Health News

Researchers discover unexpected player in regulation of blood cholesterol levels

Date: Jan-29-2014
Kinesins are motor proteins that "walk" along microtubules and transport various cargoes throughout the cell. A study in The Journal of Cell Biology uncovers an unexpected role for one kinesin in the pathway that regulates cholesterol levels in the blood.Researchers from The University of Tokyo in Japan studied mice lacking KIF13B, one of 45 kinesins in the human genome. KIF13B is particularly abundant in the liver, and KIF13B mutant mice were found to have elevated levels of cholesterol in their blood.

Titin's size and stiffness implicated in muscular diseases

Date: Jan-29-2014
Various muscular diseases are associated with changes in the elasticity of the protein titin, but whether these changes are a cause or an effect of disease has been unclear. A study in The Journal of General Physiology helps solve this "chicken or the egg" conundrum and identifies a key player in determining titin's size and stiffness.Titin is an enormous protein that functions as a molecular spring responsible for the passive elasticity of muscles.

Alcohol use is more likely than marijuana use to lead to violence between partners

Date: Jan-29-2014
U of Tennessee research finds link between alcohol use and domestic violenceResearch among college students found that men under the influence of alcohol are more likely to perpetrate physical, psychological or sexual aggression against their partners than men under the influence of marijuana. Women, on the other hand, were more likely to be physically and psychologically aggressive under the influence of alcohol but, unlike men, they were also more likely to be psychologically aggressive under the influence of marijuana.

Hyperglycemia improved but glucose production increased by Inhibition of kidney glucose transport

Date: Jan-29-2014
Treatment of patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) with the drug metformin greatly reduces diabetic complications and mortality. Unfortunately, many patients on metformin therapy become hyperglycemic, which exacerbates insulin resistance and reduces β cell function. Dugs that target the sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT2), which promotes glucose absorption in the kidney have been attractive for use a add-ons to metformin treatment.

New 'whole-body scan' could improve bone marrow cancer treatment

Date: Jan-29-2014
Developments in magnetic resonance imaging have led to a pioneering new technique that scans the patient's entire body. This new kind of scan could be useful for showing doctors where a patient's bones may be affected by cancer.Magnetic resonance imaging - or MRI - is an imaging test that uses magnets and radio waves to create pictures of the body. Unlike X-rays, which use radiation to create images of the body, there are no side effects associated with MRI scans.

Amidst controversy, four new articles help physicians make sense of new cholesterol treatment guidelines

Date: Jan-29-2014
On November 12, 2013, the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association issued clinical guidelines on cardiovascular disease risk assessment and cholesterol treatment. The new guidelines quickly became the source of debate among stakeholders and the controversy was widely covered in the news media. Four new articles published in Annals of Internal Medicine seek to help physicians make sense of the new guidelines amidst the controversy.

Murine cardiac graft rejection limited by a platelet-derived factor

Date: Jan-29-2014
Acute rejection of a transplanted organ by the recipient is mediated by an inflammatory immune response. Despite current immunosuppressive therapies, organ rejection remains problematic. In this issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, Craig Morrell and colleagues of the University of Rochester discovered that mice lacking the chemokine, platelet factor 4 (PF4), had an enhanced immune response to heart transplant that was associated with an increase in Th17 cells.

Breast cancer survivors benefit from yoga

Date: Jan-28-2014
A new US study finds that yoga can benefit breast cancer survivors by reducing fatigue and inflammation. While yoga has many components, the researchers believe breathing and meditation probably had the biggest impact.At the end of 12 weeks of yoga classes, a group of women who had completed breast cancer treatment, including surgery and radiotherapy, showed an average reduction in fatigue of 57% and up to 20% reduction in inflammation, compared with a similar group that had not received yoga instruction.

Scientists discover why a protein is crucial to healthy cell growth

Date: Jan-28-2014
Researchers from Penn State University and the University of California have discovered how a protein is crucial for the growth of healthy cells in mammals. This is according to a study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.In previous research, Aimin Liu, associate professor of biology at Penn State University and co-author of the study, and his colleagues discovered that a protein called C2 calcium-dependent domain containing 3 (C2cd3) is needed in order for cilia to grow on the surfaces of cells.

Compounds in exhaled breath may detect early lung cancer

Date: Jan-28-2014
Of all cancers, lung cancer is the biggest killer in both men and women. According to the American Lung Association, it causes more deaths than colon, breast and prostate cancer combined. Diagnosing the disease can involve a number of tests, but scientists have discovered that specific compounds in exhaled breath may be used to diagnose the disease in its early stages.Researchers from the University of Louisville presented their study at the 50th Annual Meeting of The Society of Thoracic Surgeons in Orlando, FL, this week.Dr.