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Two new studies on post-traumatic stress disorder

Two related studies released by this week by Geisinger Health System researchers identify specific genetic risks associated with post-traumatic stress disorder and help identify key psychosocial predictors that may lead to PTSD.

25 Mar 2011

EU supports new collaborative research projects on tuberculosis

It's March 24th again and the World Tuberculosis Day reminds us that for almost 50 years no new drugs have been developed against this terrible disease, which is currently killing nearly two million people worldwide each year. It's a global problem because the emergence of drug resistant strains of this infectious disease - normally associated with poverty - is a growing problem even in high-income economies.

25 Mar 2011

Scientists identify protein that plays a key role in cancer treatment resistance

Research led by Daitoku Sakamuro, PhD, Assistant Professor of Pathology at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans and the LSUHSC Stanley S. Scott Cancer Center, has identified a protein that enables the activation of a DNA-repair enzyme that protects cancer cells from catastrophic damage caused by chemo and radiation therapy.

25 Mar 2011

Study: High intake of omega-3 fats can help prevent obesity-related chronic diseases

A study of Yup'ik Eskimos in Alaska, who on average consume 20 times more omega-3 fats from fish than people in the lower 48 states, suggests that a high intake of these fats helps prevent obesity-related chronic diseases such as diabetes and heart disease.

25 Mar 2011

Researchers identify gene that can predict hypersensitivity to epilepsy drug

Research published this week in the New England Journal of Medicine. A multinational team of scientists led by the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and the University of Liverpool has identified a gene that could indicate if epilepsy patients starting a common drug treatment are likely to experience side-effects ranging from a mild skin irritation to the potentially fatal Steven-Johnson Syndrome.

25 Mar 2011

Diabetes management accepted for coverage by Chemical Abstracts

Future Medicine Ltd announces today that its new journal Diabetes Management (ISSN 1758-1907) which launched in January 2011 has been selected for coverage by Chemical Abstracts.

24 Mar 2011

Lack of laws governing newborn screening programs in Australia threaten public trust

The absence of specific laws which define the ownership, storage and use of blood drops taken from every Australian baby since 1971 could threaten public trust in newborn screening (NBS) programs in Australia, a University of Melbourne academic has warned.

24 Mar 2011

Mother's gene variation can influence alcohol-related disorders in fetus

Exposure to alcohol in the womb doesn't affect all fetuses equally. Why does one woman who drinks alcohol during pregnancy give birth to a child with physical, behavioral or learning problems -- known as fetal alcohol spectrum disorder -- while another woman who also drinks has a child without these problems?

24 Mar 2011

New insights into multiple myeloma research

Scientists have unveiled the most comprehensive picture to date of the full genetic blueprint of multiple myeloma, a form of blood cancer. A study of the genomes from 38 cancer samples has yielded new and unexpected insights into the events that lead to this form of cancer and could influence the direction of multiple myeloma research.

24 Mar 2011

Collaborative study may lead to strategies to reduce antibiotic resistance

In a study that literally analyzed competing bacteria fighting it out to the death, a University of Houston (UH) researcher and his colleagues identified evolutionary 'winners' and 'losers.' Continuing research to understand the basis of these fates may become a useful tool is designing roadblocks to antibiotic resistance.

24 Mar 2011

Researchers create new computational model to understand animal cell behavior

Biological systems, including cells, tissues and organs, can function properly only when their parts are working in harmony. These systems are often dauntingly complex: Inside a single cell, thousands of proteins interact with each other to determine how the cell will develop and respond to its environment.

24 Mar 2011

Restricting sodium consumption important in lowering blood pressure among sedentary people

The more physically active you are, the less your blood pressure rises in response to a high-salt diet, researchers reported at the American Heart Association's Nutrition, Physical Activity and Metabolism/Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention 2011 Scientific Sessions.

24 Mar 2011

Sequencing mouse cancer genome reveals mutations driving cancer in humans

Scientists who pioneered sequencing the genomes of cancer patients to find novel genetic changes at the root of the disease now have turned their attention to a laboratory workhorse — a mouse.

24 Mar 2011

Study reveals genetic marker for surviving sepsis

New research in the April issue of Anesthesiology shows for the first time a genetic marker in patients who have a greater likelihood of surviving sepsis.

24 Mar 2011

Aptiv Solutions, Cancer Genetics partner to deliver comprehensive solutions for clinical trials in oncology

Aptiv Solutions and Cancer Genetics, Inc. (CGI) have formed a strategic partnership focused on delivering comprehensive solutions to biopharmaceutical and medical device firms conducting clinical trials for oncology therapeutics.

24 Mar 2011

Fudan, UTHealth introduce international network to fight against scleroderma

Scleroderma clinicians and researchers in the United States and China have launched an international network to fight this debilitating disease that affects more than one million people worldwide.

24 Mar 2011

Oral contraceptive use before pregnancy does not pose respiratory problems in children

A new study by researchers at RTI International, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, and the Norwegian Institute of Public Health refutes previous findings that oral contraceptive use before pregnancy is linked to respiratory problems in children.

24 Mar 2011

Tick-borne disease identified as emerging threat

Five years ago, large numbers of farmers in central China began falling victim to an mysterious disease marked by high fever, gastrointestinal disorder and an appalling mortality rate - as high as 30 percent in initial reports. Investigators from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention hurried to the scene of the outbreak. On the basis of DNA evidence, they quickly concluded that it had been caused by human granulocytic anaplasmosis, a bacteria transmitted by tick bites.

24 Mar 2011

MicroRNAs may play a key role in future medicine

Since their discovery in the 1990s, microRNAs have proven to play a complex role in normal and abnormal functioning of many organ systems. In the April issue of Translational Research, entitled "MicroRNAs: A Potential New Frontier for Medicine," an international group of medical experts explores several themes related to our current understanding of microRNAs and the role they may play in the future of medicine.

24 Mar 2011

New insights into cancer genome may lead to designer drugs for myeloma

Patients with myeloma could benefit from ‘designer’ drugs in the future after new genome-mapping technology has allowed scientists to identify a full genetic blueprint of the mutations which drive the bone marrow cancer.

23 Mar 2011