Medical Science News

RSS

Study shows that migraine may have long-term effects on the brain's structure

Migraine may have long-lasting effects on the brain's structure, according to a study published in the August 28, 2013, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

29 Aug 2013

Problems with key enzymes potentially lead to autism spectrum disorder

Problems with a key group of enzymes called topoisomerases can have profound effects on the genetic machinery behind brain development and potentially lead to autism spectrum disorder, according to research announced today in the journal Nature.

29 Aug 2013

Study: Deficiency of protein causes age-related memory loss and Alzheimer's disease

A team of Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) researchers, led by Nobel laureate Eric R. Kandel, MD, has found that deficiency of a protein called RbAp48 in the hippocampus is a significant contributor to age-related memory loss and that this form of memory loss is reversible.

29 Aug 2013

Researchers identify possible treatment strategy for ALS and other neurodegenerative disorders

Researchers have tied mutations in a gene that causes amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and other neurodegenerative disorders to the toxic buildup of certain proteins and related molecules in cells, including neurons. The research, published recently in the scientific journal Cell, offers a new approach for developing treatments against these devastating diseases.

29 Aug 2013

Reversing inflammation in fluid near brain's cortex may provide solution to Parkinson's disease

Reversing inflammation in the fluid surrounding the brain's cortex may provide a solution to the complex riddle of Parkinson's, according to researchers who have found a link between pro-inflammatory biomarkers and the severity of symptoms such as fatigue, depression and anxiety in patients with the chronic disease.

29 Aug 2013

Research findings may help scientists develop anthrax treatments for humans

Researchers at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, both part of the National Institutes of Health, have identified the cells in two distinct areas of the body that are simultaneously targeted for damage by anthrax toxins, eventually causing illness and sometimes death. Their findings, which appeared online today in Nature, are based on testing in mice.

29 Aug 2013

WPI researchers receive NIH grant to develop cell therapies for healing cardiac muscle

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded a five-year, $1.94 million grant to a biomedical research team at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) working at the forefront of cell therapies for healing cardiac muscle damaged by heart attack or chronic disease.

29 Aug 2013

Study paves way for understanding the crucial role of lncRNA in human neurons

Scientists at A*STAR's Genome Institute of Singapore have discovered an unusual gene that controls the generation of neurons. This important finding, which is crucial in understanding serious diseases of the brain such as Alzheimer's disease, was reported in the 8th August 2013 issue of the prestigious scientific journal, Molecular Cell.

28 Aug 2013

Researchers suggest new therapeutic target for brain tumor

Johns Hopkins researchers say they have found a specific protein in nearly 100 percent of high-grade meningiomas — the most common form of brain tumor — suggesting a new target for therapies for a cancer that does not respond to current chemotherapy.

28 Aug 2013

FDA categorizes Cepheid's Xpert MTB/RIF test as 'Moderate Complexity' under CLIA

Cepheid today announced the U.S. Food & Drug Administration has categorized Cepheid's Xpert MTB/RIF test as 'Moderate Complexity' under the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments.

28 Aug 2013

UTHealth researchers find cause for rare type of bleeding disorder

Fifteen years ago, a hematologist came to Dianna Milewicz, M.D., Ph.D., with a puzzle: Multiple generations of an East Texas family suffered from a moderately severe bleeding disorder, but it wasn't hemophilia.

28 Aug 2013

UW researchers perform first noninvasive human-to-human brain interface

University of Washington researchers have performed what they believe is the first noninvasive human-to-human brain interface, with one researcher able to send a brain signal via the Internet to control the hand motions of a fellow researcher.

28 Aug 2013

Research shows specific form of memory associations is encoded in cerebral cortex

'Where' and 'how' memories are encoded in a nervous system is one of the most challenging questions in biological research. The formation and recall of associative memories is essential for an independent life. The hippocampus has long been considered a centre in the brain for the long-term storage of spatial associations.

28 Aug 2013

High intensity interval training offers maximum benefits to women

Interval training is a well-known way to get the maximum benefits of exercise in the shortest amount of time. New research shows that when it comes to running, women may get more out of high intensity interval training (HIIT) than their male counterparts.

28 Aug 2013

Study shows genetic test to classify gastric cancers and match them to therapies offer best outcomes

Stomach cancer, one of the leading causes of cancer death worldwide, actually falls into three broad subtypes that respond differently to currently available therapies, according to researchers at Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School Singapore.

28 Aug 2013

New polymer additives enhance ability of oral drugs to reach bloodstream

All too often, when a person takes a pill full of a potent and effective drug, the drug passes straight through the body, not reaching the organ where it is needed — a waste of money and inconvenient if it is a cold medicine, but potentially dire if it is a treatment for a serious illness.

28 Aug 2013

Genetic variant linked with increased risk of CHD in type 2 diabetic patients

Joslin scientists, in collaboration with researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health and Italian research institutes, have identified a previously unknown genetic variant associated with an increased risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) in type 2 diabetic patients.

28 Aug 2013

'Helper cells' improve survival rate of transplanted stem cells, finds study

Like volunteers handing out cups of energy drinks to marathon runners, specially engineered "helper cells" transplanted along with stem cells can dole out growth factors to increase the stem cells' endurance, at least briefly, Johns Hopkins researchers report.

28 Aug 2013

Human exposure to aluminium implicates number of chronic diseases

Aluminium - the most abundant metal and third most abundant element of the Earth's crust - has no known biological function and is a recognised environmental toxin. Human exposure to aluminium is implicated in a number of chronic diseases, including bone disease, auto-immune conditions, cancer and neurodegenerative diseases.

28 Aug 2013

Study: Apoptosis triggers alternate replication pathway in HHV

Washington, DC-Researchers from Children's National Medical Center have found that an alternate, "escape" replication process triggered by apoptosis-the process of cell death or "cell suicide"-appears to be common in human herpesviruses (HHV).

28 Aug 2013