Metabolism News and Research

Latest Metabolism News and Research

New strategies to fight the most dangerous infectious disease

It has been identified by the World Health Organization as the most dangerous infectious disease, causing more deaths -- more than 2 million a year -- than any other single infection. Approximately one-third of the world's population is already infected.

31 Aug 2005

Daydreaming linked to Alzheimer's disease

According to new research, Alzheimer's disease may be due to abnormalities in the regions of the brain that operate the "default state", a term used to describe the cognitive state people defer to when musing, daydreaming, or thinking to themselves.

30 Aug 2005

Vitamin D puts a brake on activated macrophages - newly discovered mechanism keeps inflammation under control

When macrophages, the first line defender cells of the immune system become activated, they produce an inhibitor, which acts back on them to suppress their activity.

29 Aug 2005

Nitric oxide synthase plays a role in peripheral vascular disease

The enzyme nitric oxide synthase plays a role in peripheral vascular disease, a common disease that impairs the mobility of 25 percent of people over the age of 50, according to a Yale study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

26 Aug 2005

Inflammation plays an important role in post-operative stroke

Duke University Medical Center researchers have discovered that patients who have two specific gene variants are more than three times as likely to suffer a stroke after heart surgery.

26 Aug 2005

Parts of the brain used in daydreaming are the same areas that fail in people who have Alzheimer's disease

Researchers who used five different medical imaging techniques to study the brain activity of 764 people, including those with Alzheimer's disease, those on the brink of dementia, and healthy individuals, have found that the areas of the brain that young, healthy people use when daydreaming are the same areas that fail in people who have Alzheimer's disease.

25 Aug 2005

Patients with primary biliary cirrhosis who are treated with methotrexate have an increased risk of death

In five randomized controlled trials involving 457 people, the authors report that for patients treated with methotrexate, as a single therapy or in combination with other drug treatment, pooled data showed a tendency toward an increased risk of death or liver transplantation. The brand names for methotrexate are Rheumatrex and Trexall.

23 Aug 2005

Malfunctioning bone marrow cells cause neuropathy in many people with diabetes

Malfunctioning bone marrow cells that produce insulin appear to cause a dangerous nerve condition called neuropathy that disables many people with diabetes, said a research team led by Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) in Houston.

22 Aug 2005

A cell's energy level is critical to its survival

In an ongoing effort to fight disease by manipulating energy regulation of cells, a collaborative study led by Dartmouth Medical School (DMS) has demonstrated that cells lacking a tumor-suppressing kinase called LKB1 can still maintain healthy energy levels when they become stressed.

22 Aug 2005

Increasing sugar processing in the liver may lead to future treatments for diabetes, obesity

Researchers at the University of Minnesota have shown that increasing the concentration of a key regulator involved in glucose metabolism can improve the way the liver produces and disposes of the sugar glucose, the primary fuel of the body. Finding ways to increase that concentration could provide a treatment for diabetes and obesity.

22 Aug 2005

Losing weight cuts breast cancer risk

An international team of scientists has found that young women who carry a breast cancer gene, can reduce their risk of the disease by up to 65% by attaining a healthy bodyweight.

21 Aug 2005

SH2-B enhances brain's leptin sensitivity - may lead to clues for treatment of obesity and diabetes

What do laboratory mice at the University of Michigan Medical School have in common with millions of overweight Americans? Like many of us, these mice just can't stop eating.

18 Aug 2005

Protein Sirt1 points to new therapies for type 2 diabetes

Opening the possibility of new therapies for type 2 diabetes, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found that a protein called Sirt1 enhances the secretion of insulin in mice and allows them to better control blood glucose levels. Their study appears in the August 17 issue of Cell Metabolism.

18 Aug 2005

Defects in newly discovered pathway may be an overlooked cause of anemia

Researchers studying zebrafish that die from anemia have discovered a new pathway for the synthesis of heme, the deep red, iron-containing molecule that is a component of hemoglobin and myoglobin.

18 Aug 2005

Low hemoglobin levels are a predictor of increased risk of death among heart failure patients

Hemoglobin (Hgb) is the major substance in red blood cells, and its level indicates the blood's ability to carry oxygen throughout the body. Studies have shown that low hemoglobin, which may result in anemia, is more common among patients with heart failure than it is among people in the general population.

17 Aug 2005

Women who take oral contraceptives can counteract bone loss by increasing calcium in their daily diet

Women who take oral contraceptives can counteract bone loss by making sure they have enough calcium in their daily diet, especially early in life, according to Purdue University research.

17 Aug 2005

Weight control protein may yield new approaches for treating obesity and type 2 diabetes

The findings in mice further suggest that particular variants of the protein SH2-B might underlie obesity in humans, the researchers said.

16 Aug 2005

Good news for the hundreds of thousands of cancer patients who undergo radiation therapy

Scientists report that they have a better understanding of the complex effects of radiation on tumor biology and that specific radiation treatment regimens may enhance the effectiveness of radiotherapy, even in tumor populations that have been notoriously difficult to treat.

16 Aug 2005

Researchers find drug targets for treating metabolic syndrome

Ongoing studies by researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center and other institutions have uncovered the biochemical basis of many of the factors contributing to what is known as the metabolic syndrome, suggesting potential new drug targets for treating the condition.

11 Aug 2005

Endorphin system may hold the key to understanding and treating bulimia nervosa

The role of the brain's opioid receptor system - or endorphin system - may hold the key to understanding and treating bulimia nervosa, according to research reported in the Society of Nuclear Medicine's August issue of the Journal of Nuclear Medicine.

9 Aug 2005

Metabolism News and Research

Latest Metabolism News and Research

New strategies to fight the most dangerous infectious disease

Daydreaming linked to Alzheimer's disease

Vitamin D puts a brake on activated macrophages - newly discovered mechanism keeps inflammation under control

Nitric oxide synthase plays a role in peripheral vascular disease

Inflammation plays an important role in post-operative stroke

Parts of the brain used in daydreaming are the same areas that fail in people who have Alzheimer's disease

Patients with primary biliary cirrhosis who are treated with methotrexate have an increased risk of death

Malfunctioning bone marrow cells cause neuropathy in many people with diabetes

A cell's energy level is critical to its survival

Increasing sugar processing in the liver may lead to future treatments for diabetes, obesity

Losing weight cuts breast cancer risk

SH2-B enhances brain's leptin sensitivity - may lead to clues for treatment of obesity and diabetes

Protein Sirt1 points to new therapies for type 2 diabetes

Defects in newly discovered pathway may be an overlooked cause of anemia

Low hemoglobin levels are a predictor of increased risk of death among heart failure patients

Women who take oral contraceptives can counteract bone loss by increasing calcium in their daily diet

Weight control protein may yield new approaches for treating obesity and type 2 diabetes

Good news for the hundreds of thousands of cancer patients who undergo radiation therapy

Researchers find drug targets for treating metabolic syndrome

Endorphin system may hold the key to understanding and treating bulimia nervosa

Freezing Point Osmometry in Life Science Applications

Precision in every drop: Inside Hamilton’s syringe technology

Exploring the Future of Neuroscience Drug Discovery