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May 25, 2012
Mark Clayton: Is Hillary's State Dept. hacking Al Qaeda? Not quite
Erika Bolstad: Temple cancels Wasserman Schultz speech
The Kosher Gourmet by Ethel G. Hofman: The former president of the International Association of Culinary Professionals, whose members included the likes of Julia Child, is back with contemporary Shavous cuisine: Ruby Fruit Soup, Sweet Noodle Kugel with Cheese, Key Lime Curd, Calsone Casserole Frittata with Wild Mushrooms, Sun-dried tomatoes and Olives, Baked Tilapia with Pepper Cheese Cream and Brown Sugar Shortbread
May 24, 2012
Jeff Jacoby: The peace process battered Israel's reputation
Michael Muskal: 'Pro-choice' position hits record low, according to poll
Chris Farrell: Are We in a Tech Bubble?
The Kosher Gourmet by Penelope Wall: PHILLY CHEESE STEAKS --- hold the steak!
May 23, 2012
Tony Pugh: More private colleges offering tuition discounts
Mary Beth Franklin: How to Choose the Right Annuity for You
Tina Susman: The wig wasn't enough: Man gets 13 years for posing as his dead mom
The Kosher Gourmet by Emma Christensen:A simple way to do fish right
May 22, 2012
Warren Richey: Can US group challenge overseas surveillance act? Supreme Court to decide
Thomas M. Anderson: Walking Away From a Mortgage
The Kosher Gourmet by Megan Gordon: Enjoy a celebration of the most rich and layered flavors: Black bean, sweet potato and quinoa chili
May 21, 2012
Mark Clayton: Cybersecurity: How US utilities passed up chance to protect their networks
Howard LaFranchi: NATO summit: Who will foot the bill for long-term Afghanistan security?
Chris Farrell : Earn Dividends in Emerging Markets with This WisdomTree ETF
Stephen Whiteside, Ph.D. : Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: Social anxiety disorder --- or just shy?
Guy Jackson : Victim's father regrets death of Lockerbie bomber
The Kosher Gourmet by Mario Batali: Famed chef's veal shoulder farsumagru: A festive meat course for late spring
May 18, 2012
Rabbi Berel Wein: Striving: The People of the Book's Book for (All of) the People
Steven Goldberg: 5 Great Stock Picks and the Exchange-Traded Fund that Owns Them
Mary Pickett, M.D.: Ask the Harvard Experts: Don't be forced into gluten-free lifestyle based merely on a doctor's false-positive test
The Kosher Gourmet by Carolyn Malcoun: DIY healthy lunchbox treats: HOMEMADE FRUIT BARS for kids and brown-bagging adults alike
May 17, 2012
Warren Richey: Teacher fired for being unwed and pregnant can sue religious school, court rules
Josh Mitnick: Netanyahu's 'centrist' coalition is already proving it's anything but
Steven Goldberg: Earn Dividends in Emerging Markets with This WisdomTree ETF
Amina Khan: Research links coffee to lower death rates
The Kosher Gourmet by Faith Duran : Cheesy Potato Breakfast Casserole with Cheddar and Sun-Dried Tomatoes
May 16, 2012
Carmen Terzic, M.D., Ph.D. : Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: A variety of exercises can help improve balance
Melissa Healy: National strategy on Alzheimer's disease aims to halt it by 2025
The Kosher Gourmet by Joyce White : GOODNESS GRACIOUS: GREENS! 4 winning recipes that are no longer just for down-home folks (Includes expert tips & techniques)
May 15, 2012
Kristen Chick: Obama administration resumes arms sales to Bahrain despite serious unresolved human rights issues. Activists feel abandoned
Pat Mertz Esswein: Homes are now affordable again and mortgage rates are low. What you need to know before you buy
Kathy Kristof: Our Practical Investor Fights Inflation with These 6 Investments
Sue Hubbard, M.D.: The Kid's Doctor: Lactose intolerant young child? Check again
The Kosher Gourmet by Kathy Hunt: Spread a Little Excitement with EXOTIC CONDIMENTS (4 RECIPES)
May 14, 2012
Lisa Gerstner: How to Protect Your Identity, Finances If You Lose Your Phone
Harvard Health Letters: Heart disease and dementia
The Kosher Gourmet by Megan Gordon: MANGO COCONUT OAT MORNING MUFFINS are a bright but hearty delight
May 11, 2012
Jessica L. Anderson: Get the Best Deal on a Used Car
Jett Stone: Forget face-lifts and fake knees. Scientists have seen the fountain of youth --- and it's broccoli
The Kosher Gourmet by Chef Mario Batali: The famed chef's vegetable dish that tastes true to the season: FAVAS AND SUGAR SNAP PEAS WITH POTATOES AND TARRAGON
May 10, 2012
Sergei L. Loiko: Putin sends warning to U.S., NATO in Victory Day speech at Red Square
Mary Rourke: How being a 'mentch' got Vidal Sasoon his start and fighting in Israel's War of Independence provided him with confidence and a strong sense of his own identity
Jeff Bertolucci: Get Home Phone Service for Less Than $10 a Month
The Kosher Gourmet by Betty Rosbottom: Gleaming with its golden, crimson, and snowy white hues, this silken smooth and creamy STRAWBERRY ORANGE TRIFLE looks impressive, but is easy to prepare
May 9, 2012
Sharon Palmer, R.D. How you can reduce your risk -- or delay -- chronic diseases associated with aging
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Jewish World Review
Study finds jolt to the brain boosts memory
By
Melissa Healy
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | (MCT)
In an experiment likely to raise new hopes for those with memory-robbing diseases such as Alzheimer's, researchers have found that sending an electrical jolt to a part of the brain that plays a key role in memory improved people's ability to learn — and remember — their way across an unfamiliar landscape.
