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Moderate physical exercise can stave off metabolic syndrome in people age 55 to 75

Researchers at Johns Hopkins have determined that in people age 55 to 75, a moderate program of physical exercise can significantly offset the potentially deadly mix of risk factors for heart disease and diabetes known as the metabolic syndrome.

30 Dec 2004

Economic impact of migraine headaches on American businesses is staggering

With more than 28 million Americans suffering from debilitating migraine headaches each year, employers also suffer through missed days from work and reduced productivity.

30 Dec 2004

Scientists have identified genes that promote the growth and recurrence of skin cancer

Dr. Andrzej Dlugosz and colleagues at the University of Michigan and the National Cancer Institute have examined the functions of the Hedgehog (Hh) signaling pathway in basal cell carcinoma, the most common form of cancer, and have uncovered a subset of tumor cells that are resistant to inhibition of the Hh pathway.

28 Dec 2004

Restless legs syndrome is underdiagnosed in kids

A new Mayo Clinic study has for the first time established rates of restless legs syndrome in children, finding that almost 6 percent of children seen in Mayo's sleep clinic have the disease.

28 Dec 2004

Elderly women with cervical cancer face double jeopardy

Elderly women with cervical cancer face double jeopardy. Not only does their advanced age decrease chances of survival, it also decreases the likelihood that they'll be given the most aggressive treatments for their disease, according to a study by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

28 Dec 2004

Ubiquitination protects against improper Notch signaling

The Notch pathway is an important molecular signaling mechanism whose existence has been known, or at least hinted at, for nearly a century since the identification of a mutant strain of Drosophila fruit flies with "notched" wings in Thomas Hunt Morgan's lab in 1910.

28 Dec 2004

Obesity may impose a smaller healthcare cost on African-Americans than other demographic groups

Obesity may impose a smaller healthcare cost on African-Americans than other demographic groups, according to a study led by researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) that found spending on obesity-related problems becomes progressively higher as adults grow older.

28 Dec 2004

New findings clarify the role of NOD2, a key molecular player in Crohn's Disease

This week, researchers report new findings that clarify the role of NOD2, a key molecular player in Crohn's Disease, in the cellular signaling pathways that control inflammatory responses. NOD2's clinical relevance is clear from the fact that it is encoded by a Crohn's Disease susceptibility gene.

28 Dec 2004

Evolution has been working very hard to produce us humans

The genes that regulate brain development and function evolved much more rapidly in humans than in nonhuman primates and other mammals because of natural selection processes unique to the human lineage. Researchers reported their findings in the cover article of the Dec. 29, 2004, issue of the journal Cell.

28 Dec 2004

High levels of a blood protein called mannose-binding lectin associated with lower risk of heart attack

High levels of a blood protein called mannose-binding lectin (MBL) are associated with lower risk of heart attack, particularly among diabetics, report Saevardottir and colleagues.

28 Dec 2004

Significant advance in understanding the human genome

An Oregon Health & Science University-led development of a technique for identifying control elements that drive the expression of genes in brain cells could unleash the disease-fighting potential of the much-hailed human genome.

28 Dec 2004

Tobacco company sponsored parties with free cigarettes are wrong

A widespread tobacco industry marketing strategy – sponsoring social events and giving out free cigarettes at bars, clubs, and college parties – is reaching students and may be encouraging them to take up smoking, according to a new study released today.

28 Dec 2004

AIDS breakthrough - vaccine strengthens the body’s immune system againts HIV

A Hadassah University Medical Center research team has developed a vaccine that significantly strengthens the body’s immune system against the autoimmune sequela of HIV infection, a breakthrough that could dramatically make an impact in the treatment of AIDS patients.

28 Dec 2004

New technique for tracking gene regulators

Finding out where gene-regulator proteins bind to DNA and identifying the genes they regulate just got a step easier thanks to a new technique developed by scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory.

28 Dec 2004

Tsunami entirely possible in the Pacific Northwest of the United States

The type of devastating tsunami that struck the southern coast of Asia is entirely possible in the Pacific Northwest of the United States, but might not cause as much loss of life there because of better warning systems, according to experts at Oregon State University.

28 Dec 2004

Is open source the answer for finding cures for tropical diseases?

Only about 1% of newly developed drugs are for tropical diseases, such as African sleeping sickness and dengue fever. While patent incentives have driven commercial pharmaceutical companies to make Western health care the envy of the world, the commercial model only works if companies can sell enough patented products to cover their R&D costs and produce profits for shareholders.

28 Dec 2004

Does cancer run in families?

If you have a relative with cancer, probably one of the most pressing questions is what your chances are of getting it yourself. In a paper published in PloS Medicine, the premier medical journal freely available online, Laufey Amundadottir and colleagues from deCODE genetics (a company that is using genetics to develop new drug treatments) and Iceland’s National-University Hospital go some way toward answering that question.

28 Dec 2004

Technique that could begin to make the staging of cancer both more accurate and less invasive

In a paper published in the premier open-access medical journal PloS Medicine this month, Mukesh Harisinghani and Ralph Weissleder describe a technique that could begin to make the staging of cancer both more accurate and less invasive.

28 Dec 2004

Patients with cancer detected on screening mammography undergo less toxic treatment

Women who have their breast cancers detected by physical examinations are at least twice as likely to undergo toxic treatments than those who have their cancer detected by mammography—regardless of the age of the woman, a new study shows.

28 Dec 2004

People with migraine headaches report more angina, but not more heart disease

People with a history of migraines and other headaches lasting at least four hours are more likely to report suffering from the chest pain doctors call angina than people who do not experience such headaches, a new University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill study concludes.

28 Dec 2004