UPI NewsTrack Health and Science News

Study reveals separate brain networks

BALTIMORE, Aug. 9 (UPI) -- U.S. neuroscientists have discovered separate, adaptable brain networks control the movements of each leg.

The findings by Kennedy Krieger Institute scientists are contrary to accepted theory that leg movements and adaptations are directed by a single control circuit in the brain.

The researchers said the finding might lead to new therapies for correcting walking abilities in patients with brain injuries or neurological disorders.

Using a split-belt treadmill to separately control the legs, Dr. Amy Bastian and Julia Choi studied 40 healthy adults and tracked each person’s ability to learn various walking exercises.

Utilizing specialized computer software and infrared tracking devices placed on key joints, researchers found subjects could store different walking patterns for forward vs. backward walking simultaneously, with no interference between the two. That revealed separate brain systems control the two directions of walking.

"The notion that we can leverage the brain’s adaptive capacity and effectively 'dial in' the patterns of movement that we want patients to learn is incredibly exciting," Bastian said. "These findings significantly enhance our understanding of motor skills, effective therapeutic approaches and the true adaptive nature of the brain."

The study appears in the journal Nature Neuroscience.

Indo-Pacific coral reefs are disappearing

CHAPEL HILL, N.C., Aug. 9 (UPI) -- U.S. marine scientists have discovered coral reefs in the central and western Pacific Ocean are dying faster than previously thought.

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill researchers said they have determined nearly 600 square miles of reef have disappeared annually since the late 1960s -- twice the rate of rain forest loss.

The study found the reefs are disappearing at a rate of 1 percent per year in a decline that began decades earlier than expected.

Historically, coral cover -- a measure of reef health -- hovered around 50 percent. Today, only about 2 percent of reefs in the Indo-Pacific have coral cover close to the historical baseline, the scientists said.

"We have already lost half of the world’s reef-building corals," said Associate Professor John Bruno, lead study author.

He said the research provides the first regional-scale and long-term analysis of coral loss in the Indo-Pacific, which contains 75 percent of the world’s coral reefs.

The results appear in the Aug. 8 issue of the online journal PLoS One.

Chemo with bevacizumab ups blood clot risk

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Aug. 9 (UPI) -- A U.S. study suggests chemotherapy used with the anti-cancer drug bevacizumab produces a greater risk of blood clots than chemotherapy alone.

The combination of chemotherapy and bevacizumab has been shown to increase survival in patients with metastatic colorectal and non-small-cell lung cancer. But some previous studies suggested such patients were at an increased risk for arterial blood clots.

In the new research, Dr. Frank Scappaticci of Genentech Inc. in South San Francisco, Calif., and colleagues analyzed data from five randomized controlled trials that included 1,745 patients with metastatic colorectal, breast or non-small-cell lung cancer.

Among patients treated with the combination therapy, 3.8 percent experienced blood clots in their arteries, compared with 1.7 percent of patients on chemotherapy alone who experienced clots.

"The clinical benefit associated with bevacizumab therapy was maintained for all subgroups," the researchers said. "Although death (from an arterial blood clot) was uncommon, we did not capture functional disabilities from these events, and the risk factors … identified in this study should be considered when making treatment decisions for individual patients."

The research appears online in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

Bacteria don't affect a fly's lifespan

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 9 (UPI) -- A U.S. study suggests the lifespan of bacteria-ridden flies is apparently not affected by the microbial infestations.

The findings of the study conducted by John Tower and colleagues at the University of Southern California suggest the energy flies expend to fight the bacteria comes without a longevity trade-off.

"It’s a surprise," Tower said. "Even though the flies were accumulating so much bacteria and a robust immune response to that bacteria, it’s not limiting how long the flies live. The question is, if it’s not bacteria that limit life span, then what is it? We’ve reduced the number of possibilities."

The study that included Chunli Ren and Steven Finkel at USC-Los Angeles and Paul Webster of the House Ear Institute in Los Angeles appears in the August issue of the journal Cell Metabolism.