Public Release: 15-Feb-2013
NIH study shows big improvement in diabetes control over past decades
More people are meeting recommended goals in the 3 key markers of diabetes control, according to a study conducted and funded by the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Public Release: 14-Feb-2013
American Journal of Public Health
Prevention efforts focused on youth reduce prescription abuse into adulthood
Middle school students from small towns and rural communities who received any of three community-based prevention programs were less likely to abuse prescription medications in late adolescence and young adulthood. The research, published today in the American Journal of Public Health, was funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, and the National Institute of Mental Health, all components of the National Institutes of Health.
NIH/National Institute on Drug Abuse, NIH/National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, NIH/National Institute of Mental Health

Public Release: 13-Feb-2013
JAMA Psychiatry
Threat bias interacts with combat, gene to boost PTSD risk
Soldiers preoccupied with threat at the time of enlistment or with avoiding it just before deployment were more likely to develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), in a study of Israeli infantrymen. Such pre-deployment threat vigilance and avoidance, interacting with combat experience and an emotion-related gene, accounted for more than a third of PTSD symptoms that emerged later. Computerized training that helps modify such attention biases might help protect soldiers from the disorder.
NIH/National Institute of Mental Health

Public Release: 10-Feb-2013
Nature Medicine
NIH scientists discover promising target to block Staphylococcus infection
National Institutes of Health scientists have identified a promising lead for developing a new type of drug to treat infection caused by Staphylococcus aureus, a bacterium that frequently resists traditional antibiotics. The researchers discovered a system used by S. aureus to transport toxins that are thought to contribute to severe staph infections. These toxins -- called phenol-soluble modulins -- have gained much attention in recent years, but their multitude and diversity have hindered efforts to target them for drug development.
NIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

Public Release: 8-Feb-2013
2013 International Stroke Conference
New England Journal of Medicine
Imaging acute ischemic stroke patients' brains did not lead to improved outcomes
The use of advanced imaging shortly after the onset of acute stroke failed to identify a subgroup of patients who could benefit from a clot-removal procedure, a study has found. The randomized controlled trial known as Mechanical Retrieval and Recanalization of Stroke Clots Using Embolectomy was funded by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, part of the National Institutes of Health, and was published online Feb. 8 in the New England Journal of Medicine.
NIH/National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

Public Release: 7-Feb-2013
2013 International Stroke Conference
New England Journal of Medicine
Clot-retrieval devices failed to improve stroke-related disability
A stroke survivor's chances of living independently after 90 days are not improved by the use of devices inserted into the artery to dissolve or remove a stroke-causing clot shortly after the onset of symptoms, according to a controlled trial. The study, funded by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, will be presented at the International Stroke Conference 2013 in Honolulu, Hawaii, and published online Feb. 7 in the New England Journal of Medicine.
NIH/National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

Public Release: 5-Feb-2013
3 NIH-sponsored clinical trials test influenza treatments
Three clinical trials that seek to find more effective treatments for influenza are enrolling volunteers with influenza at the National Institutes of Health's Clinical Center in Bethesda, Md., and at several dozen other domestic and international sites.
NIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

Public Release: 5-Feb-2013
Journal of Neuroscience
Reflex control could improve walking after incomplete spinal injuries
A training regimen to adjust the body's motor reflexes may help improve mobility for some people with incomplete spinal cord injuries, according to a study supported by the National Institutes of Health.
NIH/National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

Public Release: 4-Feb-2013
JAMA Psychiatry
Imaging biomarker predicts response to rapid antidepressant
A boost of activity at the back of the brain while processing emotional information predicted depressed patients' responses to an experimental rapid-acting antidepressant. The potential neuroimaging biomarker may eventually help to personalize treatment selection by revealing brain-based differences between patients. Scopolamine can lift depression in many, but not all, patients within a few days. The study found that the more dysfunctional a patient's acetylcholine chemical messenger system, the better they responded to the drug.
NIH/National Institute of Mental Health