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Researchers investigate brain network to understand mind disorders

Uncovering the secrets of the brain requires an intense network of collaborative research. Building on a tool that was co-developed in his laboratory and described in a recent issue of Brain, Dr. Yaniv Assaf of Tel Aviv University's Department of Neurobiology is collaborating with an international team of scientists to understand how different parts of the human brain "connect" and to turn this information into a "brain atlas."

8 Sep 2010

UC San Diego researchers receive grant to study pharmacogenomics for bipolar disorder

An international team, led by University of California, San Diego School of Medicine researchers, has been awarded a $6.5 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to study the pharmacogenomics of a key mood-stabilizing drug used to treat bipolar disorder.

8 Sep 2010

Scientists study behaviour of proteins that trigger age-related ailments

Scientists hope to gain insights into a range of age-related ailments, such as dementia, by examining the behaviour of proteins thought to trigger the conditions.Researchers from the University of Edinburgh are to study proteins found in the body to try to find out why these molecules can sometimes clump together as people get older. The clumps interfere with the biological processes that enable the body to function healthily.

8 Sep 2010

Synthetic derivative of Retinoic acid can induce cell death

Retinoic acid (RA), a natural derivative of vitamin A, is the basis of a number of treatments against cancer. Nevertheless, it has certain disadvantages, such as the possibility of the appearance of retinoic acid syndrome, present in 25 % of cases and which can lead to death. The development of 4-HPR, a synthetic derivative of RA, has meant a considerable advance due to its greater efficacy compared to its predecessor.

8 Sep 2010

NIH expands funding for Baylor College of Medicine Human Microbiome Project

The National Institutes of Health today announced expanded funding of the Baylor College of Medicine Human Microbiome Project clinical program initiated last year at Texas Children Hospital.

8 Sep 2010

Study finds multivitamins have no impact on cancer recurrence, survival

Patients with colon cancer who used multivitamins during and after being treated with post-surgical chemotherapy did not reduce the risk of the cancer returning or their dying from it, according to researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

8 Sep 2010

Lack of sleep likely to develop diabetes, heart disease: Research

People who sleep less than six hours a night may be three times more likely to develop a condition which leads to diabetes and heart disease, according to researchers at the University of Warwick.

8 Sep 2010

Children's Hospital Boston engages Particle Sciences for drug product development services

Particle Sciences Inc. (PSI), a leading pharmaceutical Contract Research Organization (CRO), has been engaged by Children's Hospital Boston to help advance early stage molecules and drug innovations into new therapeutic products for patient care. Under the established framework between Children's and PSI, Particle Sciences provides drug product development services aimed at progressing the specific drug or drug product candidate to the point where it becomes attractive to potential licensees.

8 Sep 2010

Study finds non-hormonal therapies can relieve hot flashes in women with breast cancer

Many women enduring hot flashes experience the heat, sweat and reddened upper body as an uncomfortable inconvenience. However, hot flashes can greatly diminish a woman's quality of life, disrupting sleep at night or causing embarrassment as she goes about her daily business. Many women enduring hot flashes experience the heat, sweat and reddened upper body as an uncomfortable inconvenience. However, hot flashes can greatly diminish a woman's quality of life, disrupting sleep at night or causing embarrassment as she goes about her daily business.

8 Sep 2010

NGP 555 compound effective in preventing amyloid pathology of Alzheimer's disease

In the Sept. 9, 2010 issue of Neuron, Neurogenetic Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NGP) reports proof of concept studies that show its proprietary compound, NGP 555, is effective in preventing the amyloid pathology of Alzheimer's disease (AD) in a transgenic mouse model.

8 Sep 2010

Researchers discover tolerance mechanism in chronic morphine treatment

Researchers from Mount Sinai School of Medicine have discovered a major mechanism underlying the development of tolerance to chronic morphine treatment. The discovery may help researchers find new therapies to treat chronic pain, and reduce tolerance and side effects associated with morphine use. The findings are published in the July 20th issue of Science Signaling.

8 Sep 2010

Local efforts seek to reduce childhood obesity; Sleep-deprived kids most vulnerable

NPR: "[A] new study finds that even for infants and preschoolers, a good, long night's sleep may be just as important as diet and physical activity. Over the past three decades, obesity rates have doubled among children age 2 to 5, and tripled among 6- to 11-year-olds. So University of Washington maternal and child health researcher Janice Bell wanted to know whether sleep had anything to do with it.

8 Sep 2010

NIH awards St. Jude $8.6M to focus on anticancer agent research in children

With its new expansion of the Pharmacogenomics Research Network (PGRN), the National Institutes of Health (NIH) awarded St. Jude Children's Research Hospital a prestigious grant to focus on anticancer agent research in children.

8 Sep 2010

Research reveals need for initiatives to prevent, treat substance abuse when fighting violent crime

A new study from Sweden's Karolinska Institutet suggests that bipolar disorder or manic-depressive disorder does not increase the risk of committing violent crime. Instead, the over-representation of individuals with bipolar disorder in violent crime statistics is almost entirely attributable to concurrent substance abuse.

8 Sep 2010

Researchers identify eight clinical features for cancer

Scientists at Keele University have identified eight symptoms that, when they are presented to a GP, have a more than five per cent chance of turning out to be cancer.

8 Sep 2010

Penn receives $12M NIH grant to study pharmacogenetics of nicotine addiction treatment

A variety of smoking cessation treatments are currently available for the more than 18 million adult Americans try to quit smoking each year, but success rates vary widely. Despite the importance of quitting smoking, more personalized approaches to smoking cessation treatment are needed to help smokers pick the right method that will work best for them. A major new personalized medicine clinical trial, led by addiction researchers at the University of Pennsylvania, will study how a smokers' genetic make-up influences their quitting success.

8 Sep 2010

Static stretching leads to decreased running performance

Distance runners who stretch before running may not be able to run as far—and yet spend more energy doing it, according to a study in The Journal of Strength and Conditioning, official research journal of the National Strength and Conditioning Association. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health, a leading provider of information and business intelligence for students, professionals, and institutions in medicine, nursing, allied health, and pharmacy.

8 Sep 2010

Further evidence on adverse effects of smoking on fertility

Two new studies have shed more light on how smoking may damage fertility, and give further weight to advice that mothers and fathers-to-be should stop smoking before attempting to conceive. The research is published online in the reproductive medicine journal Human Reproduction today (Wednesday 8 September).

8 Sep 2010

GE Global Researchers receive award from NIH for human microbiome study

Researchers from GE Global Research have been awarded a $538,000 human microbiome project from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to develop new technology that would allow for the study of individual cells growing inside and outside the body believed to have a significant impact on human health.

8 Sep 2010

Researchers develop new RNA molecule approach to kill cancer cells

Researchers at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have engineered a fundamentally new approach to killing cancer cells. The process developed by Niles Pierce, associate professor of applied and computational mathematics and bioengineering at Caltech, and his colleagues uses small RNA molecules that can be programmed to attack only specific cancer cells then, by changing shape, those molecules cause the cancer cells to self destruct.

8 Sep 2010