Bone Marrow-derived Stem Cells May Offer Novel Therapeutic Option For Skin Disorder (December 8, 2008) -- Stem cells derived from bone marrow may serve as a novel therapeutic option to treat a disease called epidermolysis bullosa, a disorder characterized by extraordinarily fragile skin, according to a study in Blood. ... > full story
Best Treatments For Long-term Survival In Brain Tumor Patients Identified (December 8, 2008) -- A new study found that patients with low-grade gliomas survived longest when they underwent aggressive surgeries to successfully remove the entire tumor. If safely removing the entire tumor was not possible, patients survived significantly longer when surgery was followed by radiation therapy. ... > full story
New Bone Implant Technology Using Techniques Used To Make Catalytic Converters (December 8, 2008) -- A method of producing synthetic bone, using techniques normally used to make catalytic converters for cars, is being developed by researchers. ... > full story
New Target Discovered To Treat Epileptic Seizures Following Brain Trauma Or Stroke (December 8, 2008) -- New therapies for some forms of epilepsy may soon be possible, thanks to a new discovery by neuroscience researchers. The researchers found that hemichannels -- the same channels the researchers previously found to that cause cell death following a stroke -- may also cause epileptic seizures that occur following head trauma or a stroke. ... > full story
Long-term Antibiotics Reduce COPD Exacerbations, Raise Questions (December 8, 2008) -- Long-term use of a macrolide antibiotic may reduce the frequency of exacerbations in patients with moderate to severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease by as much as 35 percent, according to a London-based study. ... > full story
American Values Blamed For U.S Health-care Crisis (December 8, 2008) -- To heal our ailing health-care system, we need to stop thinking like Americans. That's the consensus of two new articles published in the journal Neurology by a neurologist and leading expert on national health-care reform. ... > full story
Cold Sore Virus Linked To Alzheimer's Disease: New Treatment, Or Even Vaccine Possible (December 7, 2008) -- The virus behind cold sores is a major cause of the insoluble protein plaques found in the brains of Alzheimer's disease sufferers, researchers have revealed. They believe the herpes simplex virus is a significant factor in developing the debilitating disease and could be treated by antiviral agents such as acyclovir, which is already used to treat cold sores and other diseases caused by the herpes virus. Another future possibility is vaccination against the virus to prevent the development of the disease in the first place. ... > full story
Winter Brings Flu, Summer Brings Bacterial Infections (December 7, 2008) -- In the same way that winter is commonly known to be the "flu season," a new study suggests that the dog days of summer may well be the "bacterial infection" season. ... > full story
Type Of Breast Reconstruction Impacts Radiation Therapy Outcomes, Study Finds (December 7, 2008) -- For breast cancer patients who underwent a mastectomy and who undergo radiation therapy after immediate breast reconstruction, autologous tissue reconstruction provides fewer long-term complications and better cosmetic results than tissue expander and implant reconstruction, according to a new study. ... > full story
Presence Of Gum Disease May Help Dentists And Physicians Identify Risk For Cardiovascular Disease (December 7, 2008) -- Individuals reporting a history of periodontal disease were more likely to have increased levels of inflammation, a risk factor for heart disease, compared to those who reported no history of periodontal disease, according to new research. The findings suggest persons with increased levels of inflammatory markers associated with a higher risk of cardiovascular disease might be identified by asking about oral health history. ... > full story
Clue To Safer Obesity Drugs: Mechanism Links Serotonin With Regulation Of Food Intake (December 7, 2008) -- Once hailed as a miracle weight-loss drug, Fen-phen was removed from the market more than a decade ago for inducing life-threatening side effects, including heart valve lesions. Scientists are trying to understand how Fen-phen behaves in the brain in order to develop safer anti-obesity drugs with fewer side effects. ... > full story
New Drug For Skin Cancer Approaching Commercialization (December 7, 2008) -- A drug that is activated by light can be a quick, simple, and cheap treatment for tens of thousands of patients with skin cancer in Sweden alone. ... > full story
Reprogrammable Cell Type Depends On Single Gene To Keep Its Identity (December 7, 2008) -- Scientists have discovered that a certain differentiated cell type is so ready to change its identity that it requires the constant expression of a gene called Prox1 to dissuade it. ... > full story
