Biology News Net - Health & Medicine

Biomarkers discovered for inflammatory bowel disease

Tue, 21 May 2013 17:21:54 -0500

Using the Department of Defense Serum Repository (DoDSR), University of Cincinnati (UC) researchers have identified a number of biomarkers for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), which could help with earlier diagnosis and intervention in those who have not yet shown symptoms.

Important fertility mechanism discovered

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 16:20:11 -0500

Scientists in Mainz and Aachen have discovered a new mechanism that controls egg cell fertility and that might have future therapeutic potential. It was revealed by Professor Dr. Walter Stöcker of the Institute of Zoology at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) that the blood protein fetuin-B plays an important and previously unknown role in the fertilization of oocytes. Fetuin-B, first identified in the year 2000, is formed in the liver and secreted into the blood stream. During a joint research project with researchers at RWTH Aachen University headed by Professor Dr. Willi Jahnen-Dechent of the Helmholtz Institute for Biomedical Engineering, it was discovered that fetuin-B contributes to egg cell fertility by regulating the hardening of the protective zona pellucida of oocytes. The findings have recently been published in the scientific journal Developmental Cell.

Epigenetic changes shed light on biological mechanism of autism

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 18:17:30 -0500

Scientists from King's College London have identified patterns of epigenetic changes involved in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) by studying genetically identical twins who differ in autism traits. The study, published in Molecular Psychiatry, is the largest of its kind and may shed light on the biological mechanism by which environmental influences regulate the activity of certain genes and in turn contribute to the development of ASD and related behaviour traits.

Cell-permeable peptide shows promise for controlling cardiovascular disease

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 18:18:48 -0500

Atherosclerosis – sometimes called "hardening of the arteries" – is a leading cause of death and morbidity in Western countries. A cell-permeable peptide containing the NF-ĸB nuclear localization sequence (NLS) shows promise as a potential agent in controlling the development of atherosclerotic disease. This study is published in the May 2013 issue of The American Journal of Pathology.

No evidence drugs, vitamins, supplements help prevent cognitive decline in healthy older adults

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 19:22:37 -0500

A review of published research has found no evidence that drugs, herbal products or vitamin supplements help prevent cognitive decline in healthy older adults.

Parkinson's disease protein gums up garbage disposal system in cells

Thu, 28 Mar 2013 19:11:28 -0500

This shows lewy bodies. Brown spots are immunostaining using an antibody specifically recognizing an abnormal form of alpha-synuclein. Clumps of α-synuclein protein in nerve cells are hallmarks of many degenerative brain diseases, most notably Parkinson's disease.

Detecting circulating tumor cells

Mon, 25 Mar 2013 17:51:24 -0500

About 1 in 4 deaths in the United States are due to cancer, but primary tumors are rarely fatal. Instead, it's when tumors metastasize that cancer becomes so deadly. To help patients and physicians make treatment decisions, teams of researchers have been working on various methods to detect cancer's spread – via the bloodstream – before secondary tumors develop. Now, one team reports a nearly perfect method for separating breast cancer cells from blood. They describe their proof-of-concept device in a paper accepted for publication in Biomicrofluidics, a journal of the American Institute of Physics.

Misplaced molecules: New insights into the causes of dementia

Sun, 03 Mar 2013 14:42:57 -0500

A shortage of a protein called TDP-43 caused muscle wasting and stunted nerve cells. This finding supports the idea that malfunction of this protein plays a decisive role in ALS and FTD. The study is published in the "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA" (PNAS).

Data pooling in biobanks: The BIOPOOL project

Wed, 20 Feb 2013 17:13:17 -0500

A European consortium of medical, research and higher education institutions is developing a network for banks containing digitalised images of human tissue—"biobanks"— which will help doctors to diagnose different types of possible cancerous tissues taken from patients' biopsies in a shorter time.

First-in-man study demonstrates the therapeutic effect of RNAi gene silencing in cancer treatment

Mon, 11 Feb 2013 18:40:26 -0500

The new study published in Cancer Discovery, the flagship journal of the American Association of Cancer Research (AACR), involving three Spanish and six American research centres, presents significant results in treating cancer patients with nanoparticles containing ribonucleic acid interference (RNAi) molecules. This marks the first time that the therapeutic effect of RNAi has been demonstrated in humans.