http://www.physorg.com/ en-us Physorg.com internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. (PhysOrg.com) -- Since the discovery in 2007 that a component of human semen called SEVI boosts infectivity of the virus that causes AIDS, researchers have been trying to learn more about SEVI and how it works, in hopes of thwarting its infection-promoting activity. http://www.physorg.com/news177859237.html Chemistry Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:21:15 EST news177859237 Simvastatin, a commonly used, cholesterol-lowering drug, may prevent Parkinson's disease from progressing further. Neurological researchers at Rush University Medical Center conducted a study examining the use of the FDA-approved medication in mice with Parkinson's disease and found that the drug successfully reverses the biochemical, cellular and anatomical changes caused by the disease. http://www.physorg.com/news176057129.html Medicine & Health Thu, 29 Oct 2009 18:30:01 EST news176057129 (PhysOrg.com) -- Like yoga for office drones, cells do have coping strategies for stress. Heat, lack of nutrients, oxygen radicals - all can wreak havoc on the delicate internal components of a cell, potentially damaging it beyond repair. Proteins called HSPs (heat shock proteins) allow cells to survive stress-induced damage. Scientists have long studied how HSPs work in order to harness their therapeutic potential. http://www.physorg.com/news176051015.html Medicine & Health Thu, 29 Oct 2009 16:20:01 EST news176051015 The heritable Fragile X tremor/ataxia syndrome is a common neurodegenerative disease. It is assumed to result from a relative lack of the protein Pur-alpha. A new study by a German team under the leadership of Dr. Dierk Niessing of the Helmholtz Zentrum Munchen and the Gene Center at Ludwigs-Maximilians-Universitaet in Munich provides important insights into the structure and function of this protein, which may lead to the development of a therapy. http://www.physorg.com/news175516941.html Medicine & Health Fri, 23 Oct 2009 11:43:14 EST news175516941 (PhysOrg.com) -- It was once thought that the two communities of cells within a cancerous breast tumor - fast-growing malignant cells and the normal cells that surround them - existed independently, without interaction. Then evidence emerged indicating that the normal-looking cells encouraged cells within the tumor to become malignant, but how the one community influenced the other wasn't known. http://www.physorg.com/news175353047.html Medicine & Health Wed, 21 Oct 2009 15:00:05 EST news175353047 Glutamate is to the brain like coffee is to our bodies. A cup of Joe in the morning can wake us, but overloading on caffeine causes the stimulant to work against us. http://www.physorg.com/news175191974.html Medicine & Health Mon, 19 Oct 2009 19:20:01 EST news175191974 A chemical cousin of a drug currently used to treat sepsis dramatically slows the progression of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, better known as ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease, in mice. The results offer a bit of good news in efforts to develop a therapy to stop or slow the progression of a disease that generally kills its victims within just a few years. http://www.physorg.com/news175192176.html Medicine & Health Mon, 19 Oct 2009 18:20:03 EST news175192176 By examining data from a 20-year-old clinical trial, a research team based at the MassGeneral Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases (MGH-MIND) and Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH), has found evidence supporting the findings of their 2008 study - that elevated levels of the antioxidant urate may slow the progression of Parkinson's disease. The report - which will appear in the December 2009 Archives of Neurology and has been released online - analyzed blood and cerebrospinal fluid samples from participants in a 1980s trail of potential Parkinson's medications, confirming the previous study's findings in a totally different group of patients. http://www.physorg.com/news174584895.html Medicine & Health Mon, 12 Oct 2009 17:00:02 EST news174584895 Premature aging of the immune system appears to play a role in the development of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig's disease, according to research scientists from the Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel, and Sheba Medical Center in Israel. http://www.physorg.com/news174245323.html Medicine & Health Thu, 08 Oct 2009 18:40:02 EST news174245323 (PhysOrg.com) -- A collaboration between scientists at Vanderbilt University and the University of California, San Francisco has led to the first direct information about the molecular structure of prions. In addition, the study has revealed surprisingly large structural differences between natural prions and the closest synthetic analogs that scientists have created in the lab. http://www.physorg.com/news173974213.html Chemistry Mon, 05 Oct 2009 15:10:48 EST news173974213 Inhibiting the protein Hsp70 rapidly reduces brain levels of tau, a protein associated with Alzheimer's disease when it builds up abnormally inside nerve cells affecting memory, neuroscientists at the University of South Florida found. The study is reported online today in the Journal of Neuroscience. http://www.physorg.com/news173463987.html Medicine & Health Tue, 29 Sep 2009 17:30:05 EST news173463987 A University of Toronto-led team has uncovered the evolutionary ancestry of the prion gene, which may reveal new understandings of how the prion protein causes diseases such as bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), also known as "mad cow disease." http://www.physorg.com/news173359598.html Medicine & Health Mon, 28 Sep 2009 12:27:22 EST news173359598 (PhysOrg.com) -- New images from the world's most powerful magnetic resonance imaging machine, the 9.4-Tesla MRI at the University of Illinois at Chicago, are opening radical new possibilities for the diagnosis and treatment of disease. http://www.physorg.com/news172173309.html Medicine & Health Mon, 14 Sep 2009 18:55:52 EST news172173309 For the first time, Whitehead Institute researchers have shown definitively that mutations associated with prion diseases are sufficient to cause a transmissible neurodegenerative disease. http://www.physorg.com/news170511514.html Medicine & Health Wed, 26 Aug 2009 13:25:01 EST news170511514 Proteins are essential for all biological activities and the health of the cell. Misfolded and damaged proteins spell trouble and are common to all human neurodegenerative diseases and many other age-associated diseases. But when during a lifespan do proteins start to misbehave? http://www.physorg.com/news170345859.html