Collaboration Of Soloists Makes The Best Science (December 7, 2008) -- For the success of a major research university, which is better: large, well-funded laboratory empires with many investigators working toward the same end, or the individual scientist toiling alone in his own laboratory or at his own desk? ... > full story
More Evidence The Aging Brain Is Easily Distracted (December 7, 2008) -- Researchers have found more evidence that older adults aren't able to filter out distracting information as well as younger adults. In an interesting twist, this latest discovery was made because of -- rather than in spite of -- the noisy environment that research participants must tolerate when having their brains scanned inside a donut-shaped magnet known as a functional magnetic resonance imaging scanner. ... > full story
New Imaging Technique Tracks Cancer-killing Cells Over Prolonged Period (December 7, 2008) -- Coaxing a patient's own cells to hunt down and tackle infected or diseased cells is a promising therapeutic approach for many disorders. Now, for the first time, researchers have devised a way to obtain repeated "snapshots" of the location and survival of such cells in a living human patient months and possibly years later. ... > full story
Immune Cells Reveal Fancy Footwork (December 7, 2008) -- Our immune system plays an essential role in protecting us from diseases, but how does it do this exactly? Biologists discovered that before dendritic cells move to the lymph nodes they lose their sticky feet. This helps them to move much faster. Immature dendritic cells patrol the tissues in search of antigens. ... > full story
Causes Of Bone Loss In Breast Cancer Survivors Include Cancer Drugs And Vitamin D Deficiency (December 7, 2008) -- Osteoporosis is a growing concern among breast cancer survivors and their doctors because certain cancer drugs can cause bone loss. But a new study has found that cancer drugs aren't the only culprits. Among 64 breast cancer patients referred to a bone health clinic, 78 percent had at least one other cause of bone loss, such as vitamin D deficiency and an overactive parathyroid gland. ... > full story
PET Is Most Powerful Imaging Tool In Cancer Management, Nationwide Study Confirms (December 7, 2008) -- With the most recent release of data from the National Oncologic PET Registry, researchers may have reached the moment of critical mass by confirming the effectiveness of positron emission tomography in the monitoring of tumor activity across a wide range of cancers. In the article, researchers reported results by cancer type for the first two years of data collected from nearly 41,000 PET studies conducted at more than 1,300 cancer centers nationwide. ... > full story
European Ancestry Increases Breast Cancer Risk Among Latinas (December 7, 2008) -- Latina women have a lower risk of breast cancer than European or African-American women generally, but those with higher European ancestry could be at increased risk, according to data published in the Dec. 1 issue of Cancer Research. ... > full story
Inner Workings Of The Immune System Filmed (December 6, 2008) -- Forget what's number one at the box office this week. The most exciting new film features the intricate workings of the body, filmed by scientists using ground-breaking technology. ... > full story
New Mouse Model Of Prion Disease: Mutant Proteins Result In Infectious Prion Disease In Mice (December 6, 2008) -- Scientists have created an infectious prion disease in a mouse model, in a step that may help unravel the mystery of this progressive disease that affects the nervous system in humans and animals. ... > full story
'Zinc Zipper' Plays Key Role In Hospital-acquired Infections (December 6, 2008) -- Scientists are exploring a "zinc zipper" that holds bacterial cells together and plays a key role in hospital-acquired infections. ... > full story
Scientists Prove Endothelial Cells Give Rise To Blood Stem Cells (December 6, 2008) -- Stem cell researchers have proven definitively that blood stem cells are made during mid-gestational embryonic development by endothelial cells, the cells that line the inside of blood vessels. ... > full story
Past Religious Diversity And Intolerance Have Profound Impact On Genetics Of Iberian People (December 6, 2008) -- New research suggests that relatively recent events had a substantial impact on patterns of genetic diversity in the southwest region of Europe. The study shows that geographical patterns of ancestry appear to have been influenced by religious conversions of both Jews and Muslims in the Iberian Peninsula. ... > full story
Poor Children's Brain Activity Resembles That Of Stroke Victims, EEG Shows (December 6, 2008) -- Prefrontal cortex activity in children from low socioeconomic levels is lower than in similar children from well-off families. The brain differences, documented through EEGs, are dramatic: the prefrontal cortexes of poor kids 9 and 10 years of age react to novel stimuli in the same way as the brain of a stroke victim. The researchers believe this is fixable, however. ... > full story
