Archive for October, 2011
Hyge-Cræft: Northern Tradition's Soul Working (Part I)
Monday, October 31st, 2011In the Old Norse Rune Poem, we learn that man is an “augmentation of the dust”. Of dust, certainly, the body is made, and yet the literature of the North is full of references to that which augments it– the spiritual part or parts of a man. Not only is a belief in the supra-physical clearly demonstrated in Northern tradition, but the evidence, though fragmentary and often full of contradictions, suggests, if not the existence of a lost model of the hug, or psyche, which is of considerable sophistication, at least a traditional lore which can form the basis for such an analysis, as rich and intriguing as the doctrine of the soul in any theology.
I must emphasize that the discussion which follows should be considered speculative and exploratory. Despite the example of two thousand years worth of dogmatic Christian theology, it seems to me that when dealing with a subject as nebulous as the breath itself, to claim certainty would be a contradiction in terms. These questions will not be truly answered until we, like Gangleri, come to the High One’s hall. As heathens, we can afford to live with uncertainty. However uncertain, Hyge-cræft, or the study of the soul, is an exciting area of speculation.
Gene Therapy Study for Parkinson's Disease
Monday, October 31st, 2011WEST BLOOMFIELD, Mich. – A Michigan hospital is embarking on a research study for advanced Parkinson’s disease using a state-of-the-art treatment called gene transfer.
The clinical trial will test whether gene transfer therapy is able to restore better mobility in Parkinson’s patients who have lost responsiveness to drug therapy.
“The start of this clinical trial provides hope to a Parkinson’s disease patient population that has had a long-standing need for better treatment options,” says Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital neurologist Peter LeWitt, M.D., who is internationally known for his research on Parkinson’s disease.
Strategy for Novel Parkinson's Treatment
Sunday, October 30th, 2011UCSF scientists have used a novel cell-based strategy to treat motor symptoms in rats with a disease designed to mimic Parkinson’s disease.
The strategy suggests a promising approach, the scientists say, for treating symptoms of Parkinson’s disease and other neurodegenerative diseases and disorders, including epilepsy.
The scientists transplanted embryonic neurons from fetal rats into an area of the adult rat brain known as the striatum, which integrates excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitter signals to control movement. In Parkinson’s disease, cells that produce the neurotransmitter dopamine are damaged, and thus unable to project their communication wires, or axons, to the region. As a result, the balance of excitation and inhibition in the striatum is lost, causing the motor deficits that are a primary symptom of the disease.
The Hype about Autism And Vaccines
Sunday, October 30th, 2011Early last month, the now-famous paper by Dr Andrew Wakefield that supposedly linked vaccines to the onset of Autism, was formally retracted by the Lancet, the journal that published it back in 1998. This was a monumental decision, considering it was the conclusions drawn from this paper that launched the firestorm of debate around the safety of vaccines, and likely the cause of the current vaccine crisis.
It goes without saying, but in case some of you have not made the connection yet, this retraction means that there never was a valid link between vaccines and Autism; not even one study can show this. Wakefield’s study was never able to be replicated (because of his poor and dishonest methods), and every scientific study conducted following his that attempted to find a similar link was unsuccessful. Scientists have been saying for years that there must have been something fishy with his study to have gotten that result, but the public (at least a large portion of it) would not listen. Now even Wakefield himself has said that his study is invalid, and yet the supporters remain.
Personal Opinion of Mental Illness
Saturday, October 29th, 2011This article was inspired by Andrea’s wonderful piece, Dopamine: The Neurotransmitter With Many Faces. It started out as a comment to her article, but gradually evolved into it’s own article. Bearing in mind the context in which this article was conceived, I would prefer not to alter the original text, but rather let you see the pristine form in which it was first written. If nothing else, this should give the reader some insight into how a writer’s mind works–at least this writer’s mind.
