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Week 07 news
2 years old -- a childhood obesity
tipping point?
While many adults consider a chubby baby healthy, too many plump infants grow up to be
obese teens, saddling them with Type-2 diabetes, elevated cholesterol and high blood
pressure, according to an article published this month in the journal Clinical Pediatrics
(published by SAGE).The research suggests that the "tipping point" in obesity
often occurs before two years of age, and sometimes as early as three months, when the
child is learning how much and what to eat. "I really think this should be a wake up
call for doctors," said principal investigator Dr. John Harrington, a pediatrician at
Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters and an assistant professor at Eastern Virginia
Medical School. "Too often, doctors wait until medical complications arise before
they begin treatment. What this study suggests is that prevention of obesity should begin
far, far earlier." This study comes in the midst of alarming rates of childhood
obesity, which now ranks as one of the most prominent health concerns in the United States
today. While some hospitals have begun offering healthy eating and weight loss program for
children, what hasn't been as clear is how early to intervene.
39% of Bagged Salads Have Too Much
Fecal Bacteria
First the soda fountains at fast food restaurants, and now this--Consumer Reports has just
published an investigation revealing that 39% of the packaged salads tested contained
"bacteria that are common indicators of poor sanitation and fecal
contamination."
A common thread links multiple
human cognitive disorders
A new study reveals that a common underlying mechanism is shared by a group of previously
unrelated disorders which all cause complex defects in brain development and function.
Rett syndrome (RTT), Cornelia de Lange syndrome (CdLS) and Alpha-Thalassemia mental
Retardation, X-linked syndrome (ATR-X) have each been linked with distinct abnormalities
in chromatin, the spools of proteins and DNA that make up chromosomes and control how
genetic information is read in a cell. Now, research, published by Cell Press in the
February 16th issue of the journal Developmental Cell, helps to explain why these
different chromatin abnormalities all interfere with proper gene expression patterns
necessary for normal development and mature brain function. "Although clearly
distinct from one another, human developmental disorders that are linked with chromatin
dysfunction often share similar cognitive clinical features," explains senior study
author, Dr. Nathalie Bérubé from the University of Western Ontario. "Whether the
overlapping cognitive symptoms are due to underlying interlinked molecular mechanisms is
still poorly understood." Her work now demonstrates that chromatin proteins defective
in RTT, CdLS, and ATR-X syndromes are all associated with each other – and are
required for one another's function – at certain "imprinted genes" in the
developing mouse brain. Imprinted genes are a relatively rare type of gene that carries
different information depending on whether it is inherited from the mother or the father.
The results support the conclusion that ATRX (the chromatin protein that is defective in
ATR-X syndrome) and its binding partners regulate expression of imprinted genes, and
likely other genes required for normal brain development, by controlling chromatin
structure.
Acne and lactoferrin
It was found according to the invention that acne can be effectively treated by
administering an oral composition containing a whey protein fraction comprising
lactoferrin. Additional topical treatment is not necessary and is in fact undesired.
Hence, the invention pertains to a method of treating acne, comprising orally
administering to a person suffering from acne an effective amount of a whey protein
fraction comprising lactoferrin. The lactoferrin to be used in the method of the invention
is preferably native bovine lactoferrin. Bovine lactoferrin is an 80-kDa iron-binding
glycoprotein, which is present in exocrine secretions that are commonly exposed to normal
flora: milk, tears, nasal exudate, bronchial mucus, gastrointestinal fluids,
cervicovaginal mucus, seminal fluid and saliva. The usual source of bovine lactoferrin is
colostrum, milk or whey. A particularly advantageous material is a whey protein fraction
enriched in lactoferrin, containing between 50 and 98 wt.% of lactoferrin, more preferably
between 60 and 95% of lactoferrin, the remainder being other whey proteins or peptides.
Higher levels than 95% or even than 98% can also be used but were found not to give
additional advantages, and on the other hand will increase cost. In particular
embodiments, the lactoferrin content of the fraction is between 75 and 90 wt.%, or,
alternatively, between 90 and 98 wt.%. In this respect, proteins and peptides as GMP
(glycomacropeptide) and Proteose Peptones, which originate from the casein of the milk,
are also called whey proteins. It is preferred that the other whey proteins are basic,
i.e. they elute from an acidic ion exchange resin, and have isoelectric points above pH 6,
especially above 7. It is also preferred that the other whey proteins have a molecular
weight between 10 kD and 60 kD.
Alaska psychiatrists accused of
wrongly medicating children
An Alaska mental health advocacy group that has spent years battling the pharmaceutical
industry over medication is suing more than a dozen Alaska child psychiatrists, saying the
doctors unnecessarily drugged children and committed Medicaid fraud.
Anatomy of an Epidemic - Magic
Bullets, Psychiatric Drugs, and the Astonishing Rise of Mental Illness in America
Anatomy of an Epidemic investigates a profoundly troubling question: do psychiatric
medications increase the likelihood that people taking them, far from being helped, are
more likely to become chronically ill? In making a compelling case that our current
psychotropic drugs are causing as much—if not more—harm than good, Robert
Whitaker reviews the scientific literature thoroughly, demonstrating how much of the
evidence is on his side. There is nothing unorthodox here—this case is solid and
evidence-backed. If psychiatry wants to retain its credibility with the public, it will
now have to engage with the scientific argument at the core of this cogently and elegantly
written book.”—David Healy, M.D., Professor of Psychiatry, Cardiff University
and author of The Antidepressant Era and Let Them Eat Prozac.
Antarctic Ice Shelf Collapse
Possibly Triggered by Ocean Waves, Scripps-led Study Finds
Depicting a cause-and-effect scenario that spans thousands of miles, a scientist at
Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego and his collaborators discovered that
ocean waves originating along the Pacific coasts of North and South America impact
Antarctic ice shelves and could play a role in their catastrophic collapse. Peter
Bromirski of Scripps Oceanography is the lead scientist in a new study published in the
journal Geophysical Research Letters that describes how storms over the North Pacific
Ocean may be transferring enough wave energy to destabilize Antarctic ice shelves. The
California Department of Boating and Waterways and the National Science Foundation
supported the study.According to Bromirski, storm-driven ocean swells travel across the
Pacific Ocean and break along the coastlines of North and South America, where they are
transformed into very long-period ocean waves called "infragravity waves" that
travel vast distances to Antarctica.
Antibiotics as active mutagens in
the emergence of multidrug resistance
Multidrug resistant bacteria such as Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)
pose a major problem for patients, doctors, and the pharmaceutical industry. To combat
such bacteria, it is critical to understand how resistance is developed in the first
place. It is commonly thought that an incomplete course of antibiotics would lead to
resistance to that particular antibiotic by allowing the bacteria to make adaptive changes
under less stringent conditions. However, new research from Mike Kohanski, Mark DePristo,
and Jim Collins at Boston University and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute shows that
low doses of antibiotics can produce mutant strains that are sensitive to the applied
antibiotic but have cross-resistance to other antibiotics. Their findings shed light on
one of multiple mechanisms that may contribute to the emergence of multidrug resistant
bacterial strains or so called "superbugs". The study, published in the February
12th issue of Molecular Cell, a Cell Press journal, builds on earlier observations from
this group that antibiotics produce reactive oxygen species (ROS) in bacteria. At high
doses, ROS ultimately kill the bacteria, but at low doses they can lead to mutations. To
test the hypothesis that low dose antibiotics might contribute to drug resistance through
increased mutagenesis, they first confirmed that each of the antibiotics tested actually
increased mutations in a manner that was dependent on the ability of the bacteria to
produce reactive oxygen species.
Aspartame has been renamed and is
now being marketed as a natural sweetener
In response to growing awareness about the dangers of artificial sweeteners, what does the
manufacturer of one of the world's most notable artificial sweeteners do? Why, rename it
and begin marketing it as natural, of course. This is precisely the strategy of Ajinomoto,
maker of aspartame, which hopes to pull the wool over the eyes of the public with its
rebranded version of aspartame, called "AminoSweet".
Attacking Cancer Cells with
Hydrogel Nanoparticles
One of the difficulties of fighting cancer is that drugs often hit other non-cancerous
cells, causing patients to get sick. But what if researchers could sneak cancer-fighting
particles into just the cancer cells? Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology
and the Ovarian Cancer Institute are working on doing just that. In the online journal BMC
Cancer they detail a method that uses hydrogels - less than 100 nanometers in size - to
sneak a particular type of small interfering RNA(siRNA) into cancer cells. Once in the
cell the siRNA turns on the programmed cell death the body uses to kill mutated cells and
help traditional chemotherapy do it’s job. Many cancers are characterized by an over
abundance of epidermal growth factor receptors (EGFR). When the EGFR level in a cell is
elevated it tells the cell to replicate at a rapid rate. It also turns down apoptosis, or
programmed cell death.
Bacteria-killing proteins cover
blood type blind spot
A set of proteins found in our intestines can recognize and kill bacteria that have human
blood type molecules on their surfaces, scientists at Emory University School of Medicine
have discovered. Many immune cells have receptors that respond to molecules on the
surfaces of bacteria, but these proteins are different because they recognize structures
found on our own cells, says senior author Richard D. Cummings, PhD, professor and chair
of the Department of Biochemistry. "It's like having a platoon in an army whose sole
purpose is to track down enemy soldiers that are wearing the home country's
uniforms." Blood type comes from differences in sugar molecules attached to proteins
on red blood cells. If incompatible blood types are mixed, the antibodies from one person
will make red blood cells from the other person clump together, with devastating results
in an emergency. But someone's immune system usually doesn't make antibodies to the sugar
molecules on his or her own red blood cells. That creates a potential blind spot that
bacteria could exploit.
Bank sleep to fight tiredness,
research says
As anyone who has unwittingly drifted off at their desk will know - tiredness can really
creep up on you when you least need it.
Behavioral Therapy Improves Sleep
and Lives of Patients with Pain
Cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia significantly improved sleep for patients with
chronic neck or back pain and also reduced the extent to which pain interfered with their
daily functioning, according to a study by University of Rochester Medical Center
researchers. The study, published online by the journal Sleep Medicine, demonstrates that
a behavioral intervention can help patients who already are taking medications for pain
and might be reluctant or unable to take additional drugs to treat sleep disturbance.
Benefit of HPV Vaccination,
Frequent Screening for Women over 41 is Likely to be Low
he overall potential benefits of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccinations or frequent HPV
screenings for women over the age of 41 are low, concludes a new study published online
February 15 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. The study found that the rate
of new infections preventable by vaccination declines with age. Furthermore, new
infections among women at any age typically do not progress to cervical intraepithelial
neoplasia grade 2 (CIN 2) or CIN 3, the precursors for cervical cancer. This study was
undertaken because researchers wanted to examine whether women's age and the duration of
carcinogenic HPV infections influenced subsequent persistence of infection and risk of CIN
2 or worse disease. Ana Cecilia Rodríguez, M.D., of the Proyecto Epidemiológico
Guanacaste, Fundación INCIENSA, in San José, Costa Rica, and colleagues screened over
9,000 women in Costa Rica aged 18 to 97 years. Those with CIN 2 or worse disease at
enrollment were treated and not followed further. Among the remaining participants, those
at low risk of CIN 2 or worse were rescreened at 5-7 years (passively followed), whereas
higher-risk participants and subsets of low-risk women and initially sexually non-active
women were rescreened annually or semiannually (actively followed) for up to 7 years.