Biology Mon, 24 Aug 2009 15:50:01 EST news170345859 There is no known cure for neurodegenerative diseases such as Huntington's, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. But new hope, in the form of stem cells created from the patient's own bone marrow, can be found ― and literally seen ― in laboratories at Tel Aviv University. http://www.physorg.com/news169915086.html Biology Wed, 19 Aug 2009 17:00:01 EST news169915086 New research with transgenic mice reveals that a therapy directed at the muscle significantly improves disease symptoms of a genetic disorder characterized by destruction of the neurons that control movement. The study, published by Cell Press in the August 13th issue of the journal Neuron, highlights a promising new treatment for this currently incurable and nontreatable neurodegenerative disorder. http://www.physorg.com/news169299168.html Medicine & Health Wed, 12 Aug 2009 13:00:01 EST news169299168 A new class of molecules capable of blocking the formation of specific protein clumps that are believed to contribute to Alzheimer's disease pathology has been discovered by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. By assaying close to 300,000 compounds, they have identified drug-like inhibitors of AD tau protein clumping, as reported in the journal Biochemistry. http://www.physorg.com/news169132024.html Chemistry Mon, 10 Aug 2009 15:00:01 EST news169132024 Cancer and Alzheimer's have excess protein in common and scientists say learning more about how proteins are made and eliminated will lead to better treatment for both. http://www.physorg.com/news168778507.html Medicine & Health Thu, 06 Aug 2009 13:00:02 EST news168778507 (PhysOrg.com) -- Accumulation of the synaptic protein alpha-synuclein, resulting in the formation of aggregates called Lewy bodies in the brain, is a hallmark of Parkinson's and other related neurodegenerative diseases. This pathology appears to spread throughout the brain as the disease progresses. Now, researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and Konkuk University in Seoul, South Korea, have described how this mechanism works. http://www.physorg.com/news167934383.html Medicine & Health Mon, 27 Jul 2009 18:20:02 EST news167934383 University of Utah School of Medicine researchers and their colleagues at University of Texas (UT) Southwestern Medical Center have found strong evidence that abnormal calcium signaling in neurons may play an important role in the development of spinocerebellar ataxia type 2 (SCA2), a disorder causing progressive loss of coordination, speech difficulty, and abnormal eye movements. Their findings are published in the July 27, 2009 issue of Journal of Neuroscience. http://www.physorg.com/news167488840.html Medicine & Health Wed, 22 Jul 2009 13:41:02 EST news167488840 (PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers outline today a new approach in the potential development of drugs to counter a cellular defect that triggers Parkinson`s and other diseases. http://www.physorg.com/news166808908.html Chemistry Tue, 14 Jul 2009 17:00:12 EST news166808908 Individuals who have higher levels of education and who are more impaired by Parkinson's disease appear to require treatment for their symptoms earlier than do other patients, according to a report posted online today that will appear in the September print issue of Archives of Neurology. http://www.physorg.com/news166729302.html Medicine & Health Mon, 13 Jul 2009 18:52:18 EST news166729302 Molecules that selectively interfere with protein production can stop human cells from making the abnormal molecules that cause Huntington's disease, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found. http://www.physorg.com/news160591718.html Biology Sun, 03 May 2009 18:04:49 EST news160591718 In an in vitro study, led by Grace Gill, PhD, Tufts University School of Medicine, researchers discovered how a protein called SUMO (Small Ubiquitin-related Modifier) guides an enzyme complex that alters the structure of chromatin to regulate expression of genes. Chromatin is a compacted mass of DNA and protein that make up chromosomes. The interaction between SUMO and the enzyme complex is of interest in the study of cancer and neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's, where aberrant gene expression and altered SUMO function are thought to be indicative of disease. http://www.physorg.com/news160048671.html Medicine & Health Mon, 27 Apr 2009 10:58:22 EST news160048671 Regular exercise can prevent the disruption of the blood brain barrier that normally occurs with a dose of methamphetamine comparable to that used by heavy meth users. http://www.physorg.com/news159541578.html Medicine & Health Tue, 21 Apr 2009 14:06:44 EST news159541578 Dr. Nicolas Bazan, Director of the Neuroscience Center of Excellence, Boyd Professor, and Ernest C. and Yvette C. Villere Chair of Retinal Degenerative Diseases Research at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans, will present new research findings showing that an omega three fatty acid in the diet protects brain cells by preventing the misfolding of a protein resulting from a gene mutation in neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson's and Huntington's. http://www.physorg.com/news159366745.html Medicine & Health Sun, 19 Apr 2009 13:33:25 EST news159366745 Scientists are reporting the strongest evidence to date that neurodegenerative diseases target and progress along distinct neural networks that normally support healthy brain function. The discovery could lead to earlier diagnoses, novel treatment-monitoring strategies, and, possibly, recognition of a common disease process among all forms of neurodegeneration. http://www.physorg.com/news159021506.html Medicine & Health Wed, 15 Apr 2009 13:38:55 EST news159021506 A team of scientists at Emory University School of Medicine has identified a direct link between oxidative stress and inflammatory signals in the blood. The finding could lead to improved strategies for preventing several diseases by including antioxidants in the diet and for reducing the impact of inflammation in critically ill patients by adding cysteine to intravenous or tube feeding. http://www.physorg.com/news157369546.html Medicine & Health Fri, 27 Mar 2009 10:46:15 EST news157369546 Investigators at Burnham Institute for Medical Research (Burnham) have learned that a protein called Shp2 plays a critical role in the pathways that control decisions for differentiation or self-renewal in both human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs). http://www.physorg.com/news156619552.html Biology Wed, 18 Mar 2009 18:26:24 EST news156619552