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Research may help explain Alzheimer's memory loss

Based on laboratory research, scientists at Georgetown University Medical Center have a new theory as to why people with Alzheimer's disease have trouble performing even the simplest memory tasks, such as remembering a family member's name.

16 Feb 2006

Anti-malarials most effective in lupus patients genetically at risk of high levels of TNF-alpha

Anti-malarial drugs are most effective in people with lupus who are genetically predisposed to high levels of tumour necrosis factor alpha and low levels of the cytokine IL-10.

16 Feb 2006

Central adiposity, regional fat distribution, and the risk of cholecystectomy in women

A bulging midriff almost doubles a woman's chances of developing gallstones and the need for surgery to remove them, finds an extensive study published ahead of print in Gut.

16 Feb 2006

Less is more hypothesis - gene loss may explain unique human traits

Humans and chimps share most of their genes, yet they differ dramatically in many ways - their walk, the sizes of their brains and their capacities for speech and language, for example.

16 Feb 2006

Scientists discover how to make human collagen in the lab

It is the most important structural protein in the body, reinforcing connective tissue, bones and teeth, and forming long, fibrous cables to strengthen tendons. Collagen forms sheets of tissue that support the skin and every internal organ.

16 Feb 2006

New way to culture adult stem cells from bone marrow

In a significant advance for regenerative medicine, researchers at Rice University have discovered a new way to culture adult stem cells from bone marrow such that the cells themselves produce a growth matrix that is rich in important biochemical growth factors.

16 Feb 2006

Reactivating a specific memory does not affect associated or related memories

Researchers at a trio of universities have found that reactivating a specific memory does not affect associated or related memories, adding to our understanding of how memories are stored and influenced.

16 Feb 2006

Link between glucose levels and death in patients with cardiovascular disease

Men with cardiovascular disease may be at considerably increased risk for death even when their blood sugar level remains in the "normal" range, suggests a new study by a team of scientists at UCLA and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.

16 Feb 2006

Adverse drug events believed to be among the leading causes of mortality in the United States

Less than 1 percent of outpatients who received medication in 2002 were prescribed a medication that violated a prescription drug's black box warning, according to a study in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

16 Feb 2006

Causes of type 1 diabetes

Scientists are casting a wide, tightly woven net with the goal of catching the causes of type 1 diabetes.

16 Feb 2006

Scientists investigate sugar coating that surrounds bacteria

Scientists at The University of Texas at Austin have developed a quick and simple way to investigate the sugar coating that surrounds bacteria and plays a role in infection and immunity.

16 Feb 2006

Discovery of a novel system for on-demand drug delivery

A University of Illinois scientist studying how membranes wrinkle has discovered a novel system for on-demand drug delivery.

16 Feb 2006

New insight into pathogenic mechanisms underlying basal-like breast cancers

Basal-like breast cancers (BLC) are highly aggressive tumors with a relatively poor prognosis that account for approximately 15% of sporadic human breast cancer.

16 Feb 2006

Study identifies compounds that overcome a specific type of resistance to chemotherapeutic-induced apoptosis

Treatment of human cancer is often impeded when cancer cells develop resistance to drugs that are designed to induce a type of programmed cell death called apoptosis.

16 Feb 2006

ECT shock treatment improves quality of life in patients with major depression

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) - shock treatment -improves quality of life in patients with major depression, and that improved quality of life continues for six months, according to a report in the February Journal of Affective Disorders.

16 Feb 2006

Discovery suggests potential treatment for regenerating nerve tissue after stroke

Researchers at the University of Minnesota Medical School have discovered a new population of cells in human umbilical cord blood that have properties of primitive stem cells.

16 Feb 2006

More pediatricians should counsel children and their parents about preventing skin cancer

More pediatricians should counsel children and their parents about preventing skin cancer, according to dermatology researchers from Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center. A review of research literature confirmed that prevention should begin in childhood, yet found that the topic is discussed at less than 1 percent of well-child visits.

16 Feb 2006

Taking aim at one of mankind's most common diseases

A detailed structural picture of a molecule that plays a key role in activating the Epstein Barr Virus in human cells has now been obtained by researchers at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) and the Institute of Molecular and Structural Virology (IVMS), associated with the University Joseph Fourier and the CNRS, in Grenoble.

16 Feb 2006

Evidence of link between exposure to aluminium and multiple sclerosis

Scientists at Keele University in Staffordshire have discovered the first evidence of a link between human exposure to aluminium and multiple sclerosis.

16 Feb 2006

Not every stutterer is a problem case: over-reacting can make stuttering worse

If a child often stops in the middle of a sentence and repeats individual sounds or syllables, this does not inevitably mean that the child is a stutterer.

16 Feb 2006