New Hampshire Health News Digest

Reward deficiency syndrome: a biogenetic model for...[J Psychoactive Drugs. 2000] - PubMed Result The dopaminergic system, and in particular the dopamine D2 receptor, has been implicated in reward mechanisms. The net effect of neurotransmitter interaction at the mesolimbic brain region induces "reward" when dopamine (DA) is released from the neuron at the nucleus accumbens and interacts with a dopamine D2 receptor. "The reward cascade" involves the release of serotonin, which in turn at the hypothalmus stimulates enkephalin, which in turn inhibits GABA at the substania nigra, which in turn fine tunes the amount of DA released at the nucleus accumbens or "reward site." It is well known that under normal conditions in the reward site DA works to maintain our normal drives. In fact, DA has become to be known as the "pleasure molecule" and/or the "antistress molecule." When DA is released into the synapse, it stimulates a number a DA recept...

Association of polymorphisms of dopamine D2 receptor (DRD2), and dopamine transporter (DAT1) genes with schizoid/avoidant behaviors (SAB) The dopaminergic system, and in particular the dopamine D2 receptor, has been implicated in reward mechanisms in the brain. Dysfunction of the D2 dopamine receptors leads to aberrant substance-seeking behaviors (ethanol, drugs, tobacco, and food) and other related behaviors (pathological gambling, Tourette's disorder, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder). This is the first study supporting a strong association between the dopamine D2 receptor Taq A1 allele with schizoid/avoidant behavior (SAB). Additionally, an albeit weaker association between the 480-bp VNTR 10/10 allele of the dopamine transporter (DAT1) gene with SAB was similarly found.

BROWN ATTENTION-ACTIVATION DISORDER (BAAD) SCALE Found this on Dr-Bob message board. rating scale is from Dr. Thomas E. Brown, who has a site at drthomasebrown.com BROWN ATTENTION-ACTIVATION DISORDER (BAAD) SCALE (Note: in this report the term ADD-H is used to signify "Attention Deficit Disorder WITHOUT Hyperactivity") The AAD (Attention Activation Disorder) construct includes problems in the following areas: Activating and organizing to work Sustaining attention and concentration Sustaining energy and effort Irritability, depressed mood, rejection sensitivity Activating recall of aims and learned information "Bright children and adolescents who suffer from attention deficit disorder are at a special risk of having their ADD problems go unrecognized and untreated. Within a pattern of under-achievement, their natural intellectual abilities produce intermittent successes which can mask ADD problems, especially if the person is not hyperactive. This study involved a populat...

CAT.INIST The effect on health of alternate day calorie restriction : Eating less and more than needed on alternate days prolongs life Auteur(s) / Author(s) JOHNSON James B. ; LAUB Donald R. ; JOHN Sujit ; Résumé / Abstract Restricting caloric intake to 60-70% of normal adult weight maintenance requirement prolongs lifespan 30-50% and confers near perfect health across a broad range of species. Every other day feeding produces similar effects in rodents, and profound beneficial physiologic changes have been demonstrated in the absence of weight loss in ob/ob mice. Since May 2003 we have experimented with alternate day calorie restriction, one day consuming 20-50% of estimated daily caloric requirement and the next day ad lib eating, and have observed health benefits starting in as little as two weeks, in insulin resistance, asthma, seasonal allergies, infectious diseases of viral, bacterial and fungal origin (viral URI, recurrent bacterial tonsillitis, chronic sinusitis, periodontal di...

Amantadine for Executive Dysfunction Syndrome in Patients With Dementia -- Drayton et al. 45 (3): 205 -- Psychosomatics INTRODUCTION TOP ABSTRACT INTRODUCTION METHOD RESULTS DISCUSSION REFERENCES Executive dysfunction syndrome, also known as "frontal lobe syndrome," is commonly seen in patients with brain diseases from many causes.1 Executive dysfunction syndrome has been associated with damage to "frontal-subcortical" brain circuits believed to be the anatomical basis of executive control function.2 A variety of neuropsychiatric symptoms indicative of executive dysfunction have been associated with damage to these circuits, including cognitive disturbance, personality change, mood symptoms, and a series of challenging behaviors. Among patients with degenerative dementia, especially advanced dementia, symptoms of executive dysfunction syndrome are common and present a challenging clinical dilemma. While executive dysfunction syndrome occurs with some frequency in...

