Medicine posts
- July 21, 2016
- 02:59 AM
- 178 views
Sensory processing issues are present throughout the autism spectrum
by Paul Whiteley in Questioning Answers
I want to make an initial point about the paper by Corentin Gonthier and colleagues [1] and their research findings titled: 'Sensory Processing in Low-Functioning Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Distinct Sensory Profiles and Their Relationships with Behavioral Dysfunction', I'm not a great fan of the use of the term 'functioning' when it comes to autism. Yes, I know what message it's trying to convey in terms of 'severity' of autism and/or accompanying learning (intellectual) disabili........ Read more »
Gonthier C, Longuépée L, & Bouvard M. (2016) Sensory Processing in Low-Functioning Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Distinct Sensory Profiles and Their Relationships with Behavioral Dysfunction. Journal of autism and developmental disorders. PMID: 27364513
- July 20, 2016
- 04:30 AM
- 155 views
After ACL Surgery…Close Enough? NO WAY!
by Nicole Cattano in Sports Medicine Research (SMR): In the Lab & In the Field
Patients should attain all objective criteria goals prior to returning to sport. A professional athlete who fails to meet functional criteria for return-to-sport or who has a low hamstring:quadriceps ratio is at greater risk for an anterior cruciate ligament graft rupture.... Read more »
Kyritsis, P., Bahr, R., Landreau, P., Miladi, R., & Witvrouw, E. (2016) Likelihood of ACL graft rupture: not meeting six clinical discharge criteria before return to sport is associated with a four times greater risk of rupture. British Journal of Sports Medicine. DOI: 10.1136/bjsports-2015-095908
- July 20, 2016
- 02:55 AM
- 182 views
Autism 'disclosure cards' and negative judgements?
by Paul Whiteley in Questioning Answers
I have to say that I initially felt slightly uncomfortable reading the study results published by Jillian Austin and colleagues [1] providing "preliminary validation for the use of autism disclosure cards in buffering negative judgment." Uncomfortable because, despite the fact that it is human nature for people to stop, stare and perhaps question something when it seems 'out of the ordinary', the idea that when children with autism specifically 'misbehave' in a public place their parents need to........ Read more »
Austin JE, Zinke VL, & Davies WH. (2016) Influencing Perception About Children with Autism and their Parents Using Disclosure Cards. Journal of autism and developmental disorders. PMID: 27241346
- July 19, 2016
- 04:08 PM
- 157 views
Protein found to bolster growth of damaged muscle tissue
by Dr. Jekyll in Lunatic Laboratories
Biologists have found that a protein that plays a key role in the lives of stem cells can bolster the growth of damaged muscle tissue, a step that could potentially contribute to treatments for muscle degeneration caused by old age and diseases such as muscular dystrophy. The results show that a particular type of protein called integrin is present on the stem cell surface and used by stem cells to interact with, or "sense" their surroundings.
... Read more »
Rozo, M., Li, L., & Fan, C. (2016) Targeting β1-integrin signaling enhances regeneration in aged and dystrophic muscle in mice. Nature Medicine. DOI: 10.1038/nm.4116
- July 19, 2016
- 03:27 PM
- 147 views
Running Economy and Foot Strike Pattern
by Craig Payne in Running Research Junkie
Running Economy and Foot Strike Pattern... Read more »
Nichols, R., Germano, C., Burke, M., Nolan, K., Youngs-Grand, K., & Girard, J. (2016) The effects of foot strike on running economy in distance runners: a narrative review. Physical Therapy Reviews, 1-6. DOI: 10.1080/10833196.2016.1193970
- July 19, 2016
- 03:17 PM
- 74 views
Can Ultrasound Diagnose Autism?
by Neuroskeptic in Neuroskeptic_Discover
A paper makes the remarkable claim that autism could be detected through the use of ultrasound to peer beneath the skull. This paper is from 2014, but it just came to my attention.
