Prescription pain patch abuse blamed for increase in deaths
Drug abusers are increasingly turning to a slow-release form of a powerful painkiller for a quick and dangerous high, University of Florida researchers warn. The trend is raising alarm as the number of people dying from an overdose of the drug fentanyl, an opioid 100 times more potent than morphine, rises. . Addicts are misusing a clear patch that transfers a controlled dose of fentanyl through t...Getting old? Slowing down? Blame inefficient mitochondria
Mitochondria are the cell's equivalent of power stations. A power station burns fuel to build up steam pressure and uses that pressure to drive a turbine linked to a dynamo. This in turn generates electricity. In mitochondria, the fuel is oxidised and builds up a pressure of hydrogen ions (protons). These force through molecular turbines and enable the cell to generate ATP, an energy unit that ca...Bone and cartilage growth to blame for heart valve disease
Research to be published in the April 18 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology provides the first explanation of an active rather than passive process that leads to heart valve degeneration, furthering a Northwestern researcher's effort to lead a paradigm shift in the medical community's beliefs about the cause of valve disease. . Heart valve disease is caused not by a 'wear...The dyslexic brain struggles to read because even small distractions can throw it off, according to a new model of dyslexia emerging from a group of recent studies. . .. .. Such children may benefit from intensive training under "noisy" condi...The controversial idea that one cause of high blood pressure lies within the brain, and not the heart or blood vessels, has been put forward by scientists at the University of Bristol, UK, and is published this week in the journal Hypertension. . .. JAM-1 traps white blood cells called leukocytes which, once trapped, can cause inflammation and may obstruct blood f...