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Study focuses on peripheral arterial disease - availability of vascular surgeons impacts amputation rate

Patients with peripheral arterial disease (PAD) are more likely to have a foot or leg amputated if they live in a region that has few vascular surgeons, according to a Rice University/Baylor College of Medicine study published in the July issue of the Journal of Vascular Surgery.

12 Jul 2005

Current scientific understanding does not justify the reduction of the daily salt intake for healthy people

In a reaction to the European Food Safety Authority's (EFSA) announcement at the end of June, the European Salt Producers' Association, in brief EuSalt, maintains its position that the current scientific understanding does not justify the reduction of the daily salt intake for healthy people.

12 Jul 2005

X-ray crystallography images show how a protein called alpha-actinin performs molecular ballet

As a cell moves forward, physical stress on its skeleton triggers molecular fingers and arms to grasp each other in reinforcing links that stabilize the skeleton, according to images produced by investigators at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

12 Jul 2005

Many local health directors unsure of authority to curtail smoking

Local health department directors across North Carolina are confused about state laws covering whether their facilities can be made smoke-free, but still strongly support such policies, according to a new University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill study.

11 Jul 2005

Congenital central hypoventilation syndrome (CCHS) offers clues to SIDS, sleep apnea

Imagine raising a child who stops breathing when falling asleep - and has to be reminded to visit the bathroom after drinking a Big Gulp. That's the dilemma faced by parents of children born with congenital central hypoventilation syndrome (CCHS).

11 Jul 2005

Overactive dopamine receptors may help explain anorexia nervosa symptoms

Just why those with anorexia nervosa are driven to be excessively thin and seem unaware of the seriousness of their condition could be due to over-activity of a chemical system found in a region deep inside the brain, a University of Pittsburgh study suggests.

11 Jul 2005

Researchers find molecule ephrin-B3 inhibits regrowth of spinal nerve cells

A molecule that helps the body's motor nerve cells grow along proper paths during embryonic development also plays a major role in inhibiting spinal-cord neurons from regenerating after injury, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found.

11 Jul 2005

Nearly two million Americans are treated for eye injuries per year

Because eye injuries are rarely serious enough to require hospitalization, to understand the extent of eye injuries in the U.S., inpatient and outpatient facilities, in addition to other settings, must be considered, according to background information in the article.

11 Jul 2005

Size of the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) in the brain may be associated with the ability to recover emotionally from traumatic events

A new study by researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) finds that an area called the ventromedial prefrontal cortex is thicker in volunteers who appear better able to modify their anxious response to memories of discomfort. The report will appear in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science.

11 Jul 2005

Good news for curry wallahs, ingredient helps fight cancer

In good news for curry wallahs, researchers are saying that a compound that makes curry yellow could help fight skin cancer.

11 Jul 2005

Most people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) are not depressed

Contrary to what you might think, most people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) are not depressed. They are also not more likely to get depressed as the end of life approaches, and they are not more likely to be depressed if they want to die or hasten their own death.

11 Jul 2005

New understanding of degeneration of brain cells in patients with Alzheimer's, Huntington's, and Parkinson's diseases

A ground-breaking new research approach to understanding the cellular processes of Alzheimer's and other degenerative diseases has revealed a promising pathway to the development of new types of drugs for these diseases.

11 Jul 2005

Lorenzo's oil prevents onset of pediatric neurological disorder

Use of Lorenzo's Oil in young boys who have been diagnosed with but are not yet showing signs of a pediatric neurological disorder known as X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy (X-ALD) may prevent the disease from developing in the body. According to a study of male children published today in the Archives of Neurology, use of the oil prevented onset of the disease in a majority of cases.

11 Jul 2005

Postpartum depression may be preventable

The key to preventing postpartum depression may be individual support provided after birth by a health professional and tailored to a mother's needs, says a University of Toronto researcher.

11 Jul 2005

ASTRO awards nearly $400,000 in research grants

The American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology has announced the recipients of its 2005 Junior Faculty Career Research Training Award, Residents/Fellows in Radiation Oncology Research Seed Grants, the joint ASTRO/National Cancer Institute Fellowship Faculty Translational Research Award and International Travel Grants. The total value of the awards is $378,000.

11 Jul 2005

Carbon nanotubes may change the way doctors treat broken bones

Scientists have shown for the first time that carbon nanotubes make an ideal scaffold for the growth of bone tissue. The new technique could change the way doctors treat broken bones, allowing them to simply inject a solution of nanotubes into a fracture to promote healing.

11 Jul 2005

Research explains one of the fundamental mysteries of multiple sclerosis

Scientists have pinpointed a chemical messenger that frees some white blood cells from the body's normal constraints, allowing the cells to act like renegades that could damage nerves in the central nervous system. The work, to be published in the July 15 issue of the Journal of Immunology and just published on-line, helps explain one of the fundamental mysteries of multiple sclerosis (MS).

11 Jul 2005

Identical twins lose some fundamental similarities as they grow older

...a new study reports. They may start to look and act less alike. The changes could leave one twin susceptible to diseases like cancer, while the other twin remains healthy.

11 Jul 2005

Genes play an overriding role in cholesterol response

Why does it seem like some people can eat all the ice cream they want without increasing their cholesterol or gaining much weight, while others with high cholesterol have to watch their diets like a hawk? Because no matter what their lifestyle, people's genes play an overriding role in their cholesterol response.

11 Jul 2005

Scientists discover how an HIV protein fragment shuts down an immune response

The HIV virus hides out in the very immune system cells that are meant to protect the body from viral infection. But how does it prevent these cells from mounting a full-scale attack against the invader?

11 Jul 2005