http://www.physorg.com/health-news/research/ en-us PhysOrg.com provides the latest news on medicine research, health research, medicine, health and medical science. Using highly precise measurements of plasma lipoprotein concentrations determined by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR), researchers led by Daniel Chasman at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston, MA, the Framingham Heart Study in Framingham, and the PROCARDIS consortium in Stockholm, Sweden and Oxford, England performed genetic association analysis across the whole genome among 17,296 women of European ancestry from the Women's Genome Health Study. http://www.physorg.com/news177945626.html Medicine & Health - Research Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:40:10 EST news177945626 Researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) have uncovered the genetic identity of a cellular receptor for the immune system's first-response antibody, a discovery that sheds new light on infection control and immune disorders. The discovery is such a crucial part of immunology that UAB researchers, in conjunction with Japanese researchers, are asking that the gene linked to this antibody receptor be renamed to better describe its role in early immune responses. http://www.physorg.com/news177941819.html Medicine & Health - Research Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:43:47 EST news177941819 (PhysOrg.com) -- When foreign invaders trip the immune system`s alarm, antibodies need to be specially sculpted to attack them head on. New research now shows that gene segments called enhancers control the reshuffling of antibody genes that makes such a precise and coordinated attack possible. http://www.physorg.com/news177931573.html Medicine & Health - Research Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:38:53 EST news177931573 Real-life particles released by car brake pads can harm lung cells in vitro. Researchers writing in BioMed Central's open access journal Particle and Fibre Toxicology found that heavy braking, as in an emergency stop, caused the most damage, but normal breaking and even close proximity to a disengaged brake resulted in potentially dangerous cellular stress. http://www.physorg.com/news177918969.html Medicine & Health - Research Fri, 20 Nov 2009 06:30:01 EST news177918969 Stem cell research is making great strides. This is yet again illustrated by a study carried out by the I-STEM Institute (France), published in the Lancet on 21 November 2009. The I-STEM team, directed by Marc Peschanski has succeeded in recreating a whole epidermis from human embryonic stem cells. http://www.physorg.com/news177918337.html Medicine & Health - Research Fri, 20 Nov 2009 06:10:02 EST news177918337 Scientists at Johns Hopkins and their colleagues have developed sugar-coated polymer strands that selectively kill off cells involved in triggering aggressive allergy and asthma attacks. Their advance is a significant step toward crafting pharmaceuticals to fight these often life-endangering conditions in a new way. http://www.physorg.com/news177874840.html Medicine & Health - Research Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:10:01 EST news177874840 (PhysOrg.com) -- A synthetic bone matrix offers hope for babies born with craniosynostosis, a condition that causes the plates in the skull to fuse too soon. Implants replacing some of the infant`s bone with the biodegradable matrix could eliminate some of the operations currently used to treat the condition. http://www.physorg.com/news177869106.html Medicine & Health - Research Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:05:39 EST news177869106 Embryonic stem cell therapy got a step closer to the clinic Thursday after US researchers said they filed a request for government approval of human trials. http://www.physorg.com/news177865555.html Medicine & Health - Research Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:40:01 EST news177865555 (PhysOrg.com) -- UCSF scientists studying nerve cells in fruit flies have uncovered a new function for a gene whose human equivalent may play a critical role in schizophrenia. http://www.physorg.com/news177861724.html Medicine & Health - Research Thu, 19 Nov 2009 14:03:08 EST news177861724 A protein found in the saliva of ticks helps protect mice from developing Lyme disease, Yale researchers have discovered. The findings, published in the November 19 issue of Cell Host & Microbe, may spur development of a new vaccine against infection from Lyme disease, which is spread through tick bites. http://www.physorg.com/news177850772.html Medicine & Health - Research Thu, 19 Nov 2009 11:00:40 EST news177850772 Finnish researcher Väinö Virtanen has developed a method for analysing snoring sounds by using a PC with a microphone connection and a wireless microphone. The objective was to create an application that could be used at home to monitor snoring. By utilizing this technology, researchers from Tampere University of Technology and the University of Helsinki have investigated sleep disorders and further refined related screening technologies. The collaboration has already spawned the smart alarm clock HappyWakeUp that was launched last year. It is the first health-promoting mobile phone application in the world. http://www.physorg.com/news177849516.html Medicine & Health - Research Thu, 19 Nov 2009 10:54:46 EST news177849516 (PhysOrg.com) -- For years, it has been widely assumed that older adults may experience memory loss and other cognitive problems following surgery. But a new study from researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis questions those assumptions. In fact, the researchers were not able to detect any long-term cognitive declines attributable to surgery in a group of 575 patients they studied. http://www.physorg.com/news177846255.html Medicine & Health - Research Thu, 19 Nov 2009 09:45:53 EST news177846255 Embryonic stem (ES) cells, known for their capacity to proliferate indefinitely and differentiate into almost all types of cells including hepatocytes, have raised the hope of cellular replacement therapy for liver failure. There have been several protocols available for hepatic fate specification from ES cells, however, most of the protocols currently used result in low yield or purity of functional hepatocytes. Valproic acid (VPA), a histone deacetylase inhibitor, has been demonstrated to facilitate the hepatic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells. However, little is know about whether VPA could induce the hepatic differentiation of ES cells. http://www.physorg.com/news177765004.html Medicine & Health - Research Wed, 18 Nov 2009 15:10:01 EST news177765004 At birth, children with Down syndrome aren't developmentally delayed. But as they age, these kids fall behind. Memory deficits inherent in Down syndrome hinder learning, making it hard for the brain to collect experiences needed for normal cognitive development. http://www.physorg.com/news177777639.html