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Scientists map molecular "master regulator" of fat-cell biology

A research team led by Mitchell Lazar, MD, PhD, Director of the Institute for Diabetes, Obesity, and Metabolism at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, has used state-of-the-art genetic technology to map thousands of positions where a molecular "master regulator" of fat-cell biology is nestled in DNA to control genes in these cells.

5 Nov 2008

Enhancing quality and safety of care for patients across Europe

This discussion derives from the ongoing debate on the directive proposal for the application of cross-border healthcare patients' rights presented by the European Commission (EC) in July this year.

5 Nov 2008

Most adults not up to date on their vaccinations

Most adults are not up to date on their vaccinations, says a new report from Harvard Medical School.

5 Nov 2008

Medicaid policies vary widely for biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs

Patients with inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis now have many more treatment options than in the past, including biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs).

5 Nov 2008

Risk of sudden cardiac death highest early after attack

People who survive a heart attack face the greatest risk of dying from sudden cardiac death (SCD) during the first month after leaving the hospital, according to a long-term community study by Mayo Clinic researchers of nearly 3,000 heart attack survivors.

5 Nov 2008

Maturation process plays more of a role in learning and development of college students

How well young people learn and develop during their college years may be due more to the normal process of maturing rather than the college experience itself, according to a new student assessment tool developed by researchers at Indiana State University.

5 Nov 2008

Maternal obesity can program fetal brain to induce adult-onset obesity

Researchers at the University at Buffalo have found that fetuses of obese mother rats were programmed in utero to develop obesity in adulthood.

5 Nov 2008

Lung airway cells activate vitamin D and increase immune response

Vitamin D is essential to good health but needs to be activated to function properly in the human body.

5 Nov 2008

Scientists show how "junk" DNA may be a major driver for evolution

In a paper published in Genome Research on Nov. 4, scientists at the Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS) report that what was previously believed to be "junk" DNA is one of the important ingredients distinguishing humans from other species.

5 Nov 2008

Study look at use of insulin via insulin pump

Using an insulin pump to manage diabetes is more convenient than managing the disease with daily insulin injections.

5 Nov 2008

Pycnodysostosis sheds light on enzyme's role in bone metabolism

Pycnodysostosis, a condition from which the painter Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec suffered, is a genetic disease characterized by short stature.

5 Nov 2008

$Healthy bones program reduces hip fractures by 37 percent$

Healthy bones program reduces hip fractures by 37 percent

Proactive measures can reduce hip fracture rates by an average of 37.2 percent -- and as much as 50 percent -- among those at risk, according to a study conducted by Kaiser Permanente Southern California.

5 Nov 2008

Folate, vitamin B6 and B12 do not appear to affect cancer risk

A daily supplementation combination that included folic acid and vitamin B6 and B12 had no significant effect on the overall risk of cancer, including breast cancer, among women at high risk of cardiovascular disease, according to a study in the November 5 issue of JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association.

5 Nov 2008

Experts available to comment on risk of sudden cardiac death in 30 days following a heart attack

A new study in the November 5th 2008 issue of JAMA finds that during the first month after a heart attack, patients may have an increased risk for sudden cardiac death.

5 Nov 2008

Resveratrol type drug mimics low-cal diet to ward off weight gain

A drug designed to specifically hit a protein linked to the life-extending benefits of a meager diet can essentially trick the body into believing food is scarce even when it isn't, suggests a new report in the November Cell Metabolism.

5 Nov 2008

Death by hyperdisease

It took less than a decade for native rats to become extinct on the Indian Ocean's previously uninhabited Christmas Island once Eurasian black rats jumped ship onto the island at the turn of the 20th century.

5 Nov 2008

Consumer market not ready for so-called nutrigenomics

In the near future it will be possible to customise the food we eat to individual needs, based on the genetic profile of the individual.

5 Nov 2008

Computer model improves diagnostic sonography

Doctors use diagnostic sonography or ultrasound to visualise organs and other internal structures of the human body.

5 Nov 2008

Apelin hormone shows promise as target for managing insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes

By injecting a hormone produced by fat and other tissues into mice, researchers report in the November Cell Metabolism that they significantly lowered blood sugar levels in normal and obese mice.

5 Nov 2008

Rainfall linked to autism

Scientists in the U.S. say there appears to be a link between high levels of rainfall and the prevalence of autism - they say children living in high annual rainfall areas appear more likely to develop autism, which raises again the possibility of an environmental trigger for the disorder.

5 Nov 2008