News by Subject Social & Behavior

A new way to examine stress and inflammation in the heart will help Parkinson's researchers test new therapies and explore an unappreciated way the disease puts people at risk of falls and hospitalization.

Supplementing a single protein found in the spinal cord could help prevent symptoms of Lou Gehrig's disease, according to a new study out of Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. Researchers found high levels of the protein -- called mitofusion 2 or Mfn2 -- prevented nerve degeneration, muscle atrophy, and paralysis in a mouse model of the disease. Since Mfn2 is often depleted during Lou Gehrig's, the new study suggests supplementing it could be a novel therapeutic approach for the disease.

MIT engineers have developed a simple, low-cost, passive prosthetic foot that they can tailor to an individual. Given a user's body weight and size, the researchers can tune the shape and stiffness of the prosthetic foot, such that the user's walk is similar to an able-bodied gait. They estimate that the foot, if manufactured on a wide scale, could cost an order of magnitude less than existing products.

Academic struggles can also create significant stress and anxiety for children and families, report researchers led by Boston Children's neuropsychologist Deborah Waber, PhD. Using a 15-question survey in families of children on IEP plans, they document actionable levels of distress.

Researchers at Nemours and the University of Delaware have developed a blood test predictive of spastic cerebral palsy. Their study, published in BMC Bioinformatics, showed that DNA patterns in circulating blood cells can be used to help identify spastic CP patients (Crowgey et al.). New and better ways to identify infants with CP are needed so that interventions can start earlier for more children.

EPFL scientists have shown that combining a brain-computer interface (BCI) with functional electrical stimulation (FES) can help stroke victims recover greater use of their paralyzed arm -- even years after the stroke.

One in three adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) visit the emergency department annually but effective primary care could reduce these numbers, suggests a new study led by St. Michael's Hospital and the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES).