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Inherited factors linked to head and neck cancers in young adults

An article published online today in the International Journal of Epidemiology pools data from 25 case-control studies and conducts separate analyses to show that head and neck cancers (HNC) in young adults are more likely to be as a result of inherited factors, rather than lifestyle factors such as smoking or drinking alcohol.

23 Jan 2015

New study links inflammatory bowel diseases to increase in diversity of viruses

Inflammatory bowel diseases are associated with a decrease in the diversity of bacteria in the gut, but a new study led by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has linked the same illnesses to an increase in the diversity of viruses.

23 Jan 2015

UAB Research Probes Molecular Basis Of Rare Genetic Disorder

An international group co-led by University of Alabama at Birmingham researcher Mary MacDougall, Ph.D., has unraveled the molecular basis for the rare, inherited genetic disorder, Singleton-Merten Syndrome (SMS). Individuals with SMS develop extreme, life-threatening calcification of the aorta and heart valves, early-onset periodontitis and root resorption of the teeth, decreases in bone density, and loss of bone tissue at the tips of fingers and toes.

23 Jan 2015

Improving sleep early in life may delay age-related changes in memory

Sound sleep in young and middle-aged people helps memory and learning, but as they hit their seventh, eighth and ninth decades, they don't sleep as much or as well -- and sleep is no longer linked so much to memory, a Baylor researcher says.

23 Jan 2015

USC neuroscientists find potential prevention for Alzheimer's disease

University of Southern California neuroscientists may have unlocked another puzzle to preventing risks that can lead to Alzheimer's disease. Researchers at Keck Medicine of USC used high-resolution imaging of the living human brain to show for the first time that the brain's protective blood barrier becomes leaky with age, starting at the hippocampus, a critical learning and memory center that is damaged by Alzheimer's disease.

22 Jan 2015

Close, active monitoring of small renal tumors linked to low rates of death

In patients likely to have surgery, close, active monitoring of small renal tumors confined to the kidneys is associated with low rates of tumor growth or death, according to a study by a researcher at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai published in the September issue of The Journal of Urology.

22 Jan 2015

Twitter can indicate community's psychological well being, predict rates of heart disease

Twitter has broken news stories, launched and ended careers, started social movements and toppled governments, all by being an easy, direct and immediate way for people to share what's on their minds. Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania have now shown that the social media platform has another use: Twitter can serve as a dashboard indicator of a community's psychological well being and can predict rates of heart disease.

22 Jan 2015

Hallucinations linked to self-destructive thoughts among adolescents with psychological symptoms

Visual distortions and hallucinations related to an elevated risk of psychosis are linked to self-destructive thought processes among adolescents with psychological symptoms, according to a recent Finnish study. Early indications of the risk of psychosis can usually be detected long before the onset of a full-blown disorder.

22 Jan 2015

Two new drug compounds appear to be effective in treating endometriosis

Two new drug compounds - one of which has already proven useful in a mouse model of multiple sclerosis - appear to be effective in treating endometriosis, a disorder that, like MS, is driven by estrogen and inflammation, scientists report in Science Translational Medicine.

22 Jan 2015

Microscopic spheres of calcium phosphate linked to AMD development

Microscopic spheres of calcium phosphate have been linked to the development of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a major cause of blindness, by UCL-led research.

21 Jan 2015

Alzheimer's drug Aricept (donepezil) linked to serious side effects

New warnings have been added to the prescribing information for the Alzheimer's drug Aricept (donepezil) advising of the risk of two rare but potentially serious conditions: muscle breakdown (rhabdomyolysis) and a neurological disorder called neuroleptic malignant syndrome (NMS).

21 Jan 2015

HZI professor selected as recipient of 2015 Louis-Jeantet-Prize for Medicine

Prof Emmanuelle Charpentier from the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research in Braunschweig is one of the two recipients of the 2015 Louis-Jeantet-Prize for Medicine. The prize money of 700,000 Swiss francs is mostly attributed for the continuation of the awardees work.

21 Jan 2015

Johns Hopkins researchers propose novel cancer-fighting strategy

Existing cancer therapies are geared toward massacring tumor cells, but Johns Hopkins researchers propose a different strategy: subtly hardening cancer cells to prevent them from invading new areas of the body. They devised a way of screening compounds for the desired effect and have identified a compound that shows promise in fighting pancreatic cancer.

21 Jan 2015

Childhood stress, psychiatric disorders linked to cellular changes that cause aging

In a new study published online in Biological Psychiatry on January 16, 2015, researchers from Butler Hospital identify an association between biological changes on the cellular level and both childhood adversity and psychiatric disorders.

21 Jan 2015

Researchers reveal key factor in understanding elevated cancer risk linked to gene therapy

National Institutes of Health researchers have uncovered a key factor in understanding the elevated cancer risk associated with gene therapy. They conducted research on mice with a rare disease similar to one in humans, hoping their findings may eventually help improve gene therapy for humans. Researchers at the National Human Genome Research Institute, part of NIH, published their research in the Jan. 20, 2015, online issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

21 Jan 2015

Brain uses separate pathway to recall old fear memories

People with anxiety disorders, such as post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), often experience prolonged and exaggerated fearfulness. Now, an animal study suggests that this might involve disruption of a gradual shifting of brain circuitry for retrieving fear memories. Researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health have discovered in rats that an old fear memory is recalled by a separate brain pathway from the one originally used to recall it when it was fresh.

20 Jan 2015

Study suggests that common gut microbe may control risk of developing MS

A common gut microbe might curb the risk of developing multiple sclerosis--at least in women--suggests the largest study of its kind published online in the Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery & Psychiatry.

20 Jan 2015

Study leads to discovery of rare genetic disorder

Recently, a grassroots effort initiated by families and clinicians led to the discovery of a human genetic disorder with severe consequences that is linked to a mutation in the human NGLY1 gene. In a big step towards understanding the effects of this mutation, research by scientists at the RIKEN-Max Planck Joint Research Center in Japan implicates the enzyme ENGase as the factor responsible for deficient protein degradation that occurs in the absence of mouse Ngly1 gene expression.

19 Jan 2015

Tree nut consumption linked to better nutrient adequacy, diet quality in adults

A new study, published this week in the open access journal Nutrients, compares the nutrient adequacy and diet quality of those who consume tree nuts (almonds, Brazil nuts, cashews, hazelnuts, macadamias, pecans, pine nuts, pistachios and walnuts), and non-tree nut consumers in a nationally representative population.

19 Jan 2015

Researchers reveal link between the microbiome of young mice and later onset of autoimmune disease

Researchers have revealed that the colonization of the gut of young mice by certain types of bacteria can lead to immune responses later in life that are linked to disease.

19 Jan 2015