ScienceDaily: Why Red Beans And Rice Can Be Nauseating Scientists have discovered how lectins, a family of proteins believed to be a natural insecticide that is abundant in undercooked legumes and grains, can make you feel temporarily miserable. "It's known that it can be a toxin," Dr. Paul L. McNeil, cell biologist at the Medical College of Georgia, says of the lectin protein that's commonly found in vegetables. Lectins, which bind strongly to carbohydrates that decorate cell surfaces, have a particular affinity for the heavy-carbohydrate coats of epithelial cells that line the gastrointestinal tract. Researchers have long known that ingesting too much undercooked lectin can cause nausea, diarrhea and vomiting. What they didn't know was how lectin caused food poisoning. Work published Aug. 1 in PloS One shows lectins disable GI tract cells, which are constantly bombarded while digesting food, from repairing tears in cells walls from all the activity. Repair norma...

Clinical Geriatrics Recent studies have suggested that certain psychiatric disorders occur with increased frequency among older adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus for several reasons.1,2 First, diabetes is considered to be one of the most psychologically and behaviorally demanding of the chronic medical illnesses. Multiple coping strategies are necessary to deal with the losses that can occur with aging. Because 95% of the management of diabetes is conducted by the patient, a diagnosis of diabetes can lead to increased levels of anxiety, depressive symptoms, and lowered self-esteem. This is often true in individuals who are predisposed to psychiatric disorders or those with limited social supports. [...] DIABETES AND DEPRESSION The association between diabetes and depression dates back to 1674, when Dr. Thomas Willis believed that depression caused diabetes. Persons with depression are twice as likely as the general population to develop diabetes.3 The lifetime prevalence of depressi...

Drop Foreseen in Median Price of U.S. Homes - New York Times The median price of American homes is expected to fall this year for the first time since federal housing agencies began keeping statistics in 1950. Economists say the decline, which could be foreshadowed in a widely followed government price index to be released this week, will probably be modest — from 1 percent to 2 percent — but could continue in 2008 and 2009. Rather than being limited to the once-booming Northeast and California, price declines are also occurring in cities like Chicago, Minneapolis and Houston, where the increases of the last decade were modest by comparison. The reversal is particularly striking because many government officials and housing-industry executives had said that a nationwide decline would never happen, even though prices had fallen in some coastal areas as recently as the early 1990s. While the housing slump has already rattled financial markets, it has so far had only a modest effect on co...

Stamp Out Overeating It might sound unlikely but while exercise can help work up an appetite, it could also be a key to preventing over-eating and obesity. A doctor and colleagues from the Department of Medicine at the Brookhaven National Laboratory in New York have found that one of the reasons some people overeat is because of a deficiency of a natural chemical in the brain, known as dopamine. Dopamine is a chemical that helps regulate the feelings of fullness when we eat, so that we eat until we're reasonably comfortable and don't overindulge. (Science is yet to discover why this doesn't work at Christmas.) The group found that severely obese people had a reduced number of dopamine receptors in their brains compared with non-obese people. This meant the obese people had to eat more food in order to experience the same feelings of fullness as their non-obese counterparts. The researchers could not conclude whether the brain changes they detected were a consequence or caus...

Here's a great post from Sarah Wright's blog about routines and ADD! Four Tricks to Get Back On Track August 26th, 2007 Well, here it is. Almost Labor Day. Many families, including my own, are now looking at starting up their “regular” routines again. And many are looking forward to it. I know I am. I had a great summer that included traveling, camping, visiting with people I am fond of whom I don’t get to see very often, chauffeuring my son all over the place, and getting to some projects I really wanted to get done. What I didn’t do though, is work on this blog. And it isn’t because I didn’t think about it or didn’t want to. What I did was a very ADHD thing. I took time off from a routine, thinking it would only be for a couple of weeks, and then the routine totally fell apart. It’s now been a couple of months since I wrote regularly. Has this ever happened to you? You’ve got a good thing going. You can trust yourself to do what ever it is on a regular basis. And then in a ma...

