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Clear link between neurotensin and CVD, type 2 diabetes and breast cancer

"It was surprising to find such a clear link to the risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease as well as to breast cancer. Obesity is a common risk factor for all three conditions, but the connection with neurotensin is not explained by obesity or other known risk factors", says Professor Olle Melander from the Department of Clinical Sciences at Lund University, who is also a consultant at Sk-ne University Hospital.

11 Oct 2012

New drug candidate improves cognitive function of rats with Alzheimer's-like mental impairment

Washington State University researchers have developed a new drug candidate that dramatically improves the cognitive function of rats with Alzheimer's-like mental impairment.

11 Oct 2012

NCI identifies method by which cancerous mRNA escapes the body's safeguards

In innumerable spy movies, the hero or a villain imprints a key in clay in order to later make an exact copy. In the body, the clay is messenger RNA, or mRNA, which imprints a gene and transfers the plans to a ribosome, where the mRNA's code is manufactured into a protein - the shady shop where the clay imprint becomes a key.

11 Oct 2012

Fibulin-3 protein may help identify mesothelioma in early stages

Researchers at NYU School of Medicine have discovered the protein product of a little-known gene may one day prove useful in identifying and monitoring the development of mesothelioma in early stages, when aggressive treatment can have an impact on the progression of disease and patient prognosis.

11 Oct 2012

New mechanism may alter principle understandings of molecular interactions within a cell's nucleus

Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory, with collaborators from Harvard University, the University of Madrid, Princeton University, and the University of Zurich, have discovered a new mechanism that may alter principle understandings of molecular interactions within a cell's nucleus.

11 Oct 2012

Six-gene signature can predict survival in men with aggressive prostate cancer

Researchers from Mount Sinai School of Medicine have identified a six-gene signature that can be used in a test to predict survival in men with aggressive prostate cancer, according to new research published in the October issue of The Lancet Oncology.

11 Oct 2012

TSRI scientists identify new gene variants closely associated with bipolar disorder

Scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have identified small variations in a number of genes that are closely linked to an increased risk of bipolar disorder, a mental illness that affects nearly six million Americans, according to the National Institute of Mental Health.

11 Oct 2012

Study provides new information on impact of cognitive impairments on MS

Researchers at Trinity College Dublin in collaboration with colleagues in the Department of Neurology at St Vincent's University Hospital and University College Dublin have recently reported new insights into cognitive changes in multiple sclerosis, using newly developed signal processing methods.

11 Oct 2012

Testosterone fosters social behavior in men

The hormone testosterone stands for typically male attributes - it fosters the forming of the sexual characteristics, increases libido and muscle building. Women also have this sex hormone, but to a much lesser extent.

11 Oct 2012

Researchers identify astrocytes as new target for Alzheimer's

Alzheimer's disease is a severe neurodegenerative disease that affects 45% of people over 85 years of age. The research teams of Prof. Jin-Moo Lee at Washington University in Saint Louis, USA, and Prof. Milos Pekny at Sahlgrenska Academy in Gothenburg, Sweden, have identified astrocytes as a novel target for the development of future treatment strategies. The results have just been published in the FASEB Journal.

10 Oct 2012

UCSF project to explore mystery behind advanced prostate cancer

Many men survive prostate cancer, but thousands of others -- whose cancer spreads -- inevitably develop resistance to even the most promising treatments, leaving them with few medical options and a dwindling span of life.

10 Oct 2012

Spanish and British scientists design new blood test to identify aggressive prostate cancer

Scientists from the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO) in Madrid, along with British colleagues from the Institute for Cancer Research (ICR) and the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, have developed a test that studies genetic patterns in blood cells to detect advanced-stage prostate cancer.

10 Oct 2012

U-M researchers to better understand HIV virus on a molecular level

A new $21-million grant will help researchers at the University of Michigan Health System better understand the HIV virus on a molecular level, potentially paving the way for new treatment approaches to AIDS and other diseases.

10 Oct 2012

Scientists discover mechanism used by A20 protein to combat inflammation

Scientists affiliated with VIB and UGent have discovered a mechanism used by the protein A20 to combat inflammation. This could be a very important point of focus in the search for a treatment for autoimmune diseases such as Rheumatoid Arthritis, in which the patient suffers from chronic, uncontrolled inflammation.

10 Oct 2012

Dieting, exercise can spur HDL cholesterol production in type 2 diabetics

With a little exercise and dieting, overweight people with type 2 diabetes can still train their fat cells to produce a hormone believed to spur HDL cholesterol production, report medical researchers from The Methodist Hospital and eight other institutions in an upcoming issue of the Journal of Lipid Research.

10 Oct 2012

Roitt's Essential Immunology receives BMA Book of the Year Award

John Wiley & Sons, Inc., today announced that Roitt's Essential Immunology, 12th Edition, has won the prestigious British Medical Association (BMA) Book of the Year Award.

10 Oct 2012

Proneurotensin associated with diabetes, cardiometabolic disease and breast cancer

Plasma levels of proneurotensin are associated with the development of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cardiovascular and total mortality, and breast cancer in women during long-term follow-up, according to a study in the October 10 issue of JAMA.

10 Oct 2012

PARP-1 plays a major role in controlling AR function in prostate cancer patients

A newly discovered function of PARP-1 could be the key to more effective therapeutics to treat advanced prostate cancer patients, a recent preclinical study published in Cancer Discovery by Jefferson's Kimmel Cancer Center researchers suggests.

10 Oct 2012

High-fat Western diet could lead to development of atherosclerosis

Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) researchers have found that a diet high in saturated fat raises levels of endothelial lipase (EL), an enzyme associated with the development of atherosclerosis, and, conversely, that a diet high in omega-3 polyunsaturated fat lowers levels of this enzyme.

10 Oct 2012

Researchers identify two new small 'chaperone' molecules that may treat Schindler/Kanzaki disease

University of Massachusetts Amherst researchers, experts in revealing molecular structure by X-ray crystallography, have identified two new small "chaperone" molecules that may be useful in treating the inherited metabolic disorder known as Schindler/Kanzaki disease.

10 Oct 2012