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New Theory About Alzheimer's Disease

A group of scientists at The Scripps Research Institute has proposed a new theory about the cause of Alzheimer's disease, the progressive neurodegenerative disorder that currently afflicts some 4.5 million Americans. According to the hypothesis, the disease arises as a consequence of inflammation, which creates abnormal metabolites out of normal brain molecules.

22 Mar 2004

Drug Based on Brain Chemical Could End Narcolepsy and Insomnia

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas have discovered a potentially new avenue for treating human narcolepsy, and the work may also lead to more effective ways for insomniacs to boost their wakefulness during the daytime.

22 Mar 2004

Obesity Drug Inhibits Prostate Tumor Growth

The Burnham Institute's Jeffrey Smith, Ph.D. has discovered that orlistat, commonly prescribed as an anti-obesity drug, has a positive side-effect: it inhibits cancer growth. Dr. Smith made this discovery using an activity-based proteomics screening technique developed in his laboratory that makes it possible to identify active targets and simultaneously screen for their inhibitors.

22 Mar 2004

Cigarette Smoking May Lower Rates of Neurodegenerative Diseases like Parkinson's and Alzheimer's

While the health risks of tobacco are well known, several studies have shown that people with a history of cigarette smoking have lower rates of neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease. However, the explanations for nicotine's neuroprotective effects continue to be debated.

22 Mar 2004

Gene Responsible for The Most Common Form of Diabetes

International research teams studying two distinct populations have found variants in a gene that may predispose people to type 2 diabetes, the most common form of the disease. The researchers, who collaborated extensively in their work, report their findings in companion articles in the April issue of Diabetes.

22 Mar 2004

Stem cells and female reproduction: lessons from an unexpected source

Baltimore, MD. The recent findings reported in Nature (March 11, 2004) by Jonathon Tilly’s group at Harvard Medical School, show that female mice produce stem cells that give rise to eggs. This result overturns previous notions about mammalian reproduction, which held that females are born with all the eggs that they will ever have and that the decline in egg quality that occurs after a certain age is due to an extended aging process. What mammalian research has not been able to address at this point, however, is how these stem cells operate, what prompts them to develop into eggs, and why they are eventually lost. To answer these questions we must turn to our cousin the fruitfly.

22 Mar 2004

Molecules That Trigger a Heartbeat

Two biomedical engineering students at Johns Hopkins are mapping the interaction of molecules within a cardiac cell, describing microscopic movements that could be critical for maintaining a healthy heartbeat. The students, seniors Bhuvan Srinivasan and Carol Xiaoying Koh, have presented their findings at two prestigious computational biology conferences and are now collaborating with their faculty supervisor on a paper for a scientific journal.

22 Mar 2004

Designer Hospital Gowns and Surgical Scrub Caps

Designer Patient Hospital Gowns, Surgical Scrub Caps and Bouffant Hats introduces its hot spring fashion season with over 85 colorful dazzling fabric prints, all in stock and shipping daily worldwide.

22 Mar 2004

New Drug Offers Hope For Advanced Colorectal Cancer

Patients with advanced colorectal cancer have new hope for a longer life. The Food and Drug Administration recently approved the drug Avastin to be used in combination with chemotherapy. Doctors are calling it a big breakthrough.

22 Mar 2004

Sleep apnea may be commonly misdiagnosed with hypertension

Patients with sleep apnea may be commonly misdiagnosed with hypertension, says a study published in the March issue of CHEST, the peer-reviewed journal of the American College of Chest Physicians. In the study, one-third of patients with sleep apnea who were physician-diagnosed with hypertension actually had "white coat hypertension" (WCH), a condition characterized by an increase in blood pressure during a doctor's office visit and normal blood press during all other situations.

20 Mar 2004

Nickel-Titanium Clot-buster reverses vessel damage

A novel corkscrew-like device that mechanically removes clots from the brain has shown promise in recanalizing occluded vessels and reversing damage caused by ischemic stroke, according to researchers at the 29th International Stroke Conference.

20 Mar 2004