The authors of the piece, James Jeffrey Bradstreet, Stefania Pacini and Marco Ruggiero, studied 23 children with autism and 15 control children, who were unaffected siblings of the autistic group. Using ultrasound, the authors looked under the skull overlaying the brain's temporal cortex. The ultrasound reveale... Read more »
Bradstreet JJ, Pacini S, & Ruggiero M. (2014) A New Methodology of Viewing Extra-Axial Fluid and Cortical Abnormalities in Children with Autism via Transcranial Ultrasonography. Frontiers in human neuroscience, 934. PMID: 24459462
- July 19, 2016
- 02:51 AM
- 175 views
1 in 3 people with CFS might benefit from methylphenidate?
by Paul Whiteley in Questioning Answers
I'm cautious about the findings reported by Daniel Blockmans & Philippe Persoons [1] talking about how long-term use of the stimulant medication methylphenidate (MPH) might be something to consider for at least some people diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). Cautious because the sole use of a questionnaire looking "for possible improvement of concentration difficulties and fatigue" following the use of MPH on this research occasion is not exactly a top tier scientific method...Non........ Read more »
Blockmans D, & Persoons P. (2016) Long-term methylphenidate intake in chronic fatigue syndrome. Acta clinica Belgica, 1-8. PMID: 27351244
- July 18, 2016
- 03:20 PM
- 199 views
Secrets of the human brain unlocked
by Dr. Jekyll in Lunatic Laboratories
Human intelligence is being defined and measured for the first time ever. Researchers have been recently undertaken to quantify the brain's dynamic functions, and identify how different parts of the brain interact with each other at different times - namely, to discover how intellect works.
... Read more »
Zhang, J., Cheng, W., Liu, Z., Zhang, K., Lei, X., Yao, Y., Becker, B., Liu, Y., Kendrick, K., Lu, G.... (2016) Neural, electrophysiological and anatomical basis of brain-network variability and its characteristic changes in mental disorders. Brain. DOI: 10.1093/brain/aww143
- July 18, 2016
- 07:26 AM
- 163 views
The Internet asks me about smelly things
by Rosin Cerate in Rosin Cerate
Whenever I'm working on a new post, I like to take a bit of time to check in on the stats for this blog. I'm particularly interested in what people are typing into their search engines to find their way here. For whatever reason, a post I wrote about what poisons smell like is very popular among users of the Internet. I'm taking this as a sign that people like to read about smells, so I thought I'd look into a couple of odour-related search queries via which people have found this blog.'type of ........ Read more »
Sell CS. (2006) On the unpredictability of odor. Angewandte Chemie (International ed. in English), 45(38), 6254-6261. PMID: 16983730
- July 18, 2016
- 04:30 AM
- 146 views
The New Norm When Missing SCAT3 Concussion Baseline Scores
by Jane McDevitt in Sports Medicine Research (SMR): In the Lab & In the Field
A clinician needs to recognize that sex, competitive level, and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder or learning disorder may influence SCAT3 scores. A medical professional could use normative conversion tables if they lack baseline scores and may not need to worry about practice effects with the SCAT3, except when retesting an athlete within 7 days.... Read more »
Chin EY, Nelson LD, Barr WB, McCrory P, & McCrea MA. (2016) Reliability and Validity of the Sport Concussion Assessment Tool-3 (SCAT3) in High School and Collegiate Athletes. The American Journal of Sports Medicine. PMID: 27281276
- July 18, 2016
- 02:45 AM
- 147 views
Reconsidering the Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ) for autism screening?
