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Insulin sensitivity in the ovaries and the pituitary linked to infertility

Infertility is common among obese women, but the reasons remain poorly understood and few treatments exist. Now a team of Johns Hopkins Children's Center scientists, conducting experiments in mice, has uncovered what they consider surprising evidence that insulin resistance, long considered a prime suspect, has little to do with infertility in women with type-2 diabetes, polycystic ovary syndrome and metabolic syndrome, all obesity-related conditions.

16 Nov 2011

CDCs can increase healthy heart muscle cells in patients with ischemic heart disease

Healthy, new heart cells have been generated by animals with chronic ischemic heart disease after receiving stem cells derived from cardiac biopsies or "cardiospheres," according to research conducted at the University at Buffalo School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.

16 Nov 2011

Scarring prevents precipitous decline in heart function after cardiac injury

After a heart attack, the portions of the heart damaged by a lack of oxygen become scar tissue. Researchers have long sought ways to avoid this scarring, which can harden the walls of the heart, lessen its ability to pump blood throughout the body and eventually lead to heart failure. But new research from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine shows that interrupting this process can weaken heart function even further.

16 Nov 2011

Rosuvastatin as effective as atorvastatin in reversing atherosclerosis

Maximum doses of Crestor- (rosuvastatin) or Lipitor- (atorvastatin) are similarly effective in reversing the buildup of cholesterol plaques in the coronary artery walls (atherosclerosis) after 24 months of treatment, according to Cleveland Clinic researchers.

16 Nov 2011

Researchers to begin drug development projects for rare and neglected diseases

Researchers will begin drug development projects for rare and neglected diseases that include potential treatments for a musculoskeletal disorder, a cognitive dysfunction disorder, a virus that affects the central nervous system of newborns, a parasitic worm infection, a form of muscular dystrophy and a rare lung disease.

16 Nov 2011

Scientists discover definitive role for brain in regulating loss of muscle mass

Patients with cancer, heart disease and other chronic illness struggle not only with complications inherent to their disease, they also experience an involuntary loss of weight and muscle mass triggered by the body's natural response to infection and inflammation. Increasing nutrition intake does not mitigate the process and there is no treatment.

16 Nov 2011

Stem cell injections within two weeks may not help in post heart attack recovery

University Hospitals Case Medical Center researchers could still be close to giving heart attack patients a second chance-just not as they originally thought.

15 Nov 2011

Whole-body-vibration does not effectively boost bone density

Whole-body-vibration, a popular exercise which uses a vibrating platform, is sometimes advertised as being able to boost bone density. However, a one-year-study on healthy postmenopausal women has shown that it has no such effect.

15 Nov 2011

GE Capitol healthcare flexes muscle, reaps benefits

The full breadth of health care reform has yet to be felt, but GE Capital Healthcare Financial Services is reaping the benefits. The Bethesda-based specialty finance firm is witnessing an upturn in business that has it on track to surpass its 2010 lending activity by roughly 15 percent. … Through the first nine months of the year, the company, which provides financing to some 40 sectors of the health care industry, deployed more than $5 billion in loans.

15 Nov 2011

Fetal stem cells play an important role in inducing maternal cardiac repair

Researchers from Mount Sinai School of Medicine have discovered the therapeutic benefit of fetal stem cells in helping the maternal heart recover after heart attack or other injury.

14 Nov 2011

Functional MRI illuminates brain networks activated by motion

An estimated 300,000 people in North America are afflicted with dystonia, a disorder characterized by a progressive loss of motor control. Patients with generalized dystonia grapple with involuntary muscle spasms that lead to uncontrolled twisting and turning in awkward, sometimes painful postures.

14 Nov 2011

Cyanotech second quarter revenues increase to $5,989,000

Cyanotech Corporation, a world leader in microalgae-based, high-value nutrition and health products, today announced financial results for the second quarter and first six months of fiscal year 2012, ended September 30, 2011.

14 Nov 2011

BioVentrix announces completion of enrollment in PliCath HF human clinical trial

BioVentrix, developer of the PliCath HF System, today announced the achievement of a significant milestone - completion of enrollment in its pilot human clinical trial. PliCath HF is a novel device which enables Epicardial Catheter-based Ventricular Restoration (ECVR).

14 Nov 2011

Exposure to TCE may increase risk of Parkinson’s

14 Nov 2011

Health supplement hope for child muscle disease

A health supplement used by bodybuilders could be the key to treating a life-threatening muscular dystrophy affecting hundreds of Australian children, new research shows.

14 Nov 2011

Parkinson's disease risk greater in those exposed to trichloroethylene

A novel study in twins found that exposure to trichloroethylene (TCE)—a hazardous organic contaminant found in soil, groundwater, and air—is significantly associated with increased risk of Parkinson’s disease (PD). Possibility of developing this neurodegenerative disease is also linked to perchloroethylene (PERC) and carbon tetrachloride (CCI4) exposure according to the study appearing today in Annals of Neurology, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the American Neurological Association and Child Neurology Society.

14 Nov 2011

Flexible brain implant could treat epileptic seizures

Researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health have developed a flexible brain implant that could one day be used to treat epileptic seizures. In animal studies, the researchers used the device - a type of electrode array that conforms to the brain's surface - to take an unprecedented look at the brain activity underlying seizures.

14 Nov 2011