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Researchers from the University of Cologne have found a new use for cnicin, a substance produced in blessed thistle. Blessed thistle (Cnicus benedictus) is a plant in the family Asteraceae and also grows in our climate. For centuries, it has been used as a medicinal herb as an extract or tea, e.g. to aid the digestive system. Researchers at the Center for Pharmacology of University Hospital Cologne and at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Cologne have now found a completely novel use for cnicin under the direction of Dr. Philipp Gobrecht and Professor Dr. Dietmar Fischer. Animal...

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a common neurodegenerative disease that affects millions worldwide. Now, a groundbreaking clinical study has demonstrated the potential of fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) to improve symptoms in patients with PD. Motoric symptoms, such as balance problems, stiffness, and the characteristic tremor, are the best known and almost always the reason for the eventual diagnosis. However, non-motor symptoms, such as loss of smell, constipation, and REM sleep disturbances, often develop up to 20 years before diagnosis in a large number of people with the disease. In Parkinson's disease, a protein called alpha-synuclein misfolds and clumps together. Those clumps...

Nerve fibers (axons) transmit brain and spinal cord signals through nerves to target muscles or skin, and vice versa. Damage to these fibers thus leads to a disruption of connections and, consequently, to paralysis or numbness. The chances of recovery depend mainly on the speed at which the severed fibers regenerate as this process is time-limited, so usually only short distances can be overcome. Consequently, nerve injuries in the legs and arms often lead to permanent damage, which later may be accompanied by neuropathic pain. Therefore, a key therapeutic goal of research is the development of therapies to accelerate nerve...

Scientists have discovered that the circadian clock regulates axonal regeneration and repair. The authors found that DRG sensory neurons have an endogenous molecular clock that optimizes axonal regeneration in a mouse model of sciatic nerve injury. The researchers also demonstrated that axonal regeneration can be promoted using chrono-active drugs, such as lithium, which is currently used in clinics for treating neurological disorders. These findings pave the way for the use of clock-associated therapies and timed neurorehabilitation for people with Peripheral Nervous System (PNS) injuries. Dr. Francesco De Virgiliis said, "Our study shows that the circadian clock regulates axonal regeneration, and...

Researchers found that a minimally invasive procedure combined with epidural steroid injection treatment led to superior pain reduction and disability improvement over one year in patients with sciatica. The combined treatment performed better than steroid injections alone. Sciatica is pain that originates along the sciatic nerve, which extends from the back of the pelvis down the back of the thigh. When the pain is caused by a lumbar disk herniation, surgery is often the treatment option for pain relief. Minimally invasive interventional therapy has become increasingly popular in patients with sciatica who have become resistant to conservative treatments. Among the...

People around the globe have suffered serious adverse reactions resulting from COVID vaccines, especially from the Pfizer shot. Now the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) tells us another Pfizer vaccine can cause serious complications in recipients. After receiving Pfizer’s Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) shot during a clinical trial, two older individuals contracted Guillain-Barré syndrome. This was enough for the FDA to flag the disease as “an important potential risk” from the RSV shot. Yet Pfizer is still seeking approval for general public use. According to the Mayo Clinic, Guillain-Barré syndrome is a rare disorder in which your body’s immune system...

Some autoimmune diseases attack the nerves in the arms and legs. Researchers are pursuing a new approach to counteracting this damage. Researchers have shown in lab experiments that propionate can protect nerves and help them regenerate. The findings could be useful for treating autoimmune diseases that cause damage to nerve cells, such as chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP). Propionate is naturally produced in the intestine when dietary fiber is broken down. Previous studies had already demonstrated that people with multiple sclerosis (MS) are deficient in propionate and can benefit from taking additional propionate. Accordingly, the substance could also be useful...

Intermittent fasting changes the gut bacteria activity of mice and increases their ability to recover from nerve damage. The researchers observed how fasting led to the gut bacteria increasing production of a metabolite known as 3-Indolepropionic acid (IPA), which is required for regenerating nerve fibers called axons—thread-like structures at ends of nerve cells that send out electro-chemical signals to other cells in the body. The team state that the bacteria that produces IPA, Clostridium sporogenesis, is found naturally in the guts of humans as well as mice and IPA is present in human's bloodstreams too. "There is currently no treatment...

Full title: Researchers report that chemical weapons dumped at sea are corroding but have not yet released toxic contents KyleJuly 28, 2010DMZ Hawaii http://www.dmzhawaii.org/dmz-legacy-site-two/?p=7485  University of Hawai'i researchers have concluded a three year research project to determine whether chemical munitions dumped at sea off O'ahu pose a threat to the health of humans or the environment. Documents disclosed by the Army in 2007 reported that approximately 16,000 munitions containing 2,558 tons of chemical agents were dumped at three deep-water sites off Oahu.   The chemical agent included lewisite, mustard, cyanogen chloride and cyanide. According to the Honolulu Star Advertiser article: http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/breaking/99399389.html...

