Oxidative Stress News and Research

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Oxidative Stress is a condition in which antioxidant levels are lower than normal. Antioxidant levels are usually measured in blood plasma.

Scientists identify importance of novel protein-regulating mechanism

For years, science has generally considered the phosphorylation of proteins -- the insertion of a phosphorous group into a protein that turns it on or off -- as perhaps the factor regulating a range of cellular processes from cell metabolism to programmed cell death. Now, scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute have identified the importance of a novel protein-regulating mechanism -- called sulfenylation -- that is similar to phosphorylation and may, in fact, open up opportunities to develop new types of drugs for diseases such as cancer.

12 Dec 2011

Fatty livers burn more fat, not less

When our livers become loaded with fat, it isn't because they are slacking. A new study of human patients in the December Cell Metabolism shows that fatty livers actually burn more fat, not less. All that "hard work" may be at the root of the organ damage that comes with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), a condition associated with insulin resistance that affects about one in three in the U.S. population.

6 Dec 2011

Study evaluates whether genetic GST polymorphisms increase risk of ALD in alcoholics

It has been widely observed that only a small percentage of alcoholics develop cirrhosis of the liver, the most advanced form of alcoholic liver disease (ALD); the reason why all alcoholics do not develop such disease is not known. The present study from Spain, that includes original work and a meta-analysis, evaluates whether genetic polymorphisms that determine levels of glutathione-S-transferases (GST) relate to the risk of developing ALD among alcoholics.

6 Dec 2011

Biosensors can detect oxidant production in living organism

Arterial calcification and coronary heart disease, neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's, cancer and even the aging process itself are suspected to be partially caused or accelerated by oxidative stress. Oxidative stress arises in tissues when there is an excess of what are called reactive oxygen species.

6 Dec 2011

Researchers discover why men more likely than women to develop squamous cell skin cancer

Men are three times more likely than women to develop a common form of skin cancer but medical science doesn't know why. A new study may provide part of the answer.

2 Dec 2011

CWRU receives NHLBI grant to study sleep apnea as possible cause of AF

Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine has received a $3.8 million grant from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) to study sleep apnea as a possible cause of atrial fibrillation (AF), the most commonly diagnosed type of arrhythmia, or irregular heart rhythm.

22 Nov 2011

Sluggish recycling of protein-slicing enzyme could promote Alzheimer's

Sluggish recycling of a protein-slicing enzyme could promote Alzheimer's disease, according to a study published online on November 21 in The Journal of Cell Biology.

22 Nov 2011

H2S plays a major role in protecting bacteria from effects of different antibiotics

Although scientists have known for centuries that many bacteria produce hydrogen sulfide (H2S) it was thought to be simply a toxic by-product of cellular activity. Now, researchers at NYU School of Medicine have discovered H2S in fact plays a major role in protecting bacteria from the effects of numerous different antibiotics.

18 Nov 2011

Health benefits of nut consumption

A recent scientific study has revealed the relationship between nut consumption and a high level of serotonin metabolites (an important neurotransmitter) in patients with metabolic syndrome, who are at high risk of cardiovascular disease.

11 Nov 2011

IRCM peptide chemist listed as inventor on two U.S. patents

In 2010, after more than 10 years of basic research, Dr. Peter W. Schiller, a world-renowned peptide chemist and Director of the Chemical Biology and Peptide research unit at the Institut de recherches cliniques de Montr-al (IRCM), and his international collaborators were the listed inventors on two U.S. patents awarded to the institute and covering different uses of a unique class of peptide compounds initially synthesized in Dr. Schiller's laboratory at the IRCM.

10 Nov 2011

People with recurrent depression, chronic stress have shorter telomeres in WBCs

People with recurrent depressions or those exposed to chronic stress exhibits shorter telomeres in white blood cells. This is shown by a research team at Umeå University in a coming issue of Biological Psychiatry.

9 Nov 2011

Maryland anesthesiologist named 2011 Researcher of the Year

Often on the mind of Gary Fiskum, PhD, are the more than 250,000 people in the U.S. who get resuscitated from cardiac arrest each year, the 6 million living with traumatic brain injuries, and the wounded warriors whose brain whose brains sustain enormous G-forces from roadside bombs in the war zone.

9 Nov 2011

Potential fish enzyme biomarker for environmental toxins

The level of the enzyme carbonyl reductase (CBR) is elevated in the livers of fish that have been exposed to cleaned wastewater. Scientists at the University of Gothenburg can show that CBR has properties that may make it suitable to be used as a biomarker, an early warning signal of environmental toxins. The aim of the project is to achieve better environmental monitoring.

9 Nov 2011

Potential drug therapy for Hutchinson Gilford Progeria Syndrome

Researchers have identified a potential drug therapy for a premature ageing disease that affects children causing them to age up to eight times as fast as the usual rate.

2 Nov 2011

Differences in key metabolic enzyme levels linked to liver damage susceptibility

Differences in the levels of two key metabolic enzymes may explain why some people are more susceptible to liver damage, according to a study in the October 17 issue of The Journal of Cell Biology (www.jcb.org).

18 Oct 2011

High glucose and oxidative stress stimulate AMPK in embryo

In a paper published today in Diabetologia, a team at Joslin Diabetes Center, headed by Mary R. Loeken, PhD, has identified the enzyme AMP kinase (AMPK) as key to the molecular mechanism that significantly increases the risk of neural tube defects such as spina bifida and some heart defects among babies born to women with diabetes.

18 Oct 2011

Scientists identify genes that act in muscles to modulate aging and resistance to stress

Researchers at Emory University School of Medicine have identified a set of genes that act in muscles to modulate aging and resistance to stress in fruit flies.

18 Oct 2011

Scientists discover enzyme that acts as a 'fertility switch'

Scientists have discovered an enzyme that acts as a 'fertility switch', in a study published in Nature Medicine today. High levels of the protein are associated with infertility, while low levels make a woman more likely to have a miscarriage, the research has shown.

18 Oct 2011

Multivitamin supplements no panacea for women: Study

According to the latest American study women who take multivitamin supplements don't live longer than those who get their nutrients from food alone. In fact, they appear to have slightly higher death rates, researchers found.

11 Oct 2011

NIH Director to deliver keynote address at eighth SIO international conference

The Society for Integrative Oncology (SIO) announced today that National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins, MD, PhD, will deliver the keynote address at its eighth international conference, which is co‐sponsored by Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.

4 Oct 2011