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Researchers investigate whether PTSD is a brain disorder

Researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) are investigating whether post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a brain disorder that can affect multiple parts of the body and cause lifelong illnesses.

10 Jul 2012

Researchers discover mechanism that favours disappearance and inhibition of SCC development

Skin squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is a subtype of very aggressive skin cancers that usually develops in sunexposed body regions, but can also affect a large number of organs such as the bladder, esophagus, lungs etc. However, little is known about the biology of these cells, which consequently makes difficult the generation of new specific therapies; actually, the standard treatments are based on surgery and subsequent radiotherapy.

10 Jul 2012

Lipid ceramide helps cells keep cilium or antenna from retracting

A lipid that helps lotion soften the skin also helps cells find and stay in the right location in the body by ensuring they keep their "antennae" up, scientists report.

10 Jul 2012

Glycemic index varies from one type of rice to another

Research analysing 235 types of rice from around the world has found its glycemic index (GI) varies from one type of rice to another with most varieties scoring a low to medium GI. This finding is good news because it not only means rice can be part of a healthy diet for the average consumer, it also means people with diabetes, or at risk of diabetes, can select the right rice to help maintain a healthy, low GI diet.

10 Jul 2012

Scientists develop novel anticancer drug designed to travel through the bloodstream

Scientists at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center, working with Danish researchers, have developed a novel anticancer drug designed to travel -- undetected by normal cells -- through the bloodstream until activated by specific cancer proteins.

10 Jul 2012

Disabling Nf1 gene makes stem cells from the third ventricle proliferate rapidly

Scientists showed in mice that disabling a gene linked to a common pediatric tumor disorder, neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1), made stem cells from one part of the brain proliferate rapidly. But the same genetic deficit had no effect on stem cells from another brain region.

10 Jul 2012

Methylation provides signal of unique mix of leukocytes

When a person is sick, there is a tell-tale sign in their blood: a different mix of the various types of immune cells called leukocytes. A group of scientists at several institutions including Brown University has discovered a way to determine that mix from the DNA in archival or fresh blood samples, potentially providing a practical new technology not only for medical research but also for clinical diagnosis and treatment monitoring of ailments including some cancers.

10 Jul 2012

Oligomers may be responsible for onset of Alzheimer's

Alzheimer's disease is one of the most dreaded and debilitating illnesses one can develop. Currently, the disease afflicts 6.5 million Americans and the Alzheimer's Association projects it to increase to between 11 and 16 million, or 1 in 85 people, by 2050.

10 Jul 2012

Sox10 gene plays a central role in melanoma

Black skin cancer, also known as melanoma, is particularly aggressive and becoming increasingly common in Switzerland. Despite intensive research, however, there is still no treatment. Researchers from the University of Zurich have now discovered a gene that plays a central role in black skin cancer. Suppressing this gene in mice inhibits the development of melanoma and its proliferation - a discovery that could pave the way for new forms of therapy.

10 Jul 2012

MammaPrint more cost-effective and clinically-useful test than Oncotype DX

New research from University of the Sciences' Mayes College of Healthcare Business and Policy suggests that MammaPrint - a gene expression profiling (GEP) test used to identify whether women with early-stage breast cancer would benefit from chemotherapy - is the more cost-effective and clinically-useful test than the most frequently used GEP in practice in the United States today.

10 Jul 2012

Measuring creatinine and cystatin C more accurately estimates kidney function

Measuring creatinine and cystatin C - two markers for chronic kidney disease (CKD) - more precisely estimates kidney function than either marker alone, according to a study funded by the National Institutes of Health. Results appear in the July 5 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

10 Jul 2012

Combination of estrogen and MPA increases synapses in the prefrontal cortex

A new study of aged female rats found that long-term treatment with estrogen and a synthetic progesterone known as MPA increased levels of a protein marker of synapses in the prefrontal cortex, a brain region known to suffer significant losses in aging.

10 Jul 2012

U-M to receive CTSA grant renewal in support of clinical and translational research

University of Michigan scientists and doctors do some of the most advanced medical research in the world. But much of it wouldn't be possible without the thousands of people a year who volunteer their time, health information, blood, saliva, DNA or other samples to help those researchers better understand diseases and improve health outcomes.

10 Jul 2012

Prolonged exposure to high-fat diets reduces quality of sleep in rats

Research to be presented at the Annual Meeting of the Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior (SSIB), the foremost society for research into all aspects of eating and drinking behavior, finds that prolonged exposure to a high-fat diet reduces the quality of sleep in rats.

10 Jul 2012

Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery induces changes in the gut microbiota

Research to be presented at the Annual Meeting of the Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior (SSIB), the foremost society for research into all aspects of eating and drinking behavior, finds that gastric bypass surgery induces changes in the gut microbiota and peptide release that are similar to those seen after treatment with prebiotics.

10 Jul 2012

Protein interactions outside breast cancer cells can permanently stop proliferation

Protein interactions outside breast cancer cells can send signals to the cancer cells to permanently stop proliferating, a new study showed in the School of Medicine at The University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio.

10 Jul 2012

Blocking a fundamental process deep within cancer cells can selectively kill them

Investigators reporting in the July issue of the Cell Press journal Cancer Cell have found that blocking a fundamental process deep within cancer cells can selectively kill them and spare normal cells.

10 Jul 2012

Einstein researchers to study molecular mechanism behind Ebola virus infection

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University a five-year, $4.8 million grant to study the molecular mechanism that allows the Ebola virus to cause infection and spread in animals.

10 Jul 2012

Study clarifies anti-inflammatory impact of boswellic acids

It was one of the gifts of the Magi - in addition to myrrh and gold they offered frankincense to the newly born baby Jesus. Since the ancient world the aromatic fragrance of burning Boswellia resin has been part of many religious ceremonies and is still used as a means to indicate special festive atmosphere in the church today. But frankincense can do much more: "The resin from the trunk of Boswellia trees contains anti-inflammatory substances," Professor Dr. Oliver Werz of the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (Germany) says.

10 Jul 2012

EGF helps prevent inflammation-induced cancer

Epidermal growth factor (EGF) is a protein that normally regulates intestinal healing. However, biological therapies, like EGF, also may pose the risk of increasing the possibility of cancer. Philip Dubé, PhD, and Brent Polk, MD, both of the Saban Research Institute of Children's Hospital Los Angeles have demonstrated that in preclinical models, EGF encourages healing and provides powerful anti-inflammatory properties that prevent inflammation-induced cancer.

10 Jul 2012