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Medicine/Health
Key: Meeting Journal Funder
Public Release: 2-Aug-2013
Psychology of Women Quarterly
Why is orange the new black for female victims of trauma?
How do pathways to jail vary for females who are victims of specific types of trauma? New research published in Psychology of Women Quarterly, a SAGE journal, pinpoints the types of trauma such as caregiver violence, witnessing violence, and intimate partner violence, that lead to specific types of offending later in life and offers explanations based on real experiences.

Contact: Camille Gamboa
camille.gamboa@sagepub.com
805-411-07441
SAGE Publications

Public Release: 2-Aug-2013
Nature Communications
New drugs to find the right target to fight Alzheimer's disease
The future is looking good for drugs designed to combat Alzheimer's disease. EPFL scientists have unveiled how two classes of drug compounds currently in clinical trials work to fight the disease. Their research suggests that these compounds target the disease-causing peptides with high precision and with minimal side-effects. The encouraging conclusions of their research have been published in the journal Nature Communications.

Contact: Patrick Fraering
patrick.fraering@epfl.ch
41-795-938-785
Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne

Public Release: 1-Aug-2013
Journal of the American College of Surgeons
Novel 3-D simulation technology helps surgical residents train more effectively
A novel interactive 3-dimensional simulation platform offers surgical residents a unique opportunity to hone their diagnostic and patient management skills, and then have those skills accurately evaluated according to a new study appearing in the Aug. issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons.

Contact: Dan Hamilton
pressinquiry@facs.org
312-202-5328
American College of Surgeons

Public Release: 1-Aug-2013
ASTRO applauds new GAO report on physician self-referral abuse
ASTRO Chairman Michael L. Steinberg, M.D., FASTRO, called attention to the Government Accountability Office's striking report released today, "Medicare: Higher Use of Costly Prostate Cancer Treatment by Providers Who Self-Refer Warrants Scrutiny," that details clear mistreatment of patients who trusted their physicians to care for their prostate cancer.

Contact: Michelle Kirkwood
michellek@astro.org
703-286-1600
American Society for Radiation Oncology

Public Release: 1-Aug-2013
Skeletal Muscle
Burnt sugar derivative reduces muscle wasting in fly and mouse muscular dystrophy
A trace substance in caramelized sugar, when purified and given in appropriate doses, improves muscle regeneration in an insect and mammal model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The substance, THI, protects the body's levels of a cell signal important in cell differentiation, proliferation, and migration. Fruit flies and mice with the muscular dystrophy gene both showed improvements in movement, and other reductions of symptoms.
National Institutes of