CATONSVILLE, Md., Aug. 8 (UPI) -- U.S. and Israeli scientists say they've developed a mathematical technique that can identify lab rats developing a neurodegenerative disease. Led by Professor Neri Kafkafi of the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, the scientists used a mathematical program that analyzed nearly 50,000 predetermined movement patterns that occur when rats roam alone in a small area. Each movement was defined by a combination of speed, acceleration and direction of movement. The researchers then used the program to analyze the movement of normal rats, as well as rats with a mutation producing a condition similar to the human disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease -- a progressive and fatal neurodegenerative illness that attacks nerve cells controlling movement. The researchers...
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