Health News

Infection May Cause Chronic Inflammation In The Brain, Leading The Way To Alzheimer's Disease

Date: Jul-03-2012
Research published in Biomed Central's open access Journal of Neuroinflammation suggests that chronic inflammation can predispose the brain to develop Alzheimer's disease. To date it has been difficult to pin down the role of inflammation in Alzheimer's disease (AD), especially because trials of NSAIDs appeared to have conflicting results. Although the ADAPT (The Alzheimer`s Disease Anti-inflammatory Prevention Trial) trial was stopped early, recent results suggest that NSAIDs can help people with early stages of AD but that prolonged treatment is necessary to see benefit...

Regulatory Sequences Of Mouse Genome Sequenced For First Time

Date: Jul-03-2012
Popularly dubbed "the book of life," the human genome is extraordinarily difficult to read. But without full knowledge of its grammar and syntax, the genome's 2.9 billion base-pairs of adenine and thymine, cytosine and guanine provide limited insights into humanity's underlying genetics...

Cells' Genetic History Evaluated By Short Stretches Of PiRNA

Date: Jul-03-2012
"This is really remarkable. It implies that an organism has a memory of all the previous gene sequences it's ever expressed before." Craig C. Mello As scientists have added to a growing list of types of RNA molecules with roles that go beyond conveying the genetic code, they have found the short strands known as Piwi-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) particularly perplexing. New work from Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) scientists suggests those abundant molecules may be part of the cell's search engine, capable of querying the entire history of a cell's genetic past...

Alternative To Gene Therapy Has Potential For Safer, Simpler HIV Treatment

Date: Jul-03-2012
Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have discovered a surprisingly simple and safe method to disrupt specific genes within cells. The scientists highlighted the medical potential of the new technique by demonstrating its use as a safer alternative to an experimental gene therapy against HIV infection. "We showed that we can modify the genomes of cells without the troubles that have long been linked to traditional gene therapy techniques," said the study's senior author Carlos F...

First Study To Show Early Brain Changes Predict Which Patients Develop Chronic Pain

Date: Jul-03-2012
When people have similar injuries, why do some end up with chronic pain while others recover and are pain free? The first longitudinal brain imaging study to track participants with a new back injury has found the chronic pain is all in their heads - quite literally. A new Northwestern Medicine study shows for the first time that chronic pain develops the more two sections of the brain - related to emotional and motivational behavior - talk to each other. The more they communicate, the greater the chance a patient will develop chronic pain...

New Gene Mutations Found That Lead To Enlarged Brain Size, Cancer, Autism, Epilepsy

Date: Jul-03-2012
A research team led by Seattle Children's Research Institute has discovered new gene mutations associated with markedly enlarged brain size, or megalencephaly. Mutations in three genes, AKT3, PIK3R2 and PIK3CA, were also found to be associated with a constellation of disorders including cancer, hydrocephalus, epilepsy, autism, vascular anomalies and skin growth disorders. The study, "De novo germline and postzygotic mutations in AKT3, PIK3R2 and PIK3CA cause a spectrum of related megalencephaly syndromes," was published online in Nature Genetics...

Moderate Doses Of Alcohol Increase Social Bonding In Groups

Date: Jul-03-2012
A new study led by University of Pittsburgh researchers reveals that moderate amounts of alcohol - consumed in a social setting - can enhance positive emotions and social bonding and relieve negative emotions among those drinking. While it is usually taken for granted that people drink to reduce stress and enhance positive feelings, many studies have shown that alcohol consumption has an opposite effect...

Thapsigargin For Cancer: GenSpera G-202 Data In Journal

Date: Jul-03-2012
GenSpera, Inc. (OTCBB:GNSZ) has announced that a study titled, "Engineering the Plant Product Thapsigargin into a PSMA-Activated Tumor Endothelial Cell Prodrug for Cancer Therapy," was published in the journal, Science Translational Medicine.* The manuscript documents the extensive pre-clinical data and rationale for the development of G-202 as a potential treatment for a variety of solid tumors in human patients. The paper also validated the enzyme, PSMA, as an appropriate molecular target for G-202...

Speeding Up Genome Editing In The Lab With Programmable RNA Complex

Date: Jul-03-2012
"This system offers a straightforward way to cleave any desired site in a genome, which could be used to introduce new genetic information by coupling it to well-known cellular DNA recombination mechanisms." Jennifer A. Doudna For bacteria, snipping apart DNA that bears certain signature sequences is a defense mechanism. For scientists working in the lab, the same strategy can be a powerful research tool...

5 Millionth IVF Baby Born This Year

Date: Jul-02-2012
Experts estimate that around now, approximately 5 million babies have been born as a result of assisted reproduction technologies - namely IVF and ICSF. The first test tube baby was born in July 1978, in England, her name was Louise Brown. These data were presented yesterday at the 28th Meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE), Istanbul, Turkey...