by Paul Whiteley in Questioning Answers
A quote to begin: "The AQ's [Autism Spectrum Quotient] utility for screening referrals was limited in this sample. Recommendations supporting the AQ's role in the assessment of adult ASD [autism spectrum disorder], e.g. UK NICE guidelines, may need to be reconsidered."Taken from the paper published by Ashwood and colleagues [1], the findings from this team don't make for great reading if you happen to be a fan of the AQ as a potential screening instrument for adult autism. Indeed,........ Read more »
Ashwood KL, Gillan N, Horder J, Hayward H, Woodhouse E, McEwen FS, Findon J, Eklund H, Spain D, Wilson CE.... (2016) Predicting the diagnosis of autism in adults using the Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ) questionnaire. Psychological medicine, 1-10. PMID: 27353452
- July 17, 2016
- 03:08 PM
- 175 views
Specialized neurons in emotional memory play important role in fear
by Dr. Jekyll in Lunatic Laboratories
Fear memory encoding, the process responsible for persistent reactions to trauma-associated cues, is influenced by a sparse but potent population of inhibitory cells called parvalbumin-interneurons (PV-INs) in the amygdala, according to a new study.
... Read more »
Lucas, E., Jegarl, A., Morishita, H., & Clem, R. (2016) Multimodal and Site-Specific Plasticity of Amygdala Parvalbumin Interneurons after Fear Learning. Neuron. DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2016.06.032
- July 16, 2016
- 04:45 PM
- 187 views
Reopening avenues for attacking ALS
by Dr. Jekyll in Lunatic Laboratories
Researchers have found evidence that bone marrow transplantation may one day be beneficial to a subset of patients suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a fatal neurodegenerative disorder more commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease.
... Read more »
Burberry, A., Suzuki, N., Wang, J., Moccia, R., Mordes, D., Stewart, M., Suzuki-Uematsu, S., Ghosh, S., Singh, A., Merkle, F.... (2016) Loss-of-function mutations in the C9ORF72 mouse ortholog cause fatal autoimmune disease. Science Translational Medicine, 8(347), 347-347. DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.aaf6038
- July 16, 2016
- 06:48 AM
- 170 views
Increased microbial translocation in ME/CFS
by Paul Whiteley in Questioning Answers
"The cause of ME/CFS [myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome] is unknown, but gut dysbiosis could be contributing to some of the symptoms and their severity. Developing therapeutic interventions aimed at reducing local inflammation, restoring gastrointestinal tract immunity and integrity and modifying the intestinal microbiome may ameliorate ME/CFS symptoms in a number of affected patients."Those were the important conclusions reported by Ludovic Giloteaux and colleagues [1........ Read more »
Giloteaux L, Goodrich JK, Walters WA, Levine SM, Ley RE, & Hanson MR. (2016) Reduced diversity and altered composition of the gut microbiome in individuals with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome. Microbiome, 4(1), 30. PMID: 27338587
- July 15, 2016
- 02:24 PM
- 240 views
Repeated stimulation treatment can restore movement to paralyzed muscles
by Dr. Jekyll in Lunatic Laboratories
Conducted at the BioMag laboratory at the Helsinki University Hospital, a new patient study could open a new opportunity to rehabilitate patients with spinal cord damage. In a new study which two patients with spinal cord injuries received a form of treatment that combined transcranial magnetic stimulation with simultaneous peripheral nerve stimulation given repeatedly for nearly six months.
