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Week 29
Scientists Find Differences in
Embryonic Stem Cells and Reprogrammed Skin Cells
UCLA researchers have found that embryonic stem cells and skin cells reprogrammed into
embryonic-like cells have inherent molecular differences, demonstrating for the first time
that the two cell types are clearly distinguishable from one another. The data from the
study suggest that embryonic stem cells and the reprogrammed cells, known as induced
pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, have overlapping but still distinct gene expression
signatures. The differing signatures were evident regardless of where the cell lines were
generated, the methods by which they were derived or the species from which they were
isolated, said Bill Lowry, a researcher with the Broad Stem Cell Research Center and a
study author.
Mom’s Weight During Pregnancy
Affects Her Daughter’s Risk of Being Obese
A mother’s weight and the amount she gains during pregnancy both impact her
daughter’s risk of obesity decades later, according to a new study by Alison Stuebe,
M.D., assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill School of Medicine. “The findings are especially important because of
the growing epidemic of obesity in women,” Stuebe says. “If we can help women
reach a healthy weight before they start a family, we can make a difference for two
generations.” Stuebe analyzed data on mothers’ recalled weights and weight gain
for more than 24,000 mother-daughter pairs. The heavier a mother was before her pregnancy,
the more likely her daughter was to be obese in later life. For instance, an
average-height mother who weighed 150 pounds before pregnancy was twice as likely to have
a daughter who was obese at age 18 as a mother who weighed 125 pounds before pregnancy.
Weight gain during pregnancy mattered, too – both too little and too much weight gain
increased a daughter’s risk of becoming obese, especially if a mother was overweight
before she got pregnant. “Women should aim for a healthy weight before they get
pregnant, and then gain a moderate amount,” Stuebe said.
New research study may help
individuals with nerve dysfunction due to diabetes
Researchers from the University of Delaware and Christiana Care Health System are
conducting a study for individuals with diabetes age 18 years and older. The research will
test the effectiveness of a medication to improve nerve function. It is estimated that
approximately 60 percent of individuals with diabetes have some form of damage to the
nervous system, according to Raelene Maser, UD professor of medical technology, who is
co-directing the study with Dr. James Lenhard, director of Christiana Care Health System's
Diabetes & Metabolic Diseases Center, Diabetes & Metabolic Research Center and
Weight Management Center.
Researchers Find New Actions of
Neurochemicals
Although the tiny roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans has only 302 neurons in its entire
nervous system, studies of this simple animal have significantly advanced our
understanding of human brain function because it shares many genes and neurochemical
signaling molecules with humans. Now MIT researchers have found novel C. elegans
neurochemical receptors, the discovery of which could lead to new therapeutic targets for
psychiatric disorders if similar receptors are found in humans. Dopamine and serotonin are
members of a class of neurochemicals called biogenic amines, which function in neuronal
circuitry throughout the brain. Many drugs used to treat psychiatric disorders, including
depression and schizophrenia, target these signaling systems, as do cocaine and other
drugs of abuse. Scientists have long known of a class of biogenic-amine receptors that are
G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) and that, when activated, trigger a slow but
long-lasting cascade of intracellular events that modulate nervous system activity. A
study in the July 3 issue of Science has found that in C. elegans these chemicals also act
on receptors of a fundamentally different type. These receptors are chloride channels that
open and close quickly in response to the binding of a neurochemical messenger. By
allowing the passage of negatively charged chloride ions across the cell membrane,
chloride channels can rapidly inactivate nerve cells.
Health Care Reform Fraud
Obama administration health care reformers
say health care reform is more than a social imperative it is an economic necessity.
Little do people know that health reformers are on track for murdering millions of
Americans. Health care reform is a gross deception perpetrated by political prostitutes of
pharmaceutical special interests purposely neglecting alternative and complementary health
practices for profitability and population control. Vested interests in maintaining public
ignorance despise alternative and complementary health practices proven safe and effective
in improving health status, patient satisfaction, employee health, expanded benefits,
corporate savings, and widespread economic earnings through reduced absenteeism and better
morale in workplaces worldwide. So rather than heralding these scientifically proven
facts, and grant the American people and U.S. economy serious relief, all Democrats and
Republicans offer is more of the same deceptive rhetoric. Dr. Leonard Horowitz is a world
leading health advocate for the people. His numerous publications and presentations speak
to his more than 30 years of service as a governmental watchdog and pharmaceutical
industry whistle blower. Here the retired dentist turned public health expert lends his
support to transforming American healthcare, and even world health, using the State of New
Mexico's recently enacted "Unlicenced Complementary and Alternative Health Practice
Act" that frees people, patients and professionals alike, to exercise their God-given
right to accessing natural healing methods and materials provided by those intelligent
enough to cherish them. Help spread this important film across the United States, Canada,
and world to help save lives, wake people up to what is really "going down" in
Washington, and co-create a health care system based on decency and intelligence rather
than hypocrisy and official malfeasance.
Canadians to Americans: Don't make
your healthcare like ours
Canadians discuss the aches and pains of
waiting on a government-run health care system when they need it the most. We cannot let
this bill to pass! Call your senators and congressmen that you don't want this socialist
free health care bill to pass!
Health and Wellness - Trans Fats
Trans fats, what are trans fats, where do
trans fats come from, should i eat trans fats? partially hydrogenated oils, unhealthy junk
foods, bad foods, oily foods, health tips, health foods, healthy living, health and
wellness tip.
MIT, CDC find H1N1 flu virus
ill-suited for rapid transmission
A team from MIT and the Centers for Disease Control has found a genetic explanation for
why the new H1N1 "swine flu" virus has spread from person to person less
effectively than other flu viruses. The H1N1 strain, which circled the globe this spring,
has a form of surface protein that binds inefficiently to receptors found in the human
respiratory tract, the team reports in the July 2 online edition of Science."While
the virus is able to bind human receptors, it clearly appears to be restricted," says
Ram Sasisekharan, the Edward Hood Taplin Professor and director of the Harvard-MIT
Division of Health Sciences and Technology (HST) and the lead MIT author of the paper.
Sasisekharan and his laboratory co-workers have been actively investigating influenza
viruses. That restricted, or weak, binding, along with a genetic variation in an H1N1
polymerase enzyme, which MIT researchers first reported three weeks ago in Nature
Biotechnology, explains why the virus has not spread as efficiently as seasonal flu, says
Sasisekharan. However, flu viruses are known to mutate rapidly, so there is cause for
concern if H1N1 undergoes mutations that improve its binding affinity.
Brain Malformations Significantly
Associated with Preterm Birth
New research out of Wake Forest University School of Medicine provides for the first time
a solid scientific answer for the long-standing question of whether there is an
association between preterm birth and brain malformations. In a study of more than 1,000
preterm infant autopsies, researchers found that there is a strong association between
congenital brain defects and preterm birth, leading investigators to believe that
something about the brain malformations may be causing preterm birth and providing a
possible study path toward a better understanding of the problem. The study appears in the
June issue of Pediatric Research. It is the first to investigate the risk of being born
preterm for infants who have a variety of congenital brain defects. “The most
important thing about this study is that to-date, it is still unknown why there are so
many preterm births. This study suggests that one way to look for the causes of preterm
birth is to look at those types of brain malformations that have very strong association
with preterm birth, and see if there is some sort of difference between those babies and
full-term babies – some sort of soluble factor or an increased amount of something in
the preterm babies that is not found in other babies,” said William R. Brown, Ph.D.,
a research associate professor of radiologic sciences and author/investigator for the
study. Funded by the National Institutes of Health, March of Dimes Birth Defects
Foundation and the Pratt Family Foundation, Brown’s research on brain malformations
and preterm birth grew out of a study of bleeds in the brains of babies, where researchers
found that a large percentage of the babies being studied had small, unrecognized types of
brain malformations that warranted further investigation.
Research output in developing
countries reveals 194 percent increase in five years
The partners of Research4Life announced today at the World Conference of Science
Journalists 2009 that a new research impact analysis has demonstrated a dramatic rise in
research output by scientists in the developing world since 2002. By comparing absolute
growth in published research before (1996 – 2002) and after (2002 - 2008) the advent
of the Research4Life programmes, the analysis has revealed a 194% or 6.4-fold increase in
articles published in peer reviewed journals. Research4Life is the collective name given
to HINARI, AGORA and OARE, the three public-private partnerships that offer health,
agriculture and environmental research for free or at very low cost to developing
countries. Key partners include WHO, FAO, UNEP, Cornell and Yale Universities, the
International Association of Scientific, Technical and Medical Publishers and Microsoft as
the technology partner. Over 150 publishers, among them Elsevier, Springer,
Wiley-Blackwell and Oxford University Press provide the journal content. The analysis,
conducted by Elsevier's Associate Director of Scientometrics & Market Analysis, Dr
Andrew Plume, showed that absolute growth in research between 1996 - 2002 was 25% in non
Research4Life countries (countries not eligible due to their GNI per capita), 22% in Band
1 countries (eligible countries with less than $1250 annual per capita income or GNI) and
30% in Band 2 countries (eligible countries with $1251 to $3500 GNI). Five years on,
between 2002 - 2008, the same figures are dramatically higher at 67%, 145% and 194%
respectively indicating 2.6-, 6.5- and 6.4-fold increases over the 1996-2002 growth. Dr
Plume used a database sourced from Thomson Reuters to count the appearance of each country
in the author affiliations of indexed journal articles, and then grouped these countries
by their Research4Life eligibility. In addition, an in-depth look at three selected Band 1
countries, (Nigeria, Kenya, and Tanzania) and one Band 2 country (Bulgaria) reveals a
remarkable progression of article output from 1996 – 2008. By contrast, the non
Research4Life country Japan (for example) showed steady and continuous growth over this
period without a sharp change in output over the period analysed.
MIT and CDC discover why H1N1 flu
spreads inefficiently
A team from MIT and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has found a genetic
explanation for why the new H1N1 "swine flu" virus has spread from person to
person less effectively than other flu viruses. The H1N1 strain, which circled the globe
this spring, has a form of surface protein that binds inefficiently to receptors found in
the human respiratory tract, the team reports in the July 2 online edition of Science.
"While the virus is able to bind human receptors, it clearly appears to be
restricted," says Ram Sasisekharan, the Edward Hood Taplin Professor and director of
the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology (HST) and the lead MIT author
of the paper. Sasisekharan and his laboratory co-workers have been actively investigating
influenza viruses. That restricted, or weak, binding, along with a genetic variation in an
H1N1 polymerase enzyme, which MIT researchers first reported three weeks ago in Nature
Biotechnology, explains why the virus has not spread as efficiently as seasonal flu, says
Sasisekharan. However, flu viruses are known to mutate rapidly, so there is cause for
concern if H1N1 undergoes mutations that improve its binding affinity. "We need to
pay careful attention to the evolution of this virus," says Sasisekharan. On June 11,
the World Health Organization declared a level 6 pandemic alert for H1N1. More than 300
people have died and more than 70,000 people have been infected, according to the WHO.
A rush of blood to the head --
anger increases blood flow
Mental stress causes carotid artery dilation and increases brain blood flow. A series of
ultrasound experiments, described in BioMed Central's open access journal Cardiovascular
Ultrasound, also found that this dilatory reflex was absent in people with high blood
pressure. Tasneem Naqvi and Hahn Hyuhn from the University of Southern California and
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center evaluated carotid artery reactivity and brain blood flow in
response to mental stress in 10 healthy young volunteers (aged between 19 and 27 years),
20 older healthy volunteers (aged 38 to 60 years) and in 28 patients with essential
hypertension (aged 38 to 64 years). They found that in healthy subjects, mental stress
caused vasodilation. This was accompanied by a net increase in brain blood flow. In
hypertensive subjects, mental stress produced no vasodilation and no significant change in
brain blood flow. During the experiments, the volunteers were set a series of tasks
designed to provoke mental stress, including reading, arithmetic and anger recall tests.
The researchers used ultrasound imaging to measure the effects of this activity on the
carotid artery and an artery within the brain, while also measuring blood pressure and
heart rate. According to Naqvi, "Inappropriate vasoconstriction, or lack of dilation
in response to mental stress in stable coronary heart disease, contributes to the genesis
of myocardial ischemia and confers an increased risk in patients with coronary artery
disease. It will be interesting to see whether the lack of mental stress induced dilation
we found defines subjects at increased risk of future cerebral events". Lack of
required blood flow increase to the brain during mental activities may potentially affect
cognition and cerebral performance during complex cerebral tasks.
'Jumping gene' diminishes the
effect of a new type 2 diabetes risk gene
Research led by the German Institute of Human Nutrition (DIfE) has identified a new gene
associated with diabetes, together with a mechanism that makes obese mice less susceptible
to diabetes. A genomic fragment that occurs naturally in some mouse strains diminishes the
activity of the risk gene Zfp69. The researchers also found that the corresponding human
gene (ZNF642) is especially active in overweight individuals with diabetes. The results of
the study, which also involved scientists from the University of Leipzig and the German
Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg, are published July 3 in the open-access journal PLoS
Genetics.According to the World Health Organization (WHO), around 1.6 billion people are
overweight worldwide. The number of people with type 2 diabetes has increased accordingly
to 230 million. The risk of developing type 2 diabetes is approximately 50% hereditary,
but is also dependent on nutrition and lifestyle factors. In the present study, the
researchers compared the genomes of different mouse strains. Some mouse strains were obese
but had no strikingly elevated blood glucose levels and were less susceptible to diabetes.
