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Simple placebo pill can track footprints of prior antidepressant use

Individuals with major depressive disorder (MDD) often undergo multiple courses of antidepressant treatment during their lives. This is because the disorder can recur despite treatment and because finding the right medication for a specific individual can take time.

27 Mar 2012

Opinion pieces, editorial respond to nomination of Jim Yong Kim to lead World Bank

On Friday, March 23, President Obama nominated Jim Yong Kim to be the next president of the World Bank. The following is a summary of several opinion pieces and an editorial published in response to his nomination.

27 Mar 2012

IU biologist to genetically modify variants of chlamydia

An Indiana University biologist has been awarded over $2.3 million from the National Institutes of Health to genetically modify variants of the human pathogen chlamydia in hopes of finding a vaccine for the most commonly reported bacterial infectious disease in the United States.

27 Mar 2012

Researchers use skin cells from MND patient to create motor neurones

A breakthrough using cutting-edge stem cell research could speed up the discovery of new treatments for motor neurone disease (MND).

27 Mar 2012

Bariatric surgery effectively controls diabetes

Overweight, diabetic patients who underwent bariatric surgery achieved significant improvement or remission of their diabetes, according to new research from Cleveland Clinic.

27 Mar 2012

Study reveals how HSV-1 virus overcomes intrinsic host defenses

New biological research reveals how an invading virus hijacks a cell's workings by imitating a signaling marker to defeat the body's defenses. By manipulating cell signals, the virus destroys a defensive protein designed to inhibit it. This finding, from studies in human cell cultures, may represent a broader targeting strategy used by other viruses, and may lay the scientific groundwork for developing more effective treatments for infectious diseases.

27 Mar 2012

Mayo Clinic researchers join expedition to Everest

It's a natural laboratory for studying heart disease, lung problems, muscle loss, sleeping disorders and new medical technologies. It's also the highest mountain in the world. Mount Everest's extreme altitude puts climbers under the same conditions experienced by patients suffering from heart disease, obesity or advanced age. To take advantage of that, Mayo Clinic researchers are joining an expedition to Everest with National Geographic, The North Face and Montana State University.

26 Mar 2012

Popcorn – a healthy snack with antioxidants higher than fruits and veggies

Popcorn when it is not covered with butter and salt is already known to be a healthy snack food and now a group of scientists say it may even top fruits and vegetables in antioxidant levels.

26 Mar 2012

Synthetic pasta-like objects are major chemistry advances for regenerative medicine

Medicine's recipe for keeping older people active and functioning in their homes and workplaces - and healing younger people injured in catastrophic accidents - may include "noodle gels" and other lab-made invisible filaments that resemble uncooked spaghetti with nanoscale dimensions, a scientist said here today at the 243rd National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS).

26 Mar 2012

Promising results from Esperion ETC-1002 Phase 2 clinical trial for dyslipidemia

Esperion Therapeutics, a privately held biotechnology company working to discover, develop and commercialize treatments for cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, today announced positive results from a Phase 2 clinical trial for ETC-1002.

26 Mar 2012

High-fat, low-carb foods linked with increased risk of heart attack in obese people

High-fat, low-carb foods are a popular choice for dieters, but new laboratory research by University of Alabama at Birmingham cardiologists indicates these may be detrimental to the health of people who have ischemic cardiovascular disease or a predisposition to heart attacks.

26 Mar 2012

Mutational profiling could determine which AML patients will benefit from dose-intensive chemotherapy

An international group of researchers, including those from Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Fla., have published a paper in the March 14 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine reviewing the results of a study that analyzed mutations in 18 genes of 398 patients who had acute myeloid leukemia.

26 Mar 2012

Quest, LabCorp currently involved in multi-billion dollar Medicare scam

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (Quest) and Laboratory Corporation of America (LabCorp), the nation's two largest laboratories, are currently involved in a multi-billion dollar Medicare scam, according to a lengthy and critical expose published in one of the medical laboratory industry's leading trade publications.

From Quest Diagnostics 26 Mar 2012

New method for measurement of aggregated beta-amyloid in AD

An international team of researchers have developed a new method for measurement of aggregated beta-amyloid - a protein complex believed to cause major nerve cell damage and dysfunction in Alzheimer's disease. The new method might facilitate diagnosis and detection as well as development of drugs directed against aggregated beta-amyloid.

26 Mar 2012

GenVec announces data from respiratory syncytial virus vaccine program

GenVec, Inc. (Nasdaq: GNVC) announced today that data were presented on GenVec's respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine program at the "Keystone Symposium on Viral Immunity and Host Gene Influence", which is taking place in Keystone, Colorado from March 21-26, 2012.

26 Mar 2012

MicroRNAs linked to imminent threat of heart attack

Researchers at the Intermountain Medical Center Heart Institute have, for the first time ever, made a connection between tiny genetic molecules called microRNAs and the imminent threat of a heart attack, according to a new study.

26 Mar 2012

Male pattern baldness causes discovered

Most men start to go bald in middle age, with about 80% of men having some hair loss by the age of 70. Male pattern baldness is the most common type of hair loss for men, the National Institute of Health said. Symptoms include a thinning of hair at the hairline, eventually creating a U-shaped or horseshoe pattern of hair on both sides of the head. The male sex hormone testosterone plays a key role, as do genetic factors. They cause the hair follicles to shrink, eventually becoming so small that they are invisible, leading to the appearance of baldness. While treatment is not necessary, side effects including psychological stress and loss of self-esteem due to change in appearance can be experienced.

25 Mar 2012

Genetic marker identifies tumors unable to repair DNA damage by platinum agents

Scientists from Brigham and Women's Hospital and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and their colleagues have found a genetic marker that predicts which aggressive "triple negative" breast cancers and certain ovarian cancers will likely respond to platinum-based chemotherapies.

23 Mar 2012

Treatment with aromatase inhibitors enables some women to have lumpectomy

Preoperative treatment with aromatase inhibitors increases the likelihood that postmenopausal women with estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer will be able to have breast-conserving surgery rather than a mastectomy, according to the results of a national clinical trial presented today at the Society of Surgical Oncology annual meeting in Orlando, Fla.

23 Mar 2012

Uppsala University researchers identify promising biomarkers for ASD

An important step towards developing a rapid, inexpensive diagnostic method for autism has been take by Uppsala University, among other universities. Through advanced mass spectrometry the researchers managed to capture promising biomarkers from a tiny blood sample.

23 Mar 2012