Bilingual Babies - The Roots of
Bilingualism in Newborns
It may not be obvious, but hearing two languages regularly during pregnancy puts infants
on the road to bilingualism by birth. According to new findings in Psychological Science,
a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, infants born to bilingual mothers
(who spoke both languages regularly during pregnancy) exhibit different language
preferences than infants born to mothers speaking only one language. Psychological
scientists Krista Byers-Heinlein and Janet F. Werker from the University of British
Columbia along with Tracey Burns of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and
Development in France wanted to investigate language preference and discrimination in
newborns. Two groups of newborns were tested in these experiments: English monolinguals
(whose mothers spoke only English during pregnancy) and Tagalog-English bilinguals (whose
mothers spoke both Tagalog, a language spoken in the Philippines, and English regularly
during pregnancy). The researchers employed a method known as “high-amplitude
sucking-preference procedure” to study the infants’ language preferences. This
method capitalizes on the newborns’ sucking reflex — increased sucking indicates
interest in a stimulus. In the first experiment, infants heard 10 minutes of speech, with
every minute alternating between English and Tagalog. Results showed that English
monolingual infants were more interested in English than Tagalog — they exhibited
increased sucking behavior when they heard English than when they heard Tagalog being
spoken. However, bilingual infants had an equal preference for both English and Tagalog.
These results suggest that prenatal bilingual exposure may affect infants’ language
preferences, preparing bilingual infants to listen to and learn about both of their native
languages.
Biofuels policy fails to achieve
goals warns study
US biofuel policies will fail to achieve the intended environmental, energy and
agricultural goals, warns an article in the journal Applied Economics Perspectives and
Policy (AEPP). “A key feature of biofuels policy is the combination of mandate and
subsidies that cause severe adverse effects,” said Harry de Gorter, co-author of the
article and Professor in the Department of Applied Economics and Management at Cornell
University. “The analysis of biofuel policies is shown to be unique compared to all
other environmental policy analysis and has implications for biofuels policy worldwide and
also for renewable electricity policy. Throughout the world, countries use complicated
combinations of mandates and subsidy programs to promote biofuels and the renewable
electricity sector.” Because these combinations are so complicated, they can often
have unintended consequences.
Biologists image birth of
blood-forming stem cells in embryo
Biologists at UC San Diego have identified the specific region in vertebrates where adult
blood stem cells arise during embryonic development. Their discovery, which appears in a
paper in this week's early online edition of the journal Nature, is a critical first step
for the development of safer and more effective stem cell therapies for patients with
leukemia, multiple myeloma, anemia and a host of other diseases of the blood or bone
marrow. The researchers say their time-lapse imaging of the process, by which primitive
embryonic tissues first produce the parent stem cells that produce all adult blood cells
over the life of an individual, should help guide future efforts to repair and replace
this cell population for therapeutic purposes. Current transplantation therapies rely on
the infusion of donor stem cells into a patient's bone marrow to generate new, healthy
blood cells without disease. But that procedure is often risky and can result in fatal
complications, due in part to "graft-versus-host disease," in which transplanted
cells react against foreign tissues of the recipient. One means of circumventing this
immune rejection problem would be to generate hematopoietic stem cells, or HSCs, using the
patient's own precursor cells. Such cells would be perfectly genetically matched, but in
order to generate such cells, scientists must first understand the molecular processes
that underlie specification of HSCs.
Botulinum Toxin Injection May Help
Prevent Some Types of Migraine Pain
A preliminary study suggests the same type of botulinum injection used for cosmetic
purposes may be associated with reduced frequency of migraine headaches that are described
as crushing, vicelike or eye-popping (ocular), but not pain that is experienced as a
buildup of pressure inside the head, according to a report in the February issue of
Archives of Dermatology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. Migraine headaches affect
approximately 28 million Americans, causing pain that is often debilitating, according to
background information in the article. Researchers conducting clinical trials on botulinum
toxin type A to treat facial lines recognized a correlation between injections and the
alleviation of migraine symptoms. "The initial promise of a new prophylactic
[preventive] therapy for migraines was met by the challenge of replication of these
results," as subsequent studies have failed to demonstrate botulinum was more
effective than placebo, the authors write. "Researchers have searched for patient
characteristics that may predict a favorable treatment response." Christine C. Kim,
M.D., then of SkinCare Physicians, Chestnut Hill, Mass., and now in private practice in
Encino, Calif., and colleagues studied 18 patients (average age 50.9) who had already
received or were planning to receive botulinum injections for cosmetic purposes but also
reported having migraines. Of those, 10 reported imploding headaches—described by
adjectives like crushing and vice-like—or ocular headaches, reported to feel like an
eye is popping out or that someone is pushing a finger into an eye. Nine patients had
exploding headaches, described as feeling like one's head is going to explode or split, or
that pressure is building up. Some patients had more than one type. Three months after
treatment, 13 patients had responded to the treatment with a reduction in migraine pain,
including 10 who had imploding or ocular headaches and three who had exploding headaches.
All six of the patients who did not respond had exploding headaches.
Brain study offers insight into
causes of autism
Scientists are a step closer to understanding how abnormalities in brain development might
lead to autism and behavioural disorders. Research into Fragile X Syndrome – a
genetic condition that is the leading known cause of autism – has discovered that
critical phases in the brain's development may be mistimed in people with the condition.
The mistiming of key developmental stages may result in inappropriate communication
between brain cells and could cause the symptoms experienced by Fragile X patients, such
as hypersensitivity to touch and sound, as well as social withdrawal, hyperactivity and
anxiety. The study also found these changes in the brain's connections occur much earlier
than previously thought, midway through a baby's development in the womb.
Building Fit Minds Under Stress -
Penn Neuroscientists Examine the Protective Effects of Mindfulness Training
A University of Pennsylvania-led study in which training was provided to a high-stress
U.S. military group preparing for deployment to Iraq has demonstrated a positive link
between mindfulness training, or MT, and improvements in mood and working memory.
Mindfulness is the ability to be aware and attentive of the present moment without
emotional reactivity or volatility. The study found that the more time participants spent
engaging in daily mindfulness exercises the better their mood and working memory, the
cognitive term for complex thought, problem solving and cognitive control of emotions. The
study also suggests that sufficient MT practice may protect against functional impairments
associated with high-stress challenges that require a tremendous amount of cognitive
control, self-awareness, situational awareness and emotional regulation. To study the
protective effects of mindfulness training on psychological health in individuals about to
experience extreme stress, cognitive neuroscientist Amishi Jha of the Department of
Psychology and Center for Cognitive Neuroscience at Penn and Elizabeth A. Stanley of
Georgetown University provided mindfulness training for the first time to U.S. Marines
before deployment. Jha and her research team investigated working memory capacity and
affective experience in individuals participating in a training program developed and
delivered by Stanley, a former U.S. Army officer and security-studies professor with
extensive experience in mindfulness techniques.
Caltech researchers create highly
absorbing, flexible solar cells with silicon wire arrays
Using arrays of long, thin silicon wires embedded in a polymer substrate, a team of
scientists from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) has created a new type of
flexible solar cell that enhances the absorption of sunlight and efficiently converts its
photons into electrons. The solar cell does all this using only a fraction of the
expensive semiconductor materials required by conventional solar cells. "These solar
cells have, for the first time, surpassed the conventional light-trapping limit for
absorbing materials," says Harry Atwater, Howard Hughes Professor, professor of
applied physics and materials science, and director of Caltech's Resnick Institute, which
focuses on sustainability research. The light-trapping limit of a material refers to how
much sunlight it is able to absorb. The silicon-wire arrays absorb up to 96 percent of
incident sunlight at a single wavelength and 85 percent of total collectible sunlight.
"We've surpassed previous optical microstructures developed to trap light," he
says.
Caltech researchers obtain first
brain recordings from behaving fruit flies
Researchers at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have obtained the first
recordings of brain-cell activity in an actively flying fruit fly. The work—by
Michael Dickinson, the Esther M. and Abe M. Zarem Professor of Bioengineering, with
postdoctoral scholars Gaby Maimon and Andrew Straw—suggests that at least part of the
brain of the fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster) "is in a different and more
sensitive state during flight than when the fly is quiescent," Dickinson says. A
paper describing the research appears February 14 in the advance online edition of Nature
Neuroscience. "Prior work on fruit flies has led to many important breakthroughs in
biology. For example, the fact that genes reside on chromosomes and our understanding of
how genes control development both emerged from experiments on fruit flies," Maimon
says. "New research hopes to use these tiny insects to help determine how neurons
give rise to complex behavior. This effort is helped by the fact that it is easy to
manipulate the genes of fruit flies, but one problem remains: These insects are really,
really tiny, which means it is very difficult to record from their brain during active
behaviors such as flight."
Cancer - “Primitive“ Gene
Discovered
To find the causes for cancer, biochemists and developmental biologists at the University
of Innsbruck, Austria, retraced the function of an important human cancer gene 600 million
years back in time. For the first time, they have identified the oncogene myc in a fresh
water polyp and they have shown that this oncogene has similar biochemical functions in
ancestral metazoan and in humans. The scientists published their findings in PNAS. The myc
gene plays an important role in the growth of organisms. It produces a protein that acts
as a gene regulator, which controls the expression of up to 15 % of all human genes. This
means that it controls whether these genes are activated or deactivated. A deregulation of
the myc gene leads to uncontrolled cell proliferation and to cancer; a deregulated myc
gene occurs in about 30 % of all human cancers. “To get a better understanding of the
deregulation process caused by the oncogene, we would have to know which genes are
regulated by myc and which of these are important for cancers“, says Klaus Bister
from the Institute of Biochemistry at the University of Innsbruck. Due to the complexity
of the human organism, researchers use simpler model systems for their experiments, whose
results may then be translated to humans. The Innsbruck scientific teams of Klaus Bister,
Markus Hartl and Bert Hobmayer have, for the first time, identified the oncogene in a
fresh water polyp (Hydra) and they have shown that it has very similar functions when
compared with humans.
Cartilage Replacement Using the
Body’s Own Cells - Fast, Affordable and a Perfect Fit
Injuries to joints and cartilage can have serious consequences, including osteoarthritis.
Cartilage degeneration in joints is a widespread disease in Germany and worldwide. Prof.
Dr. Prasad Shastri is an expert in tissue engineering (TE), tissue construction and tissue
cultivation using the body’s own cells. He is Professor of Biofunctional
Macromolecular Chemistry at the Centre for Biological Signalling Studies (BIOSS), a
Cluster of Excellence at the University of Freiburg, where he has been researching for the
last year. Together with peers from Maastricht and Nashville, he has developed a fast and
cost-efficient method for producing sufficient amounts of bone and cartilage tissue using
the body’s own cells. Damage to larger joints such as knees, feet, hips and shoulders
is often the beginning of a painful process during which mobility continues to decrease.
Because cartilage cannot regenerate after the body has stopped growing, defects caused by
injuries and “wear and tear” cannot be absorbed by producing new cartilage.
Genetic engineering and molecular biology have now made it possible to remove healthy
cartilage cells and grow these outside the body in special solutions. This cartilage
tissue is then applied to the defective cartilage where it attaches and grows. Repairing
cartilage and bone damage using the body’s own cells is still a difficult process.
Cultivating the body’s own tissue is still time-consuming and expensive, and much
time is needed until the implant has reached its desired functionality. In their article
published in the renown American journal PNAS, Dr. Prasad Shastri and his co-authors
present a strategy for the “de novo engineering” of cartilage and bone tissue
which requires only three weeks.
Catching Calcium Waves Could
Provide Alzheimer Insights
New insights on what causes Alzheimer’s disease could arise from a recent discovery
made by bioengineers from the University of California, San Diego. The finding concerns
the infamous amyloid beta peptides (A?)—fragments of which form plaques thought to
play a role in Alzheimer’s disease. The bioengineers found that amyloid beta peptides
(A?) spontaneously trigger calcium waves in purified cultures of astrocyte cells extracted
from the cortex region of rat brains and grown in the lab. These calcium waves could be
relevant for understanding the origin of Alzheimer’s disease. The accumulation of
Amyloid beta fragments and sustained disruption of the calcium balance within cells are
leading hypotheses for what causes Alzheimer’s disease.
Children with eczema at increased
risk of mental problems
Children with eczema may be more likely to have mental and behavioural problems in later
life, scientists believe.
Chocolate lovers could be lowering
their risk of stroke
Giving chocolates to your Valentine on February 14th may help lower their risk of stroke
based on a preliminary study from researchers at St. Michael's Hospital. The study, which
is being presented at the American Academy of Neurology in April, also found that eating
chocolate may lower the risk of death after suffering a stroke. "Though more research
is needed to determine whether chocolate is the contributing factor to lowering stroke
risk, it is rich in anti-oxidants and that may have a protective effect against
stroke," explains Dr. Gustavo Saposnik, a neurologist at St. Michael's Hospital.
Chocolate is rich in antioxidants called flavonoids which may help lower the risk of
strokes.
Cleveland Clinic, CWRU dental
researcher finds switch that turns on the spread of cancer
Reporting in Nature Cell Biology, researchers describe the discovery of a specific protein
called disabled-2 (Dab2) that switches on the process that releases cancer cells from the
original tumor and allows the cells to spread and develop into new tumors in other parts
of the body. The process called epithelial-mesenchymal transdifferientiation (EMT) has
been known to play a role in releasing cells (epithelial cells) on the surface of the
solid tumor and transforming them into transient mesenchymal cell: cells with the ability
to start to grow a new tumor. This is often the fatal process in breast, ovarian,
pancreatic and colon-rectal cancers. Searching to understand how the EMT process begins,
Ge Jin, who has joint appointments at the Case Western Reserve University School of Dental
Medicine and the Lerner Research Institute at the Cleveland Clinic, began by working
backwards from EMT to find its trigger. The researchers found that a compound called
transforming growth factor-ß (TGF-ß) triggers the formation of the Dab2 protein. It was
this protein, Dab2, that activated the EMT process. He discovered that when the
researchers knocked out Dab2, EMT was not triggered.
Climate change will lead to fewer
traffic accidents
Climate change will lead to fewer traffic accidents in West Midlands, UK. Research from
the University of Gothenburg estimates climate change to decrease the number of days with
temperatures below zero degrees in West Midlands. It will also reduce the number of
traffic accidents – and the need for winter road maintenance may decrease by almost
40 percent. A study lead by Anna Andersson explores the link between winter road
conditions and traffic accidents in Sweden and in West Midlands, UK. Andersson considers
four different types of slipperiness, from snowy and icy roads to above-zero temperatures
with slippery ice patches, and how climate change may affect these conditions in the next
90 years.
Climate ‘tipping points’
may arrive without warning
In a new study, a top ecological forecaster has said that climate ‘tipping
points’ that can cause an irreparable global disaster may arrive without any warning
as such.
Compound shows promise against
intractable heart failure
A chemical compound found normally in the blood has shown promise in treating and
preventing an intractable form of heart failure in a mouse model of the disease, report
researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine. The study is
published in the February issue of Circulation. More than five and half million Americans
have heart failure, according to the American Heart Association, and 670,000 new cases are
diagnosed each year. In heart failure the heart is unable to pump effectively and cannot
meet the body's need for blood and oxygen. It is really two diseases, each with about half
of all patients, says Dr. Samuel Dudley, professor of medicine and physiology at UIC and
chair of the section of cardiology. Systolic heart failure occurs when the heart can no
longer contract effectively. In diastolic heart failure, the heart is unable to relax
after contraction.
Cooling Inflammation for Healthier
Arteries
(ARS)-funded scientists have reported new reasons for choosing “heart-healthy"
oats at the grocery store. Nutritionist Mohsen Meydani, director of the Vascular Biology
Laboratory at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts
University in Boston, Mass., led the research on the oat compounds, called
avenanthramides. Meydani previously has shown that phenolic antioxidants in oats obstruct
the ability of blood cells to stick to artery walls. Chronic inflammation inside the
arterial wall is part of the process that eventually leads to a disorder known as
atherosclerosis. Meydani and colleagues have reported findings that suggest the
avenanthramides of oats decrease the expression of inflammatory molecules. The study
showed that forms of avenanthramides possess potential anti-inflammatory properties
through inhibiting factors that are linked with activating proinflammatory cytokines.
Cows - More freedom may mean less
milk
'Free-stall', untied cattle in small herds produce less milk than cows tied to their
stalls but have a higher reproductive performance and suffer less teat injuries and
metabolic diseases. Researchers writing in BioMed Central's open access journal Acta
Veterinaria Scandinavica compared performance and health within the two stall types in
response to a ban on the construction of new tie-stalls. Egil Simensen from the Norwegian
School of Veterinary Science, Oslo, worked with a team of researchers to investigate data
on 812 herds of Norwegian Red cattle, 192 of which were kept in tie-stalls. He said,
"Free-stall cows in smaller herds produced significantly less milk than those in
tie-stalls, but more milk in larger herds. Cattle are social animals and readily form
dominance hierarchies, especially at areas of access to feed, water and rest. It may be
that cattle which are free to move around spend more time fighting and less time feeding
in small free-stalls, particularly when the design of the stall is suboptimal." Since
2004, all new cattle stalls built in Norway must be of the free-stall type. There has,
however, been very little research on the impact of the interaction between housing system
and herd size on animal welfare. Speaking about these results, Simensen said,
"Performance and health is not universally better in small free-stalls than in
tie-stalls. Herd size must be taken into consideration when preparing and evaluating
regulations regarding housing system for dairy cows".
Defective signaling pathway sheds
light on cystic fibrosis
In a study that could lead to new therapeutic targets for patients with the cystic
fibrosis, a research team from the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine
has identified a defective signaling pathway that contributes to disease severity. In the
study, published in the journal Nature Medicine, the researchers report that defective
signaling for a protein called the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-? (PPAR-?)
accounts for a portion of disease symptoms in cystic fibrosis, and that correction of the
defective pathway reduces symptoms of the disease in mice. In the paper published in the
February 14 edition of the journal, lead investigator Gregory Harmon, MD, study supervisor
Christopher Glass, MD, PhD, professor of cellular and molecular medicine, and colleagues
show that both mice and cells from patients with cystic fibrosis have a defect in
signaling for PPAR-?, as a result of reduced levels of prostaglandins that activate the
receptor.
Denmark's Case For Antibiotic-Free
Animals
CBS Evening News Anchor Katie Couric reports how unlike industrial farms in the U.S.,
which use antibiotics to promote growth and prevent disease, farmers in Denmark use
antibiotics sparingly, only when animals are sick.
Do PCBs at local schools pose a
health risk?
When parents learned that PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) were found in their
children’s schools their reaction was restrained — no press conferences called,
no demands for investigations or follow-up tests — but scientists interviewed by The
Press expressed more cautionary views about the dangers posed by the toxic chemicals.
Environmental Exposure to
Hairspray, Lipstick and Pollution Can Trigger Arthritis
The links between autoimmune diseases, infections and the environment are complex and
mysterious.
Extinct eskimo DNA helps recreate
ancient civilisation
Scientists have recreated a prehistoric photofit of an extinct eskimo that walked the
Earth 4,000 years ago in a genetic breakthrough that suggests they originated in Asia.
Further doubt cast on virus link to
chronic fatigue
Researchers investigating UK samples have found no association between the controversial
xenotropic murine leukaemia virus-related virus (XMRV) and chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS).
Their study, published in BioMed Central's open access journal Retrovirology, calls into
question a potential link described late last year by an American research team. Kate
Bishop from the MRC National Institute for Medical Research worked with a team of
researchers to test blood and serum samples from 170 CFS patients and 395 healthy
controls, using quantitative PCR and a virus neutralization assay. She said, "No
association between XMRV infection and CFS was observed in the samples tested, either by
PCR or serological methodologies. Our findings therefore appear inconsistent with the
previous report that isolated XMRV from the blood cells of CFS patients. We are confident
that, although we were unable to replicate the detection, our PCR assay is more sensitive
than the earlier method and possessed the necessary sensitivity to detect XMRV had it been
present". Bishop and her colleagues point out that CFS likely encompasses a range of
diseases, and it is still possible that some of them might be associated with XMRV
infection. They say, "There has been much discussion and controversy amongst CFS
researchers and patients alike, which highlights the need for additional investigations in
this area. Following our findings, it would seem a prudent next step for subsequent
studies to compare samples and protocols between different laboratories around the
world".
Gastrointestinal absorption of
Tamiflu in critically ill patients with H1N1
An increased dosage of Tamiflu (oseltamivir) for patients with critical illness is
unlikely to be required in the treatment of pandemic (H1N1) influenza, contrary to current
international guidelines, found a new study. World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines
recommend that all critically ill patients should be treated with Tamiflu and if the
patient was unresponsive to standard doses or critically ill, a higher dose should be
considered. The CMAJ study looked at the gastrointestinal absorption of Tamiflu in 44
patients, 18 years of age or older, with suspected or confirmed pandemic (H1N1) influenza
who were admitted to nine ICUs in two cities in Canada (Winnipeg and Ottawa) and
Tarragona, Spain because of respiratory failure. As critically ill patients may have
gastrointestinal absorption issues, guidelines suggest higher doses of Tamiflu.
"Studying the absorption ability of Tamiflu in the critically ill became a priority
with the large number of patients needing ICU and ventilation support," writes lead
author Dr. Anand Kumar, Health Sciences Centre, University of Manitoba and coauthors.
"Also, the number of obese patients suffering from H1N1 related critical illnesses
were large which raised the question about whether the dose should be adjusted upwards
with increased body weight."
Gluten and Casein-Free Diet May
Help Those with Autism
A case study suggests that using a diet free of gluten and milk protein casein drastically
improved the behaviours of autistic children.
High levels of vitamin D in older
people can reduce heart disease and diabetes
Middle aged and elderly people with high levels of vitamin D could reduce their chances of
developing heart disease or diabetes by 43%, according to researchers at the University of
Warwick. A team of researchers at Warwick Medical School carried out a systematic
literature review of studies examining vitamin D and cardiometabolic disorders.
Cardiometabolic disorders include cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes mellitus and
metabolic syndrome. Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin that is naturally present in some
foods and is also produced when ultraviolet rays from sunlight strike the skin and trigger
vitamin D synthesis. Fish such as salmon, tuna and mackerel are good sources of vitamin D,
and it is also available as a dietary supplement. Researchers looked at 28 studies
including 99,745 participants across a variety of ethnic groups including men and women.
The studies revealed a significant association between high levels of vitamin D and a
decreased risk of developing cardiovascular disease (33% compared to low levels of vitamin
D), type 2 diabetes (55% reduction) and metabolic syndrome (51% reduction).
Historic trauma in aboriginals
boosts hepatitis C risk
The trauma of having a parent who was forced to attend a residential school is linked to
higher rates of hepatitis C infection among aboriginal young people in B.C., new research
suggests.
Hydroxycut linked to other cases of
liver damage
A new study strengthens evidence that the once widely advertised weight-loss supplement
Hydroxycut caused serious liver damage in some users.
Hypnosis can relieve symptoms in
children with respiratory diseases
Hypnosis has potential therapeutic value in children with respiratory disorders for
alleviating symptoms such as habit cough or unexplained sensations of difficulty breathing
and for lessening a child's discomfort during medical procedures. Proper utilization of
hypnosis as an adjunct to conventional treatment and its ability to use the mind-body
connection to bring about physiological changes are explored in a provocative paper in
Pediatric Asthma, Allergy & Immunology, a peer-reviewed journal published by Mary Ann
Liebert, Inc. The paper is available free online. Ran D. Anbar, MD, Professor of
Pediatrics at SUNY Upstate Medical University, in Syracuse, NY, recommends hypnosis as a
treatment option when a child's respiratory symptoms appear to have a psychological
component. In his paper, "Adding Hypnosis to the Therapeutic Toolbox of Pediatric
Respiratory Care," Dr. Anbar points to symptoms such as difficulty taking a breath, a
disruptive cough, hyperventilation, noise on inspiration such as a gasp or squeak, and
difficulty swallowing despite normal lung function as possible indications for the use of
hypnosis to supplement medical therapy. Symptoms that are absent during sleep, can be
associated with a particular activity or location, or are linked to or triggered by an
emotional response may be particularly responsive to hypnosis.
If children won't go to school
Children and adolescents who refuse to attend school should not be given doctors' sick
notes. In the current issue of Deutsches Ärzteblatt International (Dtsch Arztebl Int
2010; 107[4]), child and adolescent psychiatrist Martin Knollmann and colleagues explain
the causes of school avoidance and describe measures to tackle the problem. Truancy
assumes psychiatric relevance only if it occurs frequently and is accompanied by
psychiatric symptoms. Children typically play truant for the first time at the age of
about 11 years, whereas anxiety related school avoidance occurs in children as young as 6
years. School avoiders seem to be exposed to more stressful life events, but physical
disorders such as asthma or obesity may also play a part. In contrast to truancy, of which
parents are usually unaware, children displaying school avoiding behavior often stay at
home. They often express fears and anxieties, especially in the morning, and complain of
diffuse physical symptoms. The authors assume that a proportion of 5% to 10% of children
is regularly absent from schools in Germany. How many of these children have mental health
problems is not known. In adolescents, school avoidance is clearly more common than in
children, and some studies have shown that boys are affected twice as often as girls. In
school avoidance, the primary objective of treatment is to quickly re-establish regular
school attendance. Sick notes or prescriptions for residential care breaks are usually not
advisable because the child's behavior may deteriorate as a result. Appropriate treatment
options include cognitive behavior therapies, in combination with antidepressants if
required. Exclusively child and adolescent psychiatric treatment, however, is usually not
sufficient; those children who are affected need a support network consisting of school
staff, youth services, and medical professionals.
If you thought sex was natural,
take a look at what’s in your vibrator
You may have noticed a growing number of children’s toys marketed as nontoxic or
phthalate-free. A similar trend is happening with toys for adults—and no, we’re
not talking about iPads or flatscreen TVs.
Immune system turns on the body in
narcolepsy
Individuals with the sleep disorder narcolepsy suffer with excessive daytime sleepiness
and attacks of muscle paralysis triggered by strong emotions (a condition known as
cataplexy). It is thought that narcolepsy is an autoimmune disorder — that is, it is
caused by the individual's immune system attacking certain cells in the body — but
this has not yet been proven definitively. However, Mehdi Tafti and colleagues, at the
University of Lausanne, Switzerland, have now identified autoantibodies (immune molecules
that target a natural protein in the body rather than a protein from an infectious agent)
that target the natural protein Trib2 in narcolepsy patients with cataplexy, suggesting
that narcolepsy is indeed an autoimmune disorder.
Japanese Data Show Vaccines Cause
Autism
Data from formal peer-refereed medical papers show that vaccines caused autism in Japanese
children and will do the same to children around the world.
Lack of morning light keeping
teenagers up at night
The first field study on the impact of light on teenagers' sleeping habits finds that
insufficient daily morning light exposure contributes to teenagers not getting enough
sleep. "As teenagers spend more time indoors, they miss out on essential morning
light needed to stimulate the body's 24-hour biological system, which regulates the
sleep/wake cycle," reports Mariana Figueiro, Ph.D., Assistant Professor and Program
Director at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute's Lighting Research Center (LRC) and lead
researcher on the new study. "These morning-light-deprived teenagers are going to bed
later, getting less sleep and possibly under-performing on standardized tests. We are
starting to call this the teenage night owl syndrome." In the study just published in
Neuroendocrinology Letters, Dr. Figueiro and LRC Director Dr. Mark Rea found that eleven
8th grade students who wore special glasses to prevent short-wavelength (blue) morning
light from reaching their eyes experienced a 30-minute delay in sleep onset by the end of
the 5-day study."If you remove blue light in the morning, it delays the onset of
melatonin, the hormone that indicates to the body when it's nighttime," explains Dr.
Figueiro. "Our study shows melatonin onset was delayed by about 6 minutes each day
the teens were restricted from blue light. Sleep onset typically occurs about 2 hours
after melatonin onset."
Later introduction of baby foods
related to lower risk of obesity later in life
Benjamin Franklin's advice that "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of
cure" can easily be applied to today's most pressing health issue: obesity. Because
taking off extra weight is an almost insurmountable challenge, preventing the progression
of weight gain throughout life, especially childhood, is crucial to realizing optimal
long-term health. One area of great interest is the possibility that being breastfed might
predispose a person to being lean, and the longer the better. Extended breastfeeding,
however, is usually associated with delayed introduction of complementary "baby"
foods, and it is possible that this (gain rather than breastfeeding) might influence
weight. To investigate this possibility, a team of Danish researchers led by Kim Fleischer
Michaelsen investigated these factors in a group of individuals who were studied from
birth until adulthood. Their findings, and an accompanying editorial by Michael Kramer,
are published in the March 2010 issue of The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
Neither breastfeeding duration nor timing of complementary foods was related significantly
to BMI in childhood, adolescence, or early adulthood. However, at 42 y of age the risk of
being overweight decreased with increasing age at introduction of complementary foods. For
instance, for each month introduction of vegetables was delayed, the risk of being
overweight at 42 y of age was reduced by 10%.
Law Project For Psychiatric Rights
The Law Project for Psychiatric Rights (PsychRights) was incorporated as an Alaska
non-profit on November 6, 2002, to undertake a coordinated, strategic, legal effort
seeking to end the abuses against people diagnosed with mental illness through individual
legal representation. These abuses are describe in Psychiatry: Force of Law. PsychRights
is especially focused on unwarranted court ordered psychiatric drugging requiring people
diagnosed with mental illness to submit or be forcibly subjected to brain damaging
psychiatric drugs (& electroshock). The strategic campaign is described in some detail
in How the Legal System Can Help Create a Recovery Culture in Mental Health Systems, which
also discusses the necessity of educating the public about the truth and creating
alternatives to the all drug, all the time mental illness system.
Lawyer takes on psychiatric
industry for over-prescribing foster children
Jim Gottstein is taking on psychiatry in Alaska for over-prescribing medicine to children.
Lead-based paint scrutinized
The Environmental Protection Agency has been busy keeping an eye lately on overseas
lead-based product exports, especially from China.
Less is more in cancer imaging
When one diagnoses a cancer patient, it's important to gather as much information about
that person as possible. But who would have thought an accurate diagnosis would depend on
throwing some of that information away? That's key to the technique employed by
researchers at Rice University and the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center as
they bolster the efficiency of scanners that find and track lung and thoracic tumors. In a
paper published last month in The Journal of Nuclear Medicine, a team led by fifth-year
Rice graduate student Guoping Chang (shown at right--Credit: Jeff Fitlow/Rice U) described
an amplitude gating technique that gives physicians a clearer picture of how tumors are
responding to treatment.
LLNL research at Marshall Islands
could lead to resettlement
Through Laboratory soil cleanup methods, residents of Bikini, Enjebi and Rongelap Islands
- where nuclear tests were conducted on the atolls and in the ocean surrounding them in
the 1950s - could have lower radioactive levels than the average background dose for
residents in the United States and Europe. The National Nuclear Security Administration's
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory scientists Bill Robison and Terry Hamilton
calculated the radiation doses for people resettling Bikini, Enjebi, Rongelap and Utrok
Islands. The two found that when it rains, a portion of the soluble cesium-137 (137Cs) -
an isotope of cesium - is transported to the groundwater that lies about three meters
below the soil surface. The groundwater eventually gets mixed with the ocean waters so the
137Cs is lost from the soil and is not available for uptake by growing vegetation on the
island. The rate of this loss process is much faster than the loss by radiological decay.
In addition, treatment of food crops with potassium reduces the 137Cs concentration in
edible fruits to about 5 percent of pretreatment concentrations. Potassium treatment and
removal of the top 15 centimeters of soil around houses and community buildings prior to
construction of new buildings to reduce external exposure where people spend most of their
time - referred to as the combined option - could be used as a remediation strategy before
resettlement, Robison said.
Low levels of natural antibodies
behind stroke
The chances of suffering a stroke are linked to the presence of a certain type of antibody
in the immune system, a new study from Karolinska Institutet shows. The researchers hope
to be able to develop a vaccine that can mobilise the body´s own defence against
arteriosclerosis and stroke. The research group, which was led by Professor Johan
Frostegĺrd, has previously demonstrated that high levels of a certain type of antibody
(anti-PC) in the immune defence are linked to a reduced risk of arteriosclerosis, a common
cause of thrombosis and myocardial infarction.
Low-cost DNA test to pinpoint risk
of inherited diseases
An inexpensive, fast, accurate DNA test that reveals a person's risk of developing certain
diseases is expected to become a reality, thanks to technology developed at the University
of Edinburgh. Scientists have developed a method of pinpointing variations in a person's
genetic code at critical points along the DNA chain. The technique could be used to
analyse DNA in a drop of saliva. Tiny differences or omissions in DNA code can determine
whether or not a person is healthy, susceptible to disease, or has a serious or
life-threatening condition, such as cystic fibrosis. The technology seeks to enable
improved personal diagnosis, allowing prompt, appropriate treatment for patients. The
method, based on chemical analysis, delivers reliable results without the need for
expensive enzymes used in conventional DNA testing. Researchers behind the technology will
soon test whether it can decode entire human genomes. The study, published in the journal
Angewandte Chemie, was funded by Scottish Enterprise.
Mom's anemia may raise
schizophrenia risk in offspring
Doctors have long recommended iron supplements for the support of a healthy pregnancy, but
new research adds even more weight to the sage advice: By increasing her iron intake, a
pregnant woman may also decrease her baby's risk of schizophrenia later in life.
Monsanto Pulls GM Corn Amid Serious
Food Safety Concerns
For the first time, a GM multinational has pulled two GM corn varieties from the
regulatory and assessment process at the eleventh hour (1), after planning for a future
income of several billion dollars per year from global sales (2). Monsanto has abandoned
its ambitious plans for a so-called “second generation GM crop” rather than
accede to a request from European regulators for additional research and safety data (3).
MSU researcher linking breast
cancer patients with alternative therapies
She found that 57 percent of women are using CAM therapies, and the sicker a woman is the
more likely she is to use multiple therapies. Besides biological-based therapies, the next
most popular were mind-body therapies using audiotapes, video and music therapy. More than
200 women were part of the study. "The more popular therapies selected might be
rationalized by women viewing these categories as more closely aligned with their health
care provider's recommendations," Wyatt said. She is using the results of the study,
which was funded by the U.S. Department of Defense, to help women identify which therapies
will be most effective for them. CAM therapies have gained widespread use in the past
decade; Wyatt is currently funded by the NIH with a $3.1 million grant to study the
effects of reflexology — a specialized foot therapy that applies firm pressure to
certain parts of the sole of the foot — on symptom management and quality of life for
women with breast cancer.
Muscle loss finding may one day
save physiques
Hey guys, remember the muscle shirts we wore in our teens and 20s? After the age of 40
that meager part of our wardrobes usually is obsolete. Yes, at the big 4-0 we begin to
lose muscle, and by age 80 up to a third of it may be gone. It's an inevitable process of
aging called sarcopenia. Why does sarcopenia happen and can it be stopped? A study
conducted in mice with accelerated muscle loss at The University of Texas Health Science
Center at San Antonio provides this insight: Less protection from antioxidants and more
damage from oxidative stress results in impairment to cells' energy centers, which slowly
leads to death of muscle cells. A team directed by Holly Van Remmen, Ph.D., associate
professor with the university's Barshop Institute for Longevity and Aging Studies and the
Department of Cellular and Structural Biology, found that without a certain antioxidant
enzyme to balance the formation of harmful reactive oxygen species (ROS), cellular energy
centers called mitochondria fail to work properly. The mitochondria even add to the spate
of ROS molecules and release factors leading to cell death.
Mycelium Mushrooms Provide
Detoxification for the Earth
Much of the land, air and water around the world have been contaminated by industrial
waste and pollution. Many people are affected by the filth as it`s unfortunate but true
that what`s in the air and water around our homes regularly ends up inside of our bodies.
The problems are serious, but fortunately, nature has provided us with an environmental
solution in an unlikely package: mushrooms. Mycelium from mushrooms has the unique ability
to breakdown and detoxify a great deal of toxic industrial waste and pollution.
New clue why autistic people don't
want hugs
Why do people with fragile X syndrome, a genetic defect that is the best-known cause of
autism and inherited mental retardation, recoil from hugs and physical touch – even
from their parents? New research has found in fragile X syndrome there is delayed
development of the sensory cortex, the part of the brain that responds to touch, according
to a study from Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. This delay may
trigger a domino effect and cause further problems with the correct wiring of the brain.
Understanding how and when the function of the brain is affected in fragile X offers a
target for a therapy to fix the incorrect development. "There is a 'critical period'
during development, when the brain is very plastic and is changing rapidly," said
Anis Contractor, assistant professor of physiology at Feinberg and the lead investigator
of the study. "All the elements of this rapid development have to be coordinated so
that the brain becomes wired correctly and therefore functions properly."
New fiber nanogenerators could lead
to electric clothing
In research that gives literal meaning to the term "power suit," University of
California, Berkeley, engineers have created energy-scavenging nanofibers that could one
day be woven into clothing and textiles. These nano-sized generators have
"piezoelectric" properties that allow them to convert into electricity the
energy created through mechanical stress, stretches and twists. "This technology
could eventually lead to wearable 'smart clothes' that can power hand-held electronics
through ordinary body movements," said Liwei Lin, UC Berkeley professor of mechanical
engineering and head of the international research team that developed the fiber
nanogenerators.
New gene discovery could help to
prevent blindness
Scientists have uncovered a new gene that could help save the sight of patients with a
type of inherited blindness. The international research team led by the University of
Leeds found that the TSPAN12 gene is faulty in patients with a disease known as FEVR
(Familial Exudative Vitreoretinopathy), which affects the development of the eye. While
many FEVR patients are registered blind or visually impaired, members of the same family
may carry the faulty gene without showing any symptoms. It is hoped that by screening
these family members for TSPAN12 mutations, doctors may be able to catch FEVR early on and
treat patients before they start to lose their sight. It will also broaden their
understanding of other more common blinding disorders. Dr Carmel Toomes, of the Leeds
Institute of Molecular Medicine who led the research, said: "This discovery will have
an immediate impact on the treatment and counselling of some FEVR patients by allowing us
to identify family members who carry the mutated gene before any retinal damage has
occurred. This decreases their chances of going blind because if a patient is diagnosed
early enough their sight can often be saved by surgical intervention." TSPAN12 is
thought to cause FEVR by disrupting the cell signals required for the normal development
of blood vessels in the retina at the back of the eye.
New interest in maggot therapy
Pamela Mitchell waited tables for 20 years. She spent copious hours on her feet. But
diabetic foot ulcers put an end to that. A decade ago, when she was 47, surgery on her
left foot left a hole 2.54 cm deep. The wound became infected and her doctors said they
had to amputate. Mitchell suggested that, instead, they try maggot therapy. Initially
reluctant, her doctors agreed. "They only did it to prove me wrong," says
Mitchell, from Akron, Ohio. "I ended up proving them wrong."
New Research on Secondhand Smoke
Finds Significant Hazards
New research by the Oklahoma Tobacco Research Center (OTRC) shows that concentrations of
secondhand tobacco smoke inhaled in smoking rooms of restaurants and bars are
exceptionally high and hazardous to health. According to the study, which appears in the
center’s new report “Tobacco Smoke Pollution in Oklahoma Workplaces,” the
average particulate level measured in restaurant smoking rooms was beyond the hazardous
extreme based on levels established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The level
found in bars was even worse. “These levels are exceptionally high and not healthy
for the employees and patrons exposed to particles found in secondhand smoke,” said
Heather Basara, M.D., an industrial hygienist and lead investigator on the research.
Tobacco smoke levels were evaluated based on measurements of very fine suspended
particulates in the air, particles smaller than 2.5 microns, which come primarily from
tobacco smoke.
New Screening System For Hepatitis
C
A newly designed system of identifying molecules for treating hepatitis C should enable
scientists to discover novel and effective therapies for the dangerous and
difficult-to-cure disease of the liver, says Zhilei Chen, a Texas A&M University
assistant professor of chemical engineering who helped develop the screening system.
New study possibly links cognitive
and motor delays with 'flat head syndrome' in young babies
In a new study, infants averaging six months of age who exhibited positional plagiocephaly
(flat head syndrome) had lower scores than typical infants in observational tests used to
evaluate cognitive and motor development. Positional or deformational plagiocephaly may
occur when external forces shape an infant's skull while it is still soft and malleable,
such as extended time spent lying on a hard surface or in one position. This is the first
controlled study to suggest that babies who have flattened areas on the back of their
heads during the first year of life may be at risk for developmental delay. Led by
clinical psychologist Matthew L. Speltz, PhD, from Seattle Children's Research Institute,
these findings suggest that babies with plagiocephaly should be screened early in life for
possible motor and cognitive delays. "Case-Control Study of Neurodevelopment in
Deformational Plagiocephaly" published online on February 15 in Pediatrics.
"Developmental plagiocephaly seems to be associated with early neurodevelopmental
disadvantage, which was most evident when testing motor skills," said Matthew L.
Speltz, PhD, chief of outpatient psychiatric services at Seattle Children's Hospital and
professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the University of Washington School of
Medicine. "This suggests that babies with flat head syndrome should be screened and
monitored for possible cognitive and motor delays. However, it's also important to note
that our study examined babies at one particular point in time, so we cannot say with
certainty whether these observations continue to hold true as these infants grow older.
Our future studies will re-visit this population at 18 and 36 months of age, to see
whether this association persists as these infants mature."
New study possibly links cognitive
and motor delays with 'flat head syndrome' in young babies
In a new study, infants averaging six months of age who exhibited positional plagiocephaly
(flat head syndrome) had lower scores than typical infants in observational tests used to
evaluate cognitive and motor development. Positional or deformational plagiocephaly may
occur when external forces shape an infant's skull while it is still soft and malleable,
such as extended time spent lying on a hard surface or in one position. This is the first
controlled study to suggest that babies who have flattened areas on the back of their
heads during the first year of life may be at risk for developmental delay. Led by
clinical psychologist Matthew L. Speltz, PhD, from Seattle Children's Research Institute,
these findings suggest that babies with plagiocephaly should be screened early in life for
possible motor and cognitive delays. "Case-Control Study of Neurodevelopment in
Deformational Plagiocephaly" published online on February 15 in Pediatrics.
"Developmental plagiocephaly seems to be associated with early neurodevelopmental
disadvantage, which was most evident when testing motor skills," said Matthew L.
Speltz, PhD, chief of outpatient psychiatric services at Seattle Children's Hospital and
professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the University of Washington School of
Medicine. "This suggests that babies with flat head syndrome should be screened and
monitored for possible cognitive and motor delays. However, it's also important to note
that our study examined babies at one particular point in time, so we cannot say with
certainty whether these observations continue to hold true as these infants grow older.
Our future studies will re-visit this population at 18 and 36 months of age, to see
whether this association persists as these infants mature."
New UAB Research Says Heart Failure
Worse When Right Ventricle Goes Bad
New research from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) suggests that the ability
of right side of the heart to pump blood may be an indication of the risk of death to
heart-failure patients whose condition is caused by low function by the left side of their
heart. The ability of the two chambers of the heart, the left and right ventricles, to
pump blood is described as ejection fraction. Healthy individuals typically have ejection
fractions between 50 and 65 percent in both chambers. In findings reported in January in
Circulation, a journal of the American Heart Association, researchers at UAB say that low
right-ventricular ejection fraction (RVEF) increased the risk of death in patients with
systolic heart failure - heart failure associated with low left-ventricular ejection
fraction. "The role of the right ventricle in chronic systolic heart failure has been
overlooked for many years, in part because it was considered to be merely a passive
chamber," said Ali Ahmed, M.D, MPH., associate professor of medicine in the Division
of Cardiovascular Disease and the senior author of the study. "Studies of the effect
of RVEF on outcomes in heart failure have been limited by small sample size and short
follow-up."
One Company Thinks They've Created
Fast Food With a Conscience - Are They Right?
If you look at the fast food industry through a Darwinian lens, successful evolution is
about bigger and cheaper. How many calories can be squeezed between the book ends of a
bun? How many pennies can the eager eater save? For a buck or less you can get a breakfast
sandwich at McDonald's, a quarter-pound double cheeseburger from Burger King, or a
five-layer burrito from Taco Bell.
Ont. appealing raw milk producer's
acquittal
Raw milk crusader Michael Schmidt says the Ontario government is wasting its time by
appealing last month's court ruling that found him not guilty of violating the Health
Protection and Promotion Act.
Palm Oil Deal 'A Threat to the
Rainforest'
Hundreds of millions of tonnes of palm oil look set to be pumped into Britain's vehicles
despite scientific evidence showing that chopping down rainforests to make way for
plantations exacerbates climate change, according to a leaked report.
Parasites in Your Gut Actually Help
Protect You From Allergies
Humans and gastrointestinal parasites might have co-evolved in such a way that the
parasites actually help regulate to human immune system to prevent against allergies,
according to a study conducted by researchers from the University of Nottingham.
Parents often wait too long to
treat children's asthma symptoms
Parents of young children with asthma often recognize signs that their child is about to
have an asthma attack but delay home treatment until the attack occurs, researchers at
Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis report. Results of the study,
published in the Annals of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, show there are missed
opportunities to intervene early and thus relieve a child's symptoms, possibly reduce the
extent of the attack and prevent visits to the emergency room. The study stems from
comments received by two lay asthma coaches employed by Washington University School of
Medicine. The coaches are trained to help educate families dealing with asthma by offering
information and social support. They also have asthma themselves or a family member who
has it. While talking to parents of children with asthma, the coaches noticed that parents
were often unsure of exactly how to use albuterol, a bronchodilator that relaxes muscles
in the airways and increases airflow to the lungs, when they noticed signs that their
child's asthma symptoms were worsening. The study followed up on those observations to
determine if they are true among a larger group.
Penn material scientists turn light
into electrical current using a golden nanoscale system
Material scientists at the Nano/Bio Interface Center of the University of Pennsylvania
have demonstrated the transduction of optical radiation to electrical current in a
molecular circuit. The system, an array of nano-sized molecules of gold, respond to
electromagnetic waves by creating surface plasmons that induce and project electrical
current across molecules, similar to that of photovoltaic solar cells. The results may
provide a technological approach for higher efficiency energy harvesting with a nano-sized
circuit that can power itself, potentially through sunlight. Recently, surface plasmons
have been engineered into a variety of light-activated devices such as biosensors. It is
also possible that the system could be used for computer data storage. While the
traditional computer processor represents data in binary form, either on or off, a
computer that used such photovoltaic circuits could store data corresponding to
wavelengths of light.
Pets in airplane cabins - an
unnecessary allergic hazard
Air travel has become increasingly difficult, with tightened security restrictions and a
decreased number of services. It should not include easily avoidable health risks. But it
does on some major airlines, at leastfor passengers with allergies to pets.
Plant buffers may limit spread of
antibiotics in animal waste
Research by scientists at the University of Missouri Center for Agroforestry suggests that
buffer strips of grasses and other plants can trap and break down veterinary antibiotics
in manure fertilizers. Buffer strips have already demonstrated that they can be effective
in protecting water quality, controlling erosion and supporting wildlife around crop
fields. "That's the beauty of it," said Keith Goyne, assistant professor of
environmental soil chemistry in the MU School of Natural Resources. "Vegetative
buffers already are a recommended practice for reducing sediment, nutrients and herbicides
in surface runoff. Our research is showing another benefit."
Predicting prognosis and treatment
response in a subset of pancreatic cancer patients
Specific chemical modifications to proteins called histones, which are found in the
nucleus of cells and act as spools around which DNA is wound, can be used to predict
prognosis and response to treatment in subsets patients with pancreatic cancer, a study by
researchers at UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center has found. High levels of two
specific histone modifications in tumor cells of patients who underwent surgical resection
of their pancreatic cancer predicted those patients more likely to derive survival benefit
from the commonly used chemotherapy drug Fluorouracil, or 5-FU. Along with Gemcitabine,
5-FU is a common chemotherapy used to treat patients with pancreatic cancer, the fourth
deadliest cancer in the United States. "These histone modifications were useful in
predicting whether or not a patient was likely to respond favorably to 5-FU" said Dr.
David Dawson, an assistant professor of pathology and laboratory medicine, senior author
of the study and a Jonsson Cancer Center researcher. "Using a specially devised test
and algorithm, we were able to discriminate two groups of pancreatic cancer patients who
were more or less likely to have longer disease-free remissions and overall
survival."
Premature death is more likely in
obese children
a new study shows that obese children are more likely to die prematurely than their
healthy-weight peers.
Prevention is key research goal for
premature babies, scientists say
Family history, infection and stress all may play a role in raising a woman's risk of
having a premature baby – but they don't fully explain why some women give birth too
soon and others don't, according to a review article published today in the New England
Journal of Medicine. Only if scientists of all disciplines work together and share
information – databases, biological samples and new perspectives – will the
research community be able to determine how to prevent spontaneous preterm birth and spare
babies from the serious consequences of an early birth, according to "The Enigma of
Spontaneous Preterm Birth," by Louis Muglia, MD, PhD, of Vanderbilt University
Medical Center and Michael Katz, MD, senior vice president for Research and Global Program
at the March Dimes. Premature birth is a leading cause of infant death in the United
States, and only about half of these deaths have a known cause, Drs. Muglia and Katz note.
More than 543,000 babies are born too soon each year in the United States. Worldwide,
about 13 million babies are born prematurely each year. Babies who survive an early birth
face serious risks of lifelong health problems, including learning disabilities, cerebral
palsy, blindness, hearing loss and other chronic conditions.
Promising therapy for relapsing
multibple sclerosis
An international team of researchers has found that adding a humanized monoclonal antibody
called daclizumab to standard treatment reduces the number of new or enlarged brain
lesions in patients with relapsing multiple sclerosis. This new study was published online
Feb. 16, 2010, and in the March edition of the Lancet Neurology. Multiple sclerosis (MS)
is a debilitating disease in which the body's immune system attacks the fatty substance
that surrounds and protects the nerve fibers in the brain and spinal cord. The resulting
damage interferes with the transmission of nerve signals between the brain and spinal cord
and other parts of the body, producing a variety of symptoms including problems with
balance, coordination, vision, and even mental function. Approximately 85 percent of
multiple sclerosis patients are initially diagnosed with relapsing MS, in which
clearly-defined attacks of worsening neurologic function are followed by partial or
complete recovery periods during which no disease progression occurs. "Previous
research has shown that treatment with daclizumab reduced multiple sclerosis disease
activity," says John W. Rose, M.D., professor of neurology at the University of Utah
School of Medicine, Neurovirology Research Laboratory, Veterans Affairs Salt Lake City
Health Care System and the University of Utah, an author on the study. "Our work in
the CHOICE trial shows that daclizumab significantly reduces MS lesion formation in people
with active relapsing disease." Monoclonal antibodies are immune system proteins that
preferentially bind to specific target cells, triggering the immune system to attack those
cells. Daclizumab is a monoclonal antibody specific for CD25, a protein that is expressed
on activated T cells, and binding of daclizumab to CD25 results in selective inhibition of
these activated T cells. Daclizumab treatment has been studied in patients with human
autoimmune conditions, such as MS, that are characterized by abnormal T-cell responses.
Protein study shows evolutionary
link between plants, humans
Inserting a human protein important in cancer development was able to revive dying plants,
showing an evolutionary link between plants and humans and possibly making it easier to
study the protein's function in cancer development, a Purdue University study has shown.
The aminopeptidase M1 protein, or APM1, is critical for root development in plants.
Arabidopsis plants lacking the protein will die, but can be rescued if the protein is
restored. During experiments, Wendy Peer, a research assistant professor of horticulture,
found that inserting a similar protein found in humans, called insulin responsive
aminopeptidase, or IRAP, also rescued the plants.
Quitting smoking especially
difficult for select groups
With the national trend toward quitting smoking flat, psychologists are finding some
success with treatments aimed at helping smokers from underserved groups, including racial
and ethnic minorities and those with psychiatric disorders. In a special section of this
month's issue of the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, published by the
American Psychological Association, researchers report on several effective treatments
that may help these smokers in an effort to increase national smoking cessation rates. The
percentage of American smokers rose from 19.8 percent in 2007 to 20.6 percent in 2008,
after a 10-year steady decline in smoking rates, according to the latest figures from the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "One of the reasons smoking rates have
remained stagnant is because these underserved groups of smokers have not been adequately
targeted by research and treatment," said the special section editor, Belinda
Borrelli, PhD, who is with the Centers for Behavioral and Preventive Medicine at Brown
University Medical School. Underserved smokers include those who have a 10 percent higher
smoking rate than the general population, have less access to treatments, and are more
likely to be excluded from long-term treatments trials, according to Borelli. In one
article, researchers found that success in stopping smoking differed for different
psychiatric disorders. For example, compared to smokers with no psychiatric disorders,
smokers who had an anxiety disorder were less likely to quit smoking six months after
treatment.
Real causes of dental cavities and
gum infection
Tooth cavities will be ended simply by rinsing acids off the teeth. ACIDS ALONE EAT THE
ENAMEL. There would be no cavities in the world if all people rinsed acids from their
teeth promptly. Just sip water, milk or other liquid while eating. Water reacts with
acids.
Repeat breast cancer surgery not
reduced with MRI
Adding expensive MRI scans for breast cancer patients did not help reduce the number who
needed repeat operations, say British researchers who concluded the extra cost offers few
benefits.
Research Highlights Role of Protein
Pair in Obesity Regulation
New research by University of Cincinnati (UC) scientists implicates a new protein in
obesity development and highlights a protein pair’s “team effort” in
regulating obesity and insulin resistance. Jorge Moscat, PhD, chair of UC’s cancer
and cell biology department, says that proteins p62 and ERK are involved in adipogeneis,
(the development of adipocytes, or fat cells). His new study shows precisely how this duo
works together.
Research team targets
self-cannibalizing cancer cells
A team of scientists from Princeton University and The Cancer Institute of New Jersey has
embarked on a major new project to unravel the secret lives of cancer cells that go
dormant and self-cannibalize to survive periods of stress. The work may help produce new
cancer therapies to stem changes that render cancer cells dangerous and resistant to
treatment. "We want to know; What role is this self-cannibalization playing in the
middle of a tumor?" said team member Hilary Coller, an assistant professor of
molecular biology at Princeton. "To treat cancer, it may be that you want to get rid
of this ability in tumor cells, so we're searching for inducers and inhibitors of this
process."
Researchers create drug to keep
tumor growth switched off
A novel – and rapid – anti-cancer drug development strategy has resulted in a
new drug that stops kidney and pancreatic tumors from growing in mice. Researchers at the
Moores Cancer Center at the University of California, San Diego, have found a drug that
binds to a molecular "switch" found in cancer cells and cancer-associated blood
vessels to keep it in the "off" position. "We locked the kinase switch in
the off position in cancer and in tumor-associated blood vessels," which differs from
the way current inhibitors attempt to block active kinases, said David Cheresh, PhD,
professor and vice chair of pathology at the UCSD School of Medicine and the Moores UCSD
Cancer Center, who led the work. The new approach employs scaffold-based chemistry
combined with supercomputer technology, allowing for rapid screening and development of
drugs that are more selective for the tumor. The development and screening processes were
used to identify potential drug candidates able to halt a growth signaling enzyme, or
kinase, which can foster tumor blood vessel and tumor growth. According to the
researchers, the novel approach may become a useful strategy in cancer drug development.
The study appears online the week of February 8, 2010, in the Proceedings of the National
Academy of Sciences.
Researchers develop dietary formula
that maintains youthful function into old age
Researchers at McMaster University have developed a cocktail of ingredients that
forestalls major aspects of the aging process. The findings are published in the current
issue of Experimental Biology and Medicine. "As we all eventually learn, ageing
diminishes our mind, fades our perception of the world and compromises our physical
capacity," says David Rollo, associate professor of biology at McMaster.
"Declining physical activity—think of grandparents versus toddlers—is one
of the most reliable expressions of ageing and is also a good indicator of obesity and
general mortality risk." The study found that a complex dietary supplement powerfully
offsets this key symptom of ageing in old mice by increasing the activity of the cellular
furnaces that supply energy—or mitochondria—and by reducing emissions from these
furnaces—or free radicals—that are thought to be the basic cause of ageing
itself.
Researchers Find Air Pollution
Linked To Progression Of Atherosclerosis
Researchers at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California (USC),
in collaboration with international partners in Spain and Switzerland and colleagues in
California, have found that exposure to air pollution accelerates the thickening of artery
walls that leads to cardiovascular disease.The study, published this week in the journal
PloS ONE, is the first to link outdoor air quality and progression of atherosclerosis in
humans. Researchers found that artery wall thickening among people living within 100
meters (328 feet) of a Los Angeles highway progressed twice as quickly as those who lived
farther away.
Researchers Identify Mechanism for
Frank-Ter Haar Syndrome
An international team of investigators at Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute
(Sanford-Burnham, formerly Burnham Institute for Medical Research), Nijmegen Centre for
Molecular Life Sciences and other organizations have discovered that TKS4, a protein
implicated in cancer metastasis, also plays a significant role in Frank-Ter Haar syndrome
(FTHS), a rare fatal disorder. The research was published on February 12 in the American
Journal of Human Genetics.
Researchers look for help in
understanding why we give
Whether it’s the Haiti earthquake, sponsoring a grandparent in Africa or supporting a
Brownie troupe, many of us give to charity. But researchers at the University of Essex
want to know more about what precisely motivates us to make a donation or support a cause,
and they are hoping that local charities might be interested to help them find out more.
Economist, Dr David Reinstein, who has already carried out wide-ranging research in this
area, is appealing for charitable groups and other organisations in Essex who may be
planning a fundraising campaign in the near future, to take part in an experiment that
would help his research and ultimately help them get a better understanding of who gives
what, why they give and when they give.
Rhubarb crumble – the new
cancer-busting superfood
Researchers have found that the traditional favourite, like many red vegetables, contains
cancer killing chemicals.
Risk of drought in Northeastern
Spain is exaggerated by the press
Researchers from the University of Barcelona (UB) have, for the first time, analysed all
the articles published in the La Vanguardia newspaper between 1982 and 2007 linked to
natural hazards, climate change and sustainable development. Over 25 years the press
devoted more headlines to forest fires and droughts, even though floods are much more
frequent and cause more damage. "If the press focus more on forest fires and
droughts, then people also become more aware of these events, to such an extent that they
are deemed a more significant hazard in the area and more frequent occurrences than they
really are", Carme Llasat, main author of the article and researcher at the
Department of Astronomy and Meteorology at the UB, explains to SINC. "On the positive
side, the substantial press coverage has brought about a change of attitudes in favour of
saving water", explains the expert. The study, published in the Natural Hazards and
Earth System Sciences journal, points out that water shortage is a natural hazard with
increasingly important social implications. "The sheer quantity of articles in the
regional press reflects a growing awareness of water shortage, as well as changes in
society's understanding of the use of water resources and the use of this issue as a
factor for political confrontation", claim the experts.
Rye more filling than wheat
Wholegrain bread is good and good for you, as most people know. But it is not only the
fiber-rich bran, the outer shell of the grain, that is healthful. On the contrary,
research at the Lund University Faculty of Engineering shows that bread baked with white
rye flour, which is flour made from the inner, white part of the rye kernel, leads to
better insulin and blood sugar levels compared with wheat bread with rye bran. White rye
flour thus leads to much better values than both regular wheat flour and rye bran. At the
same time, much of the bread that is sold in stores today in most countries is in fact
baked with wheat flour and bran from various grains.The great difference between white rye
and white wheat surprises the researchers. Precisely what it is that makes rye lead to a
stable blood sugar curve is as yet unknown. But we are getting closer and closer to an
answer. There are several different types of rye, and all not all types have the same
effect, which means that some of them can be omitted from future studies. The rye flour
that is sold in stores is often a mixture of different types,” says Liza Rosén, a
doctoral candidate in Applied Nutrition and Food Chemistry at the Lund University Faculty
of Engineering, who has led the study. The research is part of the EU project
"Healthgrain", in which researchers study how wholemeal products can be used to
prevent diseases including type 2 diabetes and heart and vascular diseases. According to
Liza Rosén, if you want to optimize the health benefits, you should eat porridge or bread
made from whole grain, where all the parts of the grain are included. “This gives you
all the benefits of rye. The bran includes many healthful fibers, vitamins, minerals, and
antioxidants. This also helps give a feeling of satiety and helps lower blood sugar
responses over the long term. On the other hand, we did not see such good results
regarding blood sugar and insulin directly after the meal,” she says. In meal tests
the researchers also found that individuals who ate boiled rye kernels for breakfast were
fuller and ate significantly less for lunch, more precisely 16 percent less in energy
intake, compared with those who ate bread made from white flour. They also found that both
bread and hot cereal made with white rye and wholegrain rye are more filling than white
wheat bread. The most effective form was rye porridges. “It is probably the water in
the porridge that increases the feeling of satiety. But the water has to be mixed into the
product. If you drink the same amount of water with rye bread, the results are not as
good,” she explains.
Scorecard pollution information
site
We think American citizens have a right to know what toxic chemicals are being released
into their communities. But the EPA recently proposed to limit the information that
companies are required to disclose about the hazardous chemicals they release into our
environment. By reducing the reporting requirements of its Toxics Release Inventory
program, the EPA would take away an important tool for protecting public health and
reducing industrial pollution.
Severe Sleep Apnea Decreases
Frequency of Nightmare Recall
A study in the Feb. 15 issue of the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine shows that patients
with severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) report a significantly lower frequency of
nightmares than patients with mild or no sleep apnea, indicating that OSA suppresses the
cognitive experience of nightmare recall. Results show that the percent of participants
with frequent nightmare recall decreased linearly as sleep apnea severity increased.
Frequent nightmare recall, occurring at least weekly, was reported by 71.4 percent of
people who did not have OSA and 43.2 percent of patients with mild OSA, which was defined
as an apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) of five to less than 15 breathing pauses per hour of
sleep. The rate of frequent nightmare recall decreased to 29.9 percent in patients with
moderate OSA (AHI of 15 to less than 30) and 20.6 percent in patients with severe OSA (AHI
of 30 or more). Sleep apnea severity in people who reported infrequent nightmare recall
(mean AHI of 40.3) was significantly higher than in those who frequently recalled
nightmares (mean AHI of 24.6).
Shifting cellular energy metabolism
may help treat cardiovascular disease
Drugs that target the way cells convert nutrients into energy could offer new approaches
to treating a range of conditions including heart attack and stroke. Using a new way to
screen for potential drugs, a team led by Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers
has identified several FDA-approved agents, including an over-the-counter anti-nausea
drug, that can shift cellular energy metabolism processes in animals. Their findings,
being published online in Nature Biotechnology, may open the door to new therapeutic
strategies for several serious health problems. "Shifts in cells' energy production
pathways take place naturally during development and in response to demanding activities
– like sprinting versus long-distance running. They are also known to be involved in
several disease states," explains Vamsi Mootha, MD, of the MGH Center for Human
Genetic Research, who led the study. "We wanted to identify compounds that can safely
induce this shift – those that have previously been discovered are too toxic –
and investigate their therapeutic potential in animal models." Normally cells convert
nutrients into energy by relying on two cellular processes. One involves the uptake of
sugars that are broken down in the cytoplasm into a molecule called lactate via a process
called glycolysis, which quickly yields a small amount of ATP, the enzyme that provides
cellular energy. Alternatively, sugars and proteins can be processed in cellular
structures called mitochondria to release greater amounts of ATP through a more efficient
process called cellular respiration.
Silver Nanoparticles May One Day Be
Key to Devices That Keep Hearts Beating Strong and Steady
Diamonds and gold may make some hearts flutter on Valentine's Day, but in a University at
Buffalo laboratory, silver nanoparticles are being designed to do just the opposite. The
nanoparticles are part of a new family of materials being created in the laboratory of
SUNY Distinguished Professor and Greatbatch Professor of Advanced Power Sources Esther
Takeuchi, PhD, who developed the lithium/silver vanadium oxide battery. The battery was a
major factor in bringing implantable cardiac defibrillators (ICDs) into production in the
late 1980s. ICDs shock the heart into a normal rhythm when it goes into fibrillation.
Single espresso a day 'can damage
heart'
Just a single espresso a day can have a potentially damaging effect on the heart, a new
study shows.
