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Childbearing women who take painkillers may face increased risk of birth defects

More than one-fourth of privately-insured and one-third of Medicaid-enrolled women of childbearing age filled prescriptions for opioid-based (narcotic) painkillers between 2008 and 2012, according to a new analysis published today by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR).

23 Jan 2015

Findings could lead to new therapeutic approach to Parkinson's disease

E.. coli usually brings to mind food poisoning and beach closures, but researchers recently discovered a protein in E.. coli that inhibits the accumulation of potentially toxic amyloids--a hallmark of diseases such as Parkinson's.

23 Jan 2015

Excessive salt intake 'reprograms' the brain, leads to hypertension

An international research team led by scientists at McGill University has found that excessive salt intake "reprograms" the brain, interfering with a natural safety mechanism that normally prevents the body's arterial blood pressure from rising.

23 Jan 2015

Dr. Hans Clevers receives ISSCR's McEwen Award for Innovation

The International Society for Stem Cell Research has awarded Dr. Hans Clevers, senior author on two important papers published recently in the scientific journal Cell, the society's McEwen Award for Innovation.

23 Jan 2015

Inherited factors linked to head and neck cancers in young adults

An article published online today in the International Journal of Epidemiology pools data from 25 case-control studies and conducts separate analyses to show that head and neck cancers (HNC) in young adults are more likely to be as a result of inherited factors, rather than lifestyle factors such as smoking or drinking alcohol.

23 Jan 2015

New study links inflammatory bowel diseases to increase in diversity of viruses

Inflammatory bowel diseases are associated with a decrease in the diversity of bacteria in the gut, but a new study led by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has linked the same illnesses to an increase in the diversity of viruses.

23 Jan 2015

UAB Research Probes Molecular Basis Of Rare Genetic Disorder

An international group co-led by University of Alabama at Birmingham researcher Mary MacDougall, Ph.D., has unraveled the molecular basis for the rare, inherited genetic disorder, Singleton-Merten Syndrome (SMS). Individuals with SMS develop extreme, life-threatening calcification of the aorta and heart valves, early-onset periodontitis and root resorption of the teeth, decreases in bone density, and loss of bone tissue at the tips of fingers and toes.

23 Jan 2015

Colorectal cancer incidence increasing among young adults

The incidence of colorectal cancer (CRC) among young adults ages 20-39 years has increased during the past 20-30 years, despite declining rates of CRC for the U.S. population overall.

23 Jan 2015

Professor Jonathan Sprent named recipient of AAI Lifetime Achievement Award

The American Association of Immunologists has selected Professor Jonathan Sprent FAA FRS, from Sydney's Garvan Institute of Medical Research, to be the 2015 recipient of the AAI Lifetime Achievement Award.

23 Jan 2015

Taking antibiotics for diarrhea may put travelers at increased risk for contracting superbugs

Taking antibiotics for diarrhea may put travelers visiting developing parts of the world at higher risk for contracting superbugs and spreading these daunting drug-resistant bacteria to their home countries, according to a new study published in Clinical Infectious Diseases and now available online.

23 Jan 2015

Improving sleep early in life may delay age-related changes in memory

Sound sleep in young and middle-aged people helps memory and learning, but as they hit their seventh, eighth and ninth decades, they don't sleep as much or as well -- and sleep is no longer linked so much to memory, a Baylor researcher says.

23 Jan 2015

Cleveland Clinic researcher awarded grant to advance treatment of lethal prostate cancer

The Prostate Cancer Foundation has presented Nima Sharifi, M.D., Kendrick Family Endowed Chair for Prostate Cancer Research at Cleveland Clinic's Lerner Research Institute, a Challenge Award to advance the treatment of lethal prostate cancer. He is also co-investigator on a second Challenge Award that was also selected for funding.

23 Jan 2015

Researchers find CREB-activated genes in long-term memory-trained worms

A new study has identified genes involved in long-term memory in the worm as part of research aimed at finding ways to retain cognitive abilities during aging.

23 Jan 2015

Researchers uncover mechanism by which anti-inflammatory processes may cause Alzheimer's

Inflammation has long been studied in Alzheimer's, but in a counterintuitive finding reported in a new paper, University of Florida researchers have uncovered the mechanism by which anti-inflammatory processes may trigger the disease.

23 Jan 2015

Gensignia's research in CT lung cancer screening recognized by ASCO

Gensignia scientific co-founders' research has been recognized in Clinical Cancer Advances 2015: Annual Report on Progress Against Cancer From the American Society of Clinical Oncology published online in the Journal of Clinical Oncology (JCO) on January 20, 2015.

22 Jan 2015

USC neuroscientists find potential prevention for Alzheimer's disease

University of Southern California neuroscientists may have unlocked another puzzle to preventing risks that can lead to Alzheimer's disease. Researchers at Keck Medicine of USC used high-resolution imaging of the living human brain to show for the first time that the brain's protective blood barrier becomes leaky with age, starting at the hippocampus, a critical learning and memory center that is damaged by Alzheimer's disease.

22 Jan 2015

Taking hormonal contraceptives for five years doubles brain tumour risk

Taking a hormonal contraceptive for at least five years is associated with a possible increase in a young woman's risk of developing a rare tumour, glioma of the brain. This project focussed on women aged 15 -49 years and the findings are published in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology.

22 Jan 2015

Study identifies gene that may become resistant to current testicular cancer treatments

A major research study has uncovered several new genetic mutations that could drive testicular cancer - and also identified a gene which may contribute to tumours becoming resistant to current treatments.

22 Jan 2015

Researchers reveal role of epigenetic factors in malignant skin cancer

Melanoma, the most aggressive of all skin cancer strains, is often fatal for patients due to the pronounced formation of metastases. Until now, a melanoma's rampant growth was mainly attributed to genetic causes, such as mutations in certain genes. However, researchers from the University of Zurich now reveal that so-called epigenetic factors play a role in the formation of metastases in malignant skin cancer. This opens up new possibilities for future cancer treatments.

22 Jan 2015

Heptares Therapeutics, AstraZeneca report significant progress in drug discovery collaboration

Heptares Therapeutics, the clinical-stage GPCR structure-guided drug discovery and development company, announces significant progress in its drug discovery collaboration with AstraZeneca.

22 Jan 2015