Aging News and Research

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Microscopic polymer fibers for rebuilding human tissue, speeding healing process

Queen's University Brian Amsden is hoping that in about 10 years a tendon, spinal cord or heart valve will be able to regenerate itself after an injury or disease. The chemical engineering professor, along with scientists from the University of Western Ontario and University of Toronto, is currently trying to develop microscopic polymer fibers to help rebuild human tissue and speed the healing process.

10 Jun 2010

Some commonly used drugs cause bone loss: New research

New research helps to explain why some commonly used drugs come with a serious downside: They up your odds of breaking a bone. The drugs in question, glucocorticoids (e.g. cortisone and prednisone) and the insulin sensitizer rosiglitazone work through entirely different mechanisms as therapies for inflammatory diseases and diabetes respectively, and two studies in the June issue of Cell Metabolism now show that they lead to bone loss in different ways too.

9 Jun 2010

Low-income African-Americans have higher risk of CKD: Research

African Americans with incomes below the poverty line have a significantly higher risk of chronic kidney disease than higher-income African-Americans or whites of any socioeconomic status, research led by scientists at Johns Hopkins and the National Institute on Aging shows. Conducted in a racially and socioeconomically diverse sample of participants from the city of Baltimore, Md., the study could help researchers eventually develop strategies to prevent CKD in vulnerable populations.

9 Jun 2010

RoundTable signs agreement to acquire Ophthalmic Systems business unit

RoundTable Healthcare Partners, an operating-oriented private equity firm focused exclusively on the health-care industry, announced today that is has entered into an agreement with BD to acquire the Ophthalmic Systems unit, a business within the BD Medical segment. BD is a leading global medical technology company that develops, manufactures and sells medical devices, instrument systems and reagents.

9 Jun 2010

NexGen Biomedical offers RNAi / PSR platform technology for sale

NexGen Biomedical, Inc. announced today that it is offering its RNAi / PSR platform technology for sale. "While technologies like siRNA are well suited for disease conditions involving expression of a single protein, the RNAi / PSR technology is better suited for conditions involving expression of a broad spectrum of proteins such as happens with cell hyperproliferation, inflammation, and viral infections.

8 Jun 2010

Health-care cost for patients after stroke soars to more than $2.5 billion a year in Canada: Study

Health-care costs for patients in just the first six months after they have a stroke is more than $2.5 billion a year in Canada, according to a study presented today at the Canadian Stroke Congress.

8 Jun 2010

Encouraging healthy lifestyle changes helps reduce aging relative's risk of cancer, say experts

Family members can help reduce an aging relative's risk of cancer by encouraging healthy lifestyle changes, according to experts at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

8 Jun 2010

CPAP Therapy increases gray-matter volume in obstructive sleep apnea patients

Obstructive sleep apnea patients had reductions of grey-matter volume at baseline but showed significant grey-matter volume increase after three months of CPAP therapy, according to a research abstract that will be presented Monday, June 7, 2010, in San Antonio, Texas, at SLEEP 2010, the 24th annual meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies LLC.

7 Jun 2010

Health overhaul supporters plan $25 million promotion campaign

The New York Times: "Close allies of the Obama administration, seeking to rally the public behind President Obama's landmark health care bill, are planning to spend $25 million over the next five years to promote the measure and beat back mischaracterizations of it that could harm Democratic candidates. Mr. Obama's former communications director, Anita Dunn, and longtime Democratic strategist Andrew Grossman, have teamed up to form two new tax-exempt groups.

7 Jun 2010

Research focuses on art, pharmaceutical drugs and the environment

Providing solutions to any current problem is the mission of analytical chemistry, according to Ms Rosa Alonso, director of the Farmartem Research Group at the University of the Basque Country. The group's name says it all with respect to the wide range of these problems - Farmartem: the abbreviation in Spanish of pharmaceuticals, art and the environment (f-rmacos, arte, medio ambiente).

5 Jun 2010

WRNp controls key step in pluripotent stem cell differentiation: Study

A gene shown to play a role in the aging process appears to play a role in the regulation of the differentiation of embryonic stem cells, according to researchers from the Center for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine and the Department of Medicine at Thomas Jefferson University.

5 Jun 2010

A sense of humor keeps people healthy

A sense of humor helps to keep people healthy and increases their chances of reaching retirement age. But after the age of 70, the health benefits of humor decrease, researchers at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) have found.

4 Jun 2010

GPI executive director announces keynote speakers, panel topics for 2010 World Stem Cell Summit

Bernard Siegel, executive director of the Genetics Policy Institute and co-chair of the 2010 World Stem Cell Summit, announced the selection of keynote speakers for the World Stem Cell Summit, which is taking place at the Detroit Marriott Renaissance Center in Detroit, Michigan, October 4-6.

4 Jun 2010

Researchers find a way to isolate pancreatic islet cells from brain dead donors using DI

A team of researchers from several collaborating Baylor University research centers and from Japan's Okayama Graduate School of Medicine have found a way to more consistently isolate pancreatic islet cells from brain dead donors using ductal injection, a process that immediately cools donor islet cells at the injection site.

4 Jun 2010

American Cancer Society and NPCRC award $1.8M for palliative care research

The American Cancer Society and the National Palliative Care Research Center (NPCRC) are awarding $1.8 million in research grants to researchers at 12 institutions for studies aimed at reducing suffering for seriously ill patients and their family caregivers. The studies will be conducted over the next two years. Since 2007, a collaborative effort by the organizations has awarded 51 grants totaling almost $7 million.

4 Jun 2010

Researchers identify new therapeutic target for cognitive decline

Researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine have found that certain types of specializations on nerve cells called "spines" are depleted as a person ages, causing cognitive decline in the part of the brain that mediates the highest levels of learning.

3 Jun 2010