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Role of oxidative stress (OS) in dialysis patients

An article published in Hemodialysis International discusses the role of oxidative stress (OS) in dialysis patients, an imbalance which can result in long-term health problems. Potential therapeutic options to restore balance in patients are also reviewed.

7 Apr 2005

Why different tissues in the human body vary in their susceptibility to "amyloid" diseases

Researchers at The Scripps Research Institute are reporting the results of a recent study that addresses why different tissues in the human body vary in their susceptibility to "amyloid" diseases, which include Alzheimer's disease and a cluster of ailments called the familial amyloidoses.

7 Apr 2005

Fibril shape is the basis of prion strains and cross-species prion infection

New research on prions, the infectious proteins behind "mad cow" disease and Creutzfeld-Jakob disease in humans, suggests that the ability of prions in one species to infect other species depends on the shape of the toxic threadlike fibers produced by the prion. Two studies on the topic appear in the 8 April issue of the journal Cell.

7 Apr 2005

Process called sumoylation regulates key ion channel

Researchers at the University of Chicago have found that a recently discovered biological process known as sumoylation -- until now thought to be active only in the nucleus -- also occurs near the cell's surface where it regulates at least one and possibly many kinds of proteins, providing a novel target for the development of new drugs.

7 Apr 2005

Vaccine against cervical cancer and genital warts looks hopeful

More than two thirds of sexually active women will become infected with human papillomavirus (HPV) during their lifetime. HPV causes around 470 000 cases of cervical cancer each year and even though most cases of cervical cancer occur in the developing world, where cervical screening programmes are in the main non-existent, in Europe and the US 35000 women die from the disease every year.

6 Apr 2005

Stress might actually be beneficial to health

New research has surprisingly shown that stress, generally thought to be bad for the immune system by lowering the body's ability to fight off disease, on a short-term basis might actually be beneficial.

6 Apr 2005

Promising new treatment for alcohol dependence

According to the World Health Organization's Global Burden of Disease project, alcohol dependence, a major public health problem, ranks fourth as one of the worlds leading cause of disability. In the US alone over 100,000 deaths each year, where alcohol was a contributing factor, could have been prevented.

6 Apr 2005

Soft music at bedtime will help older adults sleep better and longer

Sleep, a vital ingredient in life, can sometimes become difficult as humans get older. But a recent study by researchers at Case Western Reserve University's Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing and the Buddhist Tzu-Chi General Hospital in Taiwan shows that listening to soft music at bedtime will help older adults sleep better and longer.

6 Apr 2005

Potential therapeutic target for treating Huntington's disease

Researchers studying yeast cells have identified a metabolic enzyme as a potential therapeutic target for treating Huntington's disease, a fatal inherited neurodegenerative disorder for which there is currently no effective treatment. The group, whose results appear in the May issue of Nature Genetics, includes researchers from the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle and the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore.

6 Apr 2005

Novel method to reduce cat allergic reactions

Scientists have discovered a novel method to reduce cat allergic reactions by topping up the immune cells responsible for controlling them.

6 Apr 2005

Asthmatics naturally deficient in antiviral immunity

Asthmatics produce lower levels of a type of immune cell protein needed to fight off infection from colds and other viruses, scientists have discovered.

6 Apr 2005

Startling evidence that people can unconsciously learn complex motor behaviors by watching

It's widely accepted that people watching an expert golfer or carpenter can learn the procedural steps to a better golf swing or building a deck. However, researchers Andrew A.G. Mattar at McGill University and Paul L. Gribble of the University of Western Ontario have developed startling evidence that people can unconsciously learn complex motor behaviors by watching such performances.

6 Apr 2005

THC in marijuana may prevent hardening of the arteries

A study by Dr. Francois Mach, University Hospital Geneva, Switzerland, and colleagues has found that low doses of the main active ingredient in marijuana slowed the progression of hardening of the arteries in mice, but some experts are stressing that the finding does not mean people should smoke marijuana in hopes of getting the same benefit.

6 Apr 2005

SSRI antidepressants "hijack" dopamine signaling as well launching serotonin signals

Researchers have discovered that antidepressant drugs such as Prozac not only affect levels of the neurotransmitter serotonin in the brain, but also "hijack" dopamine signaling as well--causing it to launch serotonin signals. Their findings offer new insight into how Prozac and other "selective serotonin uptake inhibitors" (SSRIs) work and how they might cause problems in patients taking them.

6 Apr 2005

Micro-organisms in clouds could play a crucial role in the spread of disease

The radical theories about nanobacteria – micro-organisms considerably smaller than ordinary bacteria - in clouds are published in two recent articles in the Journal of Proteome Research by Dr Andrei P. Sommer of the University of Ulm, Germany, and Professor Chandra Wickramasinghe of Cardiff University, UK.

6 Apr 2005