Curing Death by Curing Aging Archives Page 50

Stem Cell Therapy Rescues Motor Neurons In ALS Model (8/2/2007)

In a study that demonstrates the promise of cell-based therapies for diseases that have proved intractable to modern medicine, a team of scientists from the University of Wisconsin-Madison has shown it is possible to rescue the dying neurons characteristic of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a fatal neuromuscular disorder also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. ...> Full Article

New Test Speeds Up SARS Detection (8/2/2007)

In the fight against epidemics, those battling on the front lines may be on the verge of a new weapon, thanks to a team of University of Alberta researchers. ...> Full Article

Islet Cell Transplants Using Magnetocapsules To Cure Type I Diabetes (8/2/2007)

For patients with type 1 (juvenile) diabetes, a transplant of insulin-producing cells is a possible alternative to daily insulin injections to keep blood sugar under control. As with any transplant, however, the still-experimental technique carries the risk of rejection by the patient's immune system, meaning patients must take powerful immunosuppressive drugs. A new delivery vehicle for the transplanted cells may help overcome this obstacle, while also allowing clinicians to track the cells once they are inside the body. ...> Full Article

Sex-Trafficked Girls And Women From South Asia Have High Prevalence Of HIV Infection (8/2/2007)

Nearly 40 percent of repatriated Nepalese sex-trafficked girls and women tested were positive for HIV infection, with girls trafficked before age 15 having higher rates of infection, according to a study in the August 1 issue of JAMA, a theme issue on violence and human rights. ...> Full Article

Researchers Confirm That Bone Marrow Restores Fertility In Female Mice (8/1/2007)

A new study from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers confirms that female mice that receive bone marrow transplantation after fertility-destroying chemotherapy can go on to have successful pregnancies throughout their normal reproductive life. ...> Full Article

New Research Shows Saturated And Trans Fats Increase Risk Of Severe Heart Attacks (8/1/2007)

It has long been known that saturated or trans fats can cause clogged arteries that lead to heart attacks, but new research shows that too much fat can worsen the severity of a heart attack - and disrupt heart rhythm, increasing the risk for sudden cardiac arrest. ...> Full Article

New Technology Gives Hope for Patients with Metastatic Cancer (8/1/2007)

A 32-year-old mother of two small children, who was recently diagnosed with metastatic stomach cancer, underwent surgery using Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy (HIPEC) at The Mount Sinai Medical Center. The surgery, which took place on Thursday, July 26th is a breakthrough in cancer treatment at Mount Sinai, giving a heated form of chemotherapy to the patients during surgery directly into the abdomen while in the operating room. ...> Full Article

Using A Blue Gene Supercomputer To Study Tumor Formations (8/1/2007)

The University of Alabama at Birmingham has acquired an IBM Blue Gene/L supercomputer for biological research, tripling its computing power. The new supercomputer will allow the university to enhance its capabilities in computational biology and molecular simulations. ...> Full Article

Mouse Genome Will Help Identify Causes of Environmental Disease (8/1/2007)

Research on the DNA of 15 mouse strains commonly used in biomedical studies is expected to help scientists determine the genes related to susceptibility to environmental disease. The body of data is now publicly available in a catalog of genetic variants, which displays the data as a mouse haplotype map, a tool that separates chromosomes in to many small segments, helping researchers find genes and genetic variations in mice that may affect health and disease. The haplotype map appearing online in the July 29th issue of Nature is the first published full descriptive analysis of the "Mouse Genome Resequencing and SNP Discovery Project" conducted by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), part of the National Institutes of Health. ...> Full Article

Study Helps Explain How HIV Becomes AIDS (8/1/2007)

Finding could help scientists seeking therapies to block virus progression ...> Full Article

Researchers Watch Antibiotics, Bacteria Meet At Atomic Level (7/31/2007)

A new understanding of an enzyme important for the transfer of genetic information in bacteria may help scientists improve current antibiotics and also create antibiotics that are less vulnerable to resistance. ...> Full Article

Diabetes Drugs Increase Risk of Heart Failure, Research Shows (7/31/2007)

A class of drugs commonly used to treat type 2 diabetes may double the risk of heart failure, according to a new analysis by researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine and colleagues. ...> Full Article

Preventing Blindness in Diabetic Patients Is Goal of Cutting-Edge Eye Exams (7/31/2007)

Although they have a greater than average risk of developing retinal problems and blindness, many people with diabetes never visit their eye doctor. ...> Full Article

Hepatitis C Helicase Unwinds DNA In A Spring-Loaded, 3-Step Process (7/31/2007)

The process by which genes are duplicated is mysterious and complex, involving a cast of characters with diverse talents and the ability to play well with others in extremely close quarters. A key player on this stage is an enzyme called a helicase. Its job is to unwind the tightly coiled chain of nucleic acids - the DNA or RNA molecule that spells out the organism's genetic code - so that another enzyme, a polymerase, can faithfully copy each nucleotide in the code. ...> Full Article

