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Scientists identify brain mechanism that drives our appetite for glucose-rich foods

Scientists have discovered a mechanism in the brain that may drive our appetite for foods rich in glucose and could lead to improved treatments for obesity.

10 Dec 2014

Molecular response criteria examined for CML

The limitations in determining molecular response in patients with chronic myeloid leukaemia treated with tyrosine kinase inhibitor therapy have been reviewed in Cancer.

9 Dec 2014

Clinical markers help identify PD patients with cholinergic deficits

Assessing patients for clinical markers of cholinergic system denervation is viable and can help identify suitable individuals for trials of new anticholinergic drugs, researchers believe.

9 Dec 2014

PAH markers identified among Chinese systemic sclerosis patients

A study of Chinese patients with systemic sclerosis has identified predictive markers for accompanying pulmonary arterial hypertension similar to those that have been identified in other ethnic groups.

9 Dec 2014

PD-1, PD-L1 differentially expressed in NSCLC

The expression of the immune checkpoint protein programmed death-1 receptor and its ligand varies according to tumour and patient characteristics in oncogene-addicted non-small-cell lung cancer, research indicates.

9 Dec 2014

Quitting cannabis use during manic episodes improves outcomes

A post-hoc analysis of data from a prospective European study reveals that patients with bipolar disorder who stop using cannabis during a manic or mixed episode have similar clinical and functional outcomes to those who have never used the drug.

9 Dec 2014

Cardiac monitoring foretells clinical deterioration in PAH

Monitoring right ventricular parameters can give advance warning of clinical deterioration in stable patients with idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension, research suggests.

9 Dec 2014

Excess mortality in schizophrenia ‘not attributable to antipsychotics’

The relationship between antipsychotic use and mortality in people with schizophrenia shows a clear U-shape curve, with the highest risk of death seen in those with no antipsychotic exposure, a Swedish cohort study has found.

9 Dec 2014

Ponatinib ‘superior’ to sequential second-generation TKI treatment in CML

Patients with chronic myelogenous leukaemia resistant or intolerant to at least one second-generation tyrosine kinase inhibitor have a higher probability of achieving a response to the third-generation TKI ponatinib than to a further second-generation TKI, research indicates.

9 Dec 2014

At-home test sniffs out prodromal Parkinson’s disease

An at-home olfactory test helps to identify people with an increased risk of having dopamine transporter imaging indicative of early Parkinson’s disease, show data from the Parkinson Associated Risk Syndrome study.

9 Dec 2014

Simple blood test could help to detect breast cancer early

It may be possible to develop a simple blood test that, by detecting changes in the zinc in our bodies, could help to diagnose breast cancer early.

9 Dec 2014

Infant mortality rates for RSV much lower than previously thought

It's a virus that has long been characterized as dangerous and even deadly, but new research shows infant deaths from respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) are actually quite uncommon in the 21st century.

9 Dec 2014

Researchers freeze biological structures to illustrate DNA double-strand break process

Scientists from the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre, led by Guillermo Montoya, have developed a method for producing biological crystals that has allowed scientists to observe --for the first time-- DNA double chain breaks. They have also developed a computer simulation that makes this process, which lasts in the order of millionths of a second, visible to the human eye.

9 Dec 2014

Study finds that disarray in methylation helps tumors adapt to changing circumstances

The genetic tumult within cancerous tumors is more than matched by the disorder in one of the mechanisms for switching cells' genes on and off, scientists at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard report in a new study.

9 Dec 2014

Weight loss surgery and exercise lower risks of serious health problems

Throughout the past year, studies on the positive effects of weight loss surgery have been published in a variety of medical journals in the US and abroad. We learned that weight loss surgery is relatively safe, and that it is effective in improving serious health conditions. More recently, we also learned that it is a factor in preventing Type 2 diabetes from developing in people considered to be pre-diabetic.

9 Dec 2014

Scientists receive NIH grants to explore sudden unexpected death in epilepsy

Nine groups of scientists will receive funding totaling $5.9 million in 2014 to work together on increasing the understanding of sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP), the leading cause of death from epilepsy. The consortium becomes the second Center Without Walls, an initiative to speed the pace of research on difficult problems in epilepsy by promoting collaborative research.

9 Dec 2014

Opioid tramadol can increase hospitalization risk for hypoglycemia

The opioid pain-reliever tramadol appears to be associated with an increased risk of hospitalization for hypoglycemia, a potentially fatal condition caused by low blood sugar, according to a report published online by JAMA Internal Medicine.

9 Dec 2014

BAZ2A protein directly influences the aggressiveness of prostate cancer

A protein that influences the epigenetic characteristics of tumor cells is directly linked to the grade of malignancy of prostate cancer. This key discovery has been made by a team of scientists from the German Cancer Research Center, the University of Zurich, Hamburg-Eppendorf University Hospital, Heidelberg University, and other institutes in a study of 7,700 samples of tumor tissue.

9 Dec 2014

Johns Hopkins researchers discover new way to treat triple-negative breast cancer

Triple-negative breast cancer is as bad as it sounds. The cells that form these tumors lack three proteins that would make the cancer respond to powerful, customized treatments. Instead, doctors are left with treating these patients with traditional chemotherapy drugs that only show long-term effectiveness in 20 percent of women with triple-negative breast cancer.

9 Dec 2014

Scientists identify brain mechanisms that turn unpleasant experiences into long-lasting memories

We know that everyday events can be easy to forget, but dangerous experiences that trigger fear can remain engraved in the brain for years. Now, scientists from New York University and Japan's RIKEN Brain Science Institute have added to our understanding how this occurs.

9 Dec 2014