Secondhand Smoke Raises Odds Of Fertility Problems In Women (December 6, 2008) -- If you need another reason to quit smoking, consider that it may diminish your chances of being a parent or grandparent. Scientists have found that women exposed to second hand smoke, either as adults or children, were significantly more likely to face fertility problems and suffer miscarriages. ... > full story
Genetic Ancestry Of African-Americans Reveals New Insights About Gene Expression (December 6, 2008) -- The amount of proteins produced in cells -- a fundamental determinant of biological outcomes collectively known as gene expression -- varies in African-American individuals depending on their proportion of African or European genetic ancestry. ... > full story
Vitreous Humor In The Eye Helps To Establish Time Of Death (December 6, 2008) -- Scientists have proposed a new method to estimate the approximate time of death. This is based on the analysis of several substances from the vitreous humor of the eye of cadavers, according to an article published in the journal Statistics in Medicine. Using this system, scientists have developed a piece of software that makes it possible to establish precisely the post mortem interval (PMI), information that will make the work of the police and the courts of justice easier. ... > full story
Exploring Gene Therapy To Fight AIDS (December 6, 2008) -- The apparent success of a case in which German doctors cured a man of AIDS using a bone marrow transplant comes as no surprise to a UC Davis stem cell researcher. He has been working for more than 10 years on a similar cure for AIDS based on replacing the devastated immune system of an HIV-infected patient with stem cells that have been engineered to resist human immunodeficiency syndrome. ... > full story
Fractional Dose Of Scarce Meningitis Vaccine May Be Effective In Outbreak Control (December 6, 2008) -- A partial dose of a commonly used vaccine against meningitis may be as effective as a full dose, according to new research. Fractional dosing would enable large-scale vaccination campaigns during epidemics, especially at a time of global vaccine shortages. ... > full story
Human Approach To Computer Processing (December 6, 2008) -- A more human approach to processing raw data could change the way that computers deal with information, according to academics. ... > full story
Depression Rife Among Medical Students (December 6, 2008) -- Medical students frequently suffer from depression, especially during their internship years. Affective symptoms represent the core symptoms of a depressive mood, based on students' reported levels of sadness, dissatisfaction, episodes of crying, irritability and social withdrawal. The cognitive cluster assessed pessimism, sense of failure or guilt, expectation of punishment, dislike of self, suicidal ideation, indecisiveness and change in body image. Finally, the somatic cluster assessed the presence of slowness, insomnia, fatigue, loss of weight and loss of sexual interest. ... > full story
Happiness Is 'Infectious' In Network Of Friends: Collective -- Not Just Individual -- Phenomenon (December 5, 2008) -- Happiness spreads through social networks like an emotional contagion, according to a study that looked at nearly 5,000 individuals over a period of 20 years. When an individual becomes happy, the network effect can be measured up to three degrees. One person's happiness triggers a chain reaction that benefits not only his friends, but his friends' friends, and his friends' friends' friends. The effect lasts for up to one year. Conversely, sadness does not spread through social networks as robustly as happiness. ... > full story
Escape Cancer, But Age Sooner? The Dark Side Of The Tumor Suppressing Process (December 5, 2008) -- Cells shut down and stop dividing when their DNA is damaged so as to prevent damaged DNA from leading to unregulated cell division and therefore cancer. However, a new study has found that when these cells shut down they also spew proteins into their surrounding environment. This causes inflammation and sets up conditions that support the development of age-related diseases including, ironically, cancer. ... > full story
New Study Identifies Link Between Alzheimer's Disease Biomarkers In Healthy Adults (December 5, 2008) -- A study published in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease provides an insight into normal, physiological levels and association between proteins involved in development of Alzheimer's disease. A group of scientists and physicians performed a study in cognitively normal and generally healthy adults, from young to old (age range 21-88 years), of both genders, measuring levels of different brain-derived molecules associated with AD. ... > full story
Cardiovascular Disease Causing Increasing Inequity Between Rich And Poor, Study Finds (December 5, 2008) -- A new paper is warning a cardiovascular disease based epidemic is gaining pace among many low- and middle-income countries (LMIC), exemplified at its worst in the world's largest populated countries -- China and India. Preventive cardiovascular treatments that are widely available in high income countries are not yet widely accessed in LMIC, contributing to an escalating inequality in health status between rich and poor. ... > full story
