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Researchers discover way to reduce plaque deposits on the brain that could slow the progression of Alzheimer's disease

Their findings, which will be highlighted at the upcoming 2005 American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists' (AAPS) National Biotechnology Conference in San Francisco, brings renewed hope to the 4.5 million Americans who have Alzheimer's disease.

26 May 2005

Direct link between inefficient metabolism and atherosclerosis

An experiment that turned out very differently than expected led scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis to the first direct link between inefficient metabolism and atherosclerosis.

26 May 2005

Most serious side effects in statins may be higher in one of the newest drugs, rosuvastatin (Crestor)

A post-market analysis of cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins indicates that some of the most serious side effects may be higher in one of the newest drugs, rosuvastatin (Crestor). The drug is the strongest statin available because it has the greatest effect per milligram on low-density lipoprotein ("bad" cholesterol).

26 May 2005

'Brown fat cells' hold clues for possible obesity treatments

Joslin Diabetes Center scientists have discovered a group of genes that govern the genesis of calorie-burning fat cells. This discovery may lead to novel ways to treat obesity in humans.

26 May 2005

Protein, called "eed," crucial to the regulation of genes in embryonic stem cells

New research from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill shows how a protein may be crucial to the regulation of genes in embryonic stem cells.

26 May 2005

WIN compound - a prototype drug for curing colds - is showing so much promise

An antiviral compound that wiggles its way into the common cold virus may provide one piece of the solution to halting the infection, say Purdue University scientists.

25 May 2005

Protein TRPA1 essential for hearing also vital for pain perception

The same protein that "translates" sound into nerve signals to the brain and enables individuals to hear is also required for pain perception, researchers from Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine have found.

25 May 2005

Scientists watch agents of brain-wasting diseases invade and move within brain cells

Scientists for the first time have watched agents of brain-wasting diseases, called transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE), as they invade a nerve cell and then travel along wire-like circuits to points of contact with other cells.

25 May 2005

Activation of thermoreceptors mediates raw garlic's burning pungency

The worldwide popularity of garlic as a food ingredient and its therapeutic stature in folklore both stem in part from the distinctive pungency associated with its raw, uncooked state.

23 May 2005

Anti-inflammatory protein annexin 1 may protect patients from the detrimental effects of severe inflammatory response syndrome

Severe inflammatory response syndrome, or SIRS, occurs when the body's response to an overwhelming infection becomes uncontrolled. The very immune response meant to clear the pathogen and its toxins actually causes damage to the host's own tissues when it goes into overdrive, releasing too many immune signals.

23 May 2005

Scientists show nuclear protein Ezh2 helps establish previously unknown signaling pathway in cells

Since 2001, scientists have wrestled with the discovery that there are fewer genes in humans than biological processes linked to those genes over the course of a human lifespan. One way to understand genetically coded events is by studying epigenetics, the regulation and heritability of genes at a cellular level due to molecular changes to the many proteins (called histones) that package DNA in a cell's nucleus.

23 May 2005

Gene keeps neural cells on correct developmental path

23 May 2005

Researchers have isolated two biomarkers for interstitial cystitis (IC)

The discovery of these biomarkers could lead to a definitive test for IC and have the potential to lead to new therapies. Results of two studies are being presented today at the annual meeting of the American Urological Association (AUA) in San Antonio, and are published in abstracts 69 and 80 of the AUA proceedings.

22 May 2005

New polysaccharide may help combat multidrug resistance in cancer

In a recent study published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, scientists report that a molecule previously thought to play a purely structural and inert role in cells is actually involved in multidrug resistance in cancer.

22 May 2005

New insight into the machinery cells use to internalize cell surface receptors

Using state of the art imaging technology a team from Yale School of Medicine has glimpsed one of the cell's most important 'nano-machines' in action. The work, performed in collaboration with English and French scientists, provides new insight into the machinery cells use to internalize cell surface receptors.

22 May 2005

Discovery may lead to new drugs to treat cancer, control fertility

A recent discovery in cellular biology may allow scientists to enhance organ regeneration by stem cells, prevent the progression of cancer, and control fertility.

22 May 2005

Gene keeps neural cells on correct developmental path

Embryonic stem cells with identical genomes grow into distinctive tissues, such as heart, bone, and brain. At one time, scientists believed the differences among cell types arose from various sets of genes switched on inside developing cells. Then, studies showed that adult neurons uniquely lack a protein that permanently turns off neuronal genes in the rest of the body's cells.

20 May 2005

New kidney test better elder mortality predictor

A study at the San Francisco VA Medical Center (SFVAMC) has found that a test of kidney function that measures blood levels of cystatin C -- a protein produced by most cells in the body -- is a far more accurate predictor of mortality risk in elderly people than the current standard kidney function test, which measures levels of the protein creatinine.

20 May 2005

Human cells can silence an essential part of HIV's genetic make-up

For the first time, scientists have shown that humans use an immune defense process common in plants and invertebrates to battle a virus.

19 May 2005

Global project to combat parasites that cause cancer and infection in millions

Many cancers are associated with infections (for example cervical cancer is linked to the human papilloma virus) but there is no stronger link between a human malignancy and a parasitic infection than that between cancer of the bile ducts and a liver fluke called Opisthorchis viverrini.

18 May 2005