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Why Some Pain Drugs Become Less Effective Over Time

By Guest PostApril 22, 2012Healthdpdpe, graciela pineyro, journey, ligands, molecular mechanism, neural cell, opioid analgesics, opioid pain drugs, painkilling function, poppy plant, receptor recycling, sainte justine hospital, snc 80 t, university of montreal

Researchers at the University of Montreal’s Sainte-Justine Hospital have identified how neural cells are able to build up resistance to opioid pain drugs within hours. “A better understanding of these mechanisms will enable us to design drugs that avoid body resistance to these drugs and produce longer therapeutic responses, including longer-acting opioid analgesics”, lead author Dr. Graciela Pineyro said.

Humans have known about the usefulness of opioids, which are often harvested from poppy plants, for centuries, but we have very little insight into how they lose their effectiveness in the hours, days and weeks following the first dose. “Our study revealed cellular and molecular mechanisms within our bodies that enable us to develop resistance to this medication, or what scientists call drug tolerance,” she added. (more…)

Men More Likely To Have An Accurate Memory of Unpleasant Experiences

By Guest PostFebruary 4, 2012Scienceadrianna mendrek, arousal affect, brain, computer screen, eeg, electrophysiological investigation, emma glaser, emotional memory, emotionally provocative, experience, image, left hemisphere, man, marc lavoie, martine germain, memory, nadia lakis, neuron activity, right hemisphere, sex differences, university of montreal, unpleasant, valence, woman

A woman’s memory of an experience is less likely to be accurate than a man’s if it was unpleasant and emotionally provocative, according to research undertaken by University of Montreal researchers at Louis-H Lafontaine Hospital. “Very few studies have looked at how ‘valence’ and ‘arousal’ affect memories independently of each other, that is to say, how attractive or repulsive we find an experience and how emotionally provocative it is,” said corresponding author Dr. Marc Lavoie, of the university’s Department of Psychiatry and the hospital’s Fernand-Seguin Research Center. “Our test relied on photos – we found firstly that highly arousing pictures blur women’s capacity to determine whether they’ve seen it before, and secondly that women have a clearer memory of attractive experiences than men. Arousal has an enhancing effect on the memory of men however, as does ‘low valence’ or unpleasantness.” (more…)

Solving The Mystery of An Old Drug That May Reduce Cancer Risk

By Guest PostJanuary 19, 2012Health, Scienceanti diabetic drug, anti diabetic function, antioxidant, breast, cancer, cancer risk, carcinogenesis, cellular mutation rate, colon, diabetics, dna damage, gerardo ferbeyre, mcgill university, metformin, michael pollak, mitochondria, nutrient, rates of cancer, reactive oxygen species, reduction in risk, ros, scotland, type ii diabetes, université de montréal, university of montreal

In 2005, news first broke that researchers in Scotland found unexpectedly low rates of cancer among diabetics taking metformin, a drug commonly prescribed to patients with Type II diabetes. Many follow-up studies reported similar findings, some suggesting as much as a 50-per-cent reduction in risk. How could this anti-diabetic drug reduce the risk of developing cancer and what were the mechanisms involved?

In a paper published today in the journal Cancer Prevention Research, researchers from McGill University and the University of Montreal reported an unexpected finding: they learned that exposure to metformin reduces the cellular mutation rate and the accumulation of DNA damage. It is well known that such mutations are directly involved in carcinogenesis, but lowering cancer risk by inhibiting the mutation rate has never been shown to be feasible. (more…)

Predators Drive the Evolution of Poison Dart Frogs’ Skin Patterns

By Guest PostNovember 25, 2011Natureamazon forest, athieu chouteau, biologist, butterfly, evolutionary process, exotic defensive signal, forest, heliconius genus, mathieu robert sauve, museum national d histoire naturelle, natural selection, Paris, peruvian, plasticine models, poison dart frog, poisonous frog, predators, ranitomeya, salamanders, skins patterns, snakes, tarapoto, university of montreal

Natural selection has played a role in the development of the many skins patterns of the tiny Ranitomeya imitator poison dart frog, according to a study that will be published in an upcoming edition of American Naturalist by University of Montreal biologist Mathieu Chouteau. The researcher’s methodology was rather unusual: on three occasions over three days, at two different sites, Chouteau investigated the number of attacks that had been made on fake frogs, by counting how many times that had been pecked. Those that were attacked the least looked like local frogs, while those that came from another area had obviously been targeted. (more…)

New Computer Programme Promises To Save The Whales

By Guest PostOctober 13, 2011Environment, Natureatlantic ocean, beluga, biological diversity, blue whale, clement chion, complex systems laboratory, computer programme, ecological and economic tradeoffs, environmental conditions, fin whale, humpback, lael parrott, les escoumins, marine mammal, minke whale, model, quebec, saguenay fjord, saint lawrence estuary, st lawrence estuary, tadoussac, university of montreal, whale watching

Researchers at the University of Montreal have developed a computer programme that enables regulators to evaluate the ecological and economic tradeoffs between marine mammal conservation, whale watching and marine transportation activities in the Saint Lawrence Estuary.

“The objective is to reduce the collision risk with whales while taking into account the impact on industry and marine transportation,” said Lael Parrott, who headed the research team. The model, developed in her Complex Systems Laboratory, maps the estuary where the field research was undertaken, simulates the comings and goings of five mammal species (minke whale, fin whale, beluga, humpback and blue whale), the presence and movements of three types of boats (recreation, excursion and cargo), and environmental conditions. Nine scenarios were elaborated in order to observe the effects of various decisions. (more…)

New Genetic Clues for Schizophrenia

By Guest PostJuly 16, 2011Healthchu sainte-justine hospital, de novo mutations, genetic errors, guy a rouleau, hallucinations, mental retardation, nature genetics, new genetic clues for schizophrenia, schizophrenic patients, university of montreal, wide spectrum of symptoms

De novo mutations – genetic errors that are present in patients but not in their parents – are more frequent in schizophrenic patients than in normal individuals, according to an international group of scientists led by Dr. Guy A. Rouleau of the University of Montreal and CHU Sainte-Justine Hospital. The discovery, published today in Nature Genetics, may enable researchers to define how the disease results from these mutations and eventually develop new treatments for it.

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Too Much TV, Video and Computer Can Make Teens Fatter

By Guest PostSeptember 21, 2010Culture, Healthadiposity in adolescents, american journal of epidemiology, atypical patterns, canadian cancer society, canadian institutes of health research, mcgill university, sainte-justine hospital research center, screen time, teens and screens, teens fatter, tracie a. barnett, university of montreal

Too much television, video games and Internet can increase body fat in teens. A five-year study from the University of Montreal and the Sainte-Justine Hospital Research Center, published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, has found teenagers have four different patterns of screen use: increasers, decreasers, consistently high and consistently low users. (more…)

Romantic Partner May Play Role in Reducing Vulvovaginal Pain

By Guest PostSeptember 10, 2010Healthchronic vulvovaginal pain, female partners, male partners, natalie o rosen, neurologic disorder, premenopausal women, provoked vestibulodynia, psychological distress, pvd, sexual dysfunction, sexual satisfaction, sophie bergeron, university of montreal, vulvovaginal pain, women

An investigation published in The Journal of Sexual Medicine has found that male partners who express greater support, attention and sympathy to women’s chronic vulvovaginal pain may trigger more pain, but also increase sexual satisfaction in female partners.

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