RedScrubs
The Resource for Medical Professionals

(Report via HealthDay) New research in mice suggests that loss of smell could serve as an early indicator of Alzheimer’s disease.

People with Alzheimer’s are already known to suffer from loss of smell. But the new research pinpoints a direct link between development of amyloid plaques — the bits of gunk in the brain that cause Alzheimer’s disease — and a worsening sense of smell.

(Report via Medical News Today) Guillain-Barré syndrome is a rare but serious disease of the peripheral nervous system, which is the network of nerves that control the body’s senses and movements. In this disorder the body’s immune system attacks the nerves.

(Report via Medline Plus) A new look at some old data adds convincing evidence that high body fluid levels of the antioxidant urate slow the progressive nerve damage of Parkinson’s disease.

(Report via Med Page Today) Veterans with a history of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) were twice as likely as other vets to be diagnosed with dementia later on, scientists reported at the International Conference on Alzheimer’s Disease.

New research from the US adds to mounting evidence that when diagnosing bipolar disorder in children doctors and clinicians should consider irritability as a possible symptom.

Researchers in the UK inserted tiny scaffolds with stem cells attached into the stroke damaged brains of rats and found that they grew into new tissue to fill the holes made by the stroke damage. The research was led by Dr Mike Modo of the Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London and took place at the Institute of Psychiatry and University of Nottingham.

Diabetics have a significantly greater risk of dementia, both Alzheimer’s disease - the most common form of dementia - and other dementia, reveals important new data from an ongoing study of twins.

Diabetics have a significantly greater risk of dementia, both Alzheimer’s disease - the most common form of dementia - and other dementia, reveals important new data from an ongoing study of twins.

Vanderbilt University Medical Center investigators have found a surprising link between brain iron levels and serotonin, a neurotransmitter involved in neuropsychiatric conditions ranging from autism to major depression. Appearing in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences this week, the study by Randy Blakely, Ph.D.