You are quite correct in saying:
Everyone’s neurochemistry is different
which is why any psychopharmocoligical treatment is idiosyncratic. What I mean by this is no one knows how anyone is going to respond to any particular psychoactive drug or combinations of drugs until it is administered and the effects become apparent in either an adverse or beneficial way or not at all.
Dopamine: Multi-Faces The Neurotransmitter
Saturday, October 29th, 2011A new study that was just released on Sunday and published online in Nature Neuroscience has found that Ritalin, a popular medication to treat ADD/HD, helps improve learning not only by improving focus, but also by increasing plasticity of neural connections.
The player involved in this new discovery is none other than that magical little neurotransmitter, one of my good friends, dopamine. As well as giving insight into to the nature of attention deficit disorders, providing new avenues to pursue for treatment, this study brings to light a few important facts about dopamine.
First, note that the authors specify particular dopamine receptors that are acted upon by Ritalin, D1 and D2, which result in different changes depending on which receptor is activated.
Introduction to Epigenetics
Friday, October 28th, 2011For some time now it has been acknowledged that a discrepancy exists between the information provided by the DNA sequence (i.e. number of genes) and what is actually represented at the level of encoded products (messenger RNA and proteins). What is now clear is that, although the DNA sequence provides the basic blueprint for life, this code is subject to a number of ‘epigenetic’ modifications that provide another complex layer of information.
The development of the idea and the first use of the term ‘epigenotype’ occurred as far back as 1942. Conrad H. Waddington suggested the existence of epigenetic mechanisms to explain the control of gene expression programmes during development. Implicit in the term epigenetics is that these mechanisms are labile and are erased and reset. Over the years the definition of epigenetics has shifted a little, such that these mechanisms are not limited to development only, although there is still an understanding that epigenetic marks controlling gene expression are stably transmitted through cell divisions. For the purposes of this review, epigenetics can be loosely defined as the transmission and perpetuation of coding information that is not based on alteration of the DNA sequence. These coding changes may be mediated via chemical marking of the DNA sequence itself (DNA methylation) and/or chemical tagging of histone proteins that bind DNA and are molecular tools by which gene expression levels are controlled.
Mental Desease by The Darwin
Friday, October 28th, 2011It is a curious fact, not diluted by the frequency – that when anti-evolutionists are pinned against the wall they will often resort to either sheer fabrication, or……in the case of one histrionic and unnamed “pastor” – red herrings. With Charles Darwin’s ascent to the pinnacle of biological science this ought not be surprising.
In the past it was based on the canard that “Darwin converted on his deathbed” – when no such thing occurred as pointed out by Daniel Dennett in his Darwin’s Dangerous Idea. But give the religious cranks an ‘A’ for effort in trying to peddle this hogswill far an wide.
Panic Attack Sign
Thursday, October 27th, 2011Symptoms of panic attacks are the expressions or sensations those are either visible on your face or those which can be felt internally when someone is suffering from a panic. Generally the word ‘symptom’ is used to locate the effects of illness. But panic attack is not an illness. This is just a disorder in our nervous system that causes behavioral dysfunction. And it occurs for a while.
These symptoms are unpleasant, but harmless. Whenev er one is attacked by 
a panic he feels that he might have a heart attack as the symptoms are quite similar. But a panic attack never causes any harm like a heart attack. But always remember that these symptoms use to vary from person to person.
Eating-related Behaviour is one of Serious Psychological Disorder Sign
Thursday, October 27th, 2011Eating disorder charities are reporting a rise in the number of people suffering from a serious psychological condition characterised by an obsession with healthy eating. The condition, orthorexia nervosa, affects equal numbers of men and women, but sufferers tend to be aged over 30, middle-class and well-educated.
The condition was named by a Californian doctor, Steven Bratman, in 1997, and is described as a “fixation on righteous eating”. “Other eating disorders focus on quantity of food but orthorexics can be overeight or look normal. They are solely concerned with the quality of the food they put in their bodies, refining and restricting their diets according to their personal understanding of which foods are truly ‘pure’.”