Aurora magazine

A blood test may suffice to diagnose Alzheimer's disease 20 years before it occurs. This is demonstrated by a study by the Washington University School of Medicine (WUSTL) in St. Louis. Researchers have developed a test that can identify betamyloid peptides, the proteins that cause the disease's characteristic plaques. This is an even more advanced version of a test developed about two years ago.

The test analyzes the blood samples using a mass spectrometer. In this way it identifies two forms of betamyloid peptide: the betamiloid 42 and the betamiloide 40. When the deposits begin to form in the brain, the relationship between the two decreases. The test is able to identify this change, although there are still no obvious symptoms of what is happening. To test the efficacy of the test, the researchers involved 158 adults at least 50 years old. All participants except 10 had normal cognitive functions. Each patient gave a blood sample and performed a brain CT scan.

The researchers performed the tests and classified the samples based on the results. In 88% of cases, blood tests and CT scans gave identical results. To improve the accuracy of blood tests, scientists combined the results with other risk factors. They therefore took into account age and specific genetic variants.

The operation made it possible to reach an accuracy level of 94%, confirmed by the follow-up carried out in the following years. In some cases the test was even more sensitive than the CT scan. This means that it could identify the disease in its earliest stages, even twenty years before it occurs. In this way it would be possible to slow down the formation of plaques and the progression of the disease.

Source: medicalnewstoday.com

A new treatment could delay menopause for even twenty years, so you can have children later. The procedure is being tested in Birmingham, currently available for women up to 40 years.

The principle is similar to that of fertility preservation treatments for women who have to undergo chemotherapy. Treatment involves a series of invasive procedures. The doctors take a sample of ovarian tissue from the women and freeze it. If she arrives at menopause, the woman wishes to have a child, she can have the piece of tissue transplanted again. In fragment it stimulates the production of new hormones, bringing them back to pre-menopausal levels.

This way the woman can get pregnant again, at least in theory. For the moment 9 women have undergone the procedure. The patients are all British, aged between 22 and 36 years. The procedure could help them not only to have a child at a later age, but above all to postpone the many negative effects of menopause. The restored levels of hormones would in fact serve to contrast caldane, anxiety, osteoporosis, weight gain.

The technique has already proved effective against infertility due to chemo. As for this specific use, instead, doctors have some doubts. According to some, we do not yet know if the ovarian tissue sample will suffice to produce the right amount of hormones. Furthermore, the safety of treatment on healthy women who have simply entered menopause has not been proven.

Source: huffingtonpost.co.uk

Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh have identified a link between schizophrenia and the internal clock. People with the disease show abnormalities in the genes that regulate our sense of time.

The discovery could help us better understand how the disease develops and therefore how to fight it. Many of our bodily functions depend on an internal 24-hour clock, the circadian cycle. This cycle also regulates the expression of some genes within certain cells.

The clock helps to turn off or turn on the genes in question, depending on whether it is night or day. According to the authors of the study, the mechanism would not work in people with schizophrenia. To prove it, they analyzed the gene expression of 46 schizophrenic and 46 healthy people.

Researchers analyzed the gene expression of cells in the prefrontal cortex, the area responsible for memory and cognitive faculties. At this point, they combined the information collected with data as the time of death. In this way, scientists determined the changes in the internal rhythm of different genes. This revealed some interesting patterns. The analyzes revealed anomalies in the gene expression of some cells, which influenced the entire functioning of the brain.

The phenomenon could cause inflammation in some areas of the brain, with repercussions on the symptoms related to the disease. Above all, it could clarify some obscure points of the disease, still little understood and therefore difficult to cure.

Source: pitt.edu

Fathers who are very stressed during pregnancy tend to have children with behavioral problems. According to a study by the University of Cambridge. The researchers followed the children for two years, analyzing their behaviors and those of both parents. From what emerges, mothers are not the only ones to have a big impact on babies during gestation.

There are numerous studies showing a correlation between psychological conditions of future mothers and those of their children. Strange as it may seem, the same is true for fathers. Future fathers who experience gestation as stress tend to have a worse impact on their children. They often find it more difficult to relate to children, with effects that also affect their adult life. This means that even fathers need psychological support during pregnancy.

The study followed 438 couples awaiting their first child. Parents responded to questionnaires and interviews regarding their couple life, concerns, stressful events. The first round of questions was done by the end of the third quarter of gestation. The researchers then interviewed them 4 months, 12 months and 24 months after the birth. Meanwhile, they analyzed children's behaviors and development.

The children of stressed and unhappy fathers, are more likely to exhibit emotional problems in turn. Many of these were worried, unhappy, crying, frightened by new situations. All conditions that could be caused by relationship problems in early childhood, even if the correlation is not entirely clear.

Source: telegraph.co.uk