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Obesity associated with a threefold increase in SCD1 expression in obese muscle

The gene encoding an enzyme that hinders muscle from burning fat manufactures three times more enzyme in the muscle of obese people than lean people, researchers from Duke University Medical Center and Louisiana State University have found. This causes the obese muscle tissue to both store more fat and burn less fat, the researchers said.

11 Oct 2005

Sleletal muscle findings highlight the importance of exercise in obese people

The findings suggest that muscle bears a metabolic memory of obesity, which may help to explain why sustained weight loss can be difficult despite cutting calories, according to the researchers. Exercise might more successfully override the aberrant metabolic program in muscle, they suggest, thereby improving the long-term prognosis of those prone to obesity.

11 Oct 2005

Newly discovered hormone plays an important role in the digestion of fat, cholesterol, and fat-soluble vitamins

A newly discovered hormone plays an important role in the digestion of fat, cholesterol, and fat-soluble vitamins, such as vitamins A, E, and D, according to a new study in the October 2005 issue of Cell Metabolism.

11 Oct 2005

Rates for new cases of kidney failure have stabilized

After 20 years of annual increases from 5 to 10 percent, rates for new cases of kidney failure have stabilized, according to new research from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK). At the same time, dramatic racial disparities persist.

11 Oct 2005

Technique for inserting genes into specific sites on the genome in liver cells

The genes are inserted into non-coding regions of the genome so there is no danger of interfering with the functioning of other genes. Once inserted, the gene remains a permanent part of the cell's genome.

10 Oct 2005

Researchers reveal basis for hereditary coproporphyria

A research team led by scientists at The University of Texas Medical School at Houston has determined the structure of an enzyme that when defective causes an inherited disease that afflicts sufferers with severe abdominal pain, psychiatric symptoms, skin fragility, and light sensitivity.

9 Oct 2005

Mitochondria and apoptosis research

The story of how mitochondria are recruited during times of stress to choreograph apoptosis--the cell's dance of death--is a story that fails to tell which particular set of steps the cells use most often, according to investigators at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and the La Jolla Institute of Allergy and Immunology (San Diego, CA).

9 Oct 2005

Discovery provides an understanding of the mechanisms of oocyte death and a way to identify potential clinical treatments for infertility

An immature egg's internal nutrient supply is critical to its survival, an insight that offers a new route to understanding and treating infertility due to egg death, according to Duke University Medical Center researchers.

9 Oct 2005

Long-term use of NSAIDs cuts the risk for oral cancer in smokers by half but increases risk of cardiovascular problems

An analysis of 20 years of data on the health of over 900 adults has found that long-term use of traditional nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as ibuprofen and naproxen, cuts the risk for oral cancer in smokers by half.

9 Oct 2005

Fruits and vegetables can increase or decrease the activity and toxicity of orally-administered drugs

Eating fruits and vegetables is essential to living a long and healthy life, yet research has shown they can cause dangerous interactions with medicines.

5 Oct 2005

Protein secreted by the dog hookworm may advance vaccine development in humans

A paper published in this week's PLoS Medicine shows that vaccination against a protein secreted by the dog hookworm can protect against blood loss and anaemia caused by the same hookworm in dogs.

4 Oct 2005

Bacteria of different species can talk to each other using a common language

The interspecies crosstalk and misdirection could have important consequences for human health, said Bonnie L. Bassler, an HHMI investigator at Princeton University whose study was published in the September 29, 2005, issue of Nature.

4 Oct 2005

Plant-derived compounds appear to block the activity of an enzyme that triggers inflammation in joints

The findings came to light while the researchers were studying the wildly different ways in which cells in human blood vessels and joints respond to pressure gradients generated from liquid moving along their surface, a force called shear stress.

3 Oct 2005

First identification of the genetic basis of disease in a patient with a complex I assembly defect

Mitochondrial complex I deficiency is one of the most common defects in patients with mitochondrial disease. The deficiency results from a failure to assemble the enzyme properly, but the nature of the molecular chaperones that are necessary for this process in mammals have remained obscure.

3 Oct 2005

Nicotine has an unusual psychological property that may drive dependence

Associate Professor Athina Markou, Ph.D., who is in the Scripps Research Molecular and Integrative Neurosciences Department at Scripps Research’s La Jolla Campus, and Paul Kenny, Ph.D., a former Research Associate in her laboratory, report in an upcoming issue of the journal Neuropsychopharmacology that nicotine has an unusual psychological property that may drive dependence.

28 Sep 2005

Discovery may lead to development of more effective antibiotics

Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology and the John Innes Centre in the United Kingdom have uncovered a mechanism with which disease-causing bacteria may thwart the body's natural defense responses. The findings, which could ultimately lead to the development of more effective antibiotics, appear in the September 29, 2005 issue of the journal Nature.

28 Sep 2005

The immune mechanisms of atherosclerosis

Scientists are depicting a novel scheme for atherosclerosis development, suggesting that this pathology might result from an imbalance between pro-inflammatory processes and calming ones.

28 Sep 2005

Treatment of Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) in children

The Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH) Clinical Research Network has launched its second clinical trial to study NASH, a liver disease that resembles alcoholic liver disease but occurs in patients who drink little or no alcohol. The first trial, launched in January of this year, focuses on adults, while the second trial studies the disease in children.

27 Sep 2005

Governments considering reclassifying some drugs from prescription to over-the-counter status

Governments in several countries with public Pharmacare and in a few provinces in Canada are considering reclassifying some drugs from prescription to over-the-counter status. In a Canadian Medical Association Journal essay, Lynd and colleagues comment on the economic effects of such changes.

27 Sep 2005

Pursuit of potential drugs and small molecules that target the IGF-1 receptor

Pharmaceutical companies around the world still come knocking on Renato Baserga, M.D.,'s door. And for good reason.

27 Sep 2005

Enzyme News and Research

Obesity associated with a threefold increase in SCD1 expression in obese muscle

Sleletal muscle findings highlight the importance of exercise in obese people

Newly discovered hormone plays an important role in the digestion of fat, cholesterol, and fat-soluble vitamins

Rates for new cases of kidney failure have stabilized

Technique for inserting genes into specific sites on the genome in liver cells

Researchers reveal basis for hereditary coproporphyria

Mitochondria and apoptosis research

Discovery provides an understanding of the mechanisms of oocyte death and a way to identify potential clinical treatments for infertility

Long-term use of NSAIDs cuts the risk for oral cancer in smokers by half but increases risk of cardiovascular problems

Fruits and vegetables can increase or decrease the activity and toxicity of orally-administered drugs

Protein secreted by the dog hookworm may advance vaccine development in humans

Bacteria of different species can talk to each other using a common language

Plant-derived compounds appear to block the activity of an enzyme that triggers inflammation in joints

First identification of the genetic basis of disease in a patient with a complex I assembly defect

Nicotine has an unusual psychological property that may drive dependence

Discovery may lead to development of more effective antibiotics

The immune mechanisms of atherosclerosis

Treatment of Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) in children

Governments considering reclassifying some drugs from prescription to over-the-counter status

Pursuit of potential drugs and small molecules that target the IGF-1 receptor

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