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Structure of protein altered in autism revealed

As a result of mapping the structure of the protein complex implicated in autism spectrum disorders, a research team led by scientists at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences has discovered how particular genetic mutations affect this complex and contribute to the developmental abnormalities found in children with autism.

15 Jun 2007

Link between restless legs syndrome and hypertension

An international team of researchers, led by Emory University clinician scientists, has found evidence that people suffering from moderate to severe cases of restless legs syndrome (RLS) are at significantly increased risk for developing hypertension.

15 Jun 2007

Researchers create first 3-D optical images of human breast cancer in patients based on tissue fluorescence

Fluorescence diffuse optical tomography, or FDOT, relies on the presence of fluorophore molecules in tissue that re-radiate fluorescent light after illumination by excitation light of a different color.

14 Jun 2007

Newly found antibodies may be body's natural defense against Alzheimer's

In an important advance in the battle against Alzheimer's disease, physician-scientists at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center have identified naturally occurring antibodies in human blood that may help to defend against this form of dementia as well as other neurodegenerative diseases.

14 Jun 2007

Mild cognitive disorder often an early symptom of Alzheimer's disease

Using new MRI techniques to analyze tissue composition and structure in the brain, researchers from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and the National Institute on Aging successfully detected mild cognitive disorder (MCI), a condition in which patients suffer mild memory problems and is often an early symptom of Alzheimer's disease (AD).

14 Jun 2007

Injected neural stem cells reduce Parkinson's symptoms in primates

Primates with severe Parkinson's disease were able to walk, move, and eat better, and had diminished tremors after being injected with human neural stem cells, a research team from Yale, Harvard, the University of Colorado, and the Burnham Institute report in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

14 Jun 2007

Myelin and Huntington's disease

Last month, Dr. George Bartzokis, director of the UCLA Memory Disorders and Alzheimer's Disease Clinic, suggested in the journal Alzheimer's & Dementia that the breakdown of a type of myelin that develops late in life promotes the buildup of toxic amyloid plaques long associated with Alzheimer's disease.

14 Jun 2007

Predictors of cognitive decline in memory clinic patients

Memory problems have many causes, such as stress or depression, but they can also be an early sign of dementia.

14 Jun 2007

Doctors do not address patients by name in half of first-time visits

...even though nearly all patients want this personal greeting, according to new research from Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine.

14 Jun 2007

Malaria and Epstein-Barr virus in Africa

Endemic Burkitt lymphoma is a form of cancer that accounts for up to 74% of malignant disorders in children in equatorial Africa.

14 Jun 2007

Thirteenth gene linked to Leber's congenital amaurosis

An international research team has discovered a gene that, when mutated, causes one of the most common forms of inherited blindness in babies.

14 Jun 2007

Light activity associated with lower blood glucose levels

This is according to new research undertaken by The University of Queensland and Melbourne's International Diabetes Institute.

14 Jun 2007

New genetic risk factor for coeliac disease

An international research consortium investigating the genetic causes of intestinal inflammatory conditions has identified a new genetic risk factor for coeliac disease.

14 Jun 2007

Cholesterol causes changes in gene expression

Experts from the University of Granada carried out research on atherosclerosis from its earliest stages to discover the origin of atheromatous plaques, fatty deposits gradually and irregularly formed in the main arteries, causing the narrowing of the blood vessel.

14 Jun 2007

Primary ciliary dyskinesia linked to heterotaxy

The same genetic defect that causes a rare respiratory disease may also lead to some types of congenital heart disease, according to a study from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine.

14 Jun 2007

Call for greater research into paediatric drugs for epilepsy

Researchers have called for urgent studies into the long-term safety of newer antiepileptic drugs after discovering that the number given to children has increased significantly over recent years, reports the June issue of British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology.

14 Jun 2007

How we choose partners and the impact of a parent's role in this process

Women who enjoy good childhood relationships with their fathers are more likely to select partners who resemble their dads research suggests.

14 Jun 2007

New method for matching living kidney donors with kidney disease patients

Computer scientists at Carnegie Mellon University have developed a new computerized method for matching living kidney donors with kidney disease patients that can increase the number of kidney transplants, and save lives.

14 Jun 2007

A single cancer stem cell is sufficient to initiate and maintain a malignant tumor

At the heart of most, if not all cancers, lie a handful of wayward stem cells that feed the ever growing tumor mass, but their scarcity make it difficult for scientists to study them. Now, times of plenty may lie ahead as a breast cancer cell line , established long ago , turned out to behave a lot like cancer stem cells.

14 Jun 2007

What makes people susceptible to rheumatoid arthritis?

Peter K. Gregersen, MD, stares at x-rays of hands, searching out the telltale signs of inflamed joints and wrists from his research subjects with rheumatoid arthritis. With these clinical features at his side, he turns to the basic building blocks of life , the human genome , to figure out what makes these people susceptible to the disabling inflammatory condition.

14 Jun 2007