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Cortex area thinner in youth with Alzheimer's-related gene

A part of the brain first affected by Alzheimer's disease is thinner in youth with a risk gene for the disorder, a brain imaging study by researchers at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), one of the National Institutes of Health, has found.

24 Apr 2007

New drug offers hope to muscular dystrophy and cystic fibrosis sufferers

Scientists in the United States say an experimental drug may be able to compensate for the genetic error responsible for some cases of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) and cystic fibrosis.

23 Apr 2007

Discovery of important clue to the susceptibility of individuals to Crohn's disease

Crohn's disease is a chronic relapsing inflammatory disorder of the intestinal tract that affects an estimated 0.15% of people in the developed world. Common symptoms include abdominal pain and diarrhea, but the disorder is often associated with debilitating clinical complications.

21 Apr 2007

M. D. Anderson wins $8.3-million to research environmental causes of major diseases

An $8.3-million federal grant to The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center Science Park - Research Division addresses the complex interplay between such varied factors as genetics, diet, and environmental exposure to toxins that cause cancer, asthma, diabetes, cardiovascular and other diseases.

21 Apr 2007

Significant genetic differences found in three types of chimpanzee

The largest study to date of genetic variation among chimpanzees has found that the traditional, geography-based sorting of chimps into three populations,western, central and eastern, is underpinned by significant genetic differences, two to three times greater than the variation between the most different human populations.

21 Apr 2007

Discovery of molecular mechanism that alters strength of higher brain network connections

Yale School of Medicine and University of Crete School of Medicine researchers report in Cell April 20 the first evidence of a molecular mechanism that dynamically alters the strength of higher brain network connections.

21 Apr 2007

Protein called CREB key to memory storage in brain

Scientists know little about how the brain assigns cells to participate in encoding and storing memories.

20 Apr 2007

New method predicts hip joint decay from chemotherapy

Investigators at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital say they have found the best way for predicting when patients will need future surgery to repair hip joints that have deteriorated because of pediatric leukemia or lymphoma treatment.

20 Apr 2007

Should government negotiate drug prices?

The following is written by Dr. Gary A. Puckrein, PhD, President and Chief Executive Officer of National Minority Quality Forum, on the topic of drug prices and the emerging majority:

20 Apr 2007

Australian researchers identify thousands with curable high blood pressure

Team of researchers led by Professor Richard Gordon and Associate Professor Michael Stowasser has found primary aldosteronism (PAL) , a type of high blood pressure that can be cured by surgery , to be ten times more common than was previously suspected.

19 Apr 2007

Understanding personal genetic risk for familial breast cancer eases anxieties

Services that help women understand the way that their inherited genetic make-up influences their risk of getting breast cancer ease distress and decrease their levels of cancer worry.

19 Apr 2007

New automated test for gene mutations causing fragile X syndrome

A new automated test could enable population screening to identify carriers of the gene mutations causing fragile X syndrome (FXS), the most common inherited form of mental retardation, reports a study in the April issue of Genetics in Medicine, published by the American College of Medical Genetics and Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health.

19 Apr 2007

Lexicon-Genentech reveals potential therapeutic targets

Lexicon Genetics Incorporated has announced that data was presented highlighting potential therapeutic targets related to its collaboration with Genentech, Inc. at the Society for Biomolecular Sciences 13th Annual Conference & Exhibition in Montreal, Canada.

19 Apr 2007