UTSouthwestern.edu – A naturally produced phytochemical called resveratrol, found in the skin of red grapes, has been shown to lower insulin levels in mice when injected directly into the brain, even when the animals ate a high-fat diet. The findings from a new UT Southwestern Medical Center study suggest that when acting directly on certain [...]

The antibiotic minocycline may revolutionize the treatment of strokes, but only in carefully titrated low doses. A new study, published in the open access journal BMC Neuroscience, describes the safety and therapeutic efficacy of minocycline, which has anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptotic actions. Dr. Cesar V. Borlongan from the University of South Florida, USA worked with a [...]

CFAH.org – An updated Cochrane review finds that stroke patients who participate in a post-stroke walking program walk faster, longer and more independently than non-exercisers. “Cardiorespiratory training, which used walking as the mode of exercise, can improve walking ability,” said lead review author David Saunders, Ph.D., a lecturer in exercise physiology at the University of [...]

Using medication that reduces or blocks the actions of folic acid during the first trimester of pregnancy (weeks 1-12), increases the risk that the growing baby will develop abnormalities or birth defects. This conclusion was reached by a team of epidemiologists, pediatricians, clinical pharmacologists, obstetricians and gynecologists who examined birth and abortion data collected in [...]

Scientists have discovered a previously unknown link between a high fat diet in pregnancy and fatty liver disease in the offspring. The original news release did not clarify that this research was done with mice, so extrapolation to humans is of course tentative. In a study, published in the journal Hepatology today, researchers at the [...]

UCLA.edu – Women who developed new-onset breast tenderness after starting estrogen plus progestin hormone replacement therapy were at significantly higher risk for developing breast cancer than women on the combination therapy who didn’t experience such tenderness, according to a new UCLA study. The research, published in the October 12, 2009 issue of the Archives of [...]