The higher estradiol levels that are seen during pregnancy are more prominent in pregnant women who have restless legs syndrome (RLS) than in those without, a recent study shows.

Authors of the study, published Feb. 1 2009 in the journal Sleep, say the data suggests that estrogens play a significant role in RLS during pregnancy. This also supports earlier reports of high RLS incidence in the last trimester of pregnancy (when estradiol is at its highest elevation).

Mononucleosis, or mono for short, is a viral disease affecting certain blood cells. It’s cause is the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), actually a member of the herpes virus family. EBV has also been associated with certain cancers, including Burkitt lymphoma, immunoblastic lymphoma, and nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

40–50% of the average adult male is muscle, as is 30–40% of the average adult female. Muscles are so named because sometime around the early 1500’s, the rippling of bicep muscles while they flexed were observed to resemble small mice scampering under the skin. (The word musculus means “little mouse” in Latin.) It is easy to understand the workings of mouse-like muscles in an arm or leg. But what about one deep inside your back that looks more like a pencil?

An international team of scientists recently discovered a new syndrome associated with severe congenital neutropenia (SCN) and identified the genetic cause of the syndrome. In a paper published in the Jan. 1, 2009 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine, mutations in the gene Glucose-6-phosphatase, catalytic subunit 3 (G6PC3) is shown to be the genetic cause of the syndrome.

Gradual, chronic starvation of the brain as it ages seems to be a trigger of Alzheimer's, according to a new study from Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine.

In fact, starvation of the brain as we age appears to be one of the major triggers of a biochemical process that causes some forms of Alzheimer's disease.

The study, in the December 26 issue of Neuron, found that when the brain does not receive enough glucose, such as might happen when a cardiovascular disease restricts blood flow in arteries to the brain, then a particular process is begun that eventually produces the sticky lumps of protein known as amyloid plaques that are a suspected cause of Alzheimer's disease.