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Genetic risk factors play role in autoantibody-negative rheumatoid arthritis

During the past few years, several new genetic risk factors for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have been identified.

8 Apr 2009

Gene delivery appears safe for regenerating tooth-supporting gum tissue

Scientists at the University of Michigan have developed a method of gene delivery that appears safe for regenerating tooth-supporting gum tissue---a discovery that assuages one of the biggest safety concerns surrounding gene therapy research and tissue engineering.

8 Apr 2009

Inflammatory chemokine may explain diseases that come with obesity

An inflammatory factor already linked to several diseases, including pulmonary disease, lung cancer, and arthritis, may also be responsible for the insulin resistance that comes with obesity, according to a new study published in the April issue of Cell Metabolism.

8 Apr 2009

Discovery of marker for colon stem cells could shed light on tumor growth

Cancer researchers led by Bruce Boman, M.D., Ph.D. director of Cancer Genetics and Stem Cell Biology at the Helen F. Graham Cancer Center of the Christiana Care Health System, and a faculty member at the University of Delaware, have discovered an enzyme common to both normal and malignant colon stem cells that will assist scientists searching for a cure for colon cancer.

8 Apr 2009

Reovirus kills cancer stem cells

Dalhousie Medical School cancer researcher Dr. Patrick Lee has proven that a common virus can infect and kill breast cancer stem cells.

8 Apr 2009

Cigarette smoke changes the immune response to bacteria - culprit behind COPD exacerbations

Smoking cigarettes is not only the principle cause of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), but it may change the body's immune responses to bacteria that commonly cause exacerbations of the disease, according to new research in a mouse model.

8 Apr 2009

Smokers with serious illnesses need additional help to quit, study says

Individuals with serious illnesses - including cancer, heart disease and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease - make up a disproportionately high segment of current smokers and are also among the most addicted to tobacco use.

8 Apr 2009

Antibiotics could treat cystic fibrosis, other genetic diseases

By modifying the properties of the common antibiotic gentamicin, researchers at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology have developed what could become an effective treatment for many human genetic diseases, including cystic fibrosis (CF), Duchenne muscular dystrophy, Usher Syndrome and numerous cancers.

8 Apr 2009

Genetic variation found to increase risk of schizophrenia

Rutgers geneticist Linda Brzustowicz and her colleagues have identified a specific DNA change that is likely to increase risk for developing schizophrenia in some people.

8 Apr 2009

$Adult brain processes fractions easier than child's$

Adult brain processes fractions easier than child's

Although fractions are thought to be a difficult mathematical concept to learn, the adult brain encodes them automatically without conscious thought, according to new research in the April 8 issue of The Journal of Neuroscience.

8 Apr 2009

Rogue Alzheimer's gene causes early brain changes

British scientists have found that some young adults who carry a certain genetic variant have an increased risk of developing Alzheimer's disease and distinct brain patterns and changes in their brain activity started decades before any symptoms appeared.

8 Apr 2009

Breakthrough in transplant medicine

Australian scientists have made a breakthrough in transplantation immunity by finding a way of stopping the immune system from rejecting transplanted organs.

8 Apr 2009

Weak social ties at workplace increase risk of burn-out

Long-term leaves of absence tied to stress-related diagnoses are often preceded by a long period without any secure and comforting social relations. This is shown in a recently published study in public health science at Karlstad University in Sweden.

7 Apr 2009

Exercise is safe, improves quality of life in patients With chronic heart failure

Behavior treatment works as well as drugs for children with ADHD and bypasses the risk of medication's side effects, a meta-analysis of 174 studies on ADHD treatment conducted at the University at Buffalo, has shown.

7 Apr 2009

University of Rochester Medical Center urologists compare tests for early bladder cancer detection

Men over the age of 60 who have smoked at least 20 years are needed for an international clinical study to improve bladder cancer screening techniques at the University of Rochester Medical Center.

7 Apr 2009

Young adults at future risk of Alzheimer's have different brain activity

Young adults with a genetic variant that raises their risk of developing Alzheimer's Disease show changes in their brain activity decades before any symptoms might arise, according to a new brain imaging study by scientists from the University of Oxford and Imperial College London.

6 Apr 2009

Thinking of others causes lapses in our self-control

Exerting self-control is exhausting. In fact, using self-control in one situation impairs our ability to use self-control in subsequent, even unrelated, situations.

6 Apr 2009

Stem cells from bone marrow used to grow new blood vessels

Research led by David Hess of the Robarts Research Institute at The University of Western Ontario has identified how to use selected stem cells from bone marrow to grow new blood vessels to treat diseases such as peripheral artery disease.

6 Apr 2009

Stem cell innovation in UK at risk

Despite great hopes for stem cell therapy, major structural and cultural changes within the NHS are needed if it is to succeed in the UK.

6 Apr 2009

Simple bedside test improves diagnosis of chronic back pain, could guide treatment

A simple and inexpensive method of assessing pain, developed by Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers, is better than currently used techniques for distinguishing neuropathic pain - pain caused by damage to the nervous system - from other types of chronic back pain.

6 Apr 2009