Researchers have published evidence of the sustained benefits of an investigational antipsychotic treatment for people with dementia-related psychosis. Up to half of the 45 million people worldwide who are living with Alzheimer’s disease will experience psychotic episodes, a figure that is even higher in some other forms of dementia. Psychosis is linked to a faster…

People with low scores on intelligence tests in adolescence run a higher risk of suicide and suicide attempt later in life. That is according to a study that followed almost 50,000 Swedish men from the 1970s until recently. Prior studies have linked low intelligence and low emotional control to an increased risk of suicide. This…

Researchers have shown how the brain communicates to blood vessels when in need of energy, and how these blood vessels respond by relaxing or constricting to direct blood flow to specific brain regions. Now, University of Maryland School of Medicine and University of Vermont researchers have shown how the brain communicates to blood vessels when…

Opioid overdose deaths in Connecticut doubled in the past 6 years, largely driven by use of multiple drugs together, according to a team of researchers. Based on data from the state’s Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, there was a 221% increase in opioid-related drug overdoses from 2012 to 2018. The findings were published today…

One-fourth of children under age 8 with autism spectrum disorder — most of them black or Hispanic — are not being diagnosed, which is critical for improving quality of life. The findings, published in the journal Autism Research, show that despite growing awareness about autism, it is still under-diagnosed, particularly in black and Hispanic people,…

Researchers have developed a technique for assembling optoelectrodes that looks to offer the best of silicon-based electrodes and polymer-based electrodes. The scientists demonstrated it is possible to efficiently create a semiflexible light-emitting electrode by removing the stiff silicon material from underneath the tip of the probe. The resulting device can study deep brain tissues with…

Researchers have developed an animal model that reproduces motor dysfunction and cerebellar neurodegeneration similar to that in spinocerebellar ataxia (SCA) by inhibiting chaperone-mediated autophagy (CMA) in cerebellar neurons. SCA is an inherited, intractable neurological disorder caused by several genes. It causes atrophy and neurodegeneration of the cerebellum and is characterized by progressive motor dysfunction like…

Nw study findings implicate a specific type of immune cell behind heterotopic ossification, or abnormal bone formation and present a possible target for treatment. Currently, «there’s no way to prevent it and once it’s formed, there’s no way to reverse it,» says Benjamin Levi, M.D., Director of the Burn/Wound/Regeneration Medicine Laboratory and Center for Basic…

Oral health is a critical component to overall health for all ages, but according to dental and medical experts, vigilance is especially critical for the elderly. In a review article recently published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, the authors outline the potential complications that can arise from poor oral hygiene in older…

Depression or anxiety in adolescence is linked with a 20% greater likelihood of having a heart attack mid-life, according to new research. In a warning to parents, study author Dr. Cecilia Bergh of Orebro University in Sweden, said: «Be vigilant and look for signs of stress, depression or anxiety that is beyond the normal teenage…