Obesity Doesnt Always Equal Diabetes - Forbes.com Obesity Doesnt Always Equal Diabetes 08.24.07, 12:00 AM ET FRIDAY, Aug. 24 (HealthDay News) -- Obesity doesn't mean a person is destined to develop diabetes, experiments in mice suggest. Instead, it may all depend on where the fat is stored. Mice that overate and were very obese still didn't become diabetic, because the activity of two hormones let them store extra calories in fat tissue rather than in their livers or heart muscle. "What this mouse model shows is what we have appreciated clinically for a while," said lead researcher Philipp Scherer, a professor of internal medicine and director of the Touchstone Center for Diabetes Research at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas. "Basically, it shows that for individuals who have the ability to expand their adipose [fat] tissue mass appropriately for the number of calories they take up, those individuals fare much better than someone who ...

Sugary Sodas High in Diabetes-Linked Compound 08.24.07, 12:00 AM ET FRIDAY, Aug. 24 (HealthDay News) -- Sodas sweetened with high fructose corn syrup contain high levels of a potentially dangerous compound often found in the blood of diabetics, a new study concludes. It could be cause for concern, experts say, because the "reactive carbonyls" in these sugary drinks could bump up diabetes risk, particularly in children. High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) "is the most popular sweetener used in foods and beverages today, it has been used in the United States for many years," said Chi-Tang Ho, a professor of food science at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, N.J. Virtually all carbonated soft drinks in the United States are sweetened with HFCS, mostly because it dissolves easily, is sweeter than other types of sugar, and is more economical. Although the study did not specifically investigate the risk of diabetes with HFCS drinks, Ho suggested that steering clear of them ...

Scientists Find Link Between Dopamine and Obesity Scientists Find Link Between Dopamine and Obesity UPTON, NY -- Dopamine, a brain chemical associated with addiction to cocaine, alcohol, and other drugs, may also play an important role in obesity. According to a study by scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory, obese people have fewer receptors for dopamine, a neurotransmitter that helps produce feelings of satisfaction and pleasure. The findings, which will appear in the February 3, 2001 issue of The Lancet, imply that obese people may eat more to try to stimulate the dopamine "pleasure" circuits in their brains, just as addicts do by taking drugs. "The results from this study suggest that strategies aimed at improving dopamine function might be beneficial in the treatment of obese individuals," says physician Gene-Jack Wang, the lead scientist on the study. Brookhaven scientists have done extensive research showing that do...

Executive dysfunction in hyperhomocystinemia responds to homocysteine-lowering treatment -- Boxer et al. 64 (8): 1431 -- Neurology Executive dysfunction in hyperhomocystinemia responds to homocysteine-lowering treatment A. L. Boxer, MD, PhD, J. H. Kramer, PsyD, K. Johnston, MD, J. Goldman, MS, MPhil, R. Finley, BPh and B. L. Miller, MD From the Memory and Aging Center, Department of Neurology (Drs. Boxer, Kramer, and Miller, J. Goldman and R. Finley), UCSF, and Genetics Department (Dr. Johnston), Permanente Medical Group, San Francisco, CA. Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr Boxer, Memory and Aging Center, Department of Neurology, UCSF, Box 1207, San Francisco, CA 94143-1207; e-mail: adam.boxer@memory.ucsf.edu An elevated serum homocysteine level is a risk factor for the development of cognitive impairment. Reported is a late-onset case of hyperhomocystinemia due to a vitamin B12 metabolic deficit (cobalamin C) with cognitive impairment, primarily in frontal/executive f...

ScienceDirect - Comprehensive Psychiatry : Seasonality and circadian preference in adult attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: clinical and neuropsychological correlates Abstract Objective The objective of the study was to measure both seasonal mood change and circadian preference, and their clinical and neuropsychological correlates, in adults with ADHD during the fall/winter months. Method Twenty-nine adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) were assessed in the fall/winter season using self-report measures of ADHD, mood, seasonality, and circadian preference. Neuropsychological tests were also completed. Correlations between chronobiologic variables and clinical/neuropsychological measures were performed. Results Consistent with prior work in adult ADHD, high rates of seasonal depression were reported in this sample. Based on the morningness-eveningness questionnaire, which assesses circadian preference 11 (40.7%, N = 27) subjects were designated as evening ty...