Other strains developed a severe malfunction of fat and glucose metabolism as they
continued to gain weight, causing these mice to rapidly develop type 2 diabetes. According
to the study, this difference is due to a small fragment of genetic information: a
so-called "jumping gene" or "transposon" of viral origin, localized in
a non-coding segment of the gene Zfp69, whose effect it diminishes. Without this genetic
fragment, the risk gene is fully active and, in combination with obesity, leads to high
blood sugar levels and malfunction of fat metabolism. The gene is also active in the fat
tissues of overweight people suffering from diabetes – more so than in healthy
individuals.
Sound imaging - clever acoustics
help blind people see the world
Video from portable cameras is analysed to calculate the distance of obstacles and predict
the movements of people and cars. This information is then transformed and relayed to a
blind person as a three-dimensional ‘picture’ of sound. The concept is
apparently simple and two prototypes have been successfully tested. Laser and digital
video cameras become the eyes for the blind man and see the objects and activity going on
around him. Researchers from the University of Bristol have developed powerful real-time
image processing and some clever algorithms to then identify objects and obstacles, such
as trees, street furniture, vehicles and people. The system uses the stereo images to
create a “depth map” for calculating distances. The system can also analyse
moving objects and predict where they are going. So much for the image processing, but how
do you present this visual information to a blind person? Technology developed at the
University of Laguna in Spain makes it possible to transform spatial information into
three-dimensional acoustic maps.
The Cove on Q TV
"The Cove" is part
action/adventure...and part horror film. Its story begins with Ric O'Barry...the man who
famously captured and trained the dolphins used in the Flipper TV show of the early 1960s.
That series precipitated what's become a worldwide fascination with this intelligent,
communicative and smiling mammal. Soon after, dolphins were jumping through hoops at theme
parks like SeaWorld and Marineland...and becoming a tourist draw. Today, dolphins can can
sell up to $150 000 each....which brings us back to the film, "The Cove." The
title refers to a location in Japan, which has emerged as the site of the world's largest
dolphin slaughter. Choice dolphins are picked out to sell internationally, and the rest
are killed for their meat. Ric O'Barry joins forces with a team of diving, film and gadget
experts to infiltrate the heavily fortified cove in Taiji, Japan. His mission was to
infiltrate the heavily guarded secret location to covertly film the horrors that lie below
sea level...and expose the existence of the slaughter to the entire world. And if that
doesn't sound very easy, it isn't. The cove itself is almost impenetrable -- security are
at the gate 24/7, with guard dogs, barbed wire, and an entire town willing to do almost
anything to keep the cove a secret. Louie Psihoyos is the driving force behind this
project and this film. He's the director of "The Cove" and before that, an
award-winning photographer for National Geographic.
Help - for a life without tobacco
The European Union has made the fight
against smoking one of its top public health priorities. Tobacco-related diseases are the
single largest cause of death in Europe today. Tobacco accounts for over 650,000 deaths
every year in the European Union, i.e. one death out of seven. This figure includes 19,000
deaths from passive smoking and these people have never even smoked!
Toxins at the Health Store
Watch out for toxins at the Health Store.
Just because you find a product labeled natural or organic at the health store - doesn't
mean it's safe or healthy!
Why is Talc harmful in
Make-up/Cosmetics?
Talcum Powder is toxic in cosmetics and
toiletries. Please do check your ingredients label. If a cosmetics company do not disclose
its ingredients, you probably would want to find companies that do care what they put in
their products.
Lonely old men
Professor Bo Malmberg and Professor Gerdt Sundström at the School of Health Sciences in
Jönköping, Sweden have studied loneliness among older people. A common stereotype about
older people is that loneliness is typical for older women, rather than for older men. One
problem with this stereotype is that feelings of loneliness are not particularly common
among either men or women in the Nordic countries. “Some studies show a lower
prevalence among women and some a lower among men. We use several national and local
surveys to analyze gender differences in perceived loneliness. Longitudinal surveys, which
enable us to analyze changes during ageing,”, says Bo Malmberg and Gerdt Sundström.
Older people who still live at home in communities in Scandinavian welfare states are
either married or living alone, with the latter group reporting more of a sense of
loneliness. Two marriages out of three end in the death of the husband, and if marital
status is excluded from the equation, most of the differences in loneliness between the
genders disappear. Yet, in the 80+ age group, (the few) men who live alone report a higher
frequency of loneliness than women in the same category. At that age, most men are still
married, but most women are living alone. These patterns are even more pronounced in the
90+ age group.
Biological warfare in bacteria
offers hope for new antibiotics
Scientists are to study a group of proteins that are highly effective at killing bacteria
and which could hold the key to developing new types of antibiotics. Researchers from the
Universities of York and Leeds have been awarded £3.3m from the Biotechnology and
Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) to find out how a family of proteins known as
colicins force their way into bacterial cells before destroying them. The team, led by
Professor Colin Kleanthous, from the University of York's Department of Biology, will
develop earlier research that suggests colicins use decoys to mimic key parts of the
cells' own protein machinery to evade their defences. Professor Kleanthous said:
"Colicins are the weapon used in the biological warfare that takes place between
competing bacteria. Understanding how this group of proteins work could help scientists
develop new drug delivery methods to target the bacteria that cause diseases in
people."
Weight determines the future
cognitive development of children born very premature
Researchers of the Department of Neuroscience and Health Sciences of the University of
Almería and Hospital Torrecárdenas are carrying out an assessment of the physical
neuropsychological characteristics of children born before 32 weeks' gestation or whose
weight is lower than 1500 grams -very premature-. The main aim of this project,
coordinated by Mª Dolores Roldán Tapia, from the UAL, is to accurately define the origin
of brain damage, so as to stimulate the affected area early thus causing the adequate
cognitive and motric development of the individual. The commonest differences between
premature babies and those born after a nine-month pregnancy are mainly related to
visoperceptive skills, memory and movement which eventually translate into learning and
spatial orientation difficulties. That is why these difficulties that these children have
in their cognitive performance and the development of perceptual and executive functions
are being studied. A population sample of 35 very premature children is being taken for
this project, together with the same number of healthy children, all of them born between
2000 and 2001, with their parents' authorisation. Special attention has been paid to the
fact that both the children and their parents have similar educational and social levels,
as the stimulation they get in the early stages of their lives has a decisive influence in
their later development.
CFS/ME caused by dysregulation of
hydrogen sulfide metabolism
Almost two years ago to the day, I attended a lecture by a scientist who was able to
induce a state of suspended animation in mice using the gas hydrogen sulfide, or H2S. As I
listened to him, I was struck by the similarities between what happened to the mice, i.e.,
a decrease in core body temperature, an apnea-like sleep state, reduced heart and
respiration rates, and a severe metabolic drop, and what happens to people with CFS/ME.Out
of that idea, grew my hypothesis that CFS/ME is caused by dysregulation of hydrogen
sulfide metabolism. Further I postulate that the multi-system disturbances in the
homeostasis of endogenous H2S result in mitochondrial dysfunction.Research on H2S –
the gas that causes the characteristic smell of rotten eggs – dates to the
1700’s. At high concentrations, H2S is instantaneously deadly, on a par with cyanide.
Purdue researchers create prostate
cancer 'homing device' for drug delivery
A new prostate cancer "homing device" could improve detection and allow for the
first targeted treatment of the disease. A team of Purdue University researchers has
synthesized a molecule that finds and penetrates prostate cancer cells and has created
imaging agents and therapeutic drugs that can link to the molecule and be carried with it
as cargo. A radioimaging application used for body scans is expected to enter clinical
trials this fall, and an optical imaging application used to measure prostate cancer cells
in blood samples is already in clinical trials.
Chemicals in common consumer
products may play a role in pre-term births
A new study of expectant mothers suggests that a group of common environmental
contaminants called phthalates, which are present in many industrial and consumer products
including everyday personal care items, may contribute to the country's alarming rise in
premature births. Researchers at the University of Michigan School of Public Health found
that women who deliver prematurely have, on average, up to three times the phthalate level
in their urine compared to women who carry to term. Professors John Meeker, Rita
Loch-Caruso and Howard Hu of the SPH Department of Environmental Health Sciences and
collaborators from the National Institute of Public Health in Mexico and the U.S. Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention analyzed data from a larger study directed by Hu, which
follows a cohort of Mexican women recruited during pre-natal visits at one of four clinics
of the Mexican Institute of Social Security in Mexico City.
New Study Pinpoints Difference in
the Way Children With Autism Learn New Behaviors
Researchers from the Kennedy Krieger Institute and Johns Hopkins University School of
Medicine have collaborated to uncover important new insights into the neurological basis
of autism. Their new study, published in the journal Nature Neuroscience, examined
patterns of movement as children with autism and typically developing children learned to
control a novel tool. The findings suggest that children with autism appear to learn new
actions differently than do typically developing children. As compared to their typically
developing peers, children with autism relied much more on their own internal sense of
body position (proprioception), rather than visual information coming from the external
world to learn new patterns of movement. Furthermore, researchers found that the greater
the reliance on proprioception, the greater the child’s impairment in social skills,
motor skills and imitation. Previous research has shown that children with autism have
difficulty with motor skills, which appears to be associated with abnormalities in how the
brain learns motor actions. To study the models formed in the brain when children with
autism learn a new movement, researchers measured patterns of generalization as 14
children with autism and 13 typically developing children learned to reach using a novel
tool. They then examined how well children were able to generalize what they learned in
two separate ways — one that detected how much they relied on visual information to
guide learning and one that detected how much they relied on proprioceptive information to
guide learning. “These findings can lead to important advances in methods for
treating autism.
Students with depression twice as
likely to drop out of college
College students with depression are twice as likely as their classmates to drop out of
school, new research shows. However, the research also indicates that lower grade point
averages depended upon a student's type of depression, according to Daniel Eisenberg,
assistant professor in the University of Michigan School of Public Health and principal
investigator of the study. There are two core symptoms of depression---loss of interest
and pleasure in activities, or depressed mood---but only loss of interest is associated
with lower grade point averages. "The correlation between depression and academic
performance is mainly driven by loss of interest in activities," Eisenberg said.
"This is significant because it means individuals can be very depressed and very
functional, depending on which type of depression they have. I think that this can be true
for many high achieving people, who may feel down and hopeless but not lose interest in
activities. "Lots of students who have significant depression on some dimension are
performing just fine, but may be at risk and go unnoticed because there is no noticeable
drop in functioning." Students with both depression and anxiety had especially poor
academic performance. "If you take a student at the 50th percentile of the GPA
distribution and compare them to a student with depression alone, the depressed student
would be around the 37th percentile---a 13 percent drop," Eisenberg said.
"However, a student with depression and anxiety plummets to about the 23rd
percentile, a 50 percent drop." In the study, Eisenberg and his colleagues conducted
a Web survey of a random sample of approximately 2,800 undergraduate and graduate students
about a range of mental health issues in fall 2005, and conducted a follow-up survey with
a subset of the sample in fall 2007.
U-M researcher and colleagues
predict large 2009 Gulf of Mexico 'dead zone'; Chesapeake Bay's oxygen-starved zone likely
to shrink
University of Michigan aquatic ecologist Donald Scavia and his colleagues say this year's
Gulf of Mexico "dead zone" could be one of the largest on record, continuing a
decades-long trend that threatens the health of a half-billion-dollar fishery. The
scientists' latest forecast, released today, calls for a Gulf dead zone of between 7,450
and 8,456 square miles—an area about the size of New Jersey. Most likely, this
summer's Gulf dead zone will blanket about 7,980 square miles, roughly the same size as
last year's zone, Scavia said. That would put the years 2009, 2008 and 2001 in a virtual
tie for second place on the list of the largest Gulf dead zones. It would also mean that
the five largest Gulf dead zones on record have occurred since 2001. The biggest of these
oxygen-starved, or hypoxic, regions developed in 2002 and measured 8,484 square miles.
"The growth of these dead zones is an ecological time bomb," said Scavia, a
professor at the U-M School of Natural Resources and Environment and director of the U-M
Graham Environmental Sustainability Institute.
Fish on the menu of our ancestors
The isotopic analysis of a bone from one of the earliest modern humans in Asia, the 40,000
year old skeleton from Tianyuan Cave in the Zhoukoudian region of China (near Beijing), by
an international team of researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary
Anthropology in Leipzig, the Graduate University of Chinese Academy of Sciences and the
Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology in Beijing, the University of
British Columbia in Vancouver and Washington University in Saint Louis has shown that this
individual was a regular fish consumer (PNAS, 07.07.2009).
Protein can help cells or cause
cancer, Purdue researcher finds
A Purdue University scientist has discovered a key process in cell growth that can lead to
the formation of tumors. Xiaoqi Liu, an assistant professor of biochemistry, found that an
overabundance of the polo-like kinase 1, or Plk1, molecule during cell growth, as well as
a shortage of the p53 molecule, will lead to tumor formation. Studies in Liu's laboratory
showed that the Plk1 molecule indirectly attacks p53 in a process called ubiquitination.
"This provides the mechanism for how p53 loses its function in cancer cells,"
said Liu, whose work was published in the early online publication of the Journal of
Biological Chemistry. "If we understand how the cancer forms, then we can create a
more useful therapeutic approach to treating that cancer." During cell growth, Plk1
uses its protein kinase activity called phosphorylation, which consists of adding a
phosphate group to a protein called Topors. Topors binds itself to p53 molecules during
the ubiquitination process. Phosphorylation is basically an instruction from Plk1 to
increase its ubiquitination activity, which kills p53 molecules. Liu said p53 could be
thought of as a protective force. When Topors kills off that force, Plk1 becomes stronger,
allowing the cells to become cancerous. "We're trying to understand how p53 is
regulated. We want to keep p53 as normal as possible," Liu said. "In about 50
percent of cancers, p53 had lost its function, and there was too much Plk1. Since Plk1 is
overexpressed in cancers, it is a cancer therapy target."
