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Investigational Alzheimer's compounds may treat neuropathies

Drugs already in development to treat Alzheimer's disease may eventually be tapped for a different purpose altogether: re-growing the ends of injured nerves to relieve pain and paralysis.

15 Apr 2011

Astrocytes regulate circadian system that controls normal sleep patterns

The circadian system that controls normal sleep patterns is regulated by a group of glial brain cells called astrocytes, according to a study published online on April 14th in Current Biology, a Cell Press publication. Neuroscientists from Tufts University School of Medicine found that disruption of astrocyte function in fruit flies ( Drosophila) led to altered daily rhythms, an indication that these star-shaped glial cells contribute to the control of circadian behavior.

15 Apr 2011

Scientists identify novel small molecules that block human tumor cell growth

Researchers from the Cancer Institute at NYU Langone Medical Center have identified three novel small molecules that interrupt a crucial cellular communication pathway that regulates many aspects of development and cancer.

15 Apr 2011

Acute high-fat diets can protect against heart attack

Approximately one million Americans suffer a heart attack each year of which some 400,000 attacks are fatal. A key cause of heart attacks is atherosclerosis, a process in which cholesterol builds up in the arteries and impedes the ability of the blood to flow to our most vital organ.

15 Apr 2011

Donor-specific antibodies may accelerate arteriosclerosis after kidney transplantation

Kidney transplant recipients who develop antibodies in response to receiving new organs can develop accelerated arteriosclerosis, or narrowing of the arteries that supply blood to the kidney, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society Nephrology (JASN). The results indicate that arteriosclerosis resulting from such donor-specific antibodies may play an important role in organ rejection following transplantation.

15 Apr 2011

Researchers pinpoint new approach that can treat pediatric leukemia

A Loyola University Health System study points to a promising new approach to treating an aggressive and usually fatal leukemia in babies.

15 Apr 2011

Organic pollutants in flame retardents cause molecular changes in reproductive organs

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are chemicals that have been widely used as flame retardants and are now classified as persistent organic pollutants. Health concerns in humans have arisen based primarily on studies with laboratory animals exposed to high levels of PBDEs. Three commercial mixtures of PBDEs have been manufactured in or imported into the United States which include penta-, octa-, and deca-brominated diphenyl ethers (BDEs).

15 Apr 2011

Insight into Cervical Spondylotic Myelopathy

Researchers at the Krembil Neuroscience Centre, Toronto Western Hospital have identified a cell receptor, which is responsible for cell death in the spinal cord in a condition called Cervical Spondylotic Myelopathy.

15 Apr 2011

Stimulation of brain nerves accelerates learning

In a breakthrough that may aid treatment of learning impairments, strokes, tinnitus and chronic pain, UT Dallas researchers have found that brain nerve stimulation accelerates learning in laboratory tests.

15 Apr 2011

Serotonin can help promote human intimacy and romantic feelings

The judgments we make about the intimacy of other couples' relationships appear to be influenced by the brain chemical serotonin, reports a new study published in Biological Psychiatry.

15 Apr 2011

Researchers develop Short-CGH method for preimplantation genetic screening

A Short Comparative Genomic Hybridisation method has been developed to carry out preimplantation genetic screening by analysing all chromosomes and transferring selected embryos to the recipient uterus in the same in vitro fertilisation cycle. This eliminates the need to freeze them.

15 Apr 2011

Researchers create artificial cornea using pig and human stem cells

Researchers extracted pig corneal cells and replaced them with human stem cells. Thus, the University of Granada takes the lead in the making of bioartificial organs, a field so far led by the Hospital Gregorio Marañón in Madrid.

15 Apr 2011

New report reveals toad brains may contain germ-fighting proteins

Frog and toad skins already are renowned as cornucopias of hundreds of germ-fighting substances. Now a new report in ACS's Journal of Proteome Research reveals that the toad brains also may contain an abundance of antibacterial and antiviral substances that could inspire a new generation of medicines.

15 Apr 2011

Researchers report injectable gel can help treat arthritis

Some 25 million people in the United States alone suffer from rheumatoid arthritis or its cousin osteoarthritis, diseases characterized by often debilitating pain in the joints. Now researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital report an injectable gel that could spell the future for treating these diseases and others.

15 Apr 2011

African genital herpes strains are more infectious than the U.S. virus

Strains of genital herpes in Africa are far more virulent than those in the United States, researchers at Harvard Medical School report, a striking insight into a common disease with important implications for preventing HIV transmission in a region staggered by the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

15 Apr 2011

Pharmaceuticals stored on space flights may have shorter shelf-life

Some of the Pharmaceuticals intended for the treatment of minor illnesses of astronauts in space may require special packaging and reformulation to remain stable for long periods in the space environment. That's according to Dr. Putcha and her colleagues from NASA, Johnson Space Centre. Their findings, published online in The AAPS Journal suggest that some of the pharmaceuticals stored on space flights may have shorter shelf-life than they do on Earth.

15 Apr 2011

Nurses use ineffective strategy for adapting circadian clocks to night-time schedule

As many as 25 percent of hospital nurses go without sleep for at least 24 hours in order to adjust to working on the night shift, which is the least effective strategy for adapting their internal, circadian clocks to a night-time schedule.

15 Apr 2011

Researchers temporarily turn off essential gene using RNAi technology

One way of discovering a gene's function is to switch it off and observe how the loss of its activity affects an organism. If a gene is essential for survival, however, then switching it off permanently will kill the organism before the gene's function can be determined. Researchers at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) have overcome this problem by using RNA interference (RNAi) technology to temporarily turn off any essential gene in adult mice and then turn it back on before the change kills the animals.

15 Apr 2011

Normal breast cells provide an innate defense mechanism against cancer

It is well known that the human body has a highly developed immune system to detect and destroy invading pathogens and tumor cells. Now, researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have shown that the body has a second line of defense against cancer - healthy cells.

15 Apr 2011

Sea squirt study may help solve organ rejection problems in humans

Studies of the small sea squirt may ultimately help solve the problem of rejection of organ and bone marrow transplants in humans, according to scientists at UC Santa Barbara.

15 Apr 2011