Body & Brain

Antibiotic helps in lung disease
A potent antibiotic can lessen breathing problems in people with emphysema and other lung ailments collectively known as COPD, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, U.S. and Canadian researchers report in the Aug. 25 New England Journal of Medicine. The scientists randomly assigned 1,142 COPD patients to get azithromycin or a placebo daily for a year in addition to their usual treatment. Those on azithromycin, which suppresses inflammation in addition to fighting infection, were less likely than the others to have an acute bout of lung problems marked by coughing, shortness of breath or the need for a change in routine medications. —Nathan Seppa

High-fiber diet lowers LDL
A diet high in fiber, soy and nuts can substantially lower a person’s LDL, or bad cholesterol, Canadian researchers report in the August 24/31 Journal of the American Medical Association. The cross-Canada team randomly assigned 227 people with high cholesterol to undertake a diet that included plenty of oats, barley, psyllium, soy protein, soy milk, nuts and a kind of margarine containing sterol esters. Another 124 people with high cholesterol were assigned to focus on low-fat dairy goods, whole-grain cereals and ample fruits and vegetables but to avoid foods in the more specific diet. Both groups lost a few pounds on average per person, but those in the high-fiber-soy-and-nuts group knocked about 25 points off their LDL scores, compared with only eight points for the second group. —Nathan Seppa

Chromosome-capper’s depression role
A protein linked to lifespan may play a role in mood disorders, too. Mice without telomerase — the enzyme that sticks protective caps onto the ends of chromosomes — in parts of their brains show signs of mood disorders. When researchers reduced telomerase in the hippocampus, a memory center in the brain, the animals displayed signs of depression. Telomerase helps the brain produce new nerve cells in adulthood; interrupting this process may explain the mice’s depression-like behavior, researchers from Nanjing Medical University in China report August 24 in the Journal of Neuroscience. —Laura Sanders

Parasite-infected rats find cat pee sexy
The mind-controlling protozoa Toxoplasma gondii turns rats into cat lovers. Toxo tricks the rat brain into equating the smell of cat pee — an odor that’s normally terrifying to the rodents — with the smell of a female rat in heat, Patrick House of Stanford University and colleagues report online August 17 in PLoS ONE. After sniffing a towel soaked in cat urine, infected rats showed activity in brain regions that are normally turned on by mating partners. Toxoplasma gondii reproduces only in the intestines of kitties, so by creating kamikaze rats the parasite may be orchestrating its own reproduction. —Laura Sanders