Two Dietary Oils, Two Sets Of
Benefits For Older Women With Diabetes
A study comparing how two common dietary oil supplements affect body composition suggests
that both oils, by themselves, can lower body fat in obese postmenopausal women with Type
2 diabetes. The two oils compared were safflower oil, a common cooking oil, and conjugated
linoleic acid (CLA), a compound naturally found in some meat and dairy products that has
been associated with weight loss in previous studies. Both are composed primarily of
polyunsaturated fatty acids, which are considered “good fats” that, when
consumed in proper quantities, are associated with a variety of health benefits. In the
study, 16 weeks of supplementation with safflower oil reduced fat in the trunk area,
lowered blood sugar and increased muscle tissue in the women participants.
Low-cost solution processing method
developed for CIGS-based solar cells
Though the solar industry today predominately produces solar panels made from crystalline
silicon, they remain relatively expensive to make. New players in the solar industry have
instead been looking at panels that can harvest energy with CIGS
(copper-indium-gallium-selenide) or CIGS-related materials. CIGS panels have a high
efficiency potential, may be cheaper to produce and would use less raw materials than
silicon solar panels. But unfortunately, manufacturing of CIGS panels on a commercial
scale has thus far proven to be difficult. Recently researchers at the UCLA Henry Samueli
School of Engineering and Applied Science have developed a low-cost solution processing
method for CIGS-based solar cells that could provide an answer to the manufacturing issue.
In a new study to be published in the journal Thin Solid Films on July 7, Yang Yang, a
professor in the school's Department of Materials Science and Engineering, and his
research team show how they have developed a low-cost solution processing method for their
copper-indium-diselenide solar cells which have the potential to be produced on a large
scale. "This CIGS-based material can demonstrate very high efficiency," said
William Hou, a graduate student on Yang's team and first author of the study. "People
have already demonstrated efficiency levels of up to 20 percent, but the current
processing method is costly. Ultimately the cost of fabricating the product makes it
difficult to be competitive with current grid prices. However, with the solution process
that we recently developed, we can inherently reach the same efficiency levels and bring
the cost of manufacturing down quite significantly." The copper-indium-diselenide
thin-film solar cell developed by Yang's team achieved 7.5 percent efficiency in the
published study but has in a short amount of time already improved to 9.13 percent in the
lab.
Study shows endoscopic surgery as
effective open surgery for nasal cancer
Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have shown that endoscopic
surgery is a valid treatment option for treating esthesioneuroblastoma (cancer of the
nasal cavity), in addition to traditional open surgery and nonsurgical treatments. These
findings appear in the July issue of Laryngoscope. Esthesioneuroblastoma is a very rare
cancer that develops in the upper part of the nasal cavity and thought to derive from
neural tissue associated with the sense of smell. While this tumor generally grows slowly,
in some cases it progresses rapidly and aggressively. The faster growing tumors are
capable of widespread metastasis. According to the BUSM researchers, the complex nature of
this tumor has led to much debate regarding the optimal treatment modality. Several
previous studies have analyzed survival rates of various treatments, the majority of which
have shown that the most effective strategy is a combination of surgery and radiotherapy
with or without chemotherapy. However, the evolution of surgical techniques has created
another surgical option in the form of endoscopic surgery. This study examined recent
literature regarding outcomes of esthesioneuroblastoma treatment between 1992 and 2008 and
found overall, surgery yielded more disease-free outcomes and better survival rates than
nonsurgical treatment modalities. Endoscopic surgery produced better survival rates than
open surgery. In addition, there was no significant difference between follow-up times in
the endoscopic and open surgery groups.
'Normal' cells far from cancer give
nanosignals of trouble
A new Northwestern University-led study of human colon, pancreatic and lung cells is the
first to report that cancer cells and their non-cancerous cell neighbors, although quite
different under the microscope, share very similar structural abnormalities on the
nanoscale level. The findings, obtained using an optical technique that can detect
features as small as 20 nanometers, validate the "field effect," a biological
phenomenon in which cells located some distance from a malignant or premalignant tumor
undergo molecular and other kinds of abnormal changes. The most striking findings were
that these nanoscale alterations occurred at some distance from the tumor and,
importantly, could be identified by assessing more easily accessible tissue, such as the
cheek for lung cancer detection. The partial wave spectroscopy (PWS) technique, once
optimized, could be used to detect cell abnormalities early and help physicians assess who
might be at risk for developing cancer. Like a pap smear of the cervix, a simple brushing
of cells is all that is needed to get the specimen required for testing. Using PWS, the
researchers made another important discovery: the abnormalities found in the
nanoarchitecture of the colon cells are the same abnormalities as those found in the
pancreas and lung, illustrating commonality across three very different organs. The
results are published online by the journal Cancer Research. Authors of the paper include
researchers from Northwestern and NorthShore University HealthSystem.
New strategies to improve treatment
and ultimately prevent heart failure in children
Structural cardiovascular abnormalities present at birth are the leading cause of heart
failure in children. Nearly half a million children in the United States have structural
heart problems ranging in severity from relatively simple issues, such as small holes
between chambers of the heart, to very severe malformations, including complete absence of
one or more chambers or valves. The July issue of the journal Pediatric Cardiology focuses
on a recent meeting of pediatric cardiology experts from around the world who gathered at
the Indiana University School of Medicine and Riley Hospital for Children for the
inaugural Riley Heart Center Symposium on Cardiac Development. The experts presented new
basic science and clinical research to improve treatment of, and ultimately to prevent,
the congenital defects and damage acquired after birth that cause heart failure in
children. The symposium focused on the growth of the ventricular wall in development and
disease, and on the diagnosis and treatment of non-compaction of the left ventricle - an
abnormality of the major pumping chamber of the heart which often leads to heart failure.
Both are areas of ongoing study by the Riley Heart Research Center. "A wide spectrum
of congenital and acquired cardiac injuries can give rise to childhood heart failure. To
advance our ability to treat heart failure in children, it is of critical importance to
develop an understanding of the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying the genesis
of congenital heart defects, and to develop an understanding of the molecular processes
that negatively impact upon heart muscle cell function and survival during the progression
of childhood heart failure," wrote symposium organizer Loren Field, Ph.D., professor
of medicine, and pediatrics, who directs the Riley Heart Research Center and convened the
symposium. The Riley Heart Research Center is located in the Herman B Wells Center for
Pediatric Research in the Department of Pediatrics at the IU School of Medicine and Riley
Hospital.
Low birth weight linked to
long-term respiratory problems
Infants who weigh less than five and a half pounds at birth often enter the world with a
host of medical complications, including respiratory problems. New research shows that
these respiratory problems may persist well beyond their infancy and childhood and into
adulthood. "We report a previously unrecognized excess risk of hospitalization for
respiratory illnesses in young adults with a history of low birth weight," wrote lead
researcher Eric C. Walter, M.D., of the University of Washington Division of Pulmonary and
Critical Care. "Our findings suggest that not only are [low birth weight] survivors
at increased risk for long-term respiratory disorders, but that these disorders are
clinically significant and associated with increased health care utilization." The
study appears in the July 15 issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical
Care Medicine. The researchers used hospitalization records from the Washington State
Comprehensive Hospital Abstract Reporting System's discharge database between January 1,
1998 and December 31, 2007. They selected as potential cases any person who was 18 years
old at the time of hospitalization and who was discharged with a respiratory code listed
among the top four diagnoses. They then linked these cases to birth weight data listed on
birth certificates where possible. Control subjects were randomly selected from birth
certificate data.They found that individuals with very low birth weight (less than 1.5 kg,
or 3.3 lbs.) or moderately low birth weight (1.5 to 2.5 kg or 3.3 to 5.5 pounds) had a 83
and 34 percent higher risk of hospitalization for respiratory diagnoses respectively.
Those who had a history of very low birth weight had twice the risk of being hospitalized
for asthma or respiratory infection and 2.6 times the risk of respiratory failure
requiring mechanical ventilation.
One step closer to an artificial
nerve cell
Scientists at the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet and Linköping
University are well on the way to creating the first artificial nerve cell that can
communicate specifically with nerve cells in the body using neurotransmitters. The
technology has been published in an article in Nature Materials. The methods that are
currently used to stimulate nerve signals in the nervous system are based on electrical
stimulation. Examples of this are cochlear implants, which are surgically inserted into
the cochlea in the inner ear, and electrodes that are used directly in the brain. One
problem with this method is that all cell types in the vicinity of the electrode are
activated, which gives undesired effects. Scientists have now used an electrically
conducting plastic to create a new type of "delivery electrode" that instead
releases the neurotransmitters that brain cells use to communicate naturally. The
advantage of this is that only neighbouring cells that have receptors for the specific
neurotransmitter, and that are thus sensitive to this substance, will be activated. The
scientists demonstrate in the article in Nature Materials that the delivery electrode can
be used to control the hearing function in the brains of guinea pigs. "The ability to
deliver exact doses of neurotransmitters opens completely new possibilities for correcting
the signalling systems that are faulty in a number of neurological disease
conditions", says Professor Agneta Richter-Dahlfors who has led the work, together
with Professor Barbara Canlon.
Worries about paying bills can
cause people to pack on pounds
Stressing out can cause people to gain weight, according to a study appearing in the July
15 issue of the American Journal of Epidemiology. This new study is believed to be one of
the first of its kind to look at the relationship between weight gain and multiple types
of stress—job-related demands, difficulty paying bills, strained family
relationships, depression or anxiety disorder—in the U.S. population."Today's
economy is stressing people out, and stress has been linked to a number of illnesses
—such as heart disease, high blood pressure and increased risk for cancer. This study
shows that stress is also linked to weight gain,'' according to Jason Block, M.D., M.P.H.,
who conducted the research as a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health & Society
Scholar® at Harvard University. Block practices internal medicine at Brigham &
Women's Hospital and is on the faculty of the Harvard Medical School/Harvard Pilgrim
Health Care. Women's waistlines are affected by more types of stress, according to the
study, "Psychosocial Stress and Change in Weight Among U.S. Adults." In addition
to weight gain associated with financial problems or a difficult job, women also added
pounds when grappling with strained family relationships and feeling limited by life's
circumstances. For men, the numbers on the scale did not go up when facing difficult
family relationships or feeling constrained by life circumstances. Among men, lack of
decision authority at work and lack of skill discretion was associated with greater weight
gain. Skill discretion can be defined as the ability to learn new skills on the job and to
perform interesting job duties. Overall, this study found that people who reported
increased psychological stress gained more weight if they already had higher body mass
indexes (BMI). A similar weight-gain pattern was not found among lower-weight people who
were dealing with the same types of stress, according to the study.
Is obesity an oral bacterial
disease?
The world-wide explosion of overweight people has been called an epidemic. The
inflammatory nature of obesity is widely recognized. Could it really be an epidemic
involving an infectious agent? In this climate of concern over the increasing prevalence
of overweight conditions in our society, investigators have focused on the possible role
of oral bacteria as a potential direct contributor to obesity. To investigate this
possibility, the study's researchers J.M. Goodson, D. Groppo, S. Halem and E. Carpino
measured salivary bacterial populations of overweight women. Saliva was collected from 313
women with a body mass index between 27 and 32, and bacterial populations were measured by
DNA probe analysis. Levels in this group were compared with data from a population of 232
healthy individuals from periodontal disease studies. The median percentage difference of
seven of the 40 bacterial species measured was greater than 2 percent in the saliva of
overweight women. Classification tree analysis of salivary microbiological composition
revealed that 98.4 percent of the overweight women could be identified by the presence of
a single bacterial species (Selenomonas noxia) at levels greater than 1.05 percent of the
total salivary bacteria. Analysis of these data suggests that the composition of salivary
bacteria changes in overweight women. It seems likely that these bacterial species could
serve as biological indicators of a developing overweight condition. Of even greater
interest, and the subject of future research, is the possibility that oral bacteria may
participate in the pathology that leads to obesity.
Wrong Dose Of Heart Meds Too
Frequent In Children
Infants and young children treated with heart drugs get the wrong dose or end up on the
wrong end of medication errors more often than older children, according to research led
by the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center published July 6 in Pediatrics. While the
researchers found the highest number of errors among infants under the age of 1, they say
children of all ages are vulnerable to such mistakes because health-care providers can
manually miscalculate weight-sensitive doses and can misinterpret safe age ranges of adult
drugs used off-label in children. “We found that cardiac medication errors happen in
children, and they can happen every step of the way, from prescribing to delivering the
medication, but dosing and administration errors were ominously common,” says lead
investigator Marlene Miller, M.D., M.Sc., vice chair for quality and patient safety at
Hopkins Children’s.
New Way To Make Sensors That Detect
Toxic Chemicals
Ohio State University researchers have developed a new method for making extremely pure,
very small metal-oxide nanoparticles. They are using this simple, fast, and
low-temperature process to make materials for gas sensors that detect toxic industrial
chemicals (TICs) and biological warfare agents.
Possible Drug Target Found for One
of the Most Aggressive Breast Cancers
Van Andel Research Institute (VARI) investigators have identified a gene that could be an
important therapeutic target in the treatment of the most aggressive forms of breast
cancer. Currently, patients with these cancers have few treatment options. “Breast
cancer mortality rates are actually declining, but the cancers that don’t respond to
traditional treatments tend to be more aggressive and have decreased survival rates,”
said VARI Research Scientist Carrie Graveel, Ph.D., lead author of the study published
this week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences U.S.A. Researchers found that
the Met gene may play a critical role in the development of an aggressive form of breast
cancer known as basal breast cancer. “Met has already been associated with decreased
survival in breast cancer, but this study identifies its importance in specific types that
can be distinguished at the molecular level,” said VARI Distinguished Scientific
Fellow George Vande Woude, Ph.D., who heads the laboratory that conducted the research.
