years for bone, muscle and joint pain, as an anti-inflammatory and for many skin conditions. The west is finally taking notice of this remarkable oil.
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Why Does a Human Baby Need a Full Year Before Starting to Walk?


ScienceDaily
Sat, 19 Dec 2009 06:00 UTC
Image
© iStockphoto/Beth Jeppson
Why does a human baby need a full year before it can start walking, while a newborn foal gets up on its legs almost directly after birth?
Why does a human baby need a full year before it can start walking, while a newborn foal gets up on its legs almost directly after birth? Scientist have assumed that human motor development is unique because our brain is unusually complex and because it is particularly challenging to walk on two legs. But now a research group at Lund University in Sweden has shown that human babies in fact start walking at the same stage in brain development as most other walking mammals, from small rodents to elephants.

The findings are published in the journal PNAS.

The Lund group consists of neurophysiologists Martin Garwicz and Maria Christensson and developmental psychologist Elia Psouni. Contrary to convention, they used conception and not birth as the starting point of motor development in their comparison between different mammals. This revealed astonishing similarities among species that diverged in evolution as much as 100 million years ago. -- Humans certainly have more brain cells and bigger brains than most other terrestrial mammalian species, but with respect to walking, brain development appears to be similar for us and other mammals. Our study demonstrates that the difference is quantitative, not qualitative, says Martin Garwicz.
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Immune Cell Activity Linked to Worsening COPD


ScienceDaily
Sat, 19 Dec 2009 03:00 UTC
A new study links chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, with increased activity of cells that act as sentinels to activate the body's immune system.

The University of Michigan and Veterans Affairs research adds to growing awareness of the immune system's role in COPD, a serious, progressive lung disease that affects more than 12 million Americans with wheezing, shortness of breath, chest tightening and other symptoms. Understanding immune factors is key if doctors are to find better ways to detect and treat the disease early when patients might benefit most, believe some COPD researchers.

Nearly all people diagnosed with COPD have emphysema or chronic bronchitis or most commonly, both conditions. COPD is the fourth leading cause of death in the United States. Most people with COPD are smokers or former smokers.
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Antimicrobial Peptide from Ancient Organism May Be Effective Against Multiresistant Human Pathogens Including MRSA


ScienceDaily
Sat, 19 Dec 2009 00:00 UTC
Researchers in Germany have identified a new antimicrobial peptide that demonstrates significant activity against a variety of bacteria, including multiresistant human strains such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE). The discovery was made while investigating the ancient metazoan organism Hydra magnipapillata.

The researchers from Christian-Albrechts-University and the University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein Campus, Kiel, Germany report their findings in the December 2009 issue of the journal Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy.

While occurrences of multidrug-resistant infections continue to increase, the discovery and development of drugs effective against these bacterial strains have slowed. Once commonly thought of as a hospital-acquired infection, MRSA has now spread to the community (now known as community acquired or CA-MRSA) and is infecting previously healthy young people who have not been recently hospitalized or undergone a medical procedure. Past research has proven that ancient organisms are well equipped at preventing infectious pathogens from entering the body and given the desperate need for new drug targets, further exploration of these organisms is warranted.
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Dyslexia: Some Very Smart Accomplished People Cannot Read Well


ScienceDaily
Sat, 19 Dec 2009 00:00 UTC
Image
© iStockphoto
Contrary to popular belief, some very smart, accomplished people cannot read well.
Contrary to popular belief, some very smart, accomplished people cannot read well. This unexpected difficulty in reading in relation to intelligence, education and professional status is called dyslexia, and researchers at Yale School of Medicine and University of California Davis, have presented new data that explain how otherwise bright and intelligent people struggle to read.

The study, which will be published in the January 1, 2010 issue of the journal Psychological Science, provides a validated definition of dyslexia. "For the first time, we've found empirical evidence that shows the relationship between IQ and reading over time differs for typical compared to dyslexic readers," said Sally E. Shaywitz, M.D., the Audrey G. Ratner Professor in Learning Development at Yale School of Medicine's Department of Pediatrics, and co-director of the newly formed Yale Center for Dyslexia and Creativity.

Using data from the Connecticut Longitudinal Study, an ongoing 12-year study of cognitive and behavioral development in a representative sample of 445 Connecticut schoolchildren, Shaywitz and her team tested each child in reading every year and tested for IQ every other year. They were looking for evidence to show how the dissociation between cognitive ability and reading ability might develop in children.
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