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β-amyloid cleared of blame for early memory decline

A “seminal” imaging study suggests that worsening memory in adults is not necessarily an indicator of β-amyloid deposition.

19 Mar 2015

Cumulative genetic risk may underlie many Parkinson’s cases

Genetic risk for Parkinson’s disease may be due as much to multiple genes with small individual effects as to single high-risk genes, research suggests.

19 Mar 2015

Vitamin D plays major role in preventing diabetes and atherosclerosis

In recent years, a deficiency of vitamin D has been linked to type 2 diabetes and heart disease, two illnesses that commonly occur together and are the most common cause of illness and death in Western countries. Both disorders are rooted in chronic inflammation, which leads to insulin resistance and the buildup of artery-clogging plaque.

19 Mar 2015

MSU researchers discover cause of death in children who get malaria

Researchers from Michigan State University have uncovered the cause of death in children who die from cerebral malaria.

19 Mar 2015

Study reveals how Grhl2 plays a role in kidney function

The kidney carries out vital functions by continuously filtering the blood and excreting waste products into the urine. This is achieved by a complex system of tubules which transports the urine and regulates its composition.

19 Mar 2015

New study reveals how pharma industry boosts global economy across regions

A new study entitled The Economic Footprint of the Pharmaceutical Industry – Regional breakdown and differentiation between originators and generics, independently conducted by WifOR reveals how the pharmaceutical industry, one of the world’s largest industries, plays a major role in boosting the global economy across regions.

19 Mar 2015

Fast-food restaurant ban fails to reduce obesity rates in Los Angeles

A Los Angeles ordinance designed to curb obesity in low-income areas by restricting the opening of new fast-food restaurants has failed to reduce fast-food consumption or reduce obesity rates in the targeted neighborhoods, according to a new RAND Corporation study.

19 Mar 2015

LDLT effective for treating patients suffering from acute liver failure

When patients develop acute liver failure, severe complications arise rapidly after the first signs of liver disease, and patients' health can deteriorate rapidly. New research published in the American Journal of Transplantation indicates that emergency evaluations of living liver donors can be conducted safely to allow acute liver failure patients to undergo transplantation before their condition worsens.

19 Mar 2015

New research project aims to improve oral health among children

A new research project from the University of Copenhagen has established an effective model for the fight against the escalating burden of tooth decay among children in Asia. The model is an important tool in breaking the social inequity in oral health of children.

19 Mar 2015

Growth disorders in children can be detected earlier using new growth monitoring tools

Children's growth disorders can be detected earlier and more efficiently with the help of new growth monitoring tools, according to research from the University of Eastern Finland. These tools include up-to-date growth reference curves, evidence-based screening cut-off values for abnormal growth and automated growth monitoring based on electronic health records.

19 Mar 2015

New diagnostic method replaces surgery for bowel tumor assessment

A new study at the MedUni Vienna's Comprehensive Cancer Center is assessing patients with metastasised bowel cancer to determine whether it is possible to characterise tumour and better control resistance mechanisms with a blood test. The aim of this is to spare patients the stress of having tissue removed via biopsies and to make the targeted use of therapy easier.

19 Mar 2015

Cardiac catheterization performed through wrist can reduce bleeding, lower mortality

The groin is the usual access point for investigating or treating the heart with a catheter, but using the wrist as access point reduces bleeding and lowers mortality. These findings are from an international study with major involvement from the University of Bern published today in the Lancet.

19 Mar 2015

Catheter ablation more beneficial to heart failure patients than Amiodarone treatment

Among patients with heart failure and atrial fibrillation, those who underwent catheter ablation were less likely to die, be hospitalized or have recurrent atrial fibrillation than patients taking a heart rhythm regulating drug, according to a study presented at the American College of Cardiology's 64th Annual Scientific Session.

19 Mar 2015

Death risk is higher for dementia patients who take antipsychotic drugs, new study shows

Drugs aimed at quelling the behavior problems of dementia patients may also hasten their deaths more than previously realized, a new study finds.

19 Mar 2015

Scientists identify mystery behind cell-signaling breakdown that causes heart failure

Working with lab animals and human heart cells, scientists from Johns Hopkins and other institutions have identified what they describe as "the long-sought culprit" in the mystery behind a cell-signaling breakdown that triggers heart failure. The condition, which affects nearly 6 million Americans and 23 million people worldwide, is marked by progressive weakening and stiffening of the heart muscle and the organ's gradual loss of blood-pumping ability.

19 Mar 2015

New approach to improve cardiac regeneration

The heart tissue of mammals has limited capacity to regenerate after an injury such as a heart attack, in part due to the inability to reactivate a cardiac muscle cell and proliferation program. Recent studies have indicated a low level of cardiac muscle cell (cardiomyocytes) proliferation in adult mammals, but it is insufficient to repair damaged hearts.

19 Mar 2015

Cardiovascular researchers identify MG53 protein necessary for repairing injured kidney cells

Cardiovascular researchers at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center have shown that a protein known as MG53 is not only present in kidney cells, but necessary for the organ to repair itself after acute injury. Results from this animal model study are published in the journal Science Translational Medicine.

19 Mar 2015

IU researchers reveal how Toxoplasma parasites modify brain cells

Rodents infected with a common parasite lose their fear of cats, resulting in easy meals for the felines. Now IU School of Medicine researchers have identified a new way the parasite may modify brain cells, possibly helping explain changes in the behavior of mice -- and humans.

19 Mar 2015

New scoring system may help predict memory and thinking problems in elderly people

Researchers have developed a new scoring system to help determine which elderly people may be at a higher risk of developing the memory and thinking problems that can lead to dementia, according to a new study published in the March 18, 2015, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

19 Mar 2015

MSU researchers discover what causes death in children with cerebral malaria

Malaria kills a child every minute. While medical researchers have successfully developed effective drugs to kill the malaria parasite, efforts to treat the effects of the disease have not been as successful. But that soon may change.

19 Mar 2015