Explosive growth of life on Earth
fueled by early greening of planet
Earth's 4.5-billion-year history is filled with several turning points when temperatures
changed dramatically, asteroids bombarded the planet and life forms came and disappeared.
But one of the biggest moments in Earth's lifetime is the Cambrian explosion of life,
roughly 540 million years ago, when complex, multi-cellular life burst out all over the
planet. While scientists can pinpoint this pivotal period as leading to life as we know it
today, it is not completely understood what caused the Cambrian explosion of life. Now,
researchers led by Arizona State University geologist L. Paul Knauth believe they have
found the trigger for the Cambrian explosion. It was a massive greening of the planet by
non-vascular plants, or primitive ground huggers, as Knauth calls them. This period,
roughly 700 million years ago virtually set the table for the later explosion of life
through the development of early soil that sequestered carbon, led to the build up of
oxygen and allowed higher life forms to evolve. Knauth and co-author Martin Kennedy, of
the University of California, Riverside, report their findings in the July 8 advanced
on-line version of Nature (www.nature.com). Their paper, "The Precambrian greening of
Earth," presents an alternative view of published data on thousands of analyses of
carbon isotopes found in limestone that formed in the Neoproterozoic period, the time
interval just prior to the Cambrian explosion. "An explosive and previously
unrecognized greening of the Earth occurred toward the end of the Precambrian and was an
important trigger for the Cambrian explosion of life," said Knauth, a professor in
Arizona State's School of Earth and Space Exploration.
Oral Bacterial Disease causes
obesity
The world-wide explosion of overweight people has been called an epidemic. The
inflammatory nature of obesity is widely recognized. Could it really be an epidemic
involving an infectious agent? In this climate of concern over the increasing prevalence
of overweight conditions in our society, we focus on the possible role of oral bacteria as
a potential direct contributor to obesity. To investigate this possibility, we measured
salivary bacterial populations of overweight women. Saliva was collected from 313 women
with a body mass index between 27 and 32, and bacterial populations were measured by DNA
probe analysis. Levels in this group were compared with data from a population of 232
healthy individuals from periodontal disease studies. The median percentage difference of
7 of the 40 bacterial species measured was greater than 2% in the saliva of overweight
women. Classification tree analysis of salivary microbiological composition revealed that
98.4% of the overweight women could be identified by the presence of a single bacterial
species (Selenomonas noxia) at levels greater than 1.05% of the total salivary bacteria.
Analysis of these data suggests that the composition of salivary bacteria changes in
overweight women. It seems likely that these bacterial species could serve as biological
indicators of a developing overweight condition. Of even greater interest, and the subject
of future research, is the possibility that oral bacteria may participate in the pathology
that leads to obesity.
Edible 'Sunscreen' In Food
Natural ways to boost skin's defense
against sunburn include watermelon and orange peel, Dr. Jennifer Ashton explains more to
Maggie Rodriguez.
Gary Taubes, an award-winning writer for
Science, the New York Times Magazine and other publications, came to Stevens to discuss
his controversial new bestseller, Good Calories, Bad Calories which argues that much of
what we have been told about the relationship between body weight, diet and exercise is
wrong.
Marketing Milk and Disease
Fighting the Big Fat Lies with Fad-free
Truth: Dr. McDougall takes on the dairy, pharmaceutical & meat industries, &
speaks out against low-carb diets.
IGFI in Milk - Cancer Related
Harmful effects of IGFI hormone from cows.
Got the facts on Milk?
Milk has been proven to weaken our bones,
increase our weight, erupt skin problems like acne, produce breathing problems like
asthma, cause ear infections in children, stomach problems for the lactose intolerant,
heart disease risk, directly linked to cancer and lets not even get into the hormones
issue. But what does the public know and believe? That milk does a body good, because it
is said in the advertisements. It's what we feed our children; they wouldn't lie, would
they? Got the facts on Milk? is a feature documentary coming out soon.
Inflammation may trigger
Alzheimer's disease, Saint Louis University findings suggest
The anti-inflammatory drug indomethacin could hold promise as a treatment for Alzheimer's
disease, says a Saint Louis University doctor and researcher. Two research studies
published by William A. Banks, M.D., professor of geriatrics and pharmacological and
physiological science at Saint Louis University School of Medicine, support this
conclusion and offer what he calls a "one-two punch" in giving clues on how
Alzheimer's disease develops and could be treated. His study in the July edition of the
Journal of Alzheimer's Disease supports the idea that toxic levels of amyloid beta
protein, the substance scientists believe is responsible for Alzheimer's disease,
accumulate in the brain because a pump that pushes it into the blood and past the
blood-brain barrier malfunctions. The blood-brain barrier is a system of cells that
regulates the exchange of substances between the brain and the blood. The blood-brain
barrier transporter known as LRP is the pump that removes amyloid beta protein from the
brain and into the bloodstream. "LRP malfunctions like a stop light stuck on red, and
keeps amyloid beta protein trapped in the brain," said Banks, who also is a staff
physician at Veterans Affairs Medical Center in St. Louis. He tested the hypothesis by
giving mice an antisense, which is a molecular compound that blocked the production of
LRP. Amyloid beta protein accumulated in the brain and the mice showed memory loss and
learning impairment. The finding raises the question of what causes LRP to malfunction.
Banks' study in the May issue of Brain Behavior and Immunity suggests inflammation as the
culprit and supports using indomethacin, an anti-inflammatory medication, as a buffer to
protect LRP from being turned off. Inflammation, which is part of the body's natural
immune response, occurs when the body activates white blood cells and produces chemicals
to fight infection and invading foreign substances.
Mothers of children with autism
have higher parental stress, psychological distress
Ask any mother and she'll tell you that raising a preschooler is no easy task. Now imagine
what it must be like to bring up a child with autism or a developmental delay. Researchers
at the University of Washington's Autism Center asked mothers about their experiences and
found that moms of children with autism had higher levels of parenting-related stress and
psychological distress than mothers of children with developmental delay. Children's
problem behavior was associated with increases in both parenting-related stress and
distress in both groups, but this relationship was stronger in mothers of children with
autism. "Both groups of women are dealing with children who need high levels of
care-giving. But there is something about autism that is making a difference and adding
stress and psychological distress to these mothers," said Annette Estes, lead author
of a new study and associate director of the UW Autism Center. Surprisingly, the research
also found no link between a child's decreased daily living skills and increased parental
stress and psychological distress. "This finding was counterintuitive," said
Estes, who is also a research assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences.
"If a child has more needs in getting dressed and in other daily living skills, that
means the parents are working harder and seemingly would be under stress. But it is not
the hard work that is stressing the mothers. Our findings really pointed to the behavior
problems that can occur with autism. Children with autism had significantly higher levels
of problem behaviors than children with developmental delay." These behavior problems
included such things as irritability, agitation, crying, inappropriate speech and not
being able to follow rules.
Irish-led research team rule out
link between specific antibodies and spina bifida
New research, published today in the New England Journal of Medicine, shows that a woman's
risk of having a child with a neural tube defect (NTD), such as Spina Bifida, is not
linked to folic acid related auto-antibodies. The findings refute a well publicised study
in 2004, which had indicated a link between the presence of these auto-antibodies in the
circulation of mothers who had children with Spina Bifida compared to those who did not.
Within an embryo, folate is essential for many developmental processes including the
closure of the neural tube to make the spinal column. Folate receptors enable the uptake
of the folate into cells and the research in 2004 indicated that folic acid
auto-antibodies obstructed this process. The new study conducted by a team in Trinity
College Dublin in Ireland, the Health Research Board, the State University of New York and
the National Institutes of Health in the US shows that folic acid related auto-antibodies
are quite common throughout the Irish population, and that they are no more common in
affected mothers than in other groups, including men. The study was much larger, involving
140 mothers of affected children who were recruited through the Irish Association for
Spina Bifida and Hydrochephalus and 238 additional Irish participants. 'It was critical to
determine whether these antibodies were, or were not, a contributory factor in NTDs that
need to be screened for in the mother, because previous and current health policies
concentrate on improving maternal status,' says Prof John Scott, Trinity School of
Biochemistry and Immunology and a member of the National Committee on Folic Acid Food
Fortification. 'We conclude with good confidence that these antibodies are not a factor in
NTD risk'. Dr Anne Molloy, School of Medicine, Trinity and lead author says; 'Since
intervention trials in the early 1990s it was accepted that extra folate, either as
synthetic folic acid supplements or by way of fortification, prevented the occurrence of
almost all NTD births by improving maternal folate status. Our own earlier work very much
agreed with this showing that even small improvements in status gave a directly
proportionate reduction in NTD risk. The other well publicised research in 2004 suggested
that a radically different mechanism was at work, namely the ability of a mother to absorb
folic acid was at risk if these antibodies were present. In line with our original
findings, we have confirmed that this is not the case.'
Most neuropsychological tests don't
tell Alzheimer's disease from vascular dementia
Most of the cognitive tests that have been used to decide whether someone has Alzheimer's
disease or vascular dementia have not been very helpful when used alone. A new report
published by the American Psychological Association concluded that when older people are
confused and forgetful, doctors should base their diagnoses on many different types of
information, including medical history and brain imaging. Both Alzheimer's disease and
vascular dementia affect learning and memory, behavior and day-to-day function. Even so,
they're caused by different problems in the brain and require different medical
approaches. It's important to tell them apart accurately, stresses the study in July's
Neuropsychology. Valid diagnoses can help doctors treat patients more effectively, and
help patients and families better understand their situations. Jane Mathias, PhD, and
Jennifer Burke, M.Psych.(Clinical), both from the University of Adelaide, analyzed 81
previously published studies that compared the cognitive testing of people diagnosed with
dementia of the Alzheimer's (4,867) and vascular type (2,263). The average age across
participants was 75. Of the 118 different tests that were used in more than one study,
Mathias and Burke found that only two were able to adequately differentiate between
Alzheimer's and vascular dementia. The Emotional Recognition Task (the ability to identify
facial expressions in photographs and match emotional expressions to situations, at which
people with Alzheimer's were better) and Delayed Story Recall (at which people with
vascular dementia were better), were the only tests that appeared to reliably tell the two
groups apart.
LSUHSC research helps link
schizophrenia to specific DNA region
For the first time, an international group of researchers has found genetic evidence
linking schizophrenia to a specific region of DNA – on chromosome 6. This is the same
area where key genes for immune function are located. The LSUHSC research team was led by
Nancy Buccola, APRN, PMH CNS-BC, Assistant Professor of Clinical Nursing at LSU Health
Sciences Center New Orleans, who also coordinated the ten clinical sites. The work, Common
variants on chromosome 6p22.1 are associated with schizophrenia, along with two related
papers, is published in the July 1, 2009 issue of the journal Nature. The researchers
recruited study participants, people with diagnoses of schizophrenia or schizoaffective
disorder, plus controls from the general population. They analyzed data collected and also
conducted a meta-analysis of data from the Molecular Genetics of Schizophrenia,
International Schizophrenia Consortium and SGENE data sets – thousands of DNA
samples. While a single gene does not appear to be the source of the development of
schizophrenia, the researchers found variations on chromosome 6 that appear to be
associated with higher risk. These variations were found most often in people with
schizophrenia, leading the scientists to believe that these common variations contribute
to the development of schizophrenia. This area of chromosome 6, in the same area where
genes important to the immune system function, provokes questions about whether or not
treatments for autoimmune disorders might also be helpful in treating schizophrenia.
"Schizophrenia can be a devastating disease, and while treatments are improving,
there are still people who do not respond or only partially respond," notes Buccola,
principal investigator on the LSUHSC study. "Understanding the underpinnings of this
illness will open doors to new and potentially better treatments."
Post-transplant combo can replace
toxic immune-suppressing drugs in monkeys
Transplant patients rely on drugs to prevent graft rejection, but at the cost of serious
side effects. The class of immunosuppressive drugs known as calcineurin inhibitors
(examples are cyclosporine and tacrolimus) can damage patients' kidneys and lead to high
blood pressure, among other problems. A combination of treatments can effectively replace
calcineurin inhibitors in preventing graft rejection when kidney transplants are performed
on monkeys, scientists at the Emory Transplant Center have shown. The non-human primate
research was conducted at the National Institutes of Health and Yerkes National Primate
Research Center, Emory University. The finding opens the door to less-toxic
post-transplant treatment that could be administered once a week rather than a dizzying
mound of pills every day, says senior author Allan Kirk, MD, PhD, scientific director of
the Emory Transplant Center and a Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar. "Both of
the drugs used in this regimen are already used separately in humans, thus a clinical
trial could be developed quickly," Kirk notes. One key ingredient in the combination
is an experimental therapy called a costimulation blocker, designed to interfere with the
T cells that cause graft rejection without affecting other organs. Costimulation refers to
one of two signals T cells need from other cells (antigen presenting cells) to become
fully activated. The other key ingredient -- a protein called alefacept -- subdues memory
T cells, a variety of T cells that allow the immune system to respond faster and stronger
to an infectious agent or vaccine upon second exposure.
Bali's Shame - Indonesia
Not far from the beauty spots, Balis
villages hide disturbing secrets. The mentally ill are left untreated and possibly
hundreds are held in makeshift shackles. But one doctor wants to make a difference. He's
been restrained since the '90s. He hasn't left here at all since 1990. A villager points
to an elderly man chained up next to his own excrement. Such shocking sights are not
unique in Bali. Helplessness and ignorance makes parents of mentally ill patients resort
to confinement. I love my child. But he's destructive. Komangs father kept him locked in a
cage for eight years before he met Dr Suryani. Balis leading psychiatrist, shes campaigned
tirelessly to improve the islands mental health but the Health Minister is reluctant to
help: We have a limited budget for drugs. Those drugs are expensive. So she pays them out
of her own pocket. Her blend of Western and Balinese methods produces great results;
thanks to her treatment, Komang is now recovered and even married.
Devra Davis, Ph.D., a renowned
environmental health expert, is professor of epidemiology at the University of Pittsburgh
Graduate School of Public Health. Dr. Davis was designated a National Book Award Finalist
for her book, When Smoke Ran Like Water. Her newest book, The Secret History of the War on
Cancer, details how we began fighting the wrong war, with the wrong weapons, against the
wrong enemies.
How the Tobacco Industry Shaped the
New Smoking Bill
President Obama signed into law a bill last
week that gives the US government broad regulatory power over cigarettes and other tobacco
products. Obama said the law would curb the ability of tobacco companies to market their
products to children. But several public health professionals have come out strongly
against the new legislation. They argue that it was largely shaped by Philip Morris, now
called Altria Group, the largest cigarette company in the country.
NSA Spying On Everyone-New World
Order
What's Wrong With Fish Oil
Fruit and vegetable intake in
pregnant women reduces risk of upper respiratory tract infection
Boston University School of Medicine researchers (BUSM) have observed in a study of
pregnant women that consumption of at least seven servings per day of fruits and
vegetables moderately reduced the risk of developing an upper respiratory tract infection
(URTI). The BUSM study appears online in the journal Public Health Nutrition. URTIs
include the common cold and sinus infections, which can lead to lower respiratory
problems, such as asthma or pneumonia. Even though the majority of URTIs are uncomplicated
colds, identifying ways to prevent their occurrence is important because colds are the
most common reason for school and work absences. Eating nutritious foods, especially
fruits and vegetables, improves immunity but hadn't previously been associated with
reducing the risk of URTIs in pregnant women. BUSM researchers studied more than 1,000
pregnant women and found those who ate the most fruits and vegetables were 26 percent less
likely to have URTI relative to those who ate the least amount. Neither fruit nor
vegetable intake alone was found to be associated with the five-month risk of URTI. The
patterns observed for total fruit and vegetable intake and either fruit or vegetable
intake alone in relation to the three-month risk of URTI were consistent with those when
assessing the five-month risk of URTI. Women in the highest quartile of fruit and
vegetable intake had a stronger reduced three-month risk than the five-month risk of URTI.
Moreover, there was a significant decreasing linear trend for the three-month risk of URTI
with consumption of fruits and vegetables. Pregnant women have been recommended to consume
at least five servings of fruits and vegetables per day. This study showed that intake of
higher levels, 6.71 servings per day, was associated with a moderate risk reduction for
URTI.
Plastics chemical retards growth,
function of adult reproductive cells
Bisphenol A, a chemical widely used in plastics and known to cause reproductive problems
in the offspring of pregnant mice exposed to it, also has been found to retard the growth
of follicles of adult mice and hinder their production of steroid hormones, researchers
report. Their study is the first to show that chronic exposure to low doses of BPA can
impair the growth and function of adult reproductive cells. The researchers will describe
their findings this month at the annual meeting of the Society for the Study of
Reproduction. A healthy, mature follicle, called an antral follicle, includes a single egg
cell surrounded by layers of cells and fluid which support the egg and produce steroid
hormones, said University of Illinois veterinary biosciences professor Jodi Flaws, who led
the study with graduate student Jackye Peretz.These are the only follicles that are
capable of ovulating and so if they don't grow properly they're not going to ovulate and
there could be fertility issues," Flaws said. "These follicles also make sex
steroid hormones, and so if they don't grow properly you're not going to get proper
amounts of these hormones." Such hormones are essential for reproduction, she said,
"but they're also required for healthy bones, a healthy heart and a healthy
mood."BPA is widely used in plastics and is a common component of food containers and
baby bottles. The chemical structure of BPA is similar to that of estradiol, a key steroid
hormone, and it can bind to estrogen receptors on the surface of some cells. It is not
known whether BPA blocks, or mimics or enhances estrogen's activity on these cells, Flaws
said.Human studies have found BPA in many tissues and fluids, including urine, blood,
breast milk, the amniotic fluid of pregnant women and the antral fluid of mature
follicles. A national survey conducted by the federal Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention in 2003-2004 found BPA in 93 percent of the 2,517 people (age 6 and up) who
were tested.
Link between obesity and diabetes
discovered
A Monash University study has proven a critical link between obesity and the onset of Type
2 diabetes, a discovery which could lead to the design of a drug to prevent the
disease.The findings were published today in respected journal Cell Metabolism. The team,
led by Associate Professor Matthew Watt, discovered that fat cells release a novel protein
called PEDF (pigment epithelium-derived factor), which triggers a chain of events and
interactions that lead to development of Type 2 diabetes. "When PEDF is released into
the bloodstream, it causes the muscle and liver to become desensitised to insulin. The
pancreas then produces more insulin to counteract these negative effects, " Associate
Professor Watt said. This insulin release causes the pancreas to become overworked,
eventually slowing or stopping insulin release from the pancreas, leading to Type 2
diabetes." "It appears that the more fat tissue a person has the less sensitive
they become to insulin. Therefore a greater amount of insulin is required to maintain the
body's regulation of blood-glucose," Associate Professor Watt said. "Our
research was able to show that increasing PEDF not only causes Type 2 diabetes like
complications but that blocking PEDF reverses these effects. The body again returned to
being insulin-sensitive and therefore did not need excess insulin to remain
regulated." Associate Professor Watt said identifying the link is a significant
breakthrough in explaining the reasons why obesity triggers the onset of Type 2 Diabetes.
Adding simehicone to sodium
phosphate bowel preparation benefits colonscopy?
Bowel preparation has been reported inadequate in 10%-75% of colonoscopic examinations.
None of the preparations reached all the requirements of safety, acceptance to patients
with negligible discomfort, and rapid cleansing. Polyethyleneglycol is considered as the
gold standard for colonoscopic bowel preparation (Grade IA), and aqueous sodium phosphate
was an alternative regimen to PEG solution (Grade IA). This consensus also stated that
adjunctive therapy, such as bisacodyl, metoclopramide, and simethicone, was shown to
improve the quality of bowel preparation. Simethicone works as an adjunct to bowel
preparationwith the purpose of diminishing foam formation and improving visualization
during colonoscopy. However, the benefit of simethicone in improving colonic bowel
preparation, however, was not explored in previous studies.A research led by Abhasnee
Sobhonslidsuk from Thailand addressed this issue. The article is to be published on June
28, 2009 in the World Journal of Gastroenterology. A prospective, double-blind,
randomized, placebo-controlled study was conducted with 124 patients involved. All the
patients were allocated to receive 2 doses of sodium phosphate plus 240 mg of simethicone
tablet or placebo as bowel preparations. Visibility was blindly assessed for the amount of
air bubbles and adequacy of colon preparation. Total colonoscopic duration, side effects
of the medication, satisfaction from endoscopists and patients were also compared. The
results revealed that Sodium phosphate plus simethicone, compared to sodium phosphate plus
placebo, improved visibility by diminishing air bubbles, but simethicone failed to
demonstrate improvement in adequacy of colon preparation. Endoscopist and patient shared
high satisfaction in the simethicone group. However, there was no difference in the total
duration of colonoscopy and side effects of the medication.
Human sperm created from embryonic
stem cells
Human sperm have been created using embryonic stem cells for the first time in a
scientific development which will lead researchers to a better understanding of the causes
of infertility. Researchers led by Professor Karim Nayernia at Newcastle University and
the NorthEast England Stem Cell Institute (NESCI) have developed a new technique which has
made the creation of human sperm possible in the laboratory. The work is published today
(8th July 2009) in the academic journal Stem Cells and Development. The NorthEast England
Stem Cell Institute (NESCI) is a collaboration between Newcastle and Durham Universities,
Newcastle NHS Foundation Trust and other partners. Professor Nayernia says: "This is
an important development as it will allow researchers to study in detail how sperm forms
and lead to a better understanding of infertility in men – why it happens and what is
causing it. This understanding could help us develop new ways to help couples suffering
infertility so they can have a child which is genetically their own." "It will
also allow scientists to study how cells involved in reproduction are affected by toxins,
for example, why young boys with leukaemia who undergo chemotherapy can become infertile
for life – and possibly lead us to a solution." The team also believe that
studying the process of forming sperm could lead to a better understanding of how genetic
diseases are passed on.
Easter Island compound extends
lifespan of old mice
The giant monoliths of Easter Island are worn, but they have endured for centuries. New
research suggests that a compound first discovered in the soil of the South Pacific island
might help us stand the test of time, too. Wednesday, July 8, in the journal Nature, The
University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio and two collaborating centers
reported that the Easter Island compound – called "rapamycin" after the
island's Polynesian name, Rapa Nui – extended the expected lifespan of middle-aged
mice by 28 percent to 38 percent. In human terms, this would be greater than the predicted
increase in extra years of life if cancer and heart disease were both cured and prevented.
The rapamycin was given to the mice at an age equivalent to 60 years old in humans. The
studies are part of the National Institute on Aging (NIA) Interventions Testing Program,
which seeks compounds that might help people remain active and disease-free throughout
their lives. The other two centers involved are the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor
and Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor, Maine.
Language skills in your twenties
may predict risk of dementia decades later
People who have superior language skills early in life may be less likely to develop
Alzheimer's disease decades later, despite having the hallmark signs of the disease,
according to research published in the July 9, 2009, online issue of Neurology®, the
medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. "A puzzling feature of
Alzheimer's disease is how it affects people differently," said study author Juan C.
Troncoso, MD, with Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. "One person who has severe
plaques and tangles, the telling signs of Alzheimer's disease in their brains, may show no
symptoms affecting their memory. Another person with those same types of plaques and
tangles in the same areas of the brain might end up with a full-blown case of Alzheimer's
disease. We looked at how language ability might affect the onset of
symptoms."Researchers examined the brains of 38 Catholic nuns after death. The
participants were part of the Nun Study, an ongoing clinical study of Catholic sisters of
the School Sisters of Notre Dame congregation living in the United States. Scientists
determined two groups: women with memory problems and Alzheimer's disease hallmarks in the
brain and women with normal memory with or without signs of Alzheimer's disease in the
brain. The researchers analyzed essays that 14 participants wrote as they entered the
convent in their late teens or early 20's. They studied the average number of ideas
expressed for every 10 words. The analysis also measured how complex the grammar was in
each essay. The study found that language scores were 20 percent higher in the women
without memory problems compared to those with memory problems. The grammar score,
however, did not show any difference between the two groups.
Pluronic L-81 is a potential
anti-diabetic drug?
Pluronic surfactants are synthetic copolymers based on ethylene oxide and propylene oxide.
It has been reported that a nonionic L-81, effectively inhibits absorption of dietary
lipids from the intestine and secretion of VLDL and LDL from the liver. Although L-81 is a
potent anti-obesity drug, its potential in alleviating obesity-induced insulin resistance
and type 2 diabetes has not been fully explored. A research article to be published on
June 28, 2009 in the World Journal of Gastroenterology addresses this question. The
research group led by Prof. Lin from the Department of Chemistry of the University of Hong
Kong constructed db/db mice to investigate the potential anti-diabetic activity of L-81.
In addition to exploration of the underlying molecular mechanism, they examined the
effects of L-81 on apolipoprotein B (apoB) secretion and the mRNA level of the MTP gene.
In their study, Genetically diabetic (db /db ) mice were fed on chow supplemented with or
without L-81 for 4 wk. The body weight, plasma glucose level, plasma lipid profile, and
adipocyte volume of the db /db mice were assessed after treatment. Toxicity of L-81 was
also evaluated. To understand the molecular mechanism, HepG2 cells were treated with L-81
and the effects on apoB secretion and mRNA level of the MTP gene were assessed. The
results revealed that L-81 significantly corrected the body weight, hyperphagia and
polydipsia of db/db mice, and remarkably decreased the fasting plasma glucose level,
improved glucose tolerance, and attenuated the elevated levels of plasma cholesterol and
triglyceride. With the effective dosage, little toxicity was observed. Treatment on HepG2
cells with L-81 not only inhibited apoB secretion, but also significantly decreased the
mRNA level of MTP gene. Similar to the action of insulin, L-81 exerted its effect on the
MTP promoter. Their study L-81 is a promising candidate in the development of a selective
insulin-mimetic molecule and an anti-diabetic agent.
Study may cough up new treatment
for a tickly throat
Scientists investigating the cough reflex have discovered a new group of molecules on the
surface of nerve cells that make us cough when irritated. The findings, to be presented at
the British Pharmacological Society’s Summer Meeting in Edinburgh this week, could
lead to new drugs to treat cough, which when chronic affects about 10% of the UK
population.“Cough is the commonest symptom for which medical advice is sought and
accounts for over half of new patient consultations to a GP,” said Professor Alyn
Morice, a Clinical Pharmacologist at the University of Hull, who is leading the research.
“Chronic cough can be socially isolating and disabling and people come from all over
Europe to my cough clinic because the cough is ruining their lives, yet current treatment
options are limited with remedies little better than honey and lemon”
NTU professor discovers method to
efficiently produce less toxic drugs using organic molecules
Nanyang Technological University (NTU)’s Associate Professor Zhong Guofu has made a
significant contribution to the field of organic chemistry, in particular the study of
using small organic molecules as catalysts, in the synthesis process called
organocatalysis. Such synthesis process takes place for example, during the production of
chiral drugs. In his study, Professor Zhong, who is from NTU’s School of Physical and
Mathematical Sciences, has successfully created the first example where an organocatalyst
is able to be ‘recycled’ (i.e. multiple reactions achieved with the recycled
catalyst) during the synthesis process thus increasing its yield/effectiveness. Previously
no one has been able to ‘recycle’ the organocatalysts directly (i.e. only single
reactions performed) leading to the limitation of the use of organocatalysis in the
industry. This ability to ‘recycle’ and produce multiple reactions thus
increases the efficacy of the organocatalysis, making it a more efficient process,
something that has not been demonstrated before. It also means that fewer chemicals are
used in the synthesis process, making it a far more ‘green’ and less toxic
process.
New findings can improve care of
patients suffering from rheumatic diseases
Ongoing studies have shown that sleep patterns, emotional support and alcohol habits,
among other factors, are important for a good health-related quality of life for patients
suffering from rheumatic diseases. Knowledge of these findings can be used to improve the
care of such patients. Although different medical treatments have greatly improved the
situation for patients with rheumatic diseases, much is still unknown regarding factors
that predict a healthier outcome. The School of Health Sciences in Jönköping has, in
collaboration with Spenshult Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases (the only one of its kind in
Sweden), several projects that highlight the patient’s perspective of rheumatic
diseases. “One important finding in ongoing studies is a healthier outcome in
subjects who feel rested after sleep, but emotional support, sleep patterns, smoking and
alcohol habits also appear to be important components. Knowledge of health factors
associated to the development of a good health-related quality of life could be of use in
clinical practice and public health work,” says Professor Bengt Fridlund, School of
Health Sciences. From a patient perspective regarding the cause of rheumatoid arthritis,
based on caring science and research carried out by a multi-professional team, new
knowledge has been gained that adds to the understanding of the disease. Different
conceptions based on qualitative research techniques regarding the cause can be linked to
certain personal and biological factors. “These could give new clues to the origin of
the disease and improve the type of health care provided. For example, it is fair to
assume that a patient who associates his/her disorder with physical strain may be
reluctant to accept a suggestion to improve their condition by physical training and
exercise.”
When it comes to brain damage,
blankets take the place of drugs
Have you ever covered yourself with a blanket to stave off the shivers? A new study shows
that a blanket can also help alleviate shivering in patients who have been cooled to
prevent brain damage. Patients with brain injuries or dangerously high fevers are often
cooled to reduce their core body temperature to prevent further damage and aid healing.
Unfortunately, cooling induces a natural and familiar response - shivering. This shivering
counteracts efforts to keep the patient's temperature low, causes physical stress, and is
currently treated with sedatives and other drugs. Now, a study recommended by Andreas
Kramer, a member of Faculty of 1000 Medicine and leading expert in the field of critical
care medicine, demonstrates that simply warming the skin can decrease shivering in many
patients, without the need for drugs. Physicians at Columbia University and the New York
Presbyterian Hospital found that the intensity of shivering and physiological stress
increased when warming blankets were removed from therapeutically cooled patients.
Shivering subsided when the blankets were replaced. Though warming the skin does not
reduce shivering in all patients, Kramer concludes that "its simplicity, low cost,
widespread availability, lack of adverse effects, and the potential to avoid sedation ...
make it an attractive treatment option."
Cesarean section - Local anesthetic
reduces need for painkillers post-op
Giving a local anaesthetic during a Caesarean section helps manage pain after the
operation and can reduce consumption of painkillers, according to Cochrane Researchers.
The researchers recommend local anaesthetics as part of integrated pain management
strategies for Caesarean section operations, provided that consideration is given to the
cost. "This review is particularly important in light of the growing number of women
giving birth by Caesarean section," says lead researcher, Anthony Bamigboye, of the
Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the University of Witwatersrand in
Johannesburg, South Africa. "Improved pain relief allows mothers to bond with their
babies and begin breastfeeding more quickly." Caesarean sections account for around a
quarter of all births in the US, Canada and the UK. Local anaesthetics can be given, in
addition to general or regional anaesthetics, to help manage pain during and after
operations. The anaesthetic is either injected to block nerves in the abdominal wall or
applied directly to the wound as an anaesthetic solution. The researchers reviewed data
from 20 studies that together involved 1,150 women who gave birth by Caesarean section in
both developing and developed countries. They found that women treated with local
anaesthetic as well as local or regional anaesthesia did not require as much morphine or
other opioid drugs for pain relief after their operations. When non-steroidal
anti-inflammatory drugs were also given, pain was reduced further. One concern, however,
is the additional cost of giving local anaesthetic. "None of the trials in this
review addressed the cost implications of increasing use of local anaesthetic," says
Bamigboye. "A cost benefit analysis is needed to find out whether increased
expenditure on theatre time and local anaesthetic can be offset by reductions in
postoperative painkillers."
Scientists identify
cholesterol-regulating genes
Scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) and the University of
Heidelberg, Germany, have come a step closer to understanding how cholesterol levels are
regulated. In a study published today in the journal Cell Metabolism, the researchers
identified 20 genes that are involved in this process. Besides giving scientists a better
idea of where to look to uncover the mechanisms that ensure cholesterol balance is
maintained, the discovery could lead to new treatments for cholesterol-related diseases.
"This finding may open new avenues for designing targeted therapies, for example by
looking for small molecules that could impact these genes," says Heiko Runz, whose
group at the University Clinic Heidelberg carried out the research together with Rainer
Pepperkok's lab at EMBL. High levels of cholesterol in the bloodstream are a major risk
factor for atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease, one of the leading causes of death
in developed countries today. Nevertheless, cholesterol is an important cellular
component: 90% of the cholesterol in our bodies is inside our cells, where it does not
cause any harm. Blood cholesterol levels are partly regulated by cells taking up
cholesterol from the bloodstream, a process Runz and his colleagues are helping to unveil.
The researchers deprived isolated human cells of cholesterol and then looked at the whole
genome to find the genes that react to changes in cholesterol levels by altering their
expression. This large-scale approach pointed to hundreds of genes which might be involved
in cholesterol regulation. To check which genes really were involved, the scientists used
a technique called RNA interference to systematically turn each of the candidate genes
off. With a microscope they then observed what effect switching off different genes had,
both on cholesterol uptake and on the total amount of cholesterol inside cells. Of the 20
genes the scientists identified as involved in regulating cholesterol levels and uptake,
12 were previously unknown. The remainder were known to have some link to lipid metabolism
- how the body breaks down fat - including two genes that when mutated may cause heart
disease, but which were only now shown to also play a part in bringing cholesterol into
cells in the first place.
New culprit behind obesity's ill
metabolic consequences
Obesity very often leads to insulin resistance, and now researchers reporting in the July
8 issue of Cell Metabolism, a Cell Press publication, have uncovered another factor behind
that ill consequence. The newly discovered culprit—a protein known as pigment
epithelium-derived factor (PEDF for short)—is secreted by fat cells. They also report
evidence to suggest that specifically blocking that protein's action may reverse some of
the health complications that come with obesity. "With obesity, PEDF release is
increased from fat, leading to higher levels of PEDF in the bloodstream," said
Matthew Watt of Monash University in Australia. "PEDF sends a signal to other body
tissues, causing insulin resistance in muscle and liver, a major defect that leads to the
development of type 2 diabetes." Elevated PEDF is also associated with increased
release of fatty acids from fat stores, which causes blood lipid levels to rise. That
"dyslipidemia" may be associated with other complications including
cardiovascular disease. What's more, they found that treatments designed to block the
action of PEDF in obese mice lowered the animals' blood lipid levels and reversed some of
their insulin resistance, Watt said. In recent years, scientists have come to appreciate
fat cells as important regulators of metabolism, at least in part through the hormones and
other chemicals they secrete. Changes in fat-cell size are also accompanied by
reprogramming of the fat-cell secretory profile, a shift that is thought to play an
important role in the link between obesity and insulin resistance, the researchers said.
That has led scientists in search of all the chemicals issued by fat tissue—the
so-called adipocyte secretome—in hopes of identifying regulatory players with
as-yet-unidentified roles in whole-body metabolism.
New approach to screening for
serious kidney disease
The combination of two common medical tests can improve a doctor’s ability to predict
which patients will develop serious kidney disease, a research team led by the Norwegian
University of Science and Technology (NTNU) reports in a recent issue of the Journal of
the American Society of Nephrology. The researchers, led by Stein I Hallan at NTNU’s
Faculty of Medicine, found that combining two common medical tests – measuring
creatinine in the blood and albumin in the urine – improves a doctor’s ability
to detect early stages of serious kidney failure. The researchers used data from the
population-based Nord-Trøndelag Health Study (HUNT 2, 1995-1997) to examine information
from 65,589 adults. Of these, 124 progressed to end-stage renal disease after 10.3
years.The finding also has significance for cardiovascular disease, which often goes hand
in hand with chronic kidney disease.
Different clues to the health of
women and men
An earlier study by Carita Håkansson, senior lecturer at the School of Health Sciences,
Jönköping in Sweden, shows that meaning and balance in everyday life are predictors of
health among women. However, the most important predictor of health among men is their
ability to manage the demands of their working life. Having energy left over for domestic
chores and leisure activities after work influences women’s subjective health in a
positive way. Furthermore, good subjective health among women is influenced by their
experience of meaningfulness both at work, and in activities outside work. However, having
time and energy to manage the demands of their working life is the most important factor
influencing men’s subjective health. Whether women have time and energy to manage the
combined demands of their career and their domestic chores influences their attendance at
work, whereas it is the stress of their career which actually influences men’s
attendance. The results are based on a survey of 2,683 women and men in a working
population in Sweden, who participated in a postal survey by responding to questions
twice, with a two-year interval.
Vitamin D Prevents Cancer: Is It
True?
In a new study, researchers at the UCSD
School of Medicine and Moores Cancer Center used a complex computer prediction model to
determine that intake of vitamin D3 and calcium would prevent 58,000 new cases of breast
cancer and 49,000 new cases of colorectal cancer annually in the US and Canada. The
researchers' model also predicted that 75% of deaths from these cancers could be prevented
with adequate intake of vitamin D3 and calcium.
Receptor also active inside the
cell
Researchers of the Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre have demonstrated that
hormones can also activate their receptors inside the cell. Until now, cell surface
expression of hormone receptors was considered a necessity for their ability to transduce
hormonal signals from the outside of the cell to the inside. Their publication in
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA (PNAS) on this topic is now available
online. This discovery may allow a significant improvement for the treatment of patients
suffering from one of the many disorders that are caused by failure of a particular
hormone receptor to reach the cell surface. One of these disorders is nephrogenic diabetes
insipidus.
New research reveals that sick
children do not always have their pain-relief needs met
Despite great effort to reduce anxiety, fear and pain, related to health care, children
still considered “being in pain” as the worst aspect of their procedure,
according to Karin Enskär, associate professor at the School of Health Sciences,
Jönköping, Sweden. Swedish nurses have an excellent knowledge of, and a positive
attitude towards pain management, but in spite of this they do not succeed in relieving
children’s pain. This is partly because nurses believe in pharmacological treatment
as the only method of relieving pain. Using “non-pharmacological” methods, such
as Virtual Reality or music, has proven to be successful and highly valued by those
children who have tried it. Research at the School of Health Sciences, Jönköping shows
that nurses in Sweden have a higher level of knowledge and a more positive attitude
towards pain management, compared to nurses in England and South Africa. The way nurses
manage pain in children is affected by several factors: one of which is that nurses may
lack preparedness when confronted with children in pain, which in turn may lead to a
feeling of powerlessness and sometimes even distrust on the part of the child. Other
factors involved are an inability to assess a child’s level of pain and difficulty
co-operating with the child, the parents and/or the physician.
Individuals who are overweight or
obese in mid-life have a greater risk of reduced memory and thinking skills in late life
Individuals with higher mid-life Body Mass Index (BMI) in the 1960s have been found to
have lower memory and thinking skills and a sharper decline in these abilities in old age,
compared to those with lower BMI in mid-life. “The adverse effects of being
overweight and obese are not limited to cardiac function, but also extend to brain
function,” says Anna Dahl doctoral student at the School of Health Sciences,
Jönköping. Several studies, including studies from the Swedish Twin Registry, have shown
that individuals who are overweight or obese in mid-life are at an increased risk of
suffering from dementia. “We have extended this knowledge and shown that being
overweight or obese in mid-life also negatively affects memory and thinking skills
independent of dementia. Moreover, these skills decline more rapidly in old age among
those who were overweight or obese in mid-life,” writes Anna Dahl in an article
published in the Journal of Gerontology. “The steeper decline in memory and thinking
skills observed among individuals who were overweight or obese in mid-life, cannot be
explained in our study by an increased prevalence of cardiovascular diseases,” says
Anna Dahl. “There are probably other mechanisms that explain this link.”
CU-Boulder study shows brain's
immune system may cause chronic seizures
Chronic seizures caused by traumatic head injuries may result from chemicals released by
the brain's immune system attempting to repair the injured site, according to a study led
by the University of Colorado at Boulder. The findings could help prevent one of the most
common forms of adult epilepsy, called acquired epilepsy, which is often found in people
who have suffered a brain injury or infection, according to CU-Boulder psychology and
neuroscience Professor Daniel Barth, the study's chief author. For decades researchers
have focused on neurons as the culprits in seizures, which can be characterized as
debilitating "electrical storms" in the brain. However, recent research has
shown that micro-glial cells may play a major role in seizures. Researchers have found
that glial cells, which are supportive cells that also constitute a major part of the
brain's immune system, cluster within areas in the brain when a severe brain injury has
occurred. "When there has been serious damage to the brain, such as a head injury or
infection, the immune system is activated and tries to counteract the damage and repair
it," Barth said. "These glial cells migrate to the damaged area and release
chemicals called cytokines that, unfortunately, also profoundly increase the excitability
of the neurons that they are near. "In our new study, we showed for the first time
that glial cells moving in and secreting these cytokines cause the neurons in the area to
become excitable enough to cause seizures."
