A new study shows that brain circuitry makes some people more susceptible to becoming addicts. Researchers found that a pocket near the top of the brain stem may be key in determining whether someone is likely to engage in compulsive behavior or become hooked on drugs like cocaine, which is currently abused by an estimated two million Americans. The finding could help prevent addiction by predicting those predisposed to such behavior and could also lead to new ways to treat it.
Researchers at the University of Cambridge in England report in this week's Science that a lower number of specific types of receptors that bind the neurotransmitter dopamine - a chemical central to the brain's reward system - in the front (or ventral) section of the striatum (a midbrain region implicated in planning and movement as well as executive function) correlates to increased impulsive behavior in rats. In addition, they found that the more impulsive animals, when given the option, consumed more cocaine than the calmer rats did.
Health & Wellness
"Oops, wrong kidney."
In recent years, errors in treatment have become a serious problem for hospitals, ranging from operations on wrong body parts to medication mix-ups.
At least 1.5 million patients are harmed every year from being given the wrong drugs, according to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences. That's an average of one person per U.S. hospital per day.
One reason these mistakes persist: Only 10% of hospitals are fully computerized and have a central database to track allergies and diagnoses, says Robert Wachter, the chief of medical service at UC San Francisco Medical Center.
In recent years, errors in treatment have become a serious problem for hospitals, ranging from operations on wrong body parts to medication mix-ups.
At least 1.5 million patients are harmed every year from being given the wrong drugs, according to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences. That's an average of one person per U.S. hospital per day.
One reason these mistakes persist: Only 10% of hospitals are fully computerized and have a central database to track allergies and diagnoses, says Robert Wachter, the chief of medical service at UC San Francisco Medical Center.
The chairman of the federal panel that recommended the new cervical-cancer vaccine for pre-teen girls says lawmakers should not make the inoculation mandatory, as the District and more than 20 states, including Virginia, are considering.
No deaths have been confirmed, although a Pennsylvania family filed a lawsuit Wednesday claiming a relative died from eating tainted peanut butter.
No deaths have been confirmed, although a Pennsylvania family filed a lawsuit Wednesday claiming a relative died from eating tainted peanut butter.
On November 1, President George W. Bush went to the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland to hold a high profile press conference, to announce a 381-page plan, officially called the Pandemic Influenza Strategic Plan.
Readers can be helpful, and one just wrote in to inform us of a link that we had never imagined - Donald Rumsfeld, until he resigned and joined the Bush Administration, was the chairman of something called Gilead which just happened to make something called Tamiflu.
A boy of eight who weighs as much as an adult man could be taken from his family and placed into care for health reasons.
Tipping the scales at 14 stone, Connor McCreaddie is three times as heavy as the average child of his age.
At a meeting tomorrow, his mother Nicola McKeown must convince officials that she has not abused her son by allowing him to grow so fat.
Connor could be placed on the child protection register along with victims of physical and sexual abuse, or on the less serious register of children in need.
With childhood obesity soaring, doctors have warned that such desperate measures could become more common.
It would be a devastating blow for Mrs McKeown, who insists her boy "has always been big".
Tipping the scales at 14 stone, Connor McCreaddie is three times as heavy as the average child of his age.
At a meeting tomorrow, his mother Nicola McKeown must convince officials that she has not abused her son by allowing him to grow so fat.
Connor could be placed on the child protection register along with victims of physical and sexual abuse, or on the less serious register of children in need.
With childhood obesity soaring, doctors have warned that such desperate measures could become more common.
It would be a devastating blow for Mrs McKeown, who insists her boy "has always been big".
Women who eat low-fat dairy foods may have a higher risk of infertility than those who treat themselves to full-fat ice cream or cheese, surprised U.S. researchers said on Tuesday.
They found that women who ate two or more servings of low-fat dairy foods a day had an 85 percent higher risk of a certain type of infertility than women who ate less than one serving of low-fat dairy food a week.
Women who ate one serving of high-fat dairy food a day were 27 percent less likely to be infertile than women who avoided full-fat dairy foods.
They found that women who ate two or more servings of low-fat dairy foods a day had an 85 percent higher risk of a certain type of infertility than women who ate less than one serving of low-fat dairy food a week.
Women who ate one serving of high-fat dairy food a day were 27 percent less likely to be infertile than women who avoided full-fat dairy foods.
The government has ordered an investigation after a boy who took Tamiflu made by Swiss firm Roche, jumped to his death from the building he lived in, officials said.
The 14-year-old boy was pronounced dead Tuesday after leaping from the 11th floor of a condominium in the northern Japanese city of Sendai, police said.
'According to our information, the boy woke up in the middle of night after taking the medicine,' a local police spokesman. A short time later the youth jumped off the building.
The 14-year-old boy was pronounced dead Tuesday after leaping from the 11th floor of a condominium in the northern Japanese city of Sendai, police said.
'According to our information, the boy woke up in the middle of night after taking the medicine,' a local police spokesman. A short time later the youth jumped off the building.
Washington - The Dole Fresh Fruit Co. recalled several thousand cartons of imported cantaloupes Friday after the fruit tested positive for salmonella.
The recall, which covers the Eastern United States and the Canadian province of Quebec, is the second sparked by salmonella fears this week.
The recall, which covers the Eastern United States and the Canadian province of Quebec, is the second sparked by salmonella fears this week.
Natick, Mass. - BJ's Wholesale Club announced a voluntary recall of its prepackaged, private-label brand mushrooms on Wednesday after testing turned up possible trace amounts of E. coli bacteria.
