Scientists Identify Brain Circuits Related to the Initiation and Termination of Movement Sequences in NIH-Supported Study

In humans, throwing a ball, typing on a keyboard, or engaging in most other physical activities involves the coordination of numerous discrete movements that are organized as action sequences. Scientists at the National Institutes of Health and the Gulbenkian Institute in Portugal have identified brain activity in mice that can signal the initiation and termination of newly learned action sequences. The findings appear online today in the current issue of Nature.

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Program to Enhance Communication of Life-sustaining Treatment Preferences Associated with Closer Adherence to a Person’s Wishes when Compared with Traditional Practices, Finds NIH-Supported Study

A program in which individuals used a standardized form signed by a physician to communicate their end-of-life care preferences on issues such as levels of medical intervention and tube feeding lead to significantly better adherence to treatment preferences than more traditional methods of communication, according to a new study.

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After 40 Years, NIH-Supported Researchers Identify Possible New Treatment for Severe Vasculitis

Investigators have made a major advance in treating people with a severe form of vasculitis, anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis, a rare but devastating disease of blood vessels. In a six-month study, a new treatment strategy provided the same benefits as the current standard of care used for more than 40 years but required less frequent treatments. Early results also suggest that patients with disease relapses — typically recurrences of fever, fatigue, kidney damage, or bleeding in the lungs — respond better to the new regimen.

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