Australian researchers identify
genes that cause melanoma
Scientists from the Queensland Institute of Medical Research (QIMR) have found two new
genes that together double a person's risk of developing melanoma. As part of an
international study, a team at QIMR, led by Professors Nick Hayward and Grant Montgomery,
studied the genes of almost 6,000 people together with their mole count. Specific changes
in two genes were found to make people more susceptible to developing moles. The
researchers went on to show, in another 4,000 people, the same two genes increased the
risk of developing melanoma – the most deadly form of skin cancer. "These are
the first genes found to increase melanoma risk by influencing the number of moles a
person has," explained Professor Hayward. "This finding improves our
understanding of the genetics of melanoma and therefore the molecular pathways that lead
to its development." "It has long been known that having a large number of moles
is the biggest risk factor. Therefore we predicted we would find genes linking moles and
melanoma. We now have conclusive genetic evidence that having a large number of moles
increases an individual's risk of developing melanoma." The study found that people
who carry one of these two gene variants have a 25% increased chance of developing
melanoma, while for individuals carrying both variants their risk is doubled.
Toronto researcher's discovery
points to a new treatment avenue for acute myeloid leukemia
Dr. John Dick, Senior Scientist at the Ontario Cancer Institute, the research arm of
Princess Margaret Hospital, co-led a multinational team that has developed the first
leukemia therapy that targets a protein, CD123, on the surface of cancer stem cells that
drive acute myeloid leukemia (AML), which is an aggressive disease with a poor outcome.
Dr. Richard Lock is leading the clinical trial in Australia that expands on research
suggesting that antibodies targeting cancer stem cells significantly reduced the growth of
human AML cells that had been transplanted into immune-deficient mice, a laboratory model
that mimics the human disease, establishing the therapeutic potential of this type of
therapy. Dr. Tom Hudson, President and Scientific Director of the Ontario Institute for
Cancer Research (OICR) congratulated Dr. Dick, who is the Program Leader of OICR's Cancer
Stem Cell Program. Dr. Hudson said, "John Dick has made remarkable progress in the
understanding of what initiates and sustains cancer. Together with his collaborators Dr.
Dick has developed the first anti-cancer monoclonal antibody therapy that specifically
targets cancer stem cells. This discovery offers hope for the development of treatments
that target the cancer stem cells of other types of tumours as well." "This is
precisely the role we envisioned for the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research when the
McGuinty government created it back in 2005," said Minister of Research and
Innovation John Milloy. "Bringing together this province's considerable strengths
around cancer prevention, detection, diagnosis and treatment is helping Ontario lead the
fight against this terrible disease."
Why some tumors don't respond to
radiation and chemotherapy
A tightly controlled system of checks and balances ensures that a powerful tumor
suppressor called p53 keeps a tight lid on unchecked cell growth but doesn't wreak havoc
in healthy cells. In their latest study, scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological
Studies suggest just how finely tuned the system is and how little it takes to tip the
balance. When unprovoked, at least two negative regulators—the related proteins Mdm2
and Mdmx—prevent p53 from unleashing its power to kill. But just slightly increasing
the amount of available Mdmx, which grips p53 and renders it inactive, the Salk
researchers discovered, made mice remarkably resistant to the harmful effects of radiation
but very susceptible to the development of oncogene-induced lymphomas. "Our
experiments emphasize how subtle and precarious the balance is," says postdoctoral
researcher and first author Yunyuan V. Wang. "A slight shift of balance and the mice
survive the equivalent of Chernobyl but are in big trouble when an oncogene is
activated." Their findings, to be published in the July issue of the journal Cancer
Cell, could explain why some tumors don't respond to radiation or chemotherapy, and
provide novel routes for the development of new anti-cancer therapies. As a powerful tumor
suppressor, p53 turns on genes that either halt cell division to allow time for repair of
damaged DNA or, when all rescue attempts prove futile, to prevent cells with genetic
defects from dividing, as this would fuel the development of cancer. Consequently, before
any tumor cell can start proliferating willfully, it needs to escape from p53's iron fist.
"One way or another, p53 function is compromised in all cancers. Either p53 itself is
mutated or there is a problem with one of the proteins that regulate p53's activity,"
says the study's leader Geoffrey M. Wahl, Ph.D., a professor in the Gene Expression
Laboratory. "Our hope is that we can develop small molecule drugs that will activate
p53 in those tumors where it is still functional but inactivated by one of its negative
regulators." In an earlier study, Wahl and his team discovered that Mdm2 and Mdmx
cooperate to prevent p53 from being activated, with Mdm2 being primarily responsible for
degrading p53, while Mdmx is more effective at preventing p53 from turning on genes. But
how p53 shakes off its negative regulators when cells experience one of the myriad
stresses that activate p53 has been the topic of much discussion.
Researchers find genetic key to
breast cancer's ability to survive and spread
New research led by investigators at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) sheds
light on a genetic function that gives breast cancer cells the ability to survive and
spread to the bone years after treatment has been administered. The findings support the
study of therapies that target this survival capacity and force the death of latent breast
cancer cells before they get a chance to metastasize, or spread – a problem that
accounts for a majority of breast cancer–related deaths. The research will be
published in the July 7 issue of Cancer Cell. Using gene-expression profiling techniques,
researchers found that breast cancer cells that infiltrate the bone marrow can survive
over time if they contain the gene product Src, which has known effects on cell mobility,
invasion, and survival. The investigators discovered that genetically disabling Src
activity in human breast cancer cells inhibits these cells from surviving in the bone
marrow and forming metastases in mice. They also observed that treatment with the drug
dasatinib inhibits the formation of bone metastasis by human breast cancer cells
inoculated into mice. "Our results should encourage oncologists to consider the study
of Src inhibitors to attack reservoirs of disseminated, latent cancer cells and prevent
metastasis in breast cancer patients after their tumor has been removed," said the
study's senior author, Joan Massagué, PhD, Chair of the Cancer Biology and Genetics
Program at MSKCC and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator. Breast tumors may
shed cancer cells from the outset, and some of these cells may infiltrate vital organs,
including the bones, lungs, and brain. When a tumor is diagnosed and removed, chemotherapy
is administered with the goal of eliminating these residual cancer cells. However,
metastasis may still emerge in some patients and may take years or decades to occur,
suggesting that these cells may not inherently possess – and need some time to
acquire – all of the molecular characteristics needed to metastasize. According to
the study, nearly one-third of cases of breast cancer relapse emerge three or more years
after diagnosis, with some cases developing decades later. At present, the major clinical
benefits from postoperative drug therapies are observed in the first few years after
treatment, which may mean that latent cancer cells are at least partially resistant to
conventional therapy.
Research Reveals What Drives Lung
Cancer's Spread
A new study by researchers at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) reveals the
genetic underpinnings of what causes lung cancer to quickly metastasize, or spread, to the
brain and the bone - the two most prominent sites of lung cancer relapse. The study will
be published online in the journal Cell on July 2. Researchers discovered that the same
cellular pathway that has been shown to be involved with the spread of colorectal cancer
is also responsible for providing lung cancer with an enhanced ability to infiltrate and
colonize other organs without delay and with little need to adapt to its new environment.
This is a dramatic departure from other cancers, like breast cancer, in which recurrences
tend to emerge following years of remission, suggesting that such cancer cells initially
lack - and need time to acquire - the characteristics and ability to spread to other
organs. The investigators hypothesized that because not all lung tumors have spread before
diagnosis and removal, metastasis may depend on some added feature beyond the mutations
that initiate these tumors.
Moles and melanoma -- researchers
find genetic links to skin cancer
New research has shown why people with the greatest number of moles are at increased risk
of the most dangerous form of skin cancer. The study, led by Professors Julia Newton
Bishop and Tim Bishop of the Melanoma Genetics Consortium (GenoMEL) at the University of
Leeds, looked at more than 10,000 people, comparing those who have been diagnosed with
melanoma to those who do not have the disease. Researchers across Europe and in Australia,
looked at 300,000 variations in their research subjects' genetic make-up, to pinpoint
which genes were most significant in developing melanoma – a disease which causes the
overwhelming majority of skin cancer related deaths. Their findings are published in the
journal Nature Genetics.Across the large sample, a number of clear genetic patterns
emerged. It is already well known that red-haired people, those with fair skin and those
who sunburn easily are most at risk of melanoma, and the people who had been diagnosed
with melanoma were found to be much more likely to be carrying the genes most closely
associated with red hair and freckles. "This is what we expected to find," said
Professor Bishop of the Leeds Institute of Molecular Medicine and the Cancer Research UK
Centre at Leeds. "But the links seemed to be much stronger than we anticipated."
"We had known for some time that people with many moles are at increased risk of
melanoma. In this study we found a clear link between some genes on chromosomes 9 and 22
and increased risk of melanoma. These genes were not associated with skin colour," he
added. "Instead, in joint research with colleagues at King's College London and in
Brisbane who counted the number of moles on volunteer twins, we showed that these genes
actually influenced the number of moles a person has."
Scientists solve mystery of
shrinking sheep
Milder winters are causing Scotland’s wild breed of Soay sheep to get smaller,
according to new research at the University of Leeds. The study, published in this
week’s Science Express, provides evidence for climate change as the cause of the
mysterious decrease in the size of wild sheep on the remote Scottish island of Hirta,
first reported by scientists in 2007. The researchers believe that milder winters are
making conditions on Hirta less challenging, enabling slower-growing, smaller sheep to
survive the winters more easily than in the past. Evolutionary theory suggests that the
average size of wild sheep increases over time, because larger animals are more likely to
survive and reproduce. However, the population of Soay sheep on Hirta have decreased in
size by approximately 5 per cent over the last 24 years. The team’s findings showed
that the Soays on Hirta are not growing as quickly as they once did, and that smaller
sheep are more likely to survive into adulthood. This is bringing down the average size of
sheep in the population overall.
DNA variations linked to brain
tumors
Mayo Clinic researchers and colleagues at the University of California San Francisco
(UCSF) have found a connection between DNA alterations on human chromosome 9 and
aggressive brain cancer known as glioblastoma. The findings are reported in the current
online issue of Nature Genetics. The study, conducted with different patient populations
at each institution, looked for genome-wide associations using individual patient data and
information in the Cancer Genome Atlas. Researchers found that persons with the specific
alterations -- also known as single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) -- have a 50 percent
higher relative risk of developing glioblastoma. "This is not to cause those who
possess these SNPs to worry about having CT scans every year," advised Robert
Jenkins, M.D. Ph.D., genetics researcher and Mayo senior author of the study. He says an
individual's environment also has much to do with their risk of cancer and that such
external factors may need to be present to trigger onset of brain tumors, even for those
with these SNPs. "Increased relative risk is just that -- relative." A normal
person's risk of developing a glioblastoma is about 1 in 10,000. The risk is about 1 in
7,000 for a person carrying one of these SNPs. Each year between 25,000 and 30,000 persons
are diagnosed with glioblastomas -- one of the most aggressive forms of brain tumor. The
causes are not clear and very few who are diagnosed live beyond five years.
Researchers find possible
environmental causes for Alzheimer's, diabetes
A new study by researchers at Rhode Island Hospital have found a substantial link between
increased levels of nitrates in our environment and food with increased deaths from
diseases, including Alzheimer's, diabetes mellitus and Parkinson's. The study was
published in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease (Volume 17 - July 2009). Led by Suzanne de
la Monte, MD, MPH, of Rhode Island Hospital, researchers studied the trends in mortality
rates due to diseases that are associated with aging, such as diabetes, Alzheimer's,
Parkinson's, diabetes and cerebrovascular disease, as well as HIV. They found strong
parallels between age adjusted increases in death rate from Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and
diabetes and the progressive increases in human exposure to nitrates, nitrites and
nitrosamines through processed and preserved foods as well as fertilizers. Other diseases
including HIV-AIDS, cerebrovascular disease, and leukemia did not exhibit those trends. De
la Monte and the authors propose that the increase in exposure plays a critical role in
the cause, development and effects of the pandemic of these insulin-resistant diseases. De
la Monte, who is also a professor of pathology and lab medicine at The Warren Alpert
Medical School of Brown University, says, "We have become a 'nitrosamine generation.'
In essence, we have moved to a diet that is rich in amines and nitrates, which lead to
increased nitrosamine production. We receive increased exposure through the abundant use
of nitrate-containing fertilizers for agriculture." She continues, "Not only do
we consume them in processed foods, but they get into our food supply by leeching from the
soil and contaminating water supplies used for crop irrigation, food processing and
drinking." Nitrites and nitrates belong to a class of chemical compounds that have
been found to be harmful to humans and animals. More than 90 percent of these compounds
that have been tested have been determined to be carcinogenic in various organs. They are
found in many food products, including fried bacon, cured meats and cheese products as
well as beer and water. Exposure also occurs through manufacturing and processing of
rubber and latex products, as well as fertilizers, pesticides and cosmetics. Nitrosamines
are formed by a chemical reaction between nitrites or other proteins. Sodium nitrite is
deliberately added to meat and fish to prevent toxin production; it is also used to
preserve, color and flavor meats. Ground beef, cured meats and bacon in particular contain
abundant amounts of amines due to their high protein content. Because of the significant
levels of added nitrates and nitrites, nitrosamines are nearly always detectable in these
foods. Nitrosamines are also easily generated under strong acid conditions, such as in the
stomach, or at high temperatures associated with frying or flame broiling. Reducing sodium
nitrite content reduces nitrosamine formation in foods. Nitrosamines basically become
highly reactive at the cellular level, which then alters gene expression and causes DNA
damage. The researchers note that the role of nitrosamines has been well-studied, and
their role as a carcinogen has been fully documented. The investigators propose that the
cellular alterations that occur as a result of nitrosamine exposure are fundamentally
similar to those that occur with aging, as well as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Type 2
diabetes mellitus.