Medicine & Health - Research Wed, 18 Nov 2009 14:41:41 EST news177777639 Heart function significantly improved in children and young adults with single-ventricle congenital heart disease who have had the Fontan operation following treatment with sildenafil, a drug used to treat erectile dysfunction and pulmonary hypertension, say researchers from The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. http://www.physorg.com/news177772537.html Medicine & Health - Research Wed, 18 Nov 2009 13:40:01 EST news177772537 Researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine set out to address a question that has been challenging scientists for years: How do dietary restriction -and the reverse, overconsumption -produce protective effects against aging and disease? http://www.physorg.com/news177772576.html Medicine & Health - Research Wed, 18 Nov 2009 13:30:03 EST news177772576 The routine prescription of extended-release niacin, a B vitamin (1,500 milligrams daily), in combination with traditional cholesterol-lowering therapy offers no extra benefit in correcting arterial narrowing and diminishing plaque buildup in seniors who already have coronary artery disease, a new vascular imaging study from Johns Hopkins experts shows. http://www.physorg.com/news177763973.html Medicine & Health - Research Wed, 18 Nov 2009 11:20:07 EST news177763973 Until recently, scientists believed that, following a stroke, a patient had about six months to regain any lost function. After that, patients would be forced to compensate for the lost function by focusing on their remaining abilities. Although this belief has been refuted, a University of Missouri occupational therapy professor believes that the current health system is still not giving patients enough time to recover and underestimating what the human brain can do given the right conditions. http://www.physorg.com/news177694150.html Medicine & Health - Research Tue, 17 Nov 2009 19:40:01 EST news177694150 Patients with heart disease in Norway, a country with no fortification of foods with folic acid, had an associated increased risk of cancer and death from any cause if they had received treatment with folic acid and vitamin B12, according to a study in the November 18 issue of JAMA. http://www.physorg.com/news177703537.html Medicine & Health - Research Tue, 17 Nov 2009 18:50:08 EST news177703537 The largest national stem cell study for heart disease showed the first evidence that transplanting a potent form of adult stem cells into the heart muscle of subjects with severe angina results in less pain and an improved ability to walk. The transplant subjects also experienced fewer deaths than those who didn't receive stem cells. http://www.physorg.com/news177704058.html Medicine & Health - Research Tue, 17 Nov 2009 18:30:02 EST news177704058 (PhysOrg.com) -- Chemical fingerprints produced by the body's normal metabolic processes predict who will suffer cardiovascular events and who will benefit from weight loss by reduction of insulin resistance, according two new studies by researchers at Duke University Medical Center. http://www.physorg.com/news177698765.html Medicine & Health - Research Tue, 17 Nov 2009 17:50:01 EST news177698765 (PhysOrg.com) -- Almost half of UK women may be lacking an important source of vitamin A due to a previously undiscovered genetic variation, scientists at Newcastle University have found. http://www.physorg.com/news177698691.html Medicine & Health - Research Tue, 17 Nov 2009 17:20:02 EST news177698691 Inhibition of a protein known to contribute to heart failure also appears to be protective of the heart in more acute cardiac stress injury, namely ischemia reperfusion, according to two studies conducted at the Center for Translational Medicine at Thomas Jefferson University. The studies will be presented at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions 2009 in Orlando, Fla. http://www.physorg.com/news177692193.html Medicine & Health - Research Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:20:03 EST news177692193 Brain imaging can offer a window into risk for diseases such as Alzheimer's disease (AD). A study conducted at the University of Kansas School of Medicine demonstrated that genetic risk is expressed in the brains of even those who are healthy, but carry some risk for AD. The results of this study are published in the November 2009 issue of the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease. http://www.physorg.com/news177690665.html Medicine & Health - Research Tue, 17 Nov 2009 14:31:29 EST news177690665 Mount Sinai School of Medicine is one of 12 sites nationwide participating in the first Phase 2 clinical trial to test gene therapy treatment for Alzheimer's disease. The study is the first multicenter neurosurgical intervention in Alzheimer's research in the U.S. http://www.physorg.com/news177688251.html Medicine & Health - Research Tue, 17 Nov 2009 14:11:55 EST news177688251 Tufts University researchers have identified a gene-diet interaction that appears to influence body weight and have replicated their findings in three independent studies. Men and women carrying the CC genotype demonstrated higher body mass index (BMI) scores and a higher incidence of obesity, but only if they consumed a diet high in saturated fat. These associations were seen in the apolipoprotein A-II gene (APOA2) promoter. http://www.physorg.com/news177679469.html Medicine & Health - Research Tue, 17 Nov 2009 11:26:02 EST news177679469 (PhysOrg.com) -- A new type of immune cell that can be out of control in certain chronic inflammatory diseases, worsening the symptoms of conditions like psoriasis and asthma, is described for the first time this week in the Journal of Clinical Investigation. http://www.physorg.com/news177676663.html Medicine & Health - Research Tue, 17 Nov 2009 10:50:01 EST news177676663 (PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers at the University of Toronto and the Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) have found a pharmacological approach to treating the disease. The study is published in the November 15 advance online edition of Nature Medicine. http://www.physorg.com/news177671799.html Medicine & Health - Research Tue, 17 Nov 2009 09:40:02 EST news177671799 Healthy, older adults free of heart disease need not fear that bouts of rapid, irregular heartbeats brought on by vigorous exercise might increase short- or long-term risk of dying or having a heart attack, according to a report by heart experts at Johns Hopkins and the U.S. National Institute on Aging (NIA). http://www.physorg.com/news177663836.html Medicine & Health - Research Tue, 17 Nov 2009 08:20:01 EST news177663836 Judging from the number of juices and teas advertised as containing antioxidants, consumers are aware of the dangers of oxidative stress. But what is the best way to measure it - and fight it? http://www.physorg.com/news177663628.html Medicine & Health - Research Tue, 17 Nov 2009 07:20:02 EST news177663628