Metabolism News and Research

Latest Metabolism News and Research

Study shows why thiazolidinediones cause edema and helps understand role of kidneys in hypertension

In related discoveries with far-reaching implications for treating diabetes and understanding hypertension, University of Utah researchers have learned why thiazolidinediones (TZDs), a major anti-diabetes drug, cause edema and also have found a new pathway critical to fluid metabolism. Identification of this pathway may help understand fundamental mechanisms of blood pressure control.

19 Jun 2005

First demonstration that reduced metabolic activity in the hippocampus may be used to help predict future Alzheimer's disease

New York University School of Medicine researchers have developed a brain scan-based computer program that quickly and accurately measures metabolic activity in a key region of the brain affected in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease.

19 Jun 2005

Protocol used to treat the first known survivor of rabies without prior vaccination published

The protocol used to treat the first known survivor of rabies without prior vaccination is published in the June 16, 2005, issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. It is hoped that this approach can be replicated, tested, and provide a guide for treating this fatal condition, especially in parts of the world where the incidence of rabies is rampant.

15 Jun 2005

Research urges a new approach to cancer detection

A few years ago, Medhat Osman, M.D., Ph.D., had a patient who was scanned due to a suspicion of lung cancer using positron emission tomography (PET) and computer tomography (CT) technology. The scan came back negative, but the patient then complained of a problem with his leg.

14 Jun 2005

Study reveals benefits of using insulin earlier

Results of an all-Canadian study announced June 13 at an international diabetes congress demonstrate that patients with type 2 diabetes can safely achieve target blood sugar (glycemic) levels faster and more frequently when insulin glargine (a basal, long-acting insulin) is added to therapy, versus using oral agents alone.

14 Jun 2005

Anti-cancer drug could be the first effective treatment for premature births

An anti-cancer drug could potentially be the first effective treatment for the many thousands of premature births that occur worldwide each year, scientific tests have found.

13 Jun 2005

Teen-age boys with type 1 diabetes showed evidence of greater atherosclerosis

Youths with type 1 diabetes, especially boys, already show early signs of cardiovascular disease by their teen-age years, according to researchers from the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California and Childrens Hospital Los Angeles.

13 Jun 2005

Poor diet during pregnancy increases risk of child being obese

It is common knowledge that a well balanced diet in pregnancy is crucial, but now scientists say they believe a poor diet during pregnancy appears to raise the chances of having an obese child.

12 Jun 2005

Missing link between mothers' diets and obesity in kids

New work may have found the missing link between mothers' diets and obesity in kids. A study published in the June issue of Cell Metabolism suggests that a hormone may explain the connection between mothers who are poorly nourished and an increased risk of obesity in their children.

8 Jun 2005

Novel targets found for the development of drugs to complement, or replace, statins

A team of investigators from the Uppsala Branch of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research (LICR) and Harvard Medical School has uncovered novel targets for the development of drugs that would potentially complement, or replace, statins in treating heart disease.

8 Jun 2005

New series of human drug targets available to all researchers

The Structural Genomics Consortium (SGC), an Anglo-Canadian charitable consortium of public and private agencies including Oxford University, announced recently that it has delivered its first 50 human and malaria protein structures into the public domain on budget and two months ahead of schedule.

6 Jun 2005

Curvy girls live longer than slim ones and laughter is still the best medicine

Researchers at the Institute of Preventative Medicine in Copenhagen have news that girls will love to hear - that curvaceous women are more likely to live longer than their slimmer counterparts.

5 Jun 2005

Genetics may play a role in the effectiveness of chemotherapy drugs

Today, the most common childhood cancer is cured in about 80 percent of patients; only forty years ago, this number was closer to five percent. In efforts to further increase the survival rate, researchers from St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, the University of Tennessee, and the University of Chicago studied how an individual's genetics might play a role in the effectiveness of chemotherapy drugs.

3 Jun 2005

Lafora disease can be caused by mutations in a gene that regulates the concentration of the protein laforin

Researchers at University of California, San Diego (UCSD) have found that Lafora disease, an inherited form of epilepsy that results in death by the age of 30, can be caused by mutations in a gene that regulates the concentration of the protein laforin. These findings are reported in the current issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

1 Jun 2005

Steroid treatment for prematurity put to the test

Babies whose mothers received steroid injections before giving birth have no higher risk of heart disease at age 30 than those whose mothers received a placebo treatment.

30 May 2005

Whole-body positron emission tomography/computed tomography scans may help physicians identify malignant cancerous tumors

A team of researchers at Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions in Baltimore, Md., reports that whole-body positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) scans may help physicians identify new, unexpected malignant cancerous tumors in patients, according to an article in the May issue of the Society of Nuclear Medicine’s Journal of Nuclear Medicine.

29 May 2005