Night owls likely to be problem children The researchers found several factors were related to anti-social behaviors in the study group, particularly in the boys who tended to exhibit more rule-breaking behaviors than did their peers. The findings are published in the Developmental Psychology journal. For girls, a preference for evening activities was associated with a higher incidence of relational aggression or aggressive behavior toward their peers. Boys who experienced prolonged high levels of cortisol - smaller decreases in cortisol levels from the time of awakening until 4 pm - tended to have more behavior problems than did their peers, the report indicates. The association was not true for girls, however. Normally, levels of cortisol, the stress hormone associated with circadian rhythms, peak in the morning upon awakening and plateau during the afternoon and evening hours. Abnormalities in cortisol secretion have also been associated with clinical depression and an...

Study: Virus may contribute to obesity - CNN.com WASHINGTON (AP) -- In the buffet of reasons for why Americans are getting fatter, researchers are piling more evidence on the plate for one still-controversial cause: a virus. For several years, researchers have looked at a possible link between obesity and adenovirus-36. New research announced Monday found that when human stem cells -- the blank slate of the cell world -- were exposed to a common virus they turned into fat cells. They didn't just change, they stored fat, too. While this may be a guilt-free explanation for putting on pounds, it doesn't explain all or even most of America's growing obesity problem. But it adds to other recent evidence that blames more than just super-sized appetites and underused muscles for expanding waistlines. For several years, researchers have looked at a possible link between obesity and this common virus, called adenovirus-36, from a family of viruses that cause colds and pinkeye in peo...

Half of dogs and cats in the UK are now overweight | News | This is London

IngentaConnect Insulin Resistance and Executive Dysfunction in Older Persons Abstract: Objectives: To evaluate the association between insulin resistance (IR) and executive dysfunction in a large, population-based study of older persons without diabetes mellitus (DM) or dementia. [...] IR is independently associated with frontal cortex function evidenced by poor TMT times in older persons without DM or dementia.

ScienceDaily: Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Linked To Impaired Stress Response Subtle alterations of a hormonal stress response system called the HPA axis may play a role in chronic fatigue syndrome, according to a study in the November/December issue of Psychosomatic Medicine. A smoothly functioning hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal, or HPA, axis helps the body remain stable under physiological and psychological stress through the actions of three hormones. First, the brain portion called the hypothalamus secretes a hormone that stimulates the pituitary gland to secrete a second hormone. This second hormone causes the adrenal glands to create cortisol. Problems can occur at any point in this process and result in a variety of diseases. {including possibly chronic fatigue syndrome} [...] Chronic fatigue syndrome is characterized by debilitating fatigue that can include including muscle aches, low-grade fever and sleep disturbances. Its cause is not understood. [...] Participants were also giv...

Psychiatric Times It is now established that in conditions in which there are raised endogenous or exogenous corticosteroids (including Cushing's disease and severe mood disorders), there is also a significant degree of cognitive impairment (Wolkowitz et al., 1990). Studies in experimental animals have shown deficits in learning and memory following chronic administration of glucocorticoids (Lupien and McEwen, 1997), as well as marked atrophy of neurons in the hippocampal formation. It has been postulated that a similar neurodegenerative effect of cortisol may underlie some of the cognitive deficits observed in humans suffering from severe mood disorders (Sapolsky et al., 1986). While there is substantial evidence to indicate that the hippocampus is particularly sensitive to elevation of glucocorticoids, the effects on other areas of the brain are less clear. Recent clinical data have reported that cortisol treatment induces cognitive deficits in healthy humans, and these deficits ...

