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WASHINGTON — European scientists have shed new light on the causes of the devastating, inexplicable syndrome known as sudden infant cot death, according to a study published Thursday. The syndrome, which strikes fear into every parent's heart, affects seemingly healthy babies aged between a month to a year, and is main cause of death among infants of that age in developed nations. Now researchers at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Italy have revealed that an imbalance of the neuronal signal, serotonin, in the brainstem caused sudden death in mice, according to the study in Science magazine. The brainstem, which...

Mother-daughter Conflict, Low Serotonin Level May Be Deadly Combination ScienceDaily (Mar. 7, 2008) — A combination of negative mother-daughter relationships and low blood levels of serotonin, an important brain chemical for mood stability, may be lethal for adolescent girls, leaving them vulnerable to engage in self-harming behaviors such as cutting themselves. New University of Washington research indicates that these two factors in combination account for 64 percent of the difference among adolescents, primarily girls, who engage in self-harming behaviors and those who do not. "Girls who engage in self harm are at high risk for attempting suicide, and some of...

The death of Libby Zion, an 18-year-old college student, in a New York hospital on March 5, 1984, led to a highly publicized court battle and created a cause célèbre over the lack of supervision of inexperienced and overworked young doctors. But only much later did experts zero in on the preventable disorder that apparently led to Ms. Zion’s death: a form of drug poisoning called serotonin syndrome. --snip-- In its classic form, serotonin syndrome involves three categories of symptoms: ¶Cognitive-behavioral symptoms like confusion, disorientation, agitation, irritability, unresponsiveness and anxiety. --snip-- Perhaps adding to the diagnostic challenge is the fact...

IN a world first, researchers from NSW have discovered the gene responsible for depression. After 25 years' research, scientists have found that people who carry a particular gene are more likely to suffer depression regardless of their life experiences. The medical breakthrough will have major ramifications for diagnosis and treatment of the disease which affects one in four Australians. The study, to be published in the prestigious British Journal of Psychiatry this week, shows that people who carry a short serotonin transporter gene are predisposed to depression. Conversely, those who carry a long version of the serotonin transporter gene would...

Increasing rates of anxiety, depression and irritability could be due to a poor diet that lacks the essential chemicals to keep the brain healthy, according to a leading mental health charity. A report out tomorrow describes the links between the less severe forms of mental disorder, such as anxiety, and the nation's increasing reliance on ready meals and processed food, which are heavy in pesticides, additives and harmful trans fats. Eating a diet without fresh fruit and vegetables, fish, pulses or nuts deprives the brain of the essential vitamins and nutrients needed to regulate it. ...SNIP... Nutritional deficiency could seriously...

In the 60's to 1989 research into tryptophan grew rapidly, millions used it for depression. In 1989, a contaminated batch forced the FDA to pull tryptophan off the US market, never to return. This destroyed all research into this critical amino acid and cleared the way for pharmaceutical drugs and billions of profits for them. I am asking the question, why do so many drugs work on the tryptophan oxygenase (pyrrolase) pathway? We have antidepressants (all classes). Related articles; http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=7126996 And here; http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=1826617 Then we have alcohol; http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=10721064&query_hl=9 Then we have asprin; http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=7082905&query_hl=15 Nicotine, morphine, phenobarbitone http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=989&query_hl=17 then we have...

"In the United States, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressants are advertised directly to consumers [1]. These highly successful direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) campaigns have largely revolved around the claim that SSRIs correct a chemical imbalance caused by a lack of serotonin."

  An anonymous source sent confidential drug company documents that had been missing for more than 10 years to the British Medical Journal. The documents, which suggest a link between Prozac (fluoxetine, made by Eli Lilly) and suicide attempts and violence, will be reviewed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The documents went missing during a 1994 product liability suit. They include reviews and memos indicating that as far back as the 1980s, Eli Lilly officials were not only aware that Prozac had side effects, but also they attempted to minimize those negative effects.The liability suit surrounded...

Days fall into a natural rhythm for early risers But for night owls, life is more a series of chaotic events, study reveals Thursday, August 05, 2004 BY ANGELA STEWART Star-Ledger Staff The early bird catches the worm. And among humans, the early bird has a distinct advantage over the night owl when it comes to staying on schedule, according to a study released yesterday. So-called morning people are better able to maintain regular work and school routines because their body clocks make it easier for them to arrive on time and hassle free. They also find it easier to...

Laurie Coots, a marketing executive who flies to meetings in other countries twice a week, spent years trying to conquer sleepless nights and chronic jet lag. But nothing worked, she says, and every day was a struggle to stay awake. "It was debilitating," said Ms. Coots, 46, who is from Los Angeles. "I couldn't give an effective presentation because I was always shaky and nervous from being amped up on caffeine and stimulants." Then she found modafinil, a small white pill that revs up the central nervous system without the jitteriness of caffeine or the addiction and euphoria of amphetamines....

If the press had its way, the national dialogue would be over a constitutional ban on the controversial Atkins Diet, rather than on the sanctity of marriage. You know the culture war has reached a fevered pitch when you can decipher someone's politics by the diet they choose. It now seems there are few certainties in life, except death, taxes, and that vegans will cast their vote for Ralph Nader. Therefore, the politicizing of the Atkins Diet has come as no surprise. The diet has no shortage of enemies either. Its "reported" emphasis on meat drives vegetarians insane. "Big Sugar",...

Sudden heart-pounding panic attacks are most likely caused by abnormalities in the brain, new evidence suggests, reinforcing earlier research on animals. People with panic disorder, according to scientists at the National Institutes of Health, have drastic reductions of a type of serotonin receptor, called 5-HT1A, in three areas of the brain. The findings, reported last week in The Journal of Neuroscience, lend credence to the suspicion that serotonin dysfunction plays a role in the disorder. "This provides evidence for what we've been telling patients all along," said Dr. Dennis S. Charney, chief of the mood and anxiety disorders research program...

Is alcoholism a disease, an illness beyond our control, as we have been led to believe? Or is it a product of society, of our upbringing, something we might be able to change?Higley has come to the startling conclusion that how the monkeys are treated as infants can predict which will be at risk. I am standing in an animal research lab dressed entirely in blue paper – paper shower cap, paper shirt and pants, even blue paper shoes (stick with it a little longer folks, the science starts in the next paragraph). My face is covered with a plastic...