August 30, 2006, 4:51 AM CT

NSAIDs Might Prevent Prostate Enlargement

Researchers at Mayo clinic have found that taking non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as aspirin or ibuprofen may prevent or delay non-cancerous prostatic hyperplasia, an enlarged prostate which can cause urinary symptoms in men as they age such as frequent urination, trouble starting urination, awakening frequently at night to urinate, weak urine stream and an urgent need to urinate.

"This study suggests that men's urinary health may be improved by taking NSAIDs," says Michael Lieber, M.D., Mayo Clinic urologist and the lead study investigator. He and co-researchers found the risk of developing an enlarged prostate was 50 percent lower in those who take NSAID compared to non-users, and risk of developing moderate to severe urinary symptoms was 35 percent lower, he says.

Jenny St. Sauver, Ph.D., Mayo Clinic epidemiologist and lead study investigator, says, "The association between intake of NSAIDs and the reduction of non-cancerous prostatic hyperplasia is strengthened by the consistency and magnitude of our findings. We would not recommend that every man go out and take aspirin, but if they are already taking it regularly for other reasons, our findings suggest another benefit as well".

Non-cancerous prostatic hyperplasia increases as men age, affecting one in four men ages 40 to 50 and almost half of 70- to 80-year-old men. The condition is most often diagnosed when men visit their physicians due to urinary problems that are prompted by the prostate enlargement this condition produces.........

Posted by: Emily      Permalink         Source

August 29, 2006, 9:15 PM CT

Stress And Alzheimer's Disease

Stress hormones appear to rapidly exacerbate the formation of brain lesions that are the hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease, according to researchers at UC Irvine. The findings suggest that managing stress and reducing certain medications prescribed for the elderly could slow down the progression of this devastating disease.

In a study with genetically modified mice, Frank LaFerla, professor of neurobiology and behavior, and a team of UCI researchers found that when young animals were injected for just seven days with dexamethasone, a glucocorticoid similar to the body's stress hormones, the levels of the protein beta-amyloid in the brain increased by 60 percent. When beta-amyloid production increases and these protein fragments aggregate, they form plaques, one of the two hallmark brain lesions of Alzheimer's disease. The scientists also found that the levels of another protein, tau, also increased. Tau accumulation eventually leads to the formation of tangles, the other signature lesion of Alzheimer's. The findings appear in this week's issue of the Journal of Neuroscience.

"It is remarkable that these stress hormones can have such a significant effect in such a short period of time," LaFerla said. "Although we have known for some time that higher levels of stress hormones are seen in individuals in the early stages of Alzheimer's, this is the first time we have seen how these hormones play such a direct role in exacerbating the underlying pathology of the disease".........

Posted by: Emily      Permalink         Source

August 28, 2006, 9:54 PM CT

How The Body's T Cells React To Parasitic Diseases

In the 1980s, the phrase "T cell count" burst into the world's medical vocabulary as thousands and then millions of patients died of AIDS. The public began to understand the crucial importance of T cells-cellular Pac-Men that roam the bloodstream gobbling up infection and guarding against future attacks.

While researchers understood how T cells worked in certain kinds of diseases, one area has remained murky: disorders caused by protozoan parasites. Now, because of a study just published and led by researchers at the University of Georgia, scientists are closer than ever to understanding how T cells respond to parasitic diseases that kill millions each year.

"We have needed to really know what happens in these infections," said Rick Tarleton, research professor of cellular biology and a faculty member in UGA's Center for Tropical and Emerging Global Diseases (CTEGD). "What is the body's response? This study is the first to show that one parasite, Trypanosoma cruzi, which causes Chagas Disease, elicits a T cell response focused on a few peptides, despite having some 12,000 genes capable of generating hundreds of thousands of potential targets for T cells".

The study was just reported in the online journal PLOS Pathogens, a peer-evaluated, open-access journal published by the Public Library of Science. Other authors of the paper include: Diana Martin, the lead author and postdoctoral fellow at UGA; former UGA undergraduates Melissa Cabinian and Matthew Crim; computational biologist Brent Weatherly of the CTEGD; former UGA postdoctoral fellow Susan Sullivan; doctoral students Matt Collins, Charles Rosenberg and Sarah Craven; Alessandro Sette of the La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology in San Diego, Ca.; and Susana Laucella and Miriam Postan of the Nacional de Laboratorios e Institutos de Salud in Buenos Aires, Argentina.........

