Studies and Analyses

Overactivity of protein kinase C (PKC), an enzyme that is implicated in bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, markedly impairs higher brain functions in animals, according to a Yale study published Oct. 29 in Science.

The research adds to mounting evidence that excessive activity of PKC may underlie the distractibility, impaired judgment, impulsivity, and disturbed thinking seen in bipolar disorder (also known as manic depressive illness), and in schizophrenia.

The study

UK legislation on analgesic packs: before and after study of long term effect on poisonings BMJ Online First

Selling paracetamol and other painkillers in smaller pack sizes has slashed rates of suicide and damage to the liver from paracetamol poisoning, concludes a study on bmj.com this week. Suicides from overdoses of paracetamol or aspirin dropped nearly a quarter in the three years following new legislation in 1998, which cut pack sizes and limited how many tablets a retailer was

Lack of physical activity is costly not just to people’s health but to their wallets as well, a new study suggests.

Researchers found that sedentary lifestyles can lead to higher medical costs, which they say are borne by consumers and employers in the form of health insurance premiums, member co-insurance and taxes to foot the bill for public health insurance. The findings, published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, add to a growing body of evidence that physical

For elderly women, the location of body fat is more important than total fat amount in predicting future heart attacks, according to researchers from Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center and colleagues.

“In the over-70 age group, overall obesity did not predict heart attack risk,” said Barbara J. Nicklas, Ph.D., lead researcher. “It didn’t matter how much fat the older woman had – what mattered was where that fat was stored.”

The researchers found that int

New findings from researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center in collaboration with Wake Forest University School of Medicine have shown that there is hope for individuals suffering a life-long history of reading problems. Using brain imaging technology the research group showed how the adult dyslexic brain responds to a specific phonological-based reading intervention program responsible for reading skill improvement. Published in the October 28 issue of the Journal Neuron, this is the

There is new scientific evidence to support the time-honored advice to students cramming for exams to get themselves a good night’s sleep after studying. Researchers who analyzed brain activity in sleeping volunteers who had learned to navigate through a computer-generated virtual town have discovered evidence that spatial memories are consolidated during deep sleep.

Also, the researchers say that they have shown for the first time that the activity level in the brain’s learnin