Health News

Similar epilepsy syndromes produced by gene mutations in flies and humans

Date: Mar-28-2014
Four years ago, University of Iowa scientists discovered that mutations in the prickle gene in Drosophila were responsible for much more than merely altering the bristles on the fly's body to point them in the wrong direction.Prompted by a colleague's finding that PRICKLE gene mutations were responsible for triggering a form of epilepsy in humans, John Manak, Ph.D., who led the fly research team, took a closer look at the Drosophila prickle mutants. (PRICKLE refers to the human gene, while prickle is the Drosophila form of the gene.)Through a series of experiments, Dr.

In cancer, resistance and tolerance mechanisms play role as well as infections

Date: Mar-28-2014
A Stanford University lab whose studies have advanced scientific understanding of resistance and tolerance defense mechanisms to bacterial and viral pathogens has now turned its sights on cancer."Just as there are resistance and tolerance mechanisms that target invading microbes, we predicted that there are also resistance and tolerance mechanisms that control a host's response to cancer," David Schneider, Ph.D., who heads the lab, and postdoctoral researcher Adler R. Dillman, Ph.D., wrote in their GSA Drosophila Research Conference abstract.

Fruity fly models of Alzheimer's enable immunotherapy study

Date: Mar-28-2014
Developing treatments that slow, if not halt, the neuronal loss and cognitive decline of Alzheimer's disease (AD) has proven to be a challenge. Among the scientists who have taken on that challenge are researchers at the University of Florida's McKnight Brain Institute in Gainesville, using the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster as a model.The scientists are investigating passive immunotherapy, one of the most promising approaches to blocking the amyloid-β42 (Aβ42) peptide, the main component of the amyloid plaques that damage the brain cells of patients with AD.

Phase 1 trial finds ceritinib suppresses growth of both crizotinib-resistant and crizotinib-sensitive lung tumors with manageable side effects

Date: Mar-28-2014
Although the targeted cancer treatment drug crizotinib is very effective in causing rapid regression of a particular form of lung cancer, patients' tumors inevitably become resistant to the drug. Now a new drug called ceritinib appears to be effective against advanced ALK-positive non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), both in tumors that have become resistant to crizotinib and in those never treated with the older drug. The results of a phase 1 clinical trial conducted at centers in 11 countries are reported in the New England Journal of Medicine.

A look inside brain cells offers new clue to autism

Date: Mar-28-2014
The problems people with autism have with memory formation, higher-level thinking and social interactions may be partially attributable to the activity of receptors inside brain cells, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have learned.Scientists were already aware that the type of receptor in question was a potential contributor to these problems - when located on the surfaces of brain cells. Until now, though, the role of the same type of receptor located inside the cell had gone unrecognized.

Smoking bans linked with decline in preterm births, asthma

Date: Mar-28-2014
During the last couple of decades, public smoking bans in the US and Europe have come into effect. Now, the first systematic review and meta-analysis to examine the effect of this smoke-free legislation on child health shows these bans have been followed by decreasing rates of preterm births and children attending the hospital for asthma.The analysis has been published in The Lancet and assesses 11 studies conducted in North America and Europe. In total, this involves over 2.5 million births and 250,000 asthma aggravations.

Mathematical model predicts blood glucose levels 30 minutes later

Date: Mar-28-2014
A mathematical model created by Penn State researchers can predict with more than 90 percent accuracy the blood glucose levels of individuals with type 1 diabetes up to 30 minutes in advance of imminent changes in their levels -- plenty of time to take preventative action."Many people with type 1 diabetes use continuous glucose monitors, which examine the fluid underneath the skin," said Peter Molenaar, Distinguished Professor of Human Development and Family Studies and of psychology. "But the glucose levels under the skin trail blood glucose levels from anywhere between 8 and 15 minutes.

Scientists unravel nerve-cell death in rare children's disease

Date: Mar-28-2014
A team of scientists, led by Stuart Lipton, M.D., Ph.D., professor and director of the Neuroscience and Aging Research Center at Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute (Sanford-Burnham), recently discovered why cerebellar granule cell neurons in patients suffering from ataxia-telangiectasia (A-T) were unable to repair DNA damage and thus died.A-T is a hereditary condition that begins early in childhood, and causes a gradual loss of certain nerve cells in the cerebellum of the brain.

Chronic brain deficits may be prevented by blood-brain barrier repair after stroke

Date: Mar-28-2014
Following ischemic stroke, the integrity of the blood-brain barrier (BBB), which prevents harmful substances such as inflammatory molecules from entering the brain, can be impaired in cerebral areas distant from initial ischemic insult. This disruptive condition, known as diaschisis, can lead to chronic post-stroke deficits, University of South Florida researchers report.In experiments using laboratory rats modeling ischemic stroke, USF investigators studied the consequences of the compromised BBB at the chronic post-stroke stage.

Nanotube coating helps shrink mass spectrometers

Date: Mar-28-2014
Nanotechnology is advancing tools likened to Star Trek's "tricorder" that perform on-the-spot chemical analysis for a range of applications including medical testing, explosives detection and food safety.Researchers found that when paper used to collect a sample was coated with carbon nanotubes, the voltage required was 1,000 times reduced, the signal was sharpened and the equipment was able to capture far more delicate molecules.