Caffeine reverses memory impairment
in Alzheimer's mice
Coffee drinkers may have another reason to pour that extra cup. When aged mice bred to
develop symptoms of Alzheimer's disease were given caffeine – the equivalent of five
cups of coffee a day – their memory impairment was reversed, report University of
South Florida researchers at the Florida Alzheimer's Disease Research Center. Back-to-back
studies published online today in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, show caffeine
significantly decreased abnormal levels of the protein linked to Alzheimer's disease, both
in the brains and in the blood of mice exhibiting symptoms of the disease. Both studies
build upon previous research by the Florida ADRC group showing that caffeine in early
adulthood prevented the onset of memory problems in mice bred to develop Alzheimer's
symptoms in old age. "The new findings provide evidence that caffeine could be a
viable 'treatment' for established Alzheimer's disease, and not simply a protective
strategy," said lead author Gary Arendash, PhD, a USF neuroscientist with the Florida
ADRC. "That's important because caffeine is a safe drug for most people, it easily
enters the brain, and it appears to directly affect the disease process." Based on
these promising findings in mice, researchers at the Florida ADRC and Byrd Alzheimer's
Center at USF hope to begin human trials to evaluate whether caffeine can benefit people
with mild cognitive impairment or early Alzheimer's disease, said Huntington Potter, PhD,
director of the Florida ADRC and an investigator for the caffeine studies. The research
group has already determined that caffeine administered to elderly non-demented humans
quickly affects their blood levels of ?-amyloid, just as it did in the Alzheimer's mice.
"These are some of the most promising Alzheimer's mouse experiments ever done showing
that caffeine rapidly reduces beta amyloid protein in the blood, an effect that is
mirrored in the brain, and this reduction is linked to cognitive benefit," Potter
said. "Our goal is to obtain the funding needed to translate the therapeutic
discoveries in mice into well-designed clinical trials."
Homeopathy at risk of being lost in
translation
Homeopathy risks being subsumed by modern medicine, argues a historian of science. Not
only does this means that homeopathy’s heroes have become mere footnotes in history,
but it could limit homeopathy’s potential to contribute to the treatment of
today’s pressing medical problems, she says. Lyn Brierley-Jones, a historian of
medicine at the University of Durham, will present her thesis at the annual meeting of the
British Society for the History of Science in Leicester on Saturday 4 July. Her paper will
seek to reveal homeopathy’s forgotten heroes, from the 18th century German physician
Samuel Hahnemann, who founded the field, to London-based practitioner James Compton
Burnett, who came up with a cure for tuberculosis in 1880. As a result of the
contributions of such figures, homeopathy became prominent, particularly in the US. There,
by the end of the 19th century homeopaths had their own medical schools, societies,
journals, libraries, hospitals and dispensaries, regularly publishing statistics showing
the superiority of their practice over mainstream medicine. Ironically, however, the
translation of key homeopathic ideas into mainstream medicine had the effect of
undermining the profession, says Brierley-Jones. “By the 1920s, homeopathy had gone
into decline, a state from which it has only recently started to recover.”
Rare sheep could be key to better
diagnostic tests in developing world, says Stanford study
The newest revolution in microbiology testing walks on four legs and says "baa."
It's the hair sheep, a less-hirsute version of the familiar woolly barnyard resident. A
new study from the Stanford University School of Medicine, which is to be published July 3
in PLoS ONE, finds that not only are these ruminants low-maintenance and
parasite-resistant, they're also perfect blood donors for the microbiology tests necessary
to diagnose infectious disease in the developing world. Identifying microbes from a
patient's urine or sputum requires growing those microbes in culture dishes filled with
gelatinous agar and a small amount of blood. The blood provides nutrients to the growing
bugs and also provides clues as to the microbes' identities: Microbiologists can rule out
or identify certain strains of bacteria based on how the organisms interact with the blood
cells in culture. In the developed world, microbiologists use sheep or horse blood. But in
many parts of the developing world, horses are prohibitively expensive, and regular sheep,
with their constant need for shearing and tendency to get infections, are difficult to
keep alive. Importing animal blood isn't feasible either, as shipping is costly and often
unreliable. Many labs in the developing world use human blood, often donated by lab
technicians themselves. But diagnostic tests aren't standardized for human blood, said
Ellen Yeh, MD, a resident in pathology at Stanford and first author on the paper.
"You don't get the same test results when you use human blood versus sheep
blood," she said. In addition, the use of human donors increases technicians' risk of
infection with blood-borne diseases. Ellen Jo Baron, PhD, professor of pathology at the
medical school and senior author on the paper, wanted to do better. She's a veteran of
overseas microbiology, having trained lab technicians from Botswana to Cambodia for more
than a decade. "Up until the time I saw a hair sheep — which I first saw in
Botswana — I had no idea there was even such a thing," said Baron, who is
associate director of Stanford's clinical microbiology lab, interim director of the
clinical virology lab, and associate chair of pathology for faculty development. She
wasted no time in learning about the animals, finding that they resist parasites, don't
need to be sheared, and do well in the tropical climes prevalent in much of the developing
world. But no one had tested whether their blood was equivalent to horse or sheep blood.
So, calling in a favor from a colleague with a hobby farm near Walnut Creek, Calif., Baron
and her colleagues collected blood from hair sheep — the animals are remarkably
mellow about the donations, she said — and created test cultures using the blood.
Then, they ran a series of common diagnostic tests.
Study identifies how tamoxifen
stimulates uterine cell growth and cancer
UCSF researchers have identified a new "feed-forward" pathway linking estrogen
receptors in the membrane of the uterus to a process that increases local estrogen levels
and promotes cell growth. The research is significant in helping determine why tamoxifen
and other synthetic estrogens are linked to increased rates of endometriosis and uterine
cancer, and identifies a pathway that could be targeted in drug therapies for those
diseases, researchers say. Findings are published in the July 1, 2009 issue of
"Cancer Research," the journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.
The research found that when activated by estrogens, endometrial cells obtained from
patients suffering from endometriosis or human uterine cancer cells initiate a previously
unknown cascade of signals that leads to cellular replication and further estrogen
production, the paper says. The ensuing cycle leads to abnormal growth of the cells lining
the uterus, or endometrium, which occurs in endometriosis and uterine cancer, according to
senior author Holly A. Ingraham, PhD, a professor in the UCSF School of Medicine's
Department of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology. "It turns out that displaced
endometrial cells, such as those used in this study, are estrogen factories," said
Ingraham, who also is affiliated with the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer
Center and the UCSF Center for Reproductive Sciences. "They pump out estrogen in a
feed-forward pathway, so the more estrogen they produce, the more estrogen they're capable
of producing." While this pathway was previously unknown, Ingraham said a June 2009
paper led by researchers at the University of New Mexico and published in the journal
"Nature Chemical Biology" showed that blocking the GPR30 receptor in this
pathway decreases uterine proliferation in a mouse. The two together, she said, validate
what researchers now think may be a key area in addressing both uterine cancer and
endometriosis.
Learning from locusts
A similarity in brain disturbance between insects and people suffering from migraines,
stroke and epilepsy points the way toward new drug therapies to address these conditions.
Queen's University biologists studying the locust have found that these human disorders
are linked by a brain disturbance during which nerve cells shut down. This also occurs in
locusts when they go into a coma after exposure to extreme conditions such as high
temperatures or lack of oxygen. The Queen's study shows that the ability of the insects to
resist entering the coma, and the speed of their recovery, can be manipulated using drugs
that target one of the cellular signaling pathways in the brain. "This suggests that
similar treatments in humans might be able to modify the thresholds or severity of
migraine and stroke," says Gary Armstrong, who is completing his PhD research in
Biology professor Mel Robertson's laboratory. "What particularly excites me is that
in one of our locust models, inhibition of the targeted pathway completely suppresses the
brain disturbance in 70 per cent of animals," adds Dr. Robertson. The Queen's
research team previously demonstrated that locusts go into a coma as a way of shutting
down and conserving energy when conditions are dangerous. The cellular responses in the
locust are similar to the response of brain cells at the onset of a migraine.
Overweight Kids Experience More
Loneliness, Anxiety, MU Study Finds
As childhood obesity rates continue to increase, experts agree that more information is
needed about the implications of being overweight as a step toward reversing current
trends. Now, a new University of Missouri study has found that overweight children,
especially girls, show signs of the negative consequences of being overweight as early as
kindergarten. "We found that both boys and girls who were overweight from
kindergarten through third grade displayed more depression, anxiety and loneliness than
kids who were never overweight, and those negative feelings worsened over time," said
Sara Gable, associate professor of human development and family studies in the MU College
of Human Environmental Sciences. "Overweight is widely considered a stigmatizing
condition and overweight individuals are typically blamed for their situation. The
experience of being stigmatized often leads to negative feelings, even in children."
Natural Compound Stops Diabetic
Retinopathy
Researchers at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center have found a way to use a
natural compound to stop one of the leading causes of blindness in the United States. The
research appears online this month in the journal Diabetes, a publication of the American
Diabetes Association. The discovery of the compound’s function in inflammation and
blood vessel formation related to eye disease means scientists can now develop new
therapies –including eye drops – to stop diabetic retinopathy, a disease which
affects as many as five million Americans with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes.
Children with autism need teaching
in smaller groups
Since the 1970s, there has been much debate surrounding the fact that individuals with
autism have difficulty in understanding speech in situations where there is background
speech or noise. Today, at the annual meeting of the International Multisensory Research
Forum (June 29th – July 2nd) being held at The City College of New York (CCNY),
neuroscientists announced conclusive evidence to verify this fact. Speaking at the
conference, Dr. John J. Foxe, Professor of Neuroscience at CCNY said: “Sensory
integration dysfunction has long been speculated to be a core component of autism spectrum
disorder (ASD) but there has been precious little hard empirical evidence to support this
notion. Viewing a speaker’s articulatory movements can greatly improve a
listener’s ability to understand spoken words, and this is especially the case under
noisy environmental conditions.”Delegates to the 10th annual meeting of the
International Multisensory Research Forum view poster session in the Lincoln Corridor of
Shepard Hall. “These results are the first of their kind to verify that children with
autism have substantial difficulties in these situations, and this has major implications
for how we go about teaching these children in the classroom,” he continued.
“Children with autism may become distressed in large classroom settings simply
because they are unable to understand basic speech if the environment is sufficiently
noisy.
Ben-Gurion U. researchers reveal
connection between cancer and human evolution
Researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) have discovered that gene
mutations that once helped humans survive may increase the possibility for diseases,
including cancer. The team of researchers from BGU's National Institute for Biotechnology
in the Negev (NIBN) set out to look for mutations in the genome of the mitochondria, a
part of every cell responsible for energy production that is passed exclusively from
mothers to their children. The mitochondria are essential to every cell's survival and our
ability to perform the functions of living. "Our ancestors responded to environmental
changes, such as climate shift, with mutations that increased their chances of survival.
But today, these same mutations predispose us toward complex diseases such as
cancer," according to researcher Dr. Dan Mishmar, a molecular biologist from the
Department of Life Sciences at BGU. "Although mitochondria's role in the emergence of
new species has been investigated recently, the idea that they are responsible for our
susceptibility to illness startles many." To test this hypothesis, the researchers
analyzed the genome mitochondria mutations from 98 unrelated individuals. Combinations of
mutations tended to occur in tumors in precisely the same DNA building blocks that changed
during evolution. The team also found that the mitochondrial genome of humans who migrated
out of Africa to Europe 100,000 years ago carried seven mutations found in almost all of
today's Europeans.
Rampant helper syndrome
The Archaea are single-celled organisms and a domain unto themselves, quite apart from the
so called eukaryotes, being bacteria and higher organisms. Many species live under extreme
conditions, and carry out unique biochemical processes shared neither with bacteria nor
with eukaryotes. Methanogenic archaeans, for example, can produce methane gas out of
carbon dioxide and hydrogen. The underlying chemical reaction, a reduction, involves the
cofactor known as F0 or F420 which is the tiny molecule deazaflavin. It has previously
been found only in methanogenic bacteria, and has accordingly been considered the
signature molecule for those species. A research group working with Professor Thomas
Carell, however, has now shown that this cofactor is also common in eukaryotes, where it
performs an entirely different function: deazaflavin is involved in DNA repair processes.
(PNAS Early Edition online, 1 July 2009) Catalysts assist in chemical reactions without
undergoing any alteration of their own. In the cells of living organisms, proteins perform
this important function. They carry out the metabolism fundamental to all living
processes. Proteins are instrumental in cellular respiration, they for instance reduce
oxygen to water and oxidize food into carbon dioxide. This releases the energy that makes
life possible at all. Proteins cannot perform these functions on their own. They depend on
small helper molecules. Such molecules are stored inside special pockets in the proteins
and carry out essential metabolic functions. The living organism itself produces many of
these helpers. Others – like vitamins – must be obtained from food. Severe
vitamin deficiencies are a harsh reminder of how essential these molecules are.
Methanogenic bacteria have quite an exceptional task to accomplish: They have to produce
methane. In terms of chemistry, this is no mean feat. Methane production is currently one
of the most hotly pursued goals for the purposes of renewable energy. It is also a serious
greenhouse gas.
