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RNA interference as promising therapy for ALS

Scientists at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland have used RNA interference in transgenic mice to silence a mutated gene that causes inherited cases of amytrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), substantially delaying both the onset and the progression rate of the fatal motor neuron disease.

13 Mar 2005

Secondhand smoke causes breast cancer

A California agency, the Air Resources Board, which first linked secondhand smoke to heart disease, now says secondhand smoke causes breast cancer too.

10 Mar 2005

Doctors may in future be able to prevent many cases of deep-vein thrombosis

Doctors may in future be able to prevent many cases of deep-vein thrombosis, commonly referred to as DVT, a disease of the circulation that causes potentially fatal blood clots. It occurs most often in people who have not been able to exercise normally.

9 Mar 2005

Finding may open new horizons for understanding the initiation of chemically induced cancers

A team from the chemistry and biology departments of New York University, in collaboration with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC), has uncovered a conformational switch - a change in shape in a carcinogen-damaged DNA site - in tumor suppressor genes altered by a known cancer-causing chemical found in cigarette smoke.

9 Mar 2005

New MS drug withdrawn from the market

Two patients involved in clinical trials of Tysabri, have contracted a rare and fatal disease, Elan’s multiple sclerosis (MS); one has already died. Withdrawal of the drug, eliminates all hope that it will be allowed back on the market this year, or ever.

8 Mar 2005

Asthma relapse linked to allergies

Researchers have found that some children who supposedly outgrew their asthma saw it re-appear by the time they reached their mid-20s.

8 Mar 2005

Cigarette smoke worsens respiratory infections in infants

Studying Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) to learn what puts children at risk for the most severe infections, Washington University researchers at St. Louis Children's Hospital found that a child's age at the time of infection and whether that child lives with a smoker could mean the difference between the sniffles and the intensive care unit.

8 Mar 2005

Adiponectin may be helpful in finding treatments for Progeria

In a study published in the March issue of The Journal of Pediatrics, researchers found that decreased levels of HDL cholesterol, or "good" cholesterol, may contribute to premature heart disease in children with Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome, or Progeria.

8 Mar 2005

Lung cancer rates among men are on the decline

Results of the most comprehensive analysis to date of the impact of gender differences in lung cancer incidence in the United States indicate that lung cancer rates among men are on the decline, while the rate in women remains steady.

8 Mar 2005

Growth hormone treatment improves symptoms of metabolic disorder in postmenopausal women

Researchers in Sweden have discovered that growth hormone (GH) treatment may result in the reduction of multiple metabolic disorders associated with abdominal obesity in postmenopausal women.

8 Mar 2005

Impaired insulin function may be behind some of the abnormalities found in Alzheimer's disease

A research team led by Dr Suzanne de la Monte and Dr. Jack Wands of the Brown University Medical School has found that impaired insulin function may be behind some of the abnormalities found in Alzheimer's disease (AD).

7 Mar 2005

Risky injection behaviors are established at the onset of injection drug use

The circumstances surrounding the first injection experience of young injection drug users are significantly linked to future injection behavior, according to a new study from researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and other institutions.

7 Mar 2005

A weighty issue: can your eating habits make you infertile?

The societal pressures on women to be attractive, successful, and thin are stronger than ever. The desirable woman portrayed in the media is much thinner than the average woman. Popular slogans such as "thin is in" and "you can never be too rich or too thin" have equated thinness with happiness. The result is that for the first time in history, being attractive means being thin.

7 Mar 2005

Insulin levels linked to Alzheimer's disease

Insulin and its related proteins are produced in the brain, and according to researchers from Rhode Island Hospital and Brown Medical School, reduced levels of this combination can be linked to Alzheimer's disease. The findings are reported in the March issue of the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease.

7 Mar 2005

Novel role for cholesterol inside the cell

Cholesterol, often condemned for its role in heart disease, has always been known to be essential for the health of the fatty membranes that surround individual cells.

7 Mar 2005

Good side to cholesterol in controlling cell signals

Cholesterol, often stigmatized for its role in heart disease, has long been known to be essential for the health of the fat-laden membranes that surround individual cells.

6 Mar 2005

Scientists have identified a key network that prevents damage by oxygen radicals

Reactive oxygen species (ROS), or 'oxygen radicals', have been identified as major contributors to signs of premature aging, increased cancer prevalence linked to inflammation-associated syndromes and a variety of human diseases.

6 Mar 2005

Proteins link cellular aging and response to calorie restriction

In the March 3 issue of Nature, Johns Hopkins researchers report that two proteins best known for very different activities actually come together to turn the liver into a sugar-producing factory when food is scarce.

6 Mar 2005

Increases in macronutrient consumption during pregnancy can lead to increased birthweight

Giving pregnant women in the developing world a daily supplement containing 10 vitamins and five minerals could help increase the birthweight of their babies, concludes a study published online by The Lancet.

3 Mar 2005

Inherited traits and tumor mutations affect response to treatment of leukemia

The outcome of chemotherapy treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) depends not only on the acquired genetic make-up of the leukemic cells, but on genes that children inherit from their parents. This study, from investigators at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, is published in the online edition of Blood.

3 Mar 2005