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Potential new way to treat anxiety
Date: Aug-07-2013Chemically modified inhibitors of the COX-2 enzyme relieve anxiety behaviors in mice by activating natural "endocannabinoids" without gastrointestinal side effects, Vanderbilt University scientists are reporting. Endocannabinoids are natural signaling molecules that activate cannabinoid receptors in the brain, the same receptors turned on by the active ingredient in marijuana...
Potential cure for eye disease inspired by mechanism that allows bacteria to infect plants
Date: Aug-07-2013By borrowing a tool from bacteria that infect plants, scientists have developed a new approach to eliminate mutated DNA inside mitochondria - the energy factories within cells. Doctors might someday use the approach to treat a variety of mitochondrial diseases, including the degenerative eye disease Leber hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON). The research, published online in Nature Medicine, was funded by the National Eye Institute (NEI), a part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Mitochondria convert fuel from food into a form of energy that cells can use...
How to unleash the immune system against cancer in mice without triggering autoimmune reactions
Date: Aug-07-2013St. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientists have discovered a way to target the immune system to shrink or eliminate tumors in mice without causing autoimmune problems. Researchers also found evidence that the same mechanism may operate in humans. The study was published in the advance online edition of Nature. The findings provide a new target for ongoing efforts to develop immunotherapies to harness the immune system to fight cancer and other diseases. The work focused on white blood cells called regulatory T cells...
Gene disruption increases susceptibility to schizophrenia and a learning disorder
Date: Aug-07-2013A team of researchers have shown that schizophrenia and a disorder associated with autism and learning difficulties share a common biological pathway. This is one of the first times that researchers have uncovered genetic evidence for the underlying causes of schizophrenia. The team found that a disruption of the gene TOP3B, an exceedingly rare occurrence in most parts of the world, is fairly common in a uniquely genetically distinct founder population from North-eastern Finland...
Researchers discover human neurons linked to navigation in open environments
Date: Aug-07-2013Using direct human brain recordings, a research team from Drexel University, the University of Pennsylvania, UCLA and Thomas Jefferson University has identified a new type of cell in the brain that helps people to keep track of their relative location while navigating an unfamiliar environment. The "grid cell," which derives its name from the triangular grid pattern in which the cell activates during navigation, is distinct among brain cells because its activation represents multiple spatial locations...
Bacteria's war machinery dismantled
Date: Aug-07-2013A nano-machine cell killer: EPFL researchers decipher the attack strategy of certain bacteria, including the infamous Staphylococcus aureus This is a veritable mechanics of aggression on the nanoscale. Certain bacteria, including Staphylococcus aureus, have the ability to deploy tiny darts. This biological weapon kills the host cell by piercing the membrane. Researchers at EPFL have dismantled, piece by piece, this intriguing little machine and found an assembly of proteins that, in unfolding at the right time, takes the form of a spur...
Vital enzyme complex found elevated in many cancers
Date: Aug-07-2013Wistar scientists decipher structure of NatA, an enzyme complex that modifies most human proteins A team of researchers from Philadelphia and Norway has determined the structure of an enzyme complex that modifies one end of most human proteins and is made at elevated levels in numerous forms of cancer. A study in Nature Structural & Molecular Biology, led by researchers at The Wistar Institute, depicts the structure and the means of action of a protein complex called NatA...
CD4 count monitoring is non-inferior to viral load monitoring for treatment switching in adults with HIV in Thailand
Date: Aug-06-2013For adults infected with HIV in Thailand a monitoring strategy based on CD4 count (a type of white blood cell) is non-inferior to the recommended monitoring strategy measuring the amount of HIV virus in a patient's blood, to determine when to switch from first-line to more costly second-line antiretroviral treatment according to a clinical trial published this week in PLOS Medicine...
What are allergies? What is an allergy?
Date: Aug-06-2013Allergies are hypersensitive immune responses to substances that either enter or come in contact with the body, such as pet dander, pollen or bee venom. A substance that causes an allergic reaction is called an "allergen". Allergens can be found in food, drinks or the environment. Most allergens are harmless, i.e. the majority of people are not affected by them. If you are allergic to a substance, such as pollen, your immune system reacts to it as if it were a pathogen (a foreign harmful substance), and tries to destroy it. Allergies are very common...
What is Wellbutrin (bupropion)? What are the side effects of Wellbutrin?
Date: Aug-06-2013Wellbutrin (bupropion) is an atypical antidepressant of the aminoketone class of drugs. Wellbutrin is commonly prescribed to treat depression and is currently one of the most prescribed antidepressants in the U.S. It is frequently prescribed over other antidepressants because side effects such as weight gain or sexual dysfunction aren't as common. The drug is also used to help people quit smoking by reducing cravings and other withdrawal effects. In lower-dose formulations bupropion is marketed as Zyban and Voxra...
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