Virtual Faces Created With Emotions, Moods And Personality (December 5, 2008) -- Computer scientists developed a computer model that enables the creation of faces which for the first time display emotions and moods according to personality traits. ... > full story
Extraordinary Immune Cells May Hold The Key To Managing HIV (December 5, 2008) -- People who manage to control HIV on their own are providing scientists with valuable information about how the immune system eliminates virus-infected cells. A new study identifies specific characteristics of the immune cells that successfully destroy HIV-infected cells and may drive strategies for developing the next generation of HIV vaccines and therapies. ... > full story
Maternal Exposure To Folic Acid Antagonists Increases Risks Of Certain Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes (December 5, 2008) -- Exposure to folic acid antagonists during pregnancy is associated with a higher risk of placenta-mediated adverse outcomes such as preeclampsia, placental abruption, fetal growth restriction or fetal death reports a retrospective cohort study. ... > full story
Easing The Stress Of Trauma (December 5, 2008) -- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) affects as many as one in five of all Americans who survive a harrowing experience like rape, assault, war or terrorism. It has emotionally paralyzed survivors of 9/11 and broken up survivors' families. There is no broadly accepted treatment that can lower the chance of developing the disorder, but thanks to new research, a medical means of preventing PTSD may be just around the corner. ... > full story
New Screening Tool To Identify Patients With Prediabetes (December 5, 2008) -- Scientists have created a clinical tool to identify those at highest risk for having undetected hyperglycemia, impaired fasting glucose and undiagnosed diabetes. If these conditions are identified early, patients may benefit from preventative strategies that can minimize progression to diabetes, other diseases and mortality. ... > full story
Researchers Identify Cell Group Key To Lyme Disease Arthritis (December 5, 2008) -- A research team has illuminated the important role of natural killer T cells in Lyme disease, demonstrating that the once little understood white blood cells are central to clearing the bacterial infection and reducing the intensity and duration of arthritis associated with Lyme disease. ... > full story
Subtitles Do Not Guarantee Hearing-impaired Viewers A Total Comprehension Of Television Messages (December 5, 2008) -- Researchers have studied the level of comprehension of subtitled television programs by groups of students who have a severe or profound hearing impairment. The results demonstrate that deaf children and adolescents have difficulties in following subtitles and images together, due to the speed at which the subtitles appear and the literal transcription of the dialogues. ... > full story
Mobile Phones Affect Memory In Laboratory Animals, Swedish Study Finds (December 5, 2008) -- Can radiation from cell phones affect memory? Yes -- at least it appears to do so in one series of rat experiments conducted in Sweden. Researchers studied rats that were exposed to mobile phone radiation for two hours a week for more than a year. These rats had poorer results on a memory test than rats that had not been exposed to radiation. ... > full story
Blood Scanner Detects Even Faint Indicators Of Cancer (December 5, 2008) -- Researchers have developed a prototype blood scanner that can find cancer markers in the bloodstream in early stages of the disease, potentially allowing for earlier treatment and dramatically improved chances of survival. The system based on MagArray biodetection chips can find cancer-associated proteins in a blood serum sample in less than an hour, and with much greater sensitivity than existing commercial devices. ... > full story
Dormant Stem Cells For Emergencies (December 5, 2008) -- A small group of stem cells in the bone marrow remains dormant almost throughout life. Only in case of injury or blood loss do they awaken and become active. Then they start dividing immediately to make up for the loss of blood cells. The possibility of specifically waking up these dormant stem cells opens up new prospects for cancer treatment. ... > full story
Link Between Tobacco Smoke And Behavioral Problems In Boys With Asthma Strengthened With New Study (December 5, 2008) -- Boys with asthma who are exposed to environmental tobacco smoke have higher degrees of hyperactivity, aggression, depression and other behavioral problems, according to researchers. The researchers said behavioral problems increase along with higher exposure levels, but they added even low levels of tobacco smoke may be detrimental to behavior. ... > full story
