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Twelve type 2 diabetes susceptibility loci identified

An international team co-led by scientists from the University of Michigan have discovered 12 more regions on the genome with DNA variants that are associated with increased risk of type 2 diabetes, bringing the number to 38.

2 Jul 2010

ISHLT issues first international consensus formulation of standardized nomenclature for CAV

Cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV), the major limitation to long term survival after heart transplantation, occurs when blood vessels in a transplanted heart progressively narrow and lead to dysfunction of the heart muscle or sudden death. Ascertaining benefit from appropriate treatment for this condition has been hampered in part because of the lack of a standard nomenclature.

2 Jul 2010

QR Pharma to present clinical data from mechanism of action study in MCI patients at ICAD 2010

QR Pharma, Inc., a developer of novel drugs to treat Alzheimer's disease (AD), announced today that it has been accepted to present a poster on clinical data from its recent mechanism of action study in mild cognitive impaired (MCI) patients at the International Congress on Alzheimer's Disease (ICAD 2010).

2 Jul 2010

Virus related to hepatitis C discovered in Asian bats

Viral hepatitis affects more than 500 million people worldwide and is a cause of liver failure and liver cancer. While vaccines are available for hepatitis A and B, this is not the case for hepatitis C, which affects as much as two percent of the population in the U.S. Scientists today are reporting discovery of a virus related to hepatitis C in Asian bats, which may provide insights into the origins of the hepatitis C virus and into the mechanisms by which infectious diseases move from other species to humans.

2 Jul 2010

Karolinska researchers recommend new routine for protection against infection during PEG

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet recommends a new routine for protection against infection when percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG), a tube for feeding directly through the abdominal wall, is surgically inserted in the stomach. The new routine is both simpler and cheaper than the one used today. The method, presented in the British Medical Journal, has been clinically tested on over 200 patients at the Karolinska University Hospital in Solna, Stockholm County, Sweden.

2 Jul 2010

Children's Hospital Boston researchers reprogram adult blood cells into iPS cells

In findings likely to make it easier and faster for stem cell biologists to generate patient-specific embryonic-like stem cells, researchers at Children's Hospital Boston have reprogrammed adult blood cells into induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells.

2 Jul 2010

Plant extract effective against ulcerative colitis in mice

A South Dakota State University scientist's research shows an extract made from a food plant in the Brassica family was effective in alleviating signs of ulcerative colitis, an inflammatory bowel condition, in mice.

2 Jul 2010

HL patients with heart disease at increased risk of hospitalization for cardiac complications after treatment

Older patients with Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) and a history of heart disease face a high risk of hospitalization for cardiac complications after completing treatment, according to research published online today in Blood, the journal of the American Society of Hematology. HL is a form of cancer of arising in the lymph nodes, and approximately 8,500 people were diagnosed with the disease in 2009, according to the American Cancer Society.

2 Jul 2010

Frozen blood samples shows promise to study mechanism of blood disorders

Cells from frozen human blood samples can be reprogrammed to an embryonic-stem-cell-like state, according to Whitehead Institute researchers. These cells can be multiplied and used to study the genetic and molecular mechanisms of blood disorders and other diseases.

2 Jul 2010

Heart patients with transient kidney dysfunction have no serious complications

New research led by UC Health cardiologists shows that while short-term worsening kidney function is frequent among patients with heart failure, these patients also have better outcomes than those who have persistent kidney failure

2 Jul 2010

FUISZ files new patent, receives notice of issuance for patent claims for blood analysis devices

First, FUISZ announced that it has received a notice of issuance from the United States Patent and Trademark Office for patent claims that cover a direct connection between prescribing physicians and blood analysis devices.

2 Jul 2010

Allogeneic stem cell transplant holds promise for treatment-resistant chronic lymphocytic leukemia

Allogeneic (donor-derived) stem cell transplant (alloSCT) may be a promising option for patients with treatment-resistant chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), regardless of the patient's underlying genetic abnormalities, according to the results of a study published online today in Blood, the journal of the American Society of Hematology.

2 Jul 2010

Pay-for-performance program may cause inequalities among healthcare providers

Pay-for-performance is an increasingly popular approach to improving health care quality. But the planned nationwide implementation of institutional bonuses mandated under federal health care reform threatens to act as a "reverse Robin Hood," potentially causing hospitals in less-advantaged regions to lose funds to health care facilities in more affluent areas of the country, according to a study published in the academic journal PLoS Medicine.

2 Jul 2010

Vitamin D inadequacy may cause metabolic syndrome among elderly people

A new study adds to the mounting evidence that older adults commonly have low vitamin D levels and that vitamin D inadequacy may be a risk factor for the metabolic syndrome, a condition that affects one in four adults. The results were presented at The Endocrine Society's 92nd Annual Meeting in San Diego.

2 Jul 2010

Mice study may provide new insight on human pregnancies

The concept of pregnancy makes no sense-at least not from an immunological point of view. After all, a fetus, carrying half of its father's genome, is biologically distinct from its mother. The fetus is thus made of cells and tissues that are very much not "self"-and not-self is precisely what the immune system is meant to search out and destroy.

2 Jul 2010

Older men with high testosterone levels more likely to have heart attacks

A large U.S. multicenter study shows that older men with higher testosterone levels are more likely to have a heart attack or other cardiovascular disease in the future. The results were presented at The Endocrine Society's 92nd Annual Meeting in San Diego.

2 Jul 2010

Clinical study proves effectiveness of acupuncture for heart patients

Acupuncture can improve exercise tolerance in patients suffering from chronic heart failure. This was determined in a clinical pilot study by the team headed by Dr. Johannes Backs, physician and study director at the Department of Internal Medicine III (Cardiology, Angiology, and Pneumology - Medical Director: Professor Dr. Hugo Katus) of Heidelberg University Hospital.

2 Jul 2010

Genes can predict longevity with 77% accuracy: Study

In an analysis of genes of more than 1,000 centenarians, American researchers have come to the conclusion that genes play a large role in completing a century in life. The research team studied 1,055 Caucasians born between 1890 and 1910 and compared them with 1,267 people born later. They claim that there are signatures in the genetic makeup of these people that have a possible link with their longevity.

2 Jul 2010

Healthy diet can reduce age-related eye problems

While 20/20 vision is a symbol of visual acuity, between now and the year 2020, more and more people will experience some extent of vision loss due to age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and other sight-robbing diseases.

2 Jul 2010

High fructose diet can cause hypertension

People who eat a diet high in fructose, in the form of added sugar, are at increased risk of developing high blood pressure, or hypertension, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society Nephrology (JASN).

2 Jul 2010