New Findings may help prevent the Onset of Lung Disease (7/30/2007)

A study published by Wiley-Blackwell in the journal Acta Pharmacologica Sinica has identified the protein that plays a significant role in the development of lung disease - signaling that medical practitioners may potentially be able to isolate and prevent the onset of the disease in the near future. ...> Full Article

More Power to Population Studies in Pancreas Cancer Research (7/30/2007)

UCSF clinicians and researchers are joining with counterparts far and wide to conduct large studies that will yield the statistical power necessary to clearly identify factors associated with risk for pancreas cancer. ...> Full Article

Treating HIV-Infected Infants Early Helps Them Live Longer (7/30/2007)

Hundreds of thousands of babies around the world are born each year with HIV-more than half a million in 2006 alone. Caring for these children is complicated by the fact that their immune systems are not fully developed in the first year of life, which makes them especially susceptible to rapid HIV disease progression and death. The current standard of HIV care in many parts of the world is to treat infants with antiretroviral therapy-but only after they show signs of illness or a weakened immune system. ...> Full Article

Degenerative Changes that Mimic Parkinson's Linked to Reduced Dopamine Storage (7/29/2007)

Emory University neuroscientists have discovered what could serve as a model for slowing the progression of Parkinson's disease, a neurodegenerative condition that affects more than 1 million people in the U.S. ...> Full Article

First Detailed View of Molecular Structure May Usher in New Class of Cancer Drugs (7/29/2007)

High resolution views of a receptor molecule that is implicated in cancer offer a clear target for the development of a new class of cancer drugs, Yale School of Medicine researchers report July 27 in Cell. ...> Full Article

New Study Finds Infant Hearing Test Results May Predict Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (7/29/2007)

One of the greatest medical mysteries of our time has taken a leap forward in medical understanding with new study results announced by Dr. Daniel D. Rubens of Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center in Seattle. ...> Full Article

Researchers Identify Gene Involved In Breast Cancer (7/28/2007)

Researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center have identified a gene linked to the development of an aggressive form of breast cancer. ...> Full Article

Study Evaluates Brain Bypass Surgery to Reduce Stroke Risk (7/28/2007)

Joan Soltysik's right arm was numb and she had difficulty verbalizing her thoughts. But she managed to hide her symptoms from family and co-workers for days. ...> Full Article

Throttling Up Tiny Power Plants May Protect Nerve Cells (7/28/2007)

Revving up the "mini-energy factories" in central nervous system cells appears to help insulate them from damage caused by reactive oxygen species, which are believed to be prime culprits in aging. That is one of the findings from a new study conducted at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. ...> Full Article

Study Confirms That Aspirin Can Reduce Colorectal Cancer Risk (7/27/2007)

A study of Medicare patients with osteoarthritis provides additional evidence that non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as aspirin reduce the risk of colorectal cancer. Earlier investigations of the drugs' impact on tumor development could not rule out the possibility that an observed protective effect was caused by other preventive health care measures. The current study, led by a Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) physician, appears in the August 2007 Journal of General Internal Medicine. ...> Full Article

Using Sound And Bubbles To Treat Stroke And Cancer (7/27/2007)

Combining sound and bubbles to help treat major killers like stroke and cancer has won £1.25m of funding for Dr Constantin Coussios in Oxford's Institute for Biomedical Engineering. ...> Full Article

A Novel Molecular Dictator 'with A Conscience' Discovered (7/27/2007)

UNSW researchers have uncovered an important naturally occurring mechanism in the body where "bad" cells that cause blockages in our blood vessels are kept under strict growth control, while "good" cells that keep our blood vessels free of clots and growths are left unaffected. ...> Full Article

Sex, Drugs and HIV (7/27/2007)

The rise in the number of Australian HIV cases in the past seven years is likely to be related to risky sexual behaviour in men having sex with men, according to work co-authored by UNSW researchers. ...> Full Article

Researchers Explore New Method For Early Disease Diagnosis (7/26/2007)

Purdue University researchers worked with the Indiana University School of Medicine to establish a technique that provides a new approach for detecting a number of genetic disorders found in infants and young children. ...> Full Article

Effective Insecticide-Repellent For Use Against Malaria Transmitting Mosquito's (7/26/2007)

The mosquitoes responsible for malaria transmission to humans belong to the Anopheles genus. One of the best known and most extensively studied is Anopheles gambiae, Africa's principal malaria vector. The protection recommended by the World Health Organization for people at risk from this devastating disease is the use of mosquito nets impregnated with pyrethroids, of low toxicity for mammals and highly active against mosquitoes. ...> Full Article

Researchers Find Way To Starve Tuberculosis (7/26/2007)

Sleuthing through soil has led UBC researchers to a key discovery about the world's most lethal infection -- tuberculosis (TB). ...> Full Article