New Clue to Late Stage Alzheimer's Cause Found
A major international study has found that a gene known as SORL1 may provide yet another clue into the cause of late onset Alzheimer's disease.
The research, which was supported in part by the U.S. government's National Institutes of Health, examined blood samples from 6,000 people from a number of different racial, ethnic, and national backgrounds for signs of Alzheimer's disease.
Alzheimer's is caused by plaque forming in the brain to impede cognitive functioning, especially in older people. Eventually, total dementia, including memory loss and impairment of daily functioning, occurs in Alzheimer's patients. So far, no cure has been found.
But this latest research indicates there may be a genetic predisposition, according to a news release from the U.S. government's National Institute on Aging (NIA). The researchers found that faulty versions of the SORL1 gene contribute to the formation of the amyloid plaques that cause Alzheimer's.
And while the scientists didn't find a definite genetic link between SORL1 and the plaque formation, "... we know that genetic factors can play a role," NIA director Dr. Richard J. Hodes says in the news release. "This discovery provides a completely new genetic clue about the late onset forms of this very complex disease. We are eager to investigate the role of this gene further."
Results of the study are found in the online version of the journal Nature Genetics.
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Two Meningitis Cases Hit N.J. High School Hockey Players
Another outbreak of the highly contagious disease meningitis in at least two members of a northern New Jersey high school hockey team prompted the cancellation of all sporting events at Ramapo High School over the weekend.
This is the second meningitis-like outbreak in the Northeast United States in three weeks. Schools in three Rhode Island communities were closed in early January after one death and three illnesses were determined to be related and caused by inflammation of membranes in the brain.
According to The Record of Hackensack, one high school hockey player is hospitalized in serious condition. At least one other earlier case of the student's teammate was diagnosed as meningitis, and health officials say the two cases are linked. A third case involving a student who was not a hockey team member was found not to be meningitis, although the symptoms were similar, the newspaper reported.
Health officials are determining who should receive antibiotics and told The Record that they didn't believe mass doses would be necessary. The paper cited officials as saying they saw no need "to dispense medication on a mass level to all students and staff."
Meningitis is caused by inflammation to the membranes covering the brain. Symptoms can include high fever, headaches, vomiting and, most important, pain and stiffness in the neck.
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Adding Sound to Actions Increases Our Understanding, Study Says
Electrical impulses in the brain called mirror neurons may cause a link between an action and a sound associated with that action, new research has found.
This cause-and-effect relationship can help scientists understand how a sound associated with an action increases a person's ability to better understand a particular task. The study is published in the Jan. 10 edition of The Journal of Neuroscience.
The study, conducted by scientists from the neurology department at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, added more support to the theory that a mirror neuron system exists in humans, according to a news release from the journal.
The study subjects, all with no musical training, were taught to play a short piece on a keyboard. Subsequent brain activity was more intense in the "human equivalent of the area in the brain where mirror neurons were found in monkeys... when subjects listened to music they knew how to play compared with equally familiar music they did not know how to play," the news release said.
"Mirror-neuron circuits appear to encode and reflect templates for specific actions," the authors conclude.
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U.S. Government to Probe Surgical Procedure on Dog at Cleveland Clinic
The U.S. Department of Agriculture says it will investigate an incident at the world-renowned Cleveland Clinic that involved a neurosurgeon inducing a brain aneurism -- a bulge in a blood vessel -- in a dog so a new medical device could be demonstrated to salespeople.
The dog was killed after the procedure, according to the Associated Press.
The wire service reports that clinic officials notified the USDA of the incident. The clinic's report said that while the inducement of the aneurism had been authorized, the use of the medical device had not, the A.P. said. The identity of the surgeon was not made public.
Neither the USDA nor the Cleveland Clinic expressly forbids the use of animals for medical experiments, but the U.S. Animal Welfare Act sets guidelines for proper treatment, and that's what the USDA will look into in this case.
"We're just trying to determine what occurred here," the wire service quotes USDA spokesman Darby Holladay as saying.
The Cleveland Clinic often ranks at the top in surveys of medical institutions that specialize in cardiac-related treatment, especially surgery.
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Lettuce May Have Caused E. Coli Outbreak at Taco John's
Contaminated lettuce from California may have caused the E. coli outbreak late last year that left about 80 people sick after they ate at two Taco John's restaurants in Minnesota and Iowa, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Friday.
Of the 81 people who became ill, 26 were hospitalized. No one died in the outbreak.
Government investigators said the strain of bacteria in the Taco John's outbreak matched that found in samples taken from dairy farms in California's Central Valley. The FDA said the dairy farms are located near lettuce fields, the Associated Press reported.
Investigators are still trying to determine whether manure from the dairy farms could have contaminated the neighboring lettuce fields, said the FDA, which added that it's possible that other sources of contamination caused the Taco John's outbreak.
This is the second time in recent months that California cattle or dairy farms have been investigated as sources of E. coli contamination in produce. In September, an outbreak that killed three and sickened nearly 200 people in 26 states and Canada was traced to contaminated spinach grown in California.
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Genetic Code Used to Personalize Warfarin Doses
Starting this month, about 1,000 U.S. patients with a heart condition called atrial fibrillation will take part in a project to match their warfarin dose to their specific genetic code.
People with atrial fibrillation are at increased risk for deadly blood clots, and take warfarin to thin their blood and prevent clots. About two million Americans with atrial fibrillation take warfarin, the Associated Press reported.
Determining the appropriate warfarin dose is crucial. Taking too much can cause dangerous bleeding, and taking too little can lead to a stroke. Currently, trial and error is used to determine the correct dose of warfarin. Each year, warfarin-dosing errors result in tens of thousands of hospitalizations and deaths.
The DNA testing in this new project should help identify patients whose bodies break down warfarin slower or faster than normal. Their dosages can then be adjusted to prevent dangerous complications, the AP reported.
The project is a collaboration between the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., and Medco Health Solutions of Franklin Lakes, N.J.
Using a person's genetic profile to determine the most appropriate medicine or dose is called targeted therapy or personalized medicine. In the United States, a number of studies looking at targeted therapy are under way or being planned, the AP reported.
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