Sleep problems and sleepiness
increase the risk of motor vehicle accidents in adolescents
A study in the Feb. 15 issue of the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine shows that
sleepiness at the wheel and poor sleep quality significantly increase the risk of motor
vehicle accidents in adolescents. Results indicate that adolescent drivers were twice as
likely to have had a crash if they experienced sleepiness while driving (adjusted odds
ratio = 2.1) or reported having bad sleep (OR = 1.9). Eighty of the 339 students had
already crashed at least once, and 15 percent of them considered sleepiness to have been
the main cause of the crash. Fifty-six percent of students who had at least one previous
crash reported driving while sleepy, compared with 35 percent of subjects who had not been
in a crash. Lead author Fabio Cirignotta, M.D., professor of neurology at the University
of Bologna in Italy, said that the only effective countermeasure to drowsiness is to stop
driving immediately, pull over to a safe place and nap for 10 to15 minutes. "Commonly
used countermeasures to fatigue, such as opening the window, listening to the radio, or
drinking a coffee, are known to be short-lasting and, essentially, useless," said
Cirignotta. "Moreover, if a subject perceives sleepiness, he or she would probably
already have a reduced performance at the wheel, and nobody can safely detect the real
instant when sleep is starting in order to stop driving at that time." This
cross-sectional study was conducted in 2004 and was supported by the Italian Ministry of
Education. Self-administered questionnaires were distributed to 339 students who had a
driver's license and were in their last two years of attendance at one of seven high
schools in Bologna. Students were between the ages of 18 and 21 years (mean 18.4 years),
and 58 percent of them were male.
Study reveals a need to evaluate
and regulate “electronic cigarettes”
Electronic cigarettes should be evaluated, regulated, labeled and packaged in a manner
consistent with cartridge content and product effect – even if that effect is a total
failure to deliver nicotine as demonstrated in a study supported by the National Cancer
Institute and led by a Virginia Commonwealth University researcher. The research was
published in the Online First issue of the journal Tobacco Control. The article will
appear in the February print issue of the journal.
Study suggests that tinnitus does
not appear to be a highly inherited condition
Tinnitus, or ringing in the ears, does not appear to be a highly inherited condition
(i.e., does not pass frequently from parents to offspring), according to a report in the
February issue of Archives of Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery, one of the
JAMA/Archives journals. "Tinnitus, or the perception of sound without an external
acoustic stimulus, is a common but poorly understood symptom," the authors write as
background information in the article. "Although the list of factors associated with
tinnitus is long, the causes of tinnitus onset and tinnitus maintenance are far from fully
understood, and attempts to develop evidence-based therapies have been thwarted by a poor
understanding of the pathophysiology of the condition." Tinnitus has recently been
reported to cluster in families, but little is known about the importance of genetic
effects in susceptibility to the condition. Ellen Kvestad, M.D., Ph.D., of the Norwegian
Institute of Public Health, Oslo, and Akershus University Hospital, Akershus, Norway, and
colleagues analyzed data collected from 12,940 spouses, 27,607 parents and offspring and
11,498 siblings. All participants completed a questionnaire about tinnitus and underwent a
hearing examination. A subgroup of 16,186 individuals with some hearing loss and 17,785
controls were sent a second questionnaire requesting more details about tinnitus, to which
a total of 28,066 responded. About 20.9 percent of the participants reported having
definite or probable symptoms of tinnitus. On a scale of negative one to one—where
negative one would indicate that offspring always had tinnitus if their parents did not,
and one would indicate that both parents and offspring always had
tinnitus—correlations for tinnitus ranged from 0.01 to 0.07 for parents and
offspring, depending on [Bleep] differences. The correlation between siblings ranged from
0.06 to 0.14 and the spouse correlation was 0.04.
The "secret weapon" of
retroviruses that cause cancer
Oncogenic retroviruses are a particular family of viruses that can cause some types of
cancer. Thierry Heidmann and his colleagues in the CNRS-Institut Gustave
Roussy-Université Paris Sud 11 "Rétrovirus endogčnes et éléments rétroďdes des
eucaryotes supérieurs" Laboratory have studied these viruses. They have identified a
"virulence factor" that inhibits the host immune response and allows the virus
to spread throughout the body. This factor is a sequence of amino acids that is located in
the envelope protein of the virus. These scientists have also shown that once mutated to
lose its immunosuppressive capability, this envelope protein could serve as a basis for
the development of vaccines. These findings have been published online in the Proceedings
of the National Academy of Sciences USA, Monday 8 February 2010. Retroviruses are viruses
whose genome is made up of RNA. These viruses are unique in possessing an enzyme that
enables synthesis from this RNA of a DNA molecule capable of integrating into the DNA of a
host cell. The retrovirus then utilizes the cell machinery to replicate. HIV is one of the
best-known retroviruses. Oncogenic retroviruses (or oncoretroviruses) are cancer-causing
viruses. Numerous oncoretroviruses are associated with animal diseases. In humans, two
retroviruses, called HTLV and XMRV, have been associated with a type of leukemia and with
prostate cancer.
The Liver - Multitasker,
Regenerator and Vital for Health
The liver, the largest internal organ, is the body’s ultimate multitasker. While the
liver is not glamorous or sentimental -- there are no love songs about a broken liver --
it simultaneously plays a key role in the body’s metabolic, digestive and regulatory
systems.
The Truth About Agave Nectar
Agave nectar/ syrup is basically high-fructose corn syrup masquerading as a health food.
Tiny fruit fly could offer big
clues in fight against obesity, researcher says
The tiny tongue of a fruit fly could provide big answers to questions about human eating
habits, possibly even leading to new ways to treat obesity, according to a study from a
team of Texas A&M University researchers. Paul Hardin, who holds the rank of
Distinguished Professor of Biology, along with colleagues Abhishek Chatterjee, Shintaro
Tanoue and Jerry Houl, examined the taste organs on Drosophila's proboscis (tongue), which
triggers the minute fruit fly's desire to eat or not to eat. They found that several
factors, especially the creature's internal daily clock, determine feeding behaviors
– and these same taste sensitivities very likely apply to humans. Their work is
published in the new issue of the journal Current Biology. "The 'clock' that
influences this decision to eat or not to eat is found inside the taste sensing cells,
which send a signal to eat," Hardin explains.
Tobacco use linked to worse
outcomes in HPV-positive head and neck cancer, U-M study finds
Patients with head and neck cancer linked to high risk human papillomavirus, or HPV, have
worse outcomes if they are current or former tobacco users, according to a new study from
researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center. High-risk HPVs are
the same viruses that are associated with cancers of the uterine cervix. The research
suggests that current or former tobacco users may need a more aggressive treatment regimen
than patients who have never used tobacco. Past research shows that HPV-positive head and
neck cancers tend to be more responsive to current treatments and these patients overall
tend to have better outcomes than patients with HPV-negative tumors. However, the new
study found that current tobacco users with HPV-positive tumors were five times more
likely to have their cancer recur. Even former smokers had an increased risk of
recurrence. "Because the effect of HPV is so strong in giving a very good prognostic
picture, we were surprised to find that smoking remained a huge issue, and it actually
affected the outcome in patients who smoked," says senior study author Thomas Carey,
Ph.D., professor of otolaryngology and pharmacology, and co-director of the Head and Neck
Oncology Program at the U-M Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Urine protein test might help
diagnose kidney damage from lupus, UT Southwestern researchers find
Simple urine tests for four proteins might be able to detect early kidney disease in
people with lupus, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found in an animal
study. Although it might take years before such tests could be used clinically, the
findings suggest they could pinpoint kidney disease better than tests currently in use,
the researchers said. "Our goal was to accurately detect something in the urine that
appears only in disease," said Dr. Chandra Mohan, professor of internal medicine and
immunology at UT Southwestern and senior author of the study, available online and in
today's issue of The Journal of Immunology. "If this testing regimen proves effective
in humans, physicians might be able to predict and diagnose kidney damage noninvasively,
as well as monitor whether treatments are working." Kidney disease is the major cause
of death and disability in lupus patients, Dr. Mohan said. Early detection and treatment
lead to a longer and better-quality life.
Using Gold Nanoparticles to Hit
Cancer Where It Hurts
Taking gold nanoparticles to the cancer cell and hitting them with a laser has been shown
to be a promising tool in fighting cancer, but what about cancers that occur in places
where a laser light can’t reach? Scientists at the Georgia Institute of Technology
have shown that by directing gold nanoparticles into the nuclei of cancer cells, they can
not only prevent them from multiplying, but can kill them where they lurk. The research
appeared as a communication in the February 10 edition of the Journal of the American
Chemical Society. “We’ve developed a system that can kill cancer cells by
shining light on gold nanoparticles, but what if the cancer is in a place where we
can’t shine light on it? To fix that problem, we’ve decorated the gold with a
chemical that brings it inside the nucleus of the cancer cell and stops it from
dividing,” said Mostafa El-Sayed, Regents professor and director of the Laser
Dynamics Laboratory at Georgia Tech.
Vermonters surprised by chemicals
found in their bodies
she was shocked to learn that analyses of samples of her blood, hair and urine showed
significant levels of Deca, a flame retardant used on furniture and electronic equipment,
and nearly three dozen other chemicals.
Victims of electrosensitivity
syndrome say EMFs cause symptoms
Scientists haven't found a direct link between the symptoms of headaches and general
complaints and being near electromagnetic fields.
Walking regularly and taking
supplement 'can significantly ease pain of arthritis'
These findings provide preliminary evidence that osteoarthritis sufferers can benefit from
a combination of glucosamine sulphate and walking 3,000 steps per day for exercise.
Weed Killer in the Crosshairs
In recent years, however, questions have surfaced about atrazine’s safety, especially
after monitoring programs picked up the chemical in drinking water and lab studies
demonstrated the pollutant’s ability to emasculate — if not deform —
amphibians and fish.
WHI data confirm short-term heart
disease risks of combination menopausal hormone therapy
New analyses from the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) confirm that combination hormone
therapy increases the risk of heart disease in healthy postmenopausal women. Researchers
report a trend toward an increased risk of heart disease during the first two years of
hormone therapy among women who began therapy within 10 years of menopause, and a more
marked elevation of risk among women who began hormone therapy more than 10 years after
menopause. Analyses indicate that overall a woman's risk of heart disease more than
doubles within the first two years of taking combination HT. The difference in the initial
level of risk does not appear related to age, based on findings that the increased risk of
heart disease was similar between women in their 50s on combination hormone therapy and
women in their 60s.
Yale Scientists Synthesize Unique
Family of Anti-Cancer Compounds
Yale University scientists have streamlined the process for synthesizing a family of
compounds with the potential to kill cancer and other diseased cells, and have found that
they represent a unique category of anti-cancer agents. Their discovery appears in this
week’s online edition of the Journal of the American Chemical Society. The team
studied a family of compounds known as the kinamycins, which are naturally produced by
bacteria during metabolism and are known for their potent toxicity. For years scientists
have guessed that a core structure common to the different compounds within the group was
responsible for this toxicity. Until now, chemists could not study the core structure
because there was no simple way to create it in the laboratory.
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