The study, conducted at the University of California, Los Angeles and published in Thursday's edition of the New England Journal of Medicine, was small and highly preliminary, involving just seven patients with epilepsy. But deep brain stimulation helped all seven subjects — including some who suffered memory impairment — navigate faster and more accurately through a virtual town.
Since the treatment also gave a boost to subjects with no signs of dementia, the study is likely to reignite a simmering debate over the ethics of enhancing the mental capacities of people in perfect cognitive health, experts said.
The new results build on animal studies that found deep brain stimulation not only boosted activity in the brain's memory centers, but spurred the growth of new brain cells when those regions were damaged. The fact that the same technique improved memory performance in humans makes some researchers optimistic that it might be a way to block or reverse the destruction of brain cells in patients with Alzheimer's.
Although physicians are now able to diagnosis Alzheimer's disease earlier than ever — sometimes years before memory lapses and other cognitive changes become evident — they are still at a loss to alter the disease's progress.
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Deep brain stimulation involves the insertion of guide wires through the skull and into the brain, where they deliver electrical current to clusters of neurons that no longer function properly. It is widely used in the treatment of Parkinson's disease, in which damage to regions of the brain's motor cortex cause tremors, rigidity and unsteady gait. About 90,000 Americans have had the battery-powered, stopwatch-sized devices implanted in their brains, and they often show marked improvement. But the neurostimulator has not been found to slow or block the progression of that disease.
The technique is also being used for patients with epilepsy, to disrupt the storm of electrical current in the brain that causes seizures. The patients who took part in the memory trial were candidates for this treatment, and in preparation for surgery they had electrical probes inserted in their brains — giving researchers the opportunity to conduct their experiment.
The goal was to explore whether stimulation to two key memory regions of the brain would deliver improvement in cognition. With their heads immobilized, the patients had electrodes placed in their brains. Then they played a virtual game of taxi driver, learning their way through an imaginary town in order to reach six destinations.
While navigating the new landscape, the subjects sometimes got deep brain stimulation to one of two areas — the hippocampus or an adjacent structure called the entorhinal cortex — and other times got no neurostimulation at all.
The researchers found that when subjects' entorhinal region was stimulated while they navigated through the maze for the first time, they were speedier and more accurate in learning the way to certain destinations than when they explored a similar maze without stimulation.
For instance, subjects outlined routes to stores that were 64 percent shorter, on average, when the entorhinal cortex was stimulated compared with when it was not. When electrodes delivered stimulation directly to the hippocampus, some subjects improved their performance while others got worse.
Itzhak Fried, a UCLA neurosurgeon who worked on the study, called the hippocampus "the master organ of memory." But he said the greater improvements seen in the memories of patients who got stimulation to the adjacent entorhinal region suggested a new target for treating memory loss.
"The entorhinal cortex is a gateway into the hippocampus," Fried said. "If you are to consciously recollect incoming information, it needs to be processed here."
In an editorial accompanying the study, University of Toronto neurologist Sandra E. Black called the potential application of deep brain stimulation in the treatment of memory disorders "enticing."
And Dr. Maria Carrillo, scientific director of the Alzheimer's Association, agreed that electrically stimulating the brain's memory centers may hold greater promise. But she cautioned that the complexity and breadth of destruction in Alzheimer's make it resistant to simple fixes.
"It's a little early to talk about deep brain stimulation as a treatment for Alzheimer's disease," she said. "But certainly it's tantalizing."
The study has many drawbacks beyond its small size, including the fact that participants did not have a uniform level of memory impairment and that the tests measured only spatial memory, not memory of faces, places and words, the researchers said.
Andres M. Lozano, a neurosurgeon at the University of Toronto who has conducted similar experiments in mice, said this line of research already had piqued the interest of people with normal memory function who seek a little intellectual edge.
"These are major ethical issues society will have to grapple with when the time comes," Lozano said.
"This opens up a Pandora's box."
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© 2012, Los Angeles Times Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
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