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. Two indicators of liver function, Gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT) and albumin (ALB) have been implicated in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. It is known that the variation in the plasma level of these liver related proteins is genetically influenced. http://www.physorg.com/news178307446.html Medicine & Health Tue, 24 Nov 2009 18:00:01 EST news178307446 The addition of a "genetic sonogram" maximizes the accuracy of non-invasive testing for Down syndrome, said a Baylor College of Medicine researcher who was lead author of a landmark study in the current issue of Obstetrics and Gynecology. http://www.physorg.com/news177960758.html Medicine & Health Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:00:04 EST news177960758 Biliary drainage is performed as a palliative treatment of hilar cholangiocarcinoma. The reduction of serum bilirubin is usually the hallmark of successful biliary drainage. However, some patients may have persistent jaundice or scanty bile output after biliary drainage. http://www.physorg.com/news177765081.html Medicine & Health Wed, 18 Nov 2009 12:20:01 EST news177765081 Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center announced today that it will participate in a large national study of the effectiveness of testosterone as a treatment for anemia, cardiovascular disease, decreased vitality, impaired memory and sexual function, loss of muscle mass and other health conditions that affect older men. http://www.physorg.com/news177259306.html Medicine & Health Thu, 12 Nov 2009 15:10:02 EST news177259306 Searching for a needle in a haystack may seem futile, but it's worth it if the needle is a hard-to-detect protein that may identify a person at high risk of a heart attack circulating within a haystack of human serum (liquid component of blood). http://www.physorg.com/news176550623.html Chemistry Wed, 04 Nov 2009 10:10:02 EST news176550623 In the last decade, advances in the understanding of genes promoting hepatic stellate cell (HSC) activation are impressive. However, there are few breakthroughs in therapeutic intervention of hepatic fibrogenesis. Efficient and well-tolerated antifibrotic drugs are lacking and current treatment of hepatic fibrosis is limited to withdrawal of the noxious agent. Research identifying innocuous antifibrotic agents is of high priority and urgently needed. Emodin is efficacious in the management of hepatic fibrosis. However, the mechanisms underlying its effects remain to be elucidated. http://www.physorg.com/news175513853.html Medicine & Health Fri, 23 Oct 2009 11:00:01 EST news175513853 (PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers have expanded on previous studies, and there may be a new weapon in the arsenal for immune-based strategies in treating pancreatic cancer - mesothelin protein. Findings also showed that circulating mesothelin is a marker of pancreatic disease. http://www.physorg.com/news175447210.html Medicine & Health Thu, 22 Oct 2009 17:00:02 EST news175447210 Women with increased levels of Müllerian inhibiting substance (MIS), best known for regulating in utero sexual differentiation in boys, may be at a greater risk for breast cancer, according to a new study published online October 9 in the http://www.physorg.com/news174325601.html Medicine & Health Fri, 09 Oct 2009 17:10:02 EST news174325601 Results from the first swine-flu vaccine trials taking place in Leicester reveal a strong immune response after just one dose. http://www.physorg.com/news171195618.html Medicine & Health Thu, 03 Sep 2009 11:50:05 EST news171195618 Using vaccination to induce a robust immune response has been an effective strategy for managing infectious diseases in humans and animals for more than a century. Now, Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists and colleagues have found that a concurrent parasite infection significantly compromises the effectiveness of a commonly administered vaccine in swine. http://www.physorg.com/news170948956.html Biology Mon, 31 Aug 2009 15:50:01 EST news170948956 Elevated insulin levels in the normal range appear to be associated with an increased risk of prostate cancer, according to a new study published online August 21 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. http://www.physorg.com/news170093661.html Medicine & Health Fri, 21 Aug 2009 17:14:41 EST news170093661 Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a frequent complication in patients in intensive care. A new laboratory test called urine neutrophil gelatinase associated lipocalin (NGAL) helps predict if patients will develop acute kidney injury, reports an upcoming study in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN). "As a stand-alone marker, urine NGAL performed moderately well in predicting ongoing and subsequent AKI," comments T. Alp Ikizler, MD (Vanderbilt University). http://www.physorg.com/news167589496.html Medicine & Health Fri, 24 Jul 2009 01:40:02 EST news167589496 Using devices millionths of a meter in size, physicists at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have developed a technique to determine the mass of a single molecule, in real time. http://www.physorg.com/news167490673.html Nanotechnology Wed, 22 Jul 2009 14:11:57 EST news167490673 Liver transplantation offers a good chance for survival for patients with drug induced acute liver failure, however, certain pre-transplant factors are associated with worse outcomes. Patients who are on life support, who have elevated serum creatinine, and children whose liver failure was caused by antiepileptic drugs did not fare as well after transplantation. These findings are in the July issue of Liver Transplantation, a journal published by John Wiley & Sons. http://www.physorg.com/news165675234.html Medicine & Health Wed, 01 Jul 2009 13:55:35 EST news165675234 Both blood pressure and serum lipid levels have improved in Swedish middle-aged women during the past 30 years. Levels of perceived mental stress, however, have increased significantly. These are the of a thesis presented at the Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Sweden. http://www.physorg.com/news163397193.html Medicine & Health Fri, 05 Jun 2009 05:07:14 EST news163397193 Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is the most common vaginal infection in US women of childbearing age, and is common in pregnant women. BV occurs when the normal balance of bacteria in the vagina is disrupted and replaced by an overgrowth of certain bacteria. Because having BV puts a woman at increased risk for a