... Read more »
Shulga, A., Lioumis, P., Zubareva, A., Brandstack, N., Kuusela, L., Kirveskari, E., Savolainen, S., Ylinen, A., & Mäkelä, J. (2016) Long-term paired associative stimulation can restore voluntary control over paralyzed muscles in incomplete chronic spinal cord injury patients. Spinal Cord Series and Cases, 16016. DOI: 10.1038/scsandc.2016.16
- July 15, 2016
- 02:54 AM
- 200 views
Another study to watch... vitamin D and/or fatty acid supplements for autism
by Paul Whiteley in Questioning Answers
Hot on the heels of a recent post about a study to watch for (see here) details of yet another "randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial" have been published in the form of the trial protocol by Hajar Mazahery and colleagues [1].This time around the aim is to "investigate the effect of vitamin D, n-3 LCPUFAs [omega-3 long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids] or a combination of both on core symptoms of ASD [autism spectrum disorder]" and hopefully with it, the generat........ Read more »
Mazahery H, Conlon C, Beck KL, Kruger MC, Stonehouse W, Camargo CA Jr, Meyer BJ, Tsang B, Mugridge O, & von Hurst PR. (2016) Vitamin D and omega-3 fatty acid supplements in children with autism spectrum disorder: a study protocol for a factorial randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Trials, 17(1), 295. PMID: 27334138
- July 14, 2016
- 11:30 PM
- 197 views
Evolutionary dynamics of acid and VEGF production in tumours
by Artem Kaznatcheev in Evolutionary Games Group
Today was my presentation day at ECMTB/SMB 2016. I spoke in David Basanta’s mini-symposium on the games that cancer cells play and postered during the poster session. The mini-symposium started with a brief intro from David, and had 25 minute talks from Jacob Scott, myself, Alexander Anderson, and John Nagy. David, Jake, Sandy, and John […]... Read more »
Hauert, C., De Monte, S., Hofbauer, J., & Sigmund, K. (2002) Replicator dynamics for optional public good games. Journal of Theoretical Biology, 218(2), 187-94. PMID: 12381291
- July 14, 2016
- 01:27 PM
- 214 views
Weird stuff found in recreational drugs: Cocaine edition
by Rosin Cerate in Rosin Cerate
This is the fifth and final post in a series on strange substances accidentally or intentionally added to street drugs. When you're done here, check out the posts on alcohol, meth, opioids, and pot/LSD.If a drug is being sold illegally, chances are its sellers have added crap to it in order to make more money. Cocaine is no exception to this deception. Substances added to nose candy because they resemble the drug but otherwise don't mimic or influence its effects include talc powder, flour, corn........ Read more »
Tallarida CS, Tallarida RJ, & Rawls SM. (2015) Levamisole enhances the rewarding and locomotor-activating effects of cocaine in rats. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 145-150. PMID: 25683823
- July 14, 2016
- 10:14 AM
- 180 views
Folliculin is required for embryonic brain development in zebrafish
by Joana Guedes in BHD Research Blog
Birt-Hogg-Dubé syndrome (BHD) is caused by mutations in the gene encoding folliculin (FLCN). How this leads to the BHD clinical manifestations is not yet clear. Since homozygous mutations of FLCN are lethal in mice, rats and dogs at early embryonic stage (Hasumi et al., 2009), zebrafish is a valuable alternative model to study the developmental functions of FLCN. Newly published research from Kenyon et al. (2016) examines the role of FLCN in zebrafish development using morpholino oligonuc........ Read more »
Kenyon EJ, Luijten MN, Gill H, Li N, Rawlings M, Bull JC, Hadzhiev Y, van Steensel MA, Maher E, & Mueller F. (2016) Expression and knockdown of zebrafish folliculin suggests requirement for embryonic brain morphogenesis. BMC developmental biology, 16(1), 23. PMID: 27391801
- July 14, 2016
- 03:09 AM
- 174 views
Gastrin-releasing peptide and autism?
by Paul Whiteley in Questioning Answers
"Gastrin-releasing peptide was safe and well tolerated by most subjects and may be effective for core symptoms of autism."So said the results of the study - open trial - by Michele Michelin Becker and colleagues [1] continuing a research theme from this author [2] on the potential need for further scientific scrutiny when it comes to the use of gastrin-releasing peptides (GRP) and autism. Emphasising again that results were based on the use of an open trial (everyone knew what was bein........ Read more »
Becker MM, Riesgo RS, Roesler R, Bosa C, Ohlweiler L, Backes B, Endres RG, Zanon RB, Marchezan J, & Schwartsmann G. (2016) Improvement in Symptoms of Autism Spectrum Disorder in Children With the Use of Gastrin-Releasing Peptide: An Open Trial. Clinical neuropharmacology. PMID: 27332629
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