Posted by: Emily      Permalink         Source

August 28, 2006, 9:04 PM CT

Why You Have No Hair?

Scientists looking at mice may have discovered why certain people are hairier than others in what could provide clues as to the reason some men go bald prematurely.

The University of Manchester team has laid bare the molecular processes that determine which embryonic skin cells will form into hair follicles and determine the body's hair pattern.

The findings will be of interest to scientists looking at male-pattern baldness but have more direct implications for people who suffer from ectodermal dysplasia - a range of conditions where skin cells fail to develop into other tissue, including hair follicles.

"During human development, skin cells have the ability to turn into other types of cells to form hair follicles, sweat glands, teeth and nails," said Dr Denis Headon, who led the research. "Which cells are transformed into hair follicles is determined by three proteins that are produced by our genes.

"Our research has identified how one of these proteins working outside of the cell interacts at a molecular level to determine an individual's hair pattern as the embryonic skin spatially organises itself".

The team found that cells given the genetic command to become hair follicles will send out signals to neighbouring cells to prevent them from doing likewise, so producing a specific hair pattern.........

Posted by: Emily      Permalink         Source

August 28, 2006, 4:26 AM CT

Diabetes Control Poorer In Blacks Compared To Whites

A recently performed meta-analysis (a systematic analysis of several studies) combining 11 separate research studies found that blacks with diabetes have poorer control of blood sugar than whites. These research findings come from Wake Forest University School of Medicine and colleagues.

"This lower level of control may partly explain why blacks have disproportionately higher rates of death and complications from diabetes," said Julienne Kirk, PharmD, lead author of the study published online today (Aug. 25) in Diabetes Care.

Kirk said the findings point to the need to determine why the difference in control exists and to identify ways to prevent or reduce the resulting health problems. Poor blood sugar control can result in long-term complications such as blindness, amputation and end-stage kidney failure.

The researchers analyzed studies that measured sugar control among blacks and whites using a blood test for glycosylated hemoglobin hemoglobin that has linked with glucose, or blood sugar. The lower the amounts of glycosylated hemoglobin, also called A1C, in the blood, the better the body is controlling blood sugar.

By combining the data from the 11 studies into a "meta-analysis" involving a total of 42,273 white and 14,670 black patients, they were able to detect differences that may not have shown up in each individual study. This was the first meta-analysis of racial and ethnic differences in blood sugar control among patients with diabetes.........

Posted by: Emily      Permalink         Source

August 27, 2006, 7:48 PM CT

Gene nfluence for alcoholism

Not only do both genes and environment have an impact on the development of alcohol-use disorders, but now researchers have found that certain genes may influence scientists' ability to interpret other genes' effects. One variant of the alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) gene the ADH1B genotype appears to be able to influence level of response (LR) to alcohol among non-Asians.

Results are published in the recent issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research

There are at least two known groups of gene mutations that can effect how individuals metabolize alcohol, explained Marc A. Schuckit, director of the Alcohol Research Center, Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System, professor of psychiatry at the University of California, San Diego, and co- author of the study. One group of mutations is in an enzyme called aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) and the other group is in the ADH enzyme. These mutations predominantly observed among Asians tend to impart protection from alcohol-use disorders because they cause a larger, more intense LR to alcohol, including facial flushing.

"The question was raised," continued Schuckit, "do the ADH mutations affect LR to alcohol in Caucasians? There are some fairly consistent reports in the literature that some Caucasians do have a bit of facial flushing with alcohol similar to what you see in Asians. Accordingly, if you can find this same increased response to alcohol in the roughly 10 percent of the Caucasian population that carries these ADH gene mutations, the next question is: 'how does that effect our ability to study people's LR to alcohol as it might be influenced by another gene?'".........

Posted by: Emily      Permalink         Source

August 27, 2006, 7:16 PM CT

A Pint Of Cider To Keep The Doctor Away

The saying goes that an apple a day keeps the doctor away but now researchers at the University of Glasgow are looking into whether a pint of cider could have the same effect. Scientists have discovered that English cider apples have high levels of phenolics antioxidants associated with protection against stroke, heart disease and cancer and are working with volunteers to see whether these health benefits could be passed onto cider drinkers.

In the next few weeks 12 volunteers will each drink a pint of cider, while avoiding all other dietary sources of antioxidants, to give the research team a unique insight into how phenolics are absorbed and metabolised by humans. The research is part of a project funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and the National Association of Cider Makers.

