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Defective chromosome cause of severe obesity

A new cause of obesity due to a defect on chromosome 16 has just been discovered. It is thought to explain close to 1% of obesity cases. For carriers of the defect, the risk of becoming overweight is 50 times higher. This research is the result of close cooperation between the team of Professor Froguel, a CNRS researcher, in Lille, and colleagues at Imperial College in London and Vaudois University Hospital in Lausanne, with the support of ten other European research groups. The findings of the study are to be published in Nature on February 4, 2010.

4 Feb 2010

Scientists still searching for valid biomarker for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder

Schizophrenia and bipolar disorder affect tens of millions of individuals around the world. These disorders have a typical onset in the early twenties and in most cases have a chronic or recurring course.

4 Feb 2010

Genes of mother and fetus linked to risk of preterm labor and birth

New evidence that genetics play a significant role in some premature births may help explain why a woman can do everything right and still give birth too soon.

4 Feb 2010

Type 1 diabetes: Regeneration exhibits potential as a possible cure

A hormone responsible for the body's stress response is also linked to the growth of insulin-producing cells in the pancreas, according to JDRF- funded researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in California. The findings are the latest advances to underscore the potential for regeneration as a key component of a possible cure for type 1 diabetes.

4 Feb 2010

DNA variants in mother and fetus can increase risk of preterm labor

Researchers at the National Institutes of Health have identified DNA variants in mothers and fetuses that appear to increase the risk for preterm labor and delivery.

4 Feb 2010

UTMB: Mother's exposure to BPA increases risks of asthma in her children

For years, scientists have warned of the possible negative health effects of bisphenol A, a chemical used to make everything from plastic water bottles and food packaging to sunglasses and CDs.

4 Feb 2010

Canadian Institutes of Health Research awards $2.3M for study on integrative biology of inflammatory diseases

A research team led by Dr. John D. Rioux, a researcher at the Montreal Heart Institute (MHI) and professor in the faculty of medicine at the Université de Montréal, has been awarded a grant of more than $2.3 million to finance a major research project on the integrative biology of inflammatory diseases. From among the roughly 70 applications submitted, Dr. Rioux's team is one of six selected by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research to receive the Emerging Team Grant - From Genes to Proteins, Cells, Tissues and Patients.

4 Feb 2010

Sudden infant death syndrome linked to low serotonin levels

Taking the next step in more than 20 years of research, researchers at Children's Hospital Boston have linked sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) with low production of serotonin in the brainstem, based on a comparison of brainstem samples from infants dying of SIDS compared to brainstems of infants dying from other, known causes.

4 Feb 2010

Go Red For Women launches nationwide call inviting women to Speak Up about heart disease

Too many women die each year because they are unaware that heart disease is their No. 1 killer. Right now, one in three women die of cardiovascular disease and 90 percent of women have one or more risk factors for developing heart disease in the future.

3 Feb 2010

NHSI achieves 100% provider adoption rate of HealthPort’s EMR technology

HealthPort, a top-25 company in the healthcare information technology industry, today announced that National Health Services, Inc. (NHSI), a 12-site Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) with locations throughout Kern County, California, has achieved 100% provider adoption of HealthPort’s Electronic Medical Record (EMR) technology.

3 Feb 2010

Video campaign teaches parents on how to minimize risk from toxic chemicals

Chronic childhood illnesses – asthma, allergies, autism, cancer, obesity and diabetes – are plaguing our nation, and credible scientific evidence links chemical exposure to many of these conditions.

3 Feb 2010

Researchers find three different degenerative brain disorders linked by toxic form of Elk-1 protein

For the first time, researchers from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have found that three different degenerative brain disorders are linked by a toxic form of the same protein. The protein, called Elk-1, was found in clumps of misshaped proteins that are the hallmarks of Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, and Huntington's disease.

3 Feb 2010

Research suggests growth factor gene plays a central role in palate development

Cleft palate has been linked to dozens of genes. During their investigation of one of these genes, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis were surprised to find that cleft palate occurs both when the gene is more active and when it is less active than normal.

3 Feb 2010

Novelty may help prevent relapse in drug addicts

The brain's innate interest in the new and different may help trump the power of addictive drugs, according to research published by the American Psychological Association. In controlled experiments, novelty drew cocaine-treated rats away from the place they got cocaine.

2 Feb 2010

Argonaute binds to microRNA and shuts down protein production

Johns Hopkins scientists believe they may have figured out how genetic snippets called microRNAs are able to shut down the production of some proteins.

2 Feb 2010

Gene mutation can trigger preterm births, says study

Mutation of a gene that helps protect the body from genetic instability leads to cellular and molecular changes in the pregnant uterus that trigger premature birth, according to a study appearing online Feb. 1 in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

2 Feb 2010

FDA and PATH collaborate to advance pneumococcal vaccine development for children

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today announced a collaboration with PATH to advance development of a vaccine to protect children against diseases caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococcus), especially pneumonia.

2 Feb 2010

Long-chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids may reduce risk of psychotic disorders

Individuals at extremely high risk of developing psychosis appear less likely to develop psychotic disorders following a 12-week course of fish oil capsules containing long-chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, according to a report in the February issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

2 Feb 2010

Genetic mutations may trigger suicidal behavior in depressed patients

Single mutations in genes involved with nerve cell formation and growth appear to be associated with the risk of attempting suicide among individuals with depression, according to a report posted online today that will appear in the April print issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

2 Feb 2010

FDA approves neurostimulation treatment for heart failure

The FDA recently approved the first study of neurostimulation as a treatment for heart failure, a chronic disease that affects nearly six million Americans and is the leading cause of hospitalization in America.

2 Feb 2010