A new study confirms that exercise can reverse the age-related decline in the production of neural stem cells in the hippocampus of the mouse brain, and suggests that this happens because exercise restores a brain chemical which promotes the production and maturation of new stem cells. Neural stem cells and progenitor cells differentiate into a variety of mature nerve cells which have different functions, a process called neurogenesis.
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The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) is intensifying the international training of doctoral researchers. At its autumn meeting in Bonn the Grants Committee responsible for Research Training agreed to the establishment of 13 additional Research Training Groups, 7 of which are International Research Training Groups. These enable doctoral researchers to cooperate closely with foreign universities.
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The American Journal of Preventive Medicine special issue on climate change (November 2008), was featured at the "Changing Climate … Changing People" conference in Los Angeles. Leading off the event is Guest Editor Howard Frumkin, MD, DrPH, speaking about the impacts of climate change on human health. "Climate change is a key public health challenge.
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All great athletes know that in order to perform well, they can't just depend on their physical capabilities. Speed and efficiency in decision-making are just as essential. Two researchers from the School of Optometry of the Université de Montréal have discovered how to train the brain of athletes to improve their overall athletic performance.
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Just under a hundred NPA members are now offering the NPA and Allergy UK Allergy Screening Service. The service which has been recently remodelled to include a "pin prick" test as well as a screen was the subject of radio interviews conducted by regional and local stations across England last week. NPA members were able to give an account of the service in action, highlighting how community pharmacy was improving access to allergy screening.
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The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is warning people not to use an unlicensed medicine called Melanotan which is being advertised and sold illegally as an injectable tan on the Internet and in some tanning salons and body building gyms. Melanotan has not been tested for safety, quality or effectiveness. Therefore it is not known what the possible side effects are or how serious they could be. People should be aware of this should they be offered the product.
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A randomized clinical trial involving over 3,000 elderly people in the US found that the popular herbal supplement Gingko biloba fared no better than placebo at preventing dementia or Alzheimer's disease. The research was the work of the Ginkgo Evaluation of Memory (GEM) Study Investigators who are based at centers throughout the US, including the University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where lead author Dr Steven T DeKosky, was working at the time of the investigation.
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Non-white medical students are more likely to embrace orthodox medicine and reject therapies traditionally associated with their cultures. That is one finding from an international study that measures the attitudes of medical students toward complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). While seemingly counter-intuitive, white students view CAM more favorably than their non-white counterparts, the study authors say.
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Just under a hundred NPA members are now offering the NPA and Allergy UK Allergy Screening Service. The service which has been recently remodelled to include a "pin prick" test as well as a screen was the subject of radio interviews conducted by regional and local stations across England last week. NPA members were able to give an account of the service in action, highlighting how community pharmacy was improving access to allergy screening.
(more...)

A faster test for the food protein that triggers celiac disease Researchers in Spain and the United Kingdom are reporting development of a faster test for identifying the food protein that triggers celiac disease, a difficult-to-diagnose digestive disease involving the inability to digest protein called gluten that occurs in wheat, oats, rye, and barley.
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