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Three genes linked to Lou Gehrig's disease

Michigan Technological University researchers have linked three genes to the most common type of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), generally known as Lou Gehrig's disease.

10 Sep 2009

High cognitive performance linked to high intake of fruits and vegetables

Researchers at the Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology I of the Heinrich-Heine University, D-sseldorf, Germany, investigated the relationship between fruit and vegetable intake, plasma antioxidant micronutrient status and cognitive performance in healthy subjects aged 45 to 102 years.

10 Sep 2009

Majority of surgical patients would consider an unsupervised trainee doctor to perform their operation: Survey

Three-quarters of surgical patients would consider allowing a competent unsupervised trainee junior doctor perform their entire operation if it meant they could have it done more quickly, according to a survey published in the September issue of BJUI.

9 Sep 2009

Molecular mechanism responsible for transition of non-invasive breast cancer into invasive disease discovered

Active, but non-invasive breast cancer is set free to roam as invasive breast cancer when an overexpressed protein converts it to a different cell type, scientists at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center report in the Sept. 9 issue of the journal Cancer Cell.

9 Sep 2009

New findings may help identify treatments for diabetes and hyperinsulinemia

By investigating a rare and severe form of diabetes in children, University of Iowa researchers have discovered a new molecular mechanism that regulates specialized pancreatic cells and insulin secretion. The mechanism involves a protein called ankyrin, which UI researchers previously linked to potentially fatal human heart arrhythmias.

9 Sep 2009

Nutrisystem D program helps overweight type 2 diabetic people lose weight

Results from a clinical study conducted at the Temple University School of Medicine and published today in the journal Postgraduate Medicine(1), show that a pre-packaged, portion controlled meal plan helped overweight individuals with type 2 diabetes lose significantly more weight and reduce their A1C test scores (a 90-day measure of blood sugar control) by almost a full point greater than those following a standard hospital-based diabetes support and education program, according to the findings.

9 Sep 2009

Research study examines the depression rate in chronic kidney disease patients

One in five patients with chronic kidney disease is depressed, even before beginning long-term dialysis therapy or developing end-stage renal disease, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have found.

9 Sep 2009

Research reveals new protective properties of vitamin C

Researchers at the University of Leicester and Institute for Molecular and Cellular Biology in Portugal studied new protective properties of vitamin C in cells from the human skin, which could lead to better skin regeneration.

9 Sep 2009

Doctors view on surrogate decision making process

A growing number of hospitalized adults are incapable of making their own health decisions, but little research has explored how doctors feel about making medical decisions with a patient's surrogate decision maker.

9 Sep 2009

Genetic risk factor involved in cystic fibrosis discovered

Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have discovered a genetic risk factor for severe liver disease in people with cystic fibrosis. Those who carry a particular variant of the SERPINA1 gene (also known as alpha-1-antitrypsin or alpha-1-antiprotease) are five times more likely to develop cirrhosis and other liver complications than patients who carry the normal version of the gene.

9 Sep 2009

Exposure to air pollution can cause heart attack

It's well known that measures such as exercise, a healthy diet and not smoking can help reduce high blood pressure, but researchers at the University of Michigan Health System have determined the very air we breathe can be an invisible catalyst to heart disease.

8 Sep 2009

Working mothers suffer from vision impairment as they age

For working mothers -- the ultimate multitaskers -- seeing clearly is essential to getting the job done. Yet, new research reveals that as they age, changes in their vision are impacting the ability of most moms to perform everyday activities at home and on the job.

8 Sep 2009

Chronic periodontitis linked to head and neck cancer

Chronic periodontitis, a form of gum disease, is an independent risk factor for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. This suggests the need for increased efforts to prevent and treat periodontitis as a possible means to reduce the risk of this form of cancer.

8 Sep 2009

Small molecule inhibitors could create new combination therapies

Scientists at Fox Chase Cancer Center have discovered a unique method of attack that may be used to inhibit signaling enzymes called kinases, which often have a role in sustaining drug-resistant cancerous cells. They have confirmed that IPA-3, a small molecular inhibitor of a kinase called PAK1, targets the enzyme's regulatory domain, mimicking how enzymes are naturally regulated within cells.

8 Sep 2009

Prevalence of cortical gray matter atrophy may be overestimated in healthy aging brain

The belief that healthy older brains are substantially smaller than younger brains may stem from studies that did not screen out people whose undetected, slowly developing brain disease was killing off cells in key areas, according to new research. As a result, previous findings may have overestimated atrophy and underestimated normal size for the older brain.

8 Sep 2009

Small molecule blocks aberrant pathway associated with myotonic dystrophy

Researchers at the University of Illinois have designed a small molecule that blocks an aberrant pathway associated with myotonic dystrophy type 1, the most common form of muscular dystrophy.

8 Sep 2009

Large B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma now treatable

Cases of non-Hodgkin lymphoma have more than tripled in the last thirty years according to the latest Cancer Research UK figures published today.

8 Sep 2009

Presence of virus linked with malignant human prostate cancer cells

In a finding with potentially major implications for identifying a viral cause of prostate cancer, researchers at the University of Utah and Columbia University medical schools have reported that a type of virus known to cause leukemia and sarcomas in animals has been found for the first time in malignant human prostate cancer cells.

7 Sep 2009

Early schizophrenia symptoms include unusually high CA1 subfield activity

In the first functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study of its kind, neurologists and psychiatrists at Columbia University have identified an area of the brain involved in the earliest stages of schizophrenia and related psychotic disorders.

7 Sep 2009

Nanotubes destroy kidney tumors

By injecting multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) into tumors and heating them with a quick, 30-second zap of a laser, a multi-institutional team of researchers from the Wake Forest University School of Medicine (WFUSOM), Wake Forest University Center for Nanotechnology and Molecular Materials, Rice University, and Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University has developed a new type of therapy that effectively kills kidney tumors in nearly 80% of treated mice. Researchers say that the findings, which were published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, suggest a potential future cancer treatment for humans.

7 Sep 2009