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Zebrafish model of human melanoma reveals new cancer gene

Looking at the dark stripes on the tiny zebrafish you might not expect that they hold a potentially important clue for discovering a treatment for the deadly skin disease melanoma. Yet melanocytes, the same cells that are are responsible for the pigmentation of zebrafish stripes and for human skin color, are also where melanoma originates.

24 Mar 2011

Cardiac pacing may help epilepsy patients with seizure-related falls

Mayo Clinic researchers have found that cardiac pacing may help epilepsy patients with seizure-related falls due to ictal asystole, an unusual condition in which the heart stops beating during an epileptic seizure. The study was recently published in the journal Epilepsia.

24 Mar 2011

PFC exposure can lead to early menopause in women

A recent study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism found that higher levels of perfluorocarbons in the body are associated with increased odds of having experienced menopause in women between 42 and 64 years old. Women in this age group with high levels of PFCs also had significantly lower concentrations of estrogen when compared to women who had low levels of PFCs.

24 Mar 2011

Fudan, UTHealth introduce international network to fight against scleroderma

Scleroderma clinicians and researchers in the United States and China have launched an international network to fight this debilitating disease that affects more than one million people worldwide.

24 Mar 2011

Scientists reveal protein target that can trigger myocarditis

People with type 1 diabetes, whose insulin-producing cells have been destroyed by the body's own immune system, are particularly vulnerable to a form of inflammatory heart disease caused by a different autoimmune reaction.

24 Mar 2011

ISEFC, TB Alliance to establish Global Health R&D Center of China

The International Scientific Exchange Foundation of China, a technical public foundation dedicated to promoting and advancing scientific development, cooperation, and exchange, today signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Global Alliance for TB Drug Development, to work together to establish the Global Health R&D Center of China, a world-class organization focused on developing innovative new treatments for public health diseases, including tuberculosis, malaria, and HIV/AIDS.

24 Mar 2011

Insomnia affects 20% of the Spanish population

Insomnia is common in Spain, and affects one person in every five. This is the conclusion of a study carried out by the Vall d'Hebron University Hospital in Barcelona and the Stanford University School of Medicine (USA), which shows that 40% of survey respondents aged over 65 report interrupted sleep at night being the prime cause of this problem.

24 Mar 2011

Individuals who smoke mentholated cigarettes do not develop lung cancer

Individuals who smoke mentholated cigarettes are no more likely to develop lung cancer or to die from the disease than smokers of non-mentholated cigarettes, according to a new study led by William Blot, Ph.D., professor of Medicine, Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, Nashville, Tenn., and colleagues at VICC, Meharry Medical College, Nashville, and the International Epidemiology Institute, Rockville, Md.

24 Mar 2011

New research can lead to better OA treatment

Arthritis researchers from North America and Europe will convene in Chicago this week to present new osteoarthritis research that could lead to better ways to detect, treat, prevent and cure osteoarthritis, which affects 27 million Americans.

24 Mar 2011

New research: Methadone can affect brain and impair intellectual functions

Methadone has been used to treat heroin addicts for nearly 50 years. Yet we have surprisingly incomplete knowledge about possible harmful effects from prolonged use. New research from the Norwegian Institute of Public Health shows that methadone affects the brain and impairs the attention of experimental animals.

24 Mar 2011

MicroRNAs may play a key role in future medicine

Since their discovery in the 1990s, microRNAs have proven to play a complex role in normal and abnormal functioning of many organ systems. In the April issue of Translational Research, entitled "MicroRNAs: A Potential New Frontier for Medicine," an international group of medical experts explores several themes related to our current understanding of microRNAs and the role they may play in the future of medicine.

24 Mar 2011

Specific plant oil may reduce belly fat in humans

Scientists have known for years that belly fat leads to serious medical problems, including diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypertension and stroke. Now, a University of Missouri researcher has found a plant oil that may be able to reduce belly fat in humans.

24 Mar 2011

Contrast agent for tumor diagnostics

X-rays are not the only way: visible and especially infrared light can also be used to image human tissue. The effectiveness of optical imaging processes can be significantly improved with suitable dyes used as contrast agents. In the journal Angewandte Chemie, a team led by Wenbin Lin at the University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill, USA) has now introduced a novel contrast agent that marks tumor cells in vitro. The dye is a phosphorescent ruthenium complex incorporated into nanoparticles of a metal–organic coordination polymer, which allows an extraordinarily high level of dye loading.

23 Mar 2011

New insights into cancer genome may lead to designer drugs for myeloma

Patients with myeloma could benefit from ‘designer’ drugs in the future after new genome-mapping technology has allowed scientists to identify a full genetic blueprint of the mutations which drive the bone marrow cancer.

23 Mar 2011

'The Silent Treatment' research focuses on communication breakdown in hospitals

Health care professionals make calculated decisions daily to not alert their colleagues when a safety tool signals potential harm to a patient, according to a new study of 6,500 nurses and nurse managers released March 22 during a national briefing in Philadelphia.

23 Mar 2011

New research: Skeleton's femur characteristics can reveal individual's weight

One of the blind spots in forensic science, particularly in identifying unknown remains, is the inability of experts to determine how much an individual weighed based on his or her skeleton.

23 Mar 2011

NIH: Diabetic retinopathy leads to vision loss in working-age Americans

Diabetes is often called the "silent killer" because people who have it are often unaware they are affected. According to the American Diabetes Association, diabetes affects 26 million people – including children – in the United States. Approximately one-quarter of those people do not know they're living with the disease.

23 Mar 2011

Study finds prevalence of insomnia among Spanish population

Insomnia is common in Spain, and affects one person in every five. This is the conclusion of a study carried out by the Vall d'Hebron University Hospital in Barcelona and the Stanford University School of Medicine, which shows that 40% of survey respondents aged over 65 report interrupted sleep at night being the prime cause of this problem.

23 Mar 2011

Study finds novel physical mechanism behind cancer migration

Ninety percent of cancer deaths resulted from metastasis, the spread of cancer to different areas in the body, yet scientific exploration of the possible mechanical factors that promote metastasis has been limited.

23 Mar 2011

Toddlers who played with fewer toys show improvement in communication skills

Toddlers who played with a limited number of toys showed more improvement in their communication skills following parent-guided treatment than those receiving other community-based treatments.

23 Mar 2011