June Russell's Health Facts Alcohol - Cortisol [Alcohol and Cortisol] [Importance of Cortisol] Alcohol and Cortisol Hormones are chemical messengers that control and coordinate the functions of all tissues and organs. Each hormone is secreted from a particular gland and is distributed throughout the body to act on tissues at different sites. Two areas of the brain, the hypothalamus and the pituitary, release hormones as do glands in other parts of the body, for example, the thyroid, thyroid glands, gonads, pancreas, and parathyroid. In order for hormones to function properly, the amount and timing of their release must be finely coordinated, and the target tissues must be able to respond to them accurately. Alcohol can impair the functions of the hormone-releasing glands and of their target tissues, thereby causing serious medical consequences. {“Alcohol and Hormones,” Alcohol Alert from NIAAA, about.com - Jul. 2000} Beer and liquor tend to raise levels of cortisol. {Prevention...

Clinical and Ethical Implications of Impaired Executive Control Functions for Patient Autonomy -- Workman et al. 51 (3): 359 -- Psychiatr Serv Executive control functions have been defined as "those processes which orchestrate relatively simple ideas, movements, or actions into complex goal-directed behavior"(1). Without them, behaviors important to independent living can be expected to break down into their component parts; patients become overdependent on environmental cues and are easily distracted and perseverative (2,3). Executive functions have been associated with three prefrontal-subcortical subtypes, the dorsolateral prefrontal, the orbitofrontal, and the anterior cingulate (mesiofrontal) (4,5,6). Damage to the dorsolateral subtype impairs abstraction and hypothesis generation. Orbitofrontal lesions lead to impaired emotional control. Irritability and mood swings in the absence of pervasive mood disorder are common sequelae. Mesiofrontal lesions lead to apathy, indi...

Study finds link between lack of sleep, weight gain Study finds link between lack of sleep, weight gain Sleep quality, quantity affect hormones regulating appetite and metabolism. By Marjie Gilliam, Cox News Service Is there a correlation between lack of sleep and weight gain? Every two years for 16 years, the Nurses Health Study collected data from more than 68,000 women ages 40 to 65, which included information on sleep habits and body weight. The study found that participants who slept five hours a night were 32 percent more likely to experience a weight gain of 33 pounds or greater, and 15 percent more likely to become obese, compared with participants who slept seven hours a night. The group that slept for six hours were 12 percent more likely to experience major weight gain and 6 percent more likely to become obese when compared with those who slept seven hours a night. One possible explanation for these differences is that lack of sleep causes the body to burn calories less effi...

SPECT Brain SPECT Imaging Information and Resources 5. Limbic ADD, with symptoms of inattention and/or hyperactivity-impulsivity and negativity, depression, sleep problems, low energy, low self-esteem, social isolation, decreased motivation and irritability. Brain SPECT imaging typically shows increased central limbic system activity and decreased prefrontal cortex activity. This subtype typically responds best to stimulating antidepressants such as buprion or imipramine, or venlafaxine if obsessive symptoms are present. I took the test in Dr. Amen's book, and I have this suptype of ADD according to my results. Seems to fit.

BioMed Central | Full text | Prevalence of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder among adults in obesity treatment Background Bariatric patients showing poor "focus" during treatment more often failed to lose weight or maintain reduced weight. Evaluation of these patients identified a number having attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), evidently a potent factor limiting successful weight control. After searches found no published reports describing comorbid ADHD and obesity, this report was conceived to begin exploring the prevalence and characteristics of these patients. Method Clinical records of 215 patients receiving obesity treatment during 2000 were reviewed. Data collected and analyzed included age, sex, beginning and ending body mass index (BMI), number of clinic visits, months of treatment, and diagnostic category (ADHD, some ADHD symptoms, non-ADHD). DSM-IV criteria were used, except age of onset was modified to Results Whole sample ADHD prevalence was...

Mind Hacks: Lays me down with my mind she runs article in last month's American Scientist offered an interesting theory of why some people are driven to find knowledge - because of the kick of natural opioids in the brain. Sadly, the article is not freely available online, but the theory is outlined by neuroscientist Professor Irving Biederman in a pdf file he's put online, and in a summary from Eureka Alert. The idea is that the moment of finally understanding something causes a release of natural endorphins in the brain, providing a response to knowledge acquisition that conditions us to want more. In other words, intellectual curiosity may be driven by an addiction to an opioid high. Biederman's theory was inspired by the well-known discovery that opioid receptors increase along the ventral visual pathway in the brain - the one that is most strongly associated with recognition and meaning. At the moment, the theory is still largely speculative, although remains an intere...

