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Remediable conditions influence health, development and growth of young children

Pediatric researchers from Boston Medical Center, in partnership with other Children's HealthWatch investigators in Minneapolis, Little Rock, Philadelphia, and Baltimore, have found that the cumulative effects of crowded and unstable housing and uncertain supplies of food and heat act together to decrease the chances of normal growth and development and good physical health among infants and toddlers.

12 Apr 2010

Study pioneers phenotyping of human metabolome

The old excuse, "I am only overweight because of my genes," is suddenly gaining credibility as researchers uncover ever more evidence that the way our bodies digest and process nutrients in the food we eat is different for every person. The budding discipline of metabolomics strives to investigate these differences in a scientific manner.

12 Apr 2010

Ku protein employs unique mechanism for DNA repair: Researchers

Scientists have shown in multiple contexts that DNA damage over our lifetimes is a key mechanism behind the development of cancer and other age-related diseases. Not everyone gets these diseases, because the body has multiple mechanisms for repairing the damage caused to DNA by aging, the environment and other human behaviors - but the mechanisms behind certain kinds of DNA repair have not been well-understood.

12 Apr 2010

Study suggests new ways to improve anti-cancer chemotherapies

A study released this week suggests that anti-cancer chemotherapies which use nanoparticles to deliver drugs deep inside tumor tissue will be more effective if the particles are positively electrically charged because they are taken up to a greater extent by proliferating cells, according to a team of chemists and chemical engineers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

12 Apr 2010

Scientists discover and block pathway responsible for link between stress, anxiety and depression

Scientists at The University of Western Ontario have discovered the biological link between stress, anxiety and depression. By identifying the connecting mechanism in the brain, this high impact research led by Stephen Ferguson of Robarts Research Institute shows exactly how stress and anxiety could lead to depression.

12 Apr 2010

Secrets to happiness, depression in centenarians identified

Researchers from Iowa State University's gerontology program have helped identify what predicts happiness and long life in centenarians, as well as what causes depression in 80-somethings and above.

9 Apr 2010

DISH should be considered an important cause of dysphagia among older adults: Study

Diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis is a common but often unrecognized systemic disorder observed mainly in elderly people. All papers related to DISH demonstrate a consistent and marked increase of the disease with advancing age. Various local structural lesions such as oropharyngeal tumors, vascular pathologies, retropharyngeal abscesses, and anterior cervical osteophytes may lead to mechanical esophageal dysphagia.

9 Apr 2010

Gamma-tocotrienol kills prostate tumour cells in animal model studies

Researchers from Davos Life Science in Singapore, in collaboration with scientists at the University of Hong Kong, have shown that gamma-tocotrienol, a member of the vitamin E family, is potent in killing prostate tumour cells in animal model studies. This research was reported this week in the latest edition of Pharmacology.

9 Apr 2010

Level of bacteria on fresh produce can vary according to income level: Study

No one wants a mixed salad tossed with extra bacteria, mold and yeast, but those are just what you might find when you try to eat a healthier diet in poorer neighborhoods. A new study shows that the level of bacteria found on the fresh produce can vary according to the income level of the neighborhoods where it is for sale.

9 Apr 2010

More public-private partnerships crucial for success of Italian pharmaceutical industry

The newly retired Chief Executive Officer of Roche Pharmaceuticals Bill Burns today led calls for more public-private partnerships in the pharmaceutical industry at the launch of the Italian Institute of Technology's Drug Discovery and Development Unit (D3).

9 Apr 2010

Broken heart disease affects women in post menopause period

It seems an infarction, but it's not. It's called Tako-Tsubo syndrome, or stress-induced cardiomyopathy, and it's a rare disease which at first used to be confused with the far more common (and dangerous) cardiac infarction. Patients arrive to the emergency room with the characteristic heart attack symptoms: acute pain in the chest, an electrocardiogram with the typical changes and the release of those enzymes associated with the usual heart disease.

9 Apr 2010

Drugs that affect methylation state of genes could reverse autism's effects: The FASEB Journal

A new discovery raises hope that autism may be more easily diagnosed and that its effects may be more reversible than previously thought. In a new study appearing online in The FASEB Journal, scientists have identified a way to detect the disorder using blood and have discovered that drugs which affect the methylation state of genes could reverse autism's effects.

9 Apr 2010

Increase in delaying retirement likely to gain speed: RAND study

An unprecedented upturn in the number of older Americans who delay retirement is likely to continue and even accelerate over the next two decades, a trend that should help ease the financial challenges facing both Social Security and Medicare, according to a new RAND Corporation study.

9 Apr 2010

Interprovincial migration rates for health care workers decline: CIHI study

From 2001 to 2006, Canada's health care providers were less likely to move from one province or territory to another, with migration rates decreasing to their lowest levels in two decades for some occupational groups. According to a new study released today by the Canadian Institute for Health Information, this decline was particularly apparent for physicians.

9 Apr 2010

Independent management of diabetes a huge issue for teens

It is hard enough being a teenager − or the parent of a teenager − without also having to deal with type 1 diabetes. Keeping good control can be a problem when the responsibility for administering insulin and checking blood glucose levels passes from parent to child.

9 Apr 2010

Inovio Biomedical receives $2.8M grant to develop DNA vaccine for HCV

Inovio Biomedical Corporation, a leader in DNA vaccine design, development and delivery, announced today that the company and its collaborators from Drexel University, Cheyney University, and the University of Pennsylvania have received a $2.8 million grant to develop a DNA vaccine to treat hepatitis C virus.

9 Apr 2010

World's largest autism science and advocacy organization awards 16 new research grants

Autism Speaks, the world's largest autism science and advocacy organization, today announced the awarding of 16 new research grants totaling $5,223,743 over the next three years.

9 Apr 2010

Omega-3 fatty acids improve nerve regeneration, prevent psychotic disorders and reduce cellular aging

Improving nerve regeneration after corneal surgery, preventing psychotic disorders in those at high risk for them and reducing cellular aging are three emerging benefits of the omega-3 fatty acids found in seafood, according to milestone research described in the April 2010 PUFA Newsletter and Fats of Life online publications for health professionals and consumers, respectively.

9 Apr 2010

Study finds link between autism and social influence

Social influence plays a substantial role in the surging number of autism diagnoses, according to a study published in the American Journal of Sociology.

9 Apr 2010

Obese adolescents sleep less

Obese adolescents go to bed later and sleep less than their lighter contemporaries. This is the finding of a study published in the April issue of Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health.

9 Apr 2010