UI psychologist Kim Johnson and colleagues found in their research that when rats are deficient in sodium chloride, common table salt, they shy away from activities they normally enjoy, like drinking a sugary substance or pressing a bar that stimulates a pleasant sensation in their brains.
"Things that normally would be pleasurable for rats didn’t elicit the same degree (more…)

fluoxetine prozac The higher incidence of chronic illnesses in Europe and the consequent increase of patient population in intensive care units has amplified the need for equipment that measure vital signs such as blood pressure during surgeries. This rise in the number of people requiring critical care has escalated the demand (more…)

A study by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco has shown that hypertension, or high blood pressure, is a predictor of mortality among breast cancer patients, especially those who are African-American, and that hypertension accounts for approximately 30 percent of the survival disparity between African-American and white breast cancer patients.
According to the study’s lead (more…)

Why do some people always look on the bright side of life when others seem to focus on the negatives? According to new research, it could be down to their genes. The findings, published in the Royal Society journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, help to explain why some people respond better to stress than others and why some are more prone to emotional (more…)

Registration for the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network’s (FAAN) 16th annual Food Allergy Conferences is now open. Anyone who has a food allergy or takes care of someone with a food allergy will benefit from learning how to "Take Action, Prevent Reactions."
The conferences will be held in Baltimore, Md., on March 28, in Rosemont, Ill., on April 18, and in Tarrytown, N.Y., on May 9. The (more…)

A new report by psychologists at the University of Leicester warns of the dangers of jurors facing trauma because of their exposure to harrowing and gruesome evidence.
In the first study of its kind, the research highlights how women jurors are more vulnerable, particularly if the trial covers material that resonates with their personal histories.
The research confirms that jury service, particularly (more…)

Imagine that you have been in combat and that you have watched your closest friend die in front of you. The memory of that event may stay with you, troubling you for the rest of your life. Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is among the most common and disabling psychiatric casualties of combat and other extremely stressful situations. People suffering from PTSD often suffer from vivid intrusive memories of their traumas. Current (more…)

Families with food allergic individuals make significant lifestyle alterations when it comes to vacation planning, according to a study presented at the 2009 Annual Meeting of the American Academy (more…)

Women with suspected coronary artery disease who suffer from depression have significantly higher health care costs than those who are not depressed, according to findings from the Women’s Ischemia Syndrome Evaluation (WISE), an ongoing, multicenter study funded (more…)

Evotec AG (Frankfurt Stock Exchange: EVT; NASDAQ: EVTC) and Roche (SWX: RO, ROG; OTCQX: RHHBY) announced today that they have entered into an agreement for Phase II clinical development of EVT 101 in patients with treatment-resistant depression. The potential value of this transaction exceeds USD 300 million.
Evotec will be responsible for conducting Phase II studies for EVT 101, a compound originally discovered by Roche and (more…)

People with a likely history of depression who take varenicline (Chantix®) do not report more severe mood symptoms, medication side effects, or less success quitting smoking compared to people with no history of depression taking this drug.
The findings by Group Health, Free & Clear, and SRI International researchers are reported in a Journal of General Internal Medicine article published online. The National Cancer Institute (more…)

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) today unveiled a new stress website that will help businesses prevent work-related stress.
The website includes updated advice and guidance, tools to help prevent stress at work, a self-assessment questionnaire for line managers, case studies and good practical examples of things that have worked well for other organisations. The focus (more…)

Nearly 6,500 toxicologists from around the world will be gathering in Baltimore, Maryland March 15-19, to create an unparalleled venue for discussion of a number of health and environmental topics of concern (more…)

Women who have higher levels of a hormone produced by the placenta midway through pregnancy appear more likely to develop postpartum depression, a study authored by a UC Irvine researcher finds.
The discovery could help identify and treat women at risk for postpartum depression long before the onset of symptoms.
Ilona Yim, psychology and social behavior assistant professor, and colleagues found (more…)

InterCure Ltd., a medical device company publicly traded on the Tel-Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE: INCR), has announced a new study published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Human Hypertension. The advance online publication of the study is now available on the journal’s website. The study will also be published in the May issue of the journal, Volume 23, Issue 5. It demonstrates use of RESPeRATE - the only medical device cleared by the FDA (more…)

Many mistakenly believe recall involves national brands of peanut butter and are not aware of the range of products involved
A new national survey conducted by the Harvard Opinion Research Program at the Harvard School of Public Health finds that the vast majority (93%) of Americans have heard or read about the recent (more…)

Huijing Xia, PhD, a postdoctoral research associate in the lab of Eric Lazartigues, PhD, Assistant Professor of Pharmacology at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans, is the lead author on a paper reporting that a recently identified enzyme in the brain plays a critically important role in the central regulation of blood pressure. The LSUHSC research team showed that Angiotensin-converting (more…)

Risk stratification has become central to strategies for the prevention of coronary heart disease, with the implication that priority is given to those at highest risk (ie, those with established heart disease). However, such stratification using the conventional risk estimation models may not be accurately achieved in individuals without symptoms, especially those in younger age groups whose 10-year "short-term" (more…)

China Pharma Holdings, Inc. ("China Pharma") (OTC Bulletin Board: CPHI), which develops, manufactures, and markets specialty pharmaceutical products in China, announced today that the company has initiated clinical trials for the generic version of the leading hypertension drug Candesartan.
The clinical trials for this product are anticipated to require approximately 18 months to (more…)

Children with high blood pressure are not as good at complicated, goal-directed tasks, have more working memory problems and are not as adept at planning as their peers without hypertension, according to recent research. If they are both hypertensive and obese, they are also more likely (more…)

A new study finds that a botanical drug could provide the key to new treatments for peanut allergies. The findings are published online in The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.
Lead author Xiu-Min Li, MD, Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Director of Center for Chinese Herbal Therapy for Allergy and Asthma at (more…)

It’s not uncommon for students to consume energy drinks to increase their concentration as they study throughout the night. "Energy drinks are the coffee of a new generation," says St?©phanie C??t?©, nutritionist with Extenso, a Universit?© de Montr?©al health and nutrition think-tank. "These drinks are made up of sugar (more…)

A new medical report calls for caution following the recent case of a boy who tried to hang himself after watching a hanging depicted in a fictional film. This seems to be the first case of attempted copycat suicide in a child under 10 years old. Exposure to suicidal behaviour in the media has been strongly linked to copycat suicide attempts but never in someone so young. This case warns of the (more…)

Men who experience erectile dysfunction between the ages of 40 and 49 are twice as likely to develop heart disease than men without dysfunction, according to a new Mayo Clinic study.
Researchers also found that men with erectile dysfunction have an 80 percent higher risk of heart disease.
"The highest risk for coronary heart disease was in younger men," says researcher Jennifer St. Sauver, Ph.D. The study was published (more…)

Major depression (MD) is a severe, life-threatening and widespread psychiatric disorder, which is predicted to soon become one of the major causes of
death worldwide. However, despite extensive investigations, the exact mechanisms that lead to MD have not been identified. In a Special Collection to
be published this week in the online, open-access peer-reviewed journal PLoS ONE, a series of research articles highlight some of the current (more…)