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Findings show effective treatment for type 1 diabetes patients with severe hypoglycemia

Type 1 diabetes (T1D) patients who have developed low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) as a complication of insulin treatments over time are able to regain normal internal recognition of the condition after receiving pancreatic islet cell transplantation, according to a new study led by researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, published online in Diabetes.

18 Dec 2014

TUM researchers discover new mechanism for regulating programmed cell death

Programmed cell death is a mechanism that causes defective and potentially harmful cells to destroy themselves. It serves a number of purposes in the body, including the prevention of malignant tumor growth. Now, researchers at Technische Universität München have discovered a previously unknown mechanism for regulating programmed cell death.

18 Dec 2014

Researchers treat myocardial infarction with new telomerase-based gene therapy

The enzyme telomerase repairs cell damage produced by ageing, and has been used successfully in therapies to lengthen the life of mice. Now it has been observed that it could also be used to cure illnesses related to the ageing process.

18 Dec 2014

Even men undergo hormonal changes on way to fatherhood, study finds

Impending fatherhood can lower two hormones--testosterone and estradiol--for men, even before their babies are born, a new University of Michigan study found.

18 Dec 2014

Penn, UGA scientists awarded new contract to develop genome database for microbial pathogens

At the turn of the millennium, the cost to sequence a single human genome exceeded $50 million, and the process took a decade to complete. Microbes have genomes, too, and the first reference genome for a malaria parasite was completed in 2002 at a cost of roughly $15 million. But today researchers can sequence a genome in a single afternoon for just a few thousand dollars. Related technologies make it possible to capture information about all genes in the genome, in all tissues, from multiple individuals.

18 Dec 2014

CF patients require close monitoring for resistance to ganciclovir after lung transplantation

A drug called ganciclovir is given to lung transplant patients to protect against a life-threatening virus that is common after transplantation.

18 Dec 2014

U-M researchers devise reliable way to grow tumor cells

In a development that could lead to a deeper understanding of cancer and better early-stage treatment of the disease, University of Michigan researchers have devised a reliable way to grow a certain type of cancer cells from patients outside the body for study.

18 Dec 2014

Researchers find link between ferrets and humans

Research that provides a new understanding as to why ferrets are similar to humans is set to have major implications for the development of novel drugs and treatment strategies.

18 Dec 2014

New study highlights importance of generating awareness about HCV testing, support and care

A new study shows that many patients infected with the hepatitis C virus (HCV) are lost during different stages of health care to manage the disease. This real-life' view of the HCV patient care continuum in a major U.S. urban area is published in Hepatology, a journal of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, and highlights the importance of generating awareness among clinicians and at-risk groups about appropriate HCV testing, referral, support and care.

18 Dec 2014

Kaiser Permanente study: Self-reported exercise lowers blood pressure, blood glucose levels

Self-reported moderate to vigorous exercise was associated with lower blood pressure and blood glucose levels in a Kaiser Permanente study published in the journal Preventing Chronic Disease.

18 Dec 2014

Mature motorists worse than younger counterparts when texting while driving

A Wayne State University interdisciplinary research team in the Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences has made a surprising discovery: older, more mature motorists -- who typically are better drivers in many circumstances -- are much worse than their younger counterparts when texting while driving.

18 Dec 2014

Trophoblasts respond to inflammatory danger signals, find NTNU researchers

Trophoblasts, cells that form an outer layer around a fertilized egg and develop into the major part of the placenta, have now been shown to respond to inflammatory danger signals, researchers from Norwegian University of Science and Technology found in a recent study published in Journal of Reproductive Immunology December 2014.

18 Dec 2014

Eating bilberries reduces adverse effects of high-fat diets

Eating bilberries diminishes the adverse effects of a high-fat diet, according to a recent study at the University of Eastern Finland. For the first time, bilberries were shown to have beneficial effects on both blood pressure and nutrition-derived inflammatory responses.

18 Dec 2014

Columbia University researchers analyze results of Oregon Health Experiment

Researchers at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health analyzed the results of the Oregon Health Experiment, where eligible uninsured individuals were randomly assigned Medicaid or to stay with their current care. Considered controversial because the experiment found no measurable gains for physical health it did reveal benefits for mental health, financial wellbeing, and preventive screening.

18 Dec 2014

Researchers reveal common features responsible for antibiotic resistance

Treating bacterial infections with antibiotics is becoming increasingly difficult as bacteria develop resistance not only to the antibiotics being used against them, but also to ones they have never encountered before. By analyzing genetic and phenotypic changes in antibiotic-resistant strains of E. coli, researchers at the RIKEN Quantitative Biology Center in Japan have revealed a common set of features that appear to be responsible for the development of resistance to several types of antibiotics.

18 Dec 2014

Broccoli can help reduce HGPS-related defects

Children who suffer from Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria syndrome age prematurely due to a defective protein in their cells. Scientists at Technische Universität München have now identified another important pathological factor: the system responsible for removing cellular debris and for breaking down defective proteins operates at lower levels in HGPS cells than in normal cells. The researchers have succeeded in reactivating protein breakdown in HGPS cells and thus reducing disease-related defects by using a substance from broccoli.

18 Dec 2014

Researchers examine why Mexican-Americans at increased risk for Type 2 diabetes

While people of Mexican ancestry are nearly twice as likely to develop Type 2 diabetes as people of European heritage, the majority of research in this area has focused on those of European origin.

18 Dec 2014

Two orphan receptor proteins exert fatal double whammy effect against glioblastoma cells

Two related proteins exert a lethal double whammy effect against glioblastoma cells when activated with a small molecule, say researchers at Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center.

18 Dec 2014

Laparoscopic radical cystectomy can lead to reliable, long-term cancer control

Long-term survival rates following laparoscopic surgery for bladder cancer are comparable to those of open surgery, according to a study published in BJU International. The findings, which come from the largest study to date with long-term follow-up after this type of minimally invasive surgery, indicate that prospective randomized trials comparing these two bladder cancer surgeries are warranted.

18 Dec 2014

High-dose flu vaccine better than regular flu shot for frail, older adults of long-term care facilities

The high-dose flu vaccine is significantly better than the regular flu shot at boosting the immune response to the flu virus in frail, older residents of long-term care facilities, according to the results of a University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine study.

18 Dec 2014