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Researchers identify new drug target for heart failure

Researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine have identified a new drug target that may treat and/or prevent heart failure. The team evaluated failing human and pig hearts and discovered that SUMO1, a so-called "chaperone" protein that regulates the activity of key transporter genes, was decreased in failing hearts. When the researchers injected SUMO1 into these hearts via gene therapy, cardiac function was significantly improved.

8 Sep 2011

Natural ruminant trans fats are not detrimental to health

Not all trans fats are created equal and it's time for nutritional labels to reflect that reality, says a University of Alberta nutrition expert.

8 Sep 2011

ATA announces five recipients of 2011 thyroid cancer research grants

The American Thyroid Association (ATA) announced the five recipients of its 2011 research grants, each of whom will receive up to $25,000 annually for up to two years. Three of the five recipients were awarded special ATA ThyCa grants for research projects that focus on thyroid cancer. These grants are funded by ThyCa: Thyroid Cancer Survivors, Inc.

8 Sep 2011

Pharnext puts together €2.5M to fund development of Pleodrug for Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease

Pharnext SAS, a biopharmaceutical company specializing in the development of innovative treatments based on Pleotherapy for severe neurological diseases, today announced that it has put together a €2.5 million round of financing (corresponding to a pre-money company valuation of €60 million).

8 Sep 2011

Apply lessons from the AIDS response to NCD control and prevention in developing countries

In anticipation of the September 2011 U.N. High-level Meeting on Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs), low- and middle-income countries "should not only look at the lessons learned in the control of NCDs in developed countries, but also those from other areas of public health, especially AIDS, which can inform the design of an effective and sustainable response to NCDs in developing countries," Rebecca Dirks from FHI 360 and colleagues write in this PLoS Medicine Policy Forum editorial piece.

8 Sep 2011

Cam impingement may increase risk of hip OA in young men

Hip impingement may be a risk factor of osteoarthritis (OA) of the hip. A new study reveals that the presence of an underlying deformity, known as cam impingement, is associated with hip damage in young men without any arthritis symptoms and detected using magnetic resonance imaging.

8 Sep 2011

Scientist identifies how lack of dopamine leads to symptoms of Parkinson's

A scientist at the Gladstone Institutes has identified how the lack of a brain chemical known as dopamine can rewire the interaction between two groups of brain cells and lead to symptoms of Parkinson's disease.

8 Sep 2011

Daily moderate drinking may decrease atherosclerosis

For the first time, new research shows that patterns of alcohol consumption - a drink or two every night, or several cocktails on Friday and Saturday nights only - may be more important in determining alcohol's influence on heart health than the total amount consumed.

8 Sep 2011

Study: Aerobic physical activity linked to reduced risk of dementia

Any exercise that gets the heart pumping may reduce the risk of dementia and slow the condition's progression once it starts, reported a Mayo Clinic study published this month in Mayo Clinic Proceedings.

8 Sep 2011

Inhibition of Sab protein protects liver from acetaminophen toxicity

New research from the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California (USC) may help prevent damage to the liver caused by drugs like acetaminophen and other stressors.

8 Sep 2011

Pulitzer photojournalist with lymphoma films his experiences

Diagnosed at age 48 with a potentially deadly form of lymphoma, Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist John Kaplan turned the lens on himself and chronicled his experience in a moving visual journal. Kaplan's new film, Not As I Pictured, is now showing on PBS stations nationwide.

8 Sep 2011

Exercise, intervention may help individuals with peripheral arterial disease

Peripheral arterial disease, or PAD, is a common condition affecting 12-20 percent of Americans age 65 and older that may be a signal of future heart attack and stroke-and many with the disease may be unaware they have it, says the Society of Interventional Radiology.

8 Sep 2011

Lilly, Boehringer Ingelheim to present latest data from diabetes portfolio at 47th EASD meeting

Boehringer Ingelheim and Eli Lilly and Company will present the latest data from their diabetes portfolio at the 47th Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) in Lisbon, Portugal, September 12-16.

8 Sep 2011

BCH joins MD Anderson's Sister Institution network to provide cancer care

Today, Barretos Cancer Hospital (BCH) in Brazil joined The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center's Sister Institution network. In a signing ceremony at BCH's newly opened Research Institute Against Digestive Cancer (IRCAD-Brazil), MD Anderson provost and executive vice president, Raymond DuBois, M.D., Ph.D., marked the beginning of an alliance that will allow the two institutions to build a number of collaborative research projects and academic interactions.

8 Sep 2011

Scientists invent new system that uses magnetism to purify hybrid nanoparticles

A team of Penn State University scientists has invented a new system that uses magnetism to purify hybrid nanoparticles -- structures that are composed of two or more kinds of materials in an extremely small particle that is visible only with an electron microscope.

8 Sep 2011

Biochemists reveal interaction between tumor suppressor protein and chaperone

Every cell has thousands of proteins whose activity and lifetime must be regulated to control the cellular life cycle from cell division to cell death. The heat shock protein Hsp90 plays a key role in this process. It is a so-called chaperone, a quality controller, as it were. It monitors and controls the quality and activity of many important signal proteins and helps them take on the right form. When the cell is exposed to high stress levels from heat or a lack of oxygen, Hsp90 is produced in larger quantities to shield its partner proteins from damage.

8 Sep 2011

New surprising discovery on division of mitochondria within cells

A surprising new discovery by the University of Colorado Boulder and the University of California, Davis regarding the division of tiny "power plants" within cells known as mitochondria has implications for better understanding a wide variety of human diseases and conditions due to mitochondrial defects.

8 Sep 2011

APS sponsors 7th International Symposium on Aldosterone and the ENaC/Degenerin Family of Ion Channels

The American Physiological Society is sponsoring the 7th International Symposium on Aldosterone and the ENaC/Degenerin Family of Ion Channels, being held September 18-22 at the Asilomar Conference Grounds in Pacific Grove, Calif. This scientific conference explores the connection between fluid balance in the body and hypertension, a growing global health concern.

8 Sep 2011

Simple pain relievers a better alternative to antipsychotic medications for dementia patients

Many dementia patients are being treated with antipsychotic medications, but a new study shows that simple pain relievers may be a better alternative.

8 Sep 2011

Study: Protein's structural arrangement can change its signaling function

In a joint study, scientists from the California and Florida campuses of The Scripps Research Institute have shown that changes in a protein's structure can change its signaling function and they have pinpointed the precise regions where those changes take place.

8 Sep 2011