Calcium, vitamin D may lower diabetes risk | Health | Reuters NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Calcium and vitamin D, whether from food or supplements, may help lower the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, according to a research review. A number of studies have found links between type 2 diabetes risk and calcium, vitamin D and dairy food intake. When the results from these studies are combined, the new review found, people with the highest intakes of vitamin D and calcium had an 18 percent lower risk of diabetes than those with the lowest intakes. Similarly, people who ate the most dairy food had a 14 percent lower diabetes risk than those who ate the least dairy. Though it's not clear why calcium and vitamin D are linked to diabetes risk, lab research has pointed to some possibilities, according to the review authors, led by Dr. Anastassios G. Pittas of Tufts-New England Medical Center in Boston. Both nutrients may be important in the functioning of insulin-producing cells in the p...

You Did NOT Eat Your Way to Diabetes! Don't fall for the toxic myth that you caused your diabetes by reckless overeating While people with diabetes often are seriously overweight, there is accumulating evidence that their overweight is yet another symptom, not the cause of the process that leads to type 2 diabetes. But the chances are that you've been told that you caused your diabetes by letting yourself get fat. This is a truly toxic myth. By blaming you for your condition it causes guilt and hopelessness. Even worse, the belief that people with diabetes have brought their disease on themselves inclines doctors to assume that since you did nothing to prevent your disease, you won't make the effort to control it--a belief that may lead to your getting extremely poor care. The myth that diabetes is caused by overeating also hurts the one out of five people who are not overweight when they contract type 2 diabetes. Because doctors only think "Diabetes" when they se...

Metabolic And Insulin Resistance Syndrome Linked To Cancer Diabetes Sleep Disorders and Heart Disease Researchers will present evidence at the 5th Annual World Congress on the Insulin Resistance Syndrome (WCIRS) that a relatively common syndrome can lead to higher risk for cardiovascular disease, breathing and sleep disorders, liver disease, Poly cystic Ovarian Syndrome, type 2 diabetes, certain cancers, Alzheimer's Disease and more. The confirmation that Insulin Resistance Syndrome increases disease risk will be presented at the conference in Boston from October 11-13, 2007. Dr. Reaven discovered Insulin Resistance Syndrome, often referred to as the Metabolic Syndrome or Syndrome X, back in 1988. Since then researchers have been studying the far-reaching effects of this condition.

Diabetes Update: Did Your Plastic Water Bottle Give You Diabetes? Did Your Plastic Water Bottle Give You Diabetes? Today's news carried a story about how 12 scientists have published a warning that a compound called bisphenol A, an estrogen mimic which is found in many plastics, has been conclusively linked with reproductive tract damage in many animals. A chilling line from the report states "The scientists - including four from federal health agencies - reviewed about 700 studies before concluding that people are exposed to levels of the chemical exceeding those that harm lab animals. Infants and fetuses are most vulnerable, they said." In addition the report explains, "The compound, bisphenol A or BPA, is one of the highest-volume chemicals in the world and has found its way into the bodies of most human beings. "Used to make hard plastic, BPA can seep from beverage containers and other materials. It is used in all polycarbonate plastic baby bottles, as well ...

FuturePundit: Low Latent Inhibition Plus High Intelligence Leads To High Creativity? Low Latent Inhibition Plus High Intelligence Leads To High Creativity? Jordan Peterson of the University of Toronto and colleages at Harvard University have found that decreased latent inhibition of environmental stimuli appears to correlate with greater creativity among people with high IQ. (same press release available here and here) The study in the September issue of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology says the brains of creative people appear to be more open to incoming stimuli from the surrounding environment. Other people's brains might shut out this same information through a process called "latent inhibition" - defined as an animal's unconscious capacity to ignore stimuli that experience has shown are irrelevant to its needs. Through psychological testing, the researchers showed that creative individuals are much more likely to have low levels of latent inhibitio...