Airborne® lawsuit settlement - once you find out something doesn’t work.

Tuesday, March 4th, 2008

Being in the biopharma business, I’m always amazed at the direct-to-consumer adverts on TV. It looks like unmitigated chutzpa to me, to advertise that you can get rid of stubborn belly fat or that you apply directly to forehead. Now, I feel a little vindicated. Except I wonder if taking away hope that a [...]

Brain mitochondria: serotonin transports ‘em, and dopamine messes with ‘em.

Sunday, February 17th, 2008

Wired ran a news report about a Science paper showing how mitochondria are culprits in making heart cells dysfunction. I wondered about brain cells. After all, brain cells need energy too. What about brain cell mitochondria?
Now, the Wired report caught my eye because it was about heart cells, and I generally follow cardiac [...]

Serotonin in Finland and Russia: correlates with hostility and drinking.

Thursday, February 14th, 2008

Here’s three papers (full citations and links, scroll down), two from Finland and one from Russia. These deal with being mean and drinking. And serotonin.
People have alcohol to loosen up, to remove inhibitions, to relax. But what about people who pick fights when they’re drunk? Are they tightly wound and naturally hostile — an [...]

Neuropeptide Y (”NPY”) - cure for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder?

Friday, January 25th, 2008

Here it is, a substance that prevents brain neuron remodeling in response to stress: Neuropeptide Y, “NPY”. A new report, sponsored in part by Eli Lilly, the manufacturer of Prozac, demonstrates that Neuropeptide Y prevents neurons in the amygdala from remodeling in response to stress, in rodents.
The nomenclature “Neuropeptide Y” always [...]

Moderate fetal alcohol x genetics = trouble

Thursday, January 17th, 2008

Kraemer et al., “Moderate Level Fetal Alcohol Exposure and Serotonin Transporter Gene Promoter Polymorphism Affect Neonatal Temperament and Limbic-Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal Axis Regulation in Monkeys,” Biol Psychiatry63: 317-324 (2008).

This is another nature x nurture study. We know that in people, if you are mistreated in childhood, and you have a particular gene which causes your [...]

Weight Loss Meds Updates: New Phen-fens and leptin

Monday, November 19th, 2007

Happy pre-Thanksgiving!
On that note, I thought I’d catch up on weight loss abstracts.
1. New Phen-fens without the side effects look good, and they may also be useful in treating diabetes. They may have an “anxiety” type side effect initially.
2. Leptin plus a satiety protein (Amylin’s pramlintide) makes 200+ pound people lose about 25 pounds [...]

Dopamine is the new phen-fen?

Wednesday, October 17th, 2007

 

 
Eating to Live, Living to Eat: Genes May Make Some People More Motivated to Eat, Perhaps Overeat
We knew that.
Here’s a press release from the American Psychological Association:
Newswise — Science has found one likely contributor to the way that some folks eat to live and others live to eat. Researchers at the University at Buffalo, [...]

Neurological Correlates: Going on Anti-Depressants and Thinking “I’d rather be dead”

Saturday, September 29th, 2007

Cruickshank, George, “Suicide”
“A young woman has jumped from a bridge; two onlookers are standing on the bridge in upper right corner; ship masts are visible in lower left beneath the arch of the bridge through which shines a full moon.”
Regarding suicide - from the US CDC:
• Among young adults ages 15 to 24 years [...]

Neurological Correlates: Apathy

Saturday, September 29th, 2007

Clin Neurol Neurosurg. 2007 Sep 25; [Epub ahead of print]

Striatal dopamine transporter levels correlate with apathy in neurodegenerative diseases A SPECT study with partial volume effect correction.
David R, Koulibaly M, Benoit M, Garcia R, Caci H, Darcourt J, Robert P.
Centre Mémoire de Ressource et de Recherche, CHU Nice, France.
OBJECTIVES: The aim of the [...]