variety of complications, such as preterm delivery, there is great interest in understanding how it can be prevented. http://www.physorg.com/news161520128.html Medicine & Health Thu, 14 May 2009 11:42:35 EST news161520128 High serum ferritin, being a hallmark of hereditary hemochromatosis , is frequently found in chronic hepatitis C, alcoholic or non-alcoholic steatohepatitis and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease patients . A study in Italy has investigated the link between ferritin and steatosis in a non-obese cohort of non-alcoholic patients. In southern European populations, high ferritin levels, after exclusion of diagnosis of HH, represent a risk factor for steatosis and clinical relevance, being associated with low platelet count. http://www.physorg.com/news161443860.html Medicine & Health Wed, 13 May 2009 14:31:40 EST news161443860 Iron chelating drugs have been heavily promoted for use in patients with primary myelofibrosis (PMF), a form of blood cancer often treated with blood transfusion. These drugs, however, which withhold available iron in the body, are highly expensive and potentially toxic. A new study published in American Journal of Hematology finds that their increased use has been propagated by non-evidence based, and often industry-sponsored, statements and opinions, rather than original research, and that the conclusions are often based on poor data. http://www.physorg.com/news161278224.html Medicine & Health Mon, 11 May 2009 16:30:39 EST news161278224 An in-depth proteomic analysis of the sera of 50 participants from the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) hormone replacement therapy trial provides some explanations for the trial's clinical results. The study, published in Biomed Central's open access journal Genome Medicine, shows that estrogen upregulates proteins involved in several major body processes. http://www.physorg.com/news160213500.html Medicine & Health Wed, 29 Apr 2009 08:47:37 EST news160213500 New research provides evidence for a link between vitamin D insufficiency and asthma severity. http://www.physorg.com/news159686149.html Medicine & Health Thu, 23 Apr 2009 06:16:35 EST news159686149 A simple way of establishing which preterm infants are at risk of developing the eye disease ROP is to follow their weight gain. A new study from the Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Sweden, suggests that following weekly weight development might replace the need for considerably more expensive ophthalmological examinations. http://www.physorg.com/news158329409.html Medicine & Health Tue, 07 Apr 2009 13:23:55 EST news158329409 (PhysOrg.com) -- According to a recent study in the Archives of Internal Medicine, 75 percent of Americans do not get enough Vitamin D. Researchers have found that the deficiency may negatively impact immune function and cardiovascular health and increase cancer risk. Now, a University of Missouri nutritional sciences researcher has found that vitamin D deficiency is associated with inflammation, a negative response of the immune system, in healthy women. http://www.physorg.com/news158251047.html Medicine & Health Mon, 06 Apr 2009 15:38:05 EST news158251047 A blood test that can help predict the seriousness of a head injury and detect the status of the blood-brain barrier is a step closer to reality, according to two recently published studies involving University of Rochester Medical Center researchers. http://www.physorg.com/news157726713.html Medicine & Health Tue, 31 Mar 2009 13:59:08 EST news157726713 New research findings out of Wake Forest University School of Medicine and the University of Wisconsin may help provide some direction for men diagnosed with prostate cancer about whether their cancer is likely to be life-threatening. http://www.physorg.com/news153738140.html Medicine & Health Fri, 13 Feb 2009 09:03:24 EST news153738140 According to a recent study published online in The FASEB Journal, diets rich in omega-3 fatty acids protect the liver from damage caused by obesity and the insulin resistance it provokes. This research should give doctors and nutritionists valuable information when recommending and formulating weight-loss diets and help explain why some obese patients are more likely to suffer some complications associated with obesity. Omega-3 fatty acids can be found in canola oil and fish. http://www.physorg.com/news153672709.html Medicine & Health Thu, 12 Feb 2009 14:54:21 EST news153672709 For patients with moderate chronic kidney disease (CKD), higher levels of phosphorus in the blood are associated with increased calcification of the major arteries and heart valves -which may contribute to the increased risk of cardiovascular disease in patients with CKD, reports a study in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN). http://www.physorg.com/news148152195.html Medicine & Health Wed, 10 Dec 2008 17:23:15 EST news148152195 Chronic pancreatitis (CP) is a chronic clinical disorder characterized by irreversible damage to the pancreas, the development of histologic evidence of inflammation and fibrosis, and eventually the destruction and permanent loss of exocrine and endocrine tissue. Imaging or function tests may not reveal early CP, and the results of these tests do not necessarily correlate with each other. http://www.physorg.com/news147352040.html Medicine & Health Mon, 01 Dec 2008 11:07:20 EST news147352040 A chance discovery by a team of scientists using optical probes means that changes in cells in the human body could now be seen in a completely different light. http://www.physorg.com/news145628251.html Chemistry Tue, 11 Nov 2008 12:17:31 EST news145628251 An international team of researchers led by Professors Mark Caulfield and Patricia Munroe, from the William Harvey Research Institute at Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry with Chris Cheeseman at the University of Alberta in Canada and Kelle Moley at the University of Washington in USA, have shown that the SLC2A9 gene, which encodes a glucose transporter, is also a high-capacity urate transporter, and thus possibly a new drug target for gout. Their findings are published in this week's PLoS Medicine (7 October 2008). http://www.physorg.com/news142565069.html Medicine & Health Tue, 07 Oct 2008 02:24:29 EST news142565069 Men who have too much calcium in their bloodstreams may have an increased risk of fatal prostate cancer, according to a new analysis from Wake Forest University School of Medicine and the University of Wisconsin. http://www.physorg.com/news139625659.html Medicine & Health Wed, 03 Sep 2008 01:54:19 EST news139625659