Adult zebrafish are capable of regenerating their spinal cords after a complete severing injury. This close-up of the cells involved reveals supporting glial cells (shown in red) are first to cross the gap between the severed ends. Neuronal cells (green) soon follow. Duke Regeneration Next researchers discovered that a protein in the glia called connective tissue growth factor, or CTGF, is crucial for this process. Credit: Mayssa Mokalled and Kenneth Poss, Duke University ============================================================================================================================ A freshwater zebrafish costs less than two bucks at the pet store, but it can do something priceless: Its spinal cord can heal completely after being...

Rudy is doubling down. Former mayor Rudy Giuliani acknowledged his speech criticizing President Obama’s patriotism last week “hit a nerve” but went even further Sunday denouncing the president’s foreign policy agenda. “I said it maybe 30 times before but somehow this time it hit a nerve, maybe because the president is on such defense for his unwillingness to face Islamic terrorism,” Giuliani told John Catsimatidis on 970 AM The Answer. “We need a American president more like Ronald Reagan who gave us a sense of optimism,” said Giuliani. “There’s something about his unwillingness to talk about Islamic extremist Muslims that...

The highly lethal nerve agent VX -- used in weapons of mass destruction -- appears to have been discovered in a mail facility at JFK Airport where two US customs agents were sickened this morning, a law-enforcement source said. Both victims suffered respiratory distress and were taken for emergency treatment after being overcome while inside the US Postal Service facility on North Boundary Road at 9:40 a.m., the source said. Initial testing after the incident revealed the presence of "chemical-grade weapons and nerve gas," and subsequent testing produced a positive reading for VX, the source said.

The former police officer who pepper-sprayed students during an Occupy protest at the University of California, Davis is appealing for worker's compensation, claiming he suffered psychiatric injury from the 2011 incident.

The chemical attack that killed Yasser Yunis’s family was a small, almost private affair. Had the 27-year-old car mechanic not managed to struggle out of the doorway of his home in Aleppo on to the street in the darkness of night, clutching his infant son to his chest, no one might have ever known what wiped out the family. They died twitching, hallucinating and choking on white froth that poured from their noses and mouths. Their doctors believe that they were killed by nerve gas. The Syrian regime prefers to gas its opponents in this small-scale way, testing the elasticity...

Scientists at the University of Connecticut Health Center have successfully converted stem cells derived from the adult skin cells of four humans into region-specific forebrain, midbrain, and spinal cord neurons (nerve cells) with functions. The research is a key step toward realizing the cells’ potential to treat various neurodegenerative diseases.The UConn team, led by Dr. Ren-He Xu, director of the Health Center’s Stem Cell Core facility, and Dr. Xuejun Li, a neural scientist in the Neuroscience Department, recently published a paper describing how they used cell reprogramming protocols to first transform the adult tissue into "induced pluripotent stem cells" that...

As United and Continental executives hammer out plans to meld their airlines into the world's largest carrier, construction speeds ahead on one of the merged company's loftiest emblems: United's cutting-edge operations center in the Willis Tower. Where Bank of America traders once tracked the world's financial markets, United's dispatchers will guide thousands of its airplanes around the globe from the tower's 28th floor. It's the highest of nine floors United will occupy in the tallest skyscraper in the U.S.

A sad story out of Virginia, where a 25-year-old woman, who was training to be a Washington Redskins cheerleader, has come down with a rare neurological disorder days after receiving a seasonal flu vaccination. Now she can hardly walk forward without severe contortions or speak normally. But amazingly, she can walk backwards, run forward and speak just fine as long as she's running. The question is, did the flu shot cause this? Watch the story from Inside Edition: VIDEO AT LINK

A warning that the new swine flu jab is linked to a deadly nerve disease has been sent by the Government to senior neurologists in a confidential letter. The letter from the Health Protection Agency, the official body that oversees public health, has been leaked to The Mail on Sunday, leading to demands to know why the information has not been given to the public before the vaccination of millions of people, including children, begins. It tells the neurologists that they must be alert for an increase in a brain disorder called Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS), which could be triggered by...

Treasury Secretary Geithner Tells CNBC: "We Need to Be Exceptionally Careful That We Protect Taxpayers." Banner only

Bush, Pelosi taking fight to new levelBy Mike Soraghan November 02, 2007 House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) attacked President Bush’s legacy Thursday, saying he’ll be remembered for an unfair tax code and a failed war strategy. “What does he have to show for his presidency?” Pelosi asked at her weekly Capitol news conference. “He’s the president of the United States already talking about his library. What is he going to have in a library: a tax cut for the wealthiest people in the country at the expense of the middle class and a war without end that is a total...