Serena Marks, who is leading the study, explains: "Prior research suggests there may be an association between phenolics and protection against some serious diseases, so we are trying to find out how we get phenolics from our diet. We know that apples are high in phenolics and our research shows that cider apples have a higher phenolic content than dessert apples".

The cider industry has long been interested in phenolics, because these compounds play an important role in the taste and colour of cider, but Marks hopes her research will show that phenolic levels also have a beneficial health role.........

Posted by: Emily      Permalink         Source

August 27, 2006, 6:58 PM CT

How Organs Monitor Themselves During Development

How are you? In biological terms this question could involve a feedback loop that lets the body check in on itself and then act on that information. Eventhough feedback loops are essential and they abound in biology, they aren't well understood. Feedback loops enable an organ such as the liver to detect if it is injured, ascertain if it is growing and developing normally, and if it needs to regenerate itself. When such loops derail, cancer and other diseases can arise.

Researchers at NYU School of Medicine have unraveled the signals in a feedback loop governing ovarian development. This work has been several years in the making and is being published on 27 August in the Advance Online issue of the journal Nature.

"I think our study has indeed important implications that extend beyond understanding of how a gonad such as the ovary develops," explains Dr. Ruth Lehmann, Ph.D., Julius Raynes Professor of Developmental Genetics and Howard Hughes Medical Investigator. "In every organ, may it be a gonad, a liver, or a thymus, different tissues contribute to the organ, and the growth of the different tissues has to be coordinated both during normal development and during regeneration."

Tapping into that kind of powerful feedback loop could help treat a number of kinds of disorders and show how the power of stem cells could be harnessed to help organs call different cell types into action and regenerate, the scientists said. Stem cells are cells that have still not specialized and can develop into any number of different cell types. They also have the remarkable ability to self-renew indefinitely.........

Posted by: Emily      Permalink         Source

August 24, 2006, 10:37 PM CT

Genetic Link To Cot Death Identified

Babies born with specific variants of three key genes are 14 times more likely to die from cot death, new research has found.

The findings - published in Human Immunology - build on earlier research by The University of Manchester team that had already associated one of these genes with the condition.

The discovery of two further risk genes, say the paper's authors, is a major step forward in understanding the causes of cot death or 'sudden infant death syndrome' (SIDS).

"We first identified an association between SIDS and specific variants of a gene called Interleukin-10 five years ago," said microbiologist Dr David Drucker, who led the research. "Quite simply, a baby who had particular variations of this gene was at greater risk of SIDS than other babies.

"Now, we have discovered two more genes implicated in SIDS and when a baby has certain genetic variants or 'polymorphisms' of all three of these genes he or she can be up to 14 times more likely to die from the condition".

The genes investigated by the team all play a roll in the body's immune response to infection. Previous research, carried out with colleagues at Lancaster University, had shown that SIDS is associated with commonly occurring bacteria that babies up to the age of one year may lack immunity to.........

Posted by: Emily      Permalink         Source

August 24, 2006, 10:06 PM CT

Toxic Molecule And Muscular Dystrophy

Doctors at the University of Virginia Health System have demonstrated for the first time that getting rid of poisonous RNA (ribonucleic acid) in muscle cells can reverse myotonic dystrophy, the most common type of muscular dystrophy in adults.

About 40,000 people in the United States have myotonic muscular dystrophy (MMD). The disease can cause a slow, progressive wasting of the muscles, irregular heartbeat, cataracts and insulin resistance. A number of people don't know they have MMD until their teens or twenties.

To prove the theory that toxic RNA is involved in myotonic muscular dystrophy, a research team led by Dr. Mani Mahadevan, a UVa pathologist, duplicated the disease in mice. "We showed in our mouse model that when you make this poisonous RNA the mice get various aspects of myotonic dystrophy," Mahadevan said. "Then, when you take away the toxic RNA, the mice get back to normal".

Mahadevan hopes the research might lead to new therapies for MMD in the next few years. "If we develop a treatment to silence the expression of the toxic RNA molecule, that would be a viable approach to treat people with myotonic muscular dystrophy," he said. Mahadevan's research in published in the September 2006 issue of Nature Genetics and can be found online at: http://www.nature.com/ng/index.html........

Posted by: Emily      Permalink         Source

Older Blog Entries   Older Blog Entries   1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9  

---