Women with genital herpes infection early in pregnancy are twice as likely to bear a child with autism compared with other women. Autism Spectrum Disorder Findings of a new research released on Wednesday show that pregnant women with herpes simplex 2, the virus responsible for most cases of genital herpes infections had higher risk of...
Category: <span>Mental health</span>
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Drugs that alter inhibitory targets offer therapeutic strategies for autism, schizophrenia
Memories are formed at structures in the brain known as dendritic spines, which communicate with other brain cells through “synapses.” The number of these brain connections decreases by half after puberty in a process termed adolescent “synaptic pruning” that is necessary for normal learning in adulthood. However, the pruning away of unnecessary synapses does not...
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Multiple sclerosis: New technology improves cognition
Multiple sclerosis is a debilitating neurological disease that affects tens of thousands of Americans. While there is yet no cure for the illness, researchers are working hard to understand its causes and mitigate its symptoms. New research investigates the effects of cutting-edge cognitive training technology on people with multiple sclerosis. New research tests the effects...
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Teach yourself everyday happiness with imagery training
Flashbacks of scenes from traumatic events often haunt those suffering from psychiatric conditions, such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). “The close relationship between the human imagery system and our emotions can cause deep emotional perturbations,” says Dr Svetla Velikova of Smartbrain in Norway. “Imagery techniques are often used in cognitive psychotherapy to help patients...
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Brief report: vocational outcomes for young adults with autism spectrum disorders at six months after virtual reality job interview training.
Abstract Young adults with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have low employment rates and job interviewing presents a critical barrier to employment for them. Results from a prior randomized controlled efficacy trial suggested virtual reality job interview training (VR-JIT) improved interviewing skills among trainees with ASD, but not controls with ASD. We conducted a brief...
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A Novel DNA Vaccine Design Improves Chances of Inducing Anti-Tumor Immunity
PHILADELPHIA — (Feb. 24, 2017) — Scientists at The Wistar Institute and Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. have devised a novel DNA vaccine approach through molecular design to improve the immune responses elicited against one of the most important cancer antigen targets. Study results were published in the journal Molecular Therapy. Cancer immunotherapy approaches, designed to harness the body’s...
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Discovery of novel autophagy regulators for treatment of neurodegenerative diseases
Synthesised curcumin analog C1 specifically binds to TFEB and promotes its nuclear translocation, and then activates autophagy and lysosome biogenesis to degrade alpha-synuclein. A research team led by Professor Li Min, Director of the Teaching and Research Division (CMTR), and Director of the Mr and Mrs Ko Chi Ming Centre for Parkinson’s Disease Research...
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Game therapy: serious video games can help children with cerebral palsy
Cerebral palsy (CP) is the most common childhood physical disability, affecting more than 34,000 Australians, and more than 17 million people worldwide. The condition results when there is an injury to the developing brain that goes on to affect a child’s movement and posture, but can also include the senses (vision, hearing, touch) and cognition (thinking). On...
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A novel principle to mobilize neurons for brain repair
Restorative neuroscience, the study to identify means to replace damaged neurons and recover permanently lost mental or physical abilities, is a rapidly advancing scientific field considering our progressively aging society. Redirecting immature neurons that reside in specific brain areas towards the sites of brain damage is an appealing strategy for the therapy of acute brain...
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Calcium imbalance within brain cells may trigger Alzheimer's disease
New research investigates the role of calcium production in Alzheimer’s disease. The neurodegenerative process may be caused by a calcium imbalance within the brain cell. New research suggests that a calcium processing dysfunction in the neurons’ mitochondria may drive Alzheimer’s disease. Mitochondria – sometimes referred to as the “powerhouse of the cell” – are small...