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Americans halved their risk of dying from CHD over past 20 years: Study

By smoking less, watching their cholesterol and lowering their high blood pressure, Americans halved their risk of dying from coronary heart disease over the past 20 years, a new study shows.

3 Aug 2010

Rush University Medical Center first to receive Octapharma grant under anniversary program

Octapharma USA today announced the first grant recipient of the Octapharma 25th Anniversary Grants Program is the Rush Hemophilia & Thrombophilia Center at Rush University Medical Center. The Octapharma grants program supports clinical or pre-clinical research focused on human protein therapies in hematology, immune therapy, intensive care and emergency medicine.

3 Aug 2010

Study reveals potential marker for prostate cancer

Studies by a Purdue University-led team have revealed a potential marker for prostate cancer that could be the starting point for less invasive testing and improved diagnosis of the disease.

3 Aug 2010

$International study of more than 60,000 women highlights additional risk associated with fractures$

International study of more than 60,000 women highlights additional risk associated with fractures

Researchers seeking to understand the impact of osteoporosis and fractures on various aspects of health have found that women who had previous fractures experienced a significant reduction in health-related quality of life similar to or worse than that experienced by patients with diabetes, arthritis, lung disease and other chronic illnesses. This latest study from the Global Longitudinal Study of Osteoporosis in Women (GLOW), which is based at the Center for Outcomes Research at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, was published online.

3 Aug 2010

Other brain regions compensates loss of amygdale: Research

Many neuroscientists believe the loss of the brain region known as the amygdala would result in the brain's inability to form new memories with emotional content. New UCLA research indicates this is not so and suggests that when one brain region is damaged, other regions can compensate.

3 Aug 2010

NCI awards LSUHSC-NOLA Louisiana Tumor Registry $12 million SEER contract

The Louisiana Tumor Registry (LTR) at the LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans School of Public Health has been awarded a $12 million contract over seven years by the National Cancer Institute to continue its work as a SEER (Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results) Program-designated cancer registry. There are 18 competitively awarded SEER cancer registries in the United States.

3 Aug 2010

People insensitive to quinine's bitter taste may have varied absorption, metabolization capabilities: Study

Some people find quinine to be bitter while others can drink it like water. Now, scientists from the Monell Center and collaborators report that individual differences in how people experience quinine's bitterness are related to underlying differences in their genes.The findings, published online in the journal Human Molecular Genetics, demonstrate that genetic variation in regions of DNA that encode bitter taste receptors predicts a person's perception of bitterness from quinine.

3 Aug 2010

Biomaterials-based bone grafts can manipulate cell behavior to repair injury

Scientists have developed a material for bone grafts that could one day replace the 'gold standard' natural bone implants.A new study shows how particles of a ceramic called calcium phosphate have the ability to stimulate promising bone regrowth by attracting stem cells and 'growth factors' to promote healing and the integration of the grafted tissue.

3 Aug 2010

Placebo response in Parkinson's disease treatment varies with patient expectations

Individuals with Parkinson's disease were more likely to have a neurochemical response to a placebo medication if they were told they had higher odds of receiving an active drug, according to a report in the August issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

3 Aug 2010

Healthy heart may slow down aging of brain: Study

Keep your heart healthy and you may slow down the aging of your brain, according to a new study reported in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.In the study, people whose hearts pumped less blood had brains that appeared older than the brains of those whose hearts pumped more blood. Decreased cardiac index, the amount of blood that pumps from the heart in relation to a person's body size, was associated with decreased brain volume using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

3 Aug 2010

Study explores role of genetic influence on ulcerative colitis

Adults diagnosed with ulcerative colitis after age 50 are more likely to achieve remission from their symptoms than patients diagnosed at younger ages, even when those patients receive similar treatments, according to research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

3 Aug 2010

Environmental influences on college freshman weight gain

If college students gain weight during their first year in school, it might have a lot to do with how close they live to their campus dining halls and exercise facilities, a new study reports.

3 Aug 2010

Researchers discover manipulation of microRNA-29a shows potential of novel IBS treatment

A possible cause of irritable bowel syndrome has been traced to a small piece of RNA that blocks a substance protecting the colon membrane, leading to hostile conditions that can produce diarrhea, bloating and chronic abdominal pain.New research shows that this RNA segment sends signals that stop the activity of the gene that produces glutamine, an amino acid. Previous research has linked a shortage of glutamine in the gut with the seepage of toxins and bacteria through the intestinal wall, irritating nerves and creating disease symptoms.

3 Aug 2010

GG genotype may increase severity of multiple sclerosis symptoms: Study

A new study shows a gene variant may increase the severity of multiple sclerosis (MS) symptoms. The research will be published in the August 3, 2010, issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.For the study, researchers screened the oligoadenylate synthetase gene in 401 people with MS, 394 people without MS and 178 people receiving the MS treatment beta interferon.

3 Aug 2010

New fat cell with potentially harmful characteristics: Study

The new fat cells arise from stem cells in the bone marrow that travel through the blood stream to fat tissue. They are termed bone marrow progenitor-derived adipocytes. The discovery also revealed that male and female subjects accumulate the new fat cells differently. The research also may help to explain the link between types of obesity and heart disease and other illnesses.

3 Aug 2010

Alphavirus vector induce immune responses in people with advanced cancer: Researchers

There are several challenges to be overcome if therapeutic anticancer vaccines, which are designed to boost the patient's anticancer immune response, are to be successfully developed. For example, the viruses used to deliver the tumor protein to the patient's immune system are themselves targeted by the patient's immune system, inducing neutralizing and suppressive responses. But now, a team of researchers, led by Michael Morse, at Duke University Medical Center, Durham, has developed a way to overcome these neutralizing and suppressive responses by using an alphavirus packaged in virus-like replicon particles.

3 Aug 2010

Neuroglobin may protect against Alzheimer's disease: Study

A team of scientists at the University of California, Davis and the University of Auckland has discovered that neuroglobin may protect against Alzheimer's disease by preventing brain neurons from dying in response to natural stress. The team published the results of their study in the April, 2010 issue of Apoptosis.

3 Aug 2010

OECD approves new, non-animal testing guideline for skin irritation

After more than a decade of scientific research and lobbying by animal protection groups, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has approved a new, non-animal testing guideline for skin irritation. The guideline was adopted on July 22 and it is now available for use by companies and governments worldwide.

3 Aug 2010

Research links body weight to glaucoma risk

This month's Ophthalmology journal includes surprising research from the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary on the relation of body weight to the risk for glaucoma. Also, from researchers at the Tokyo Medical and Dental University, comes the first specific map of how the development of myopic maculopathy, an illness that afflicts many severely nearsighted people, predicts which patients will be most susceptible to vision loss.

3 Aug 2010

Color red makes men more alluring to women: Study

It's a symbol of courage and sacrifice, of sin and sexuality, of power and passion - and now new research demonstrates that the color red makes men more alluring to women.In the United States, England, Germany and China, women found men more appealing when they were either pictured wearing red or framed in red, compared with other colors. The finding is reported in the August issue of the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, published by the American Psychological Association.

3 Aug 2010