(December 14, 2009 - Insidermedicine)

From St Louis - According to a study published in the Archives of Neurology, the presence of brain plaques in an otherwise healthy person may be a predictor of Alzheimer's disease later in life. For four years, researchers studied 150 adults aged 51 to 88, using positron emission tomography to image participant's brains. Over the course of the study, results showed that those who scanned positive for brain plaques would go on to demonstrate signs of mental impairment  and a diagnosis of Alzheimer's, while those who scanned negative for plaques did not  develop these problems.

From San Diego - Scientists have discovered a protein that works to prevent liver cancer, according to a report published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Science. Researchers made a mouse model that lacked the TAK1 protein--a sort of 'switch' that signals other proteins that help keep liver cells from dying and thereby provide protection against cancer. They found a significantly high rate of liver cell death in these mice--as their livers overcompensated for the missing protein and consequently produced too many liver cells thereby leading to inflammation and cancer.

And finally, from Washington - According to a report published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, antidepressants use in postmenopausal women is associated with an increased risk of stroke and death. Researchers examined data on over 160,000 women, finding that those who took antidepressants had an 45% increased risk of stroke and a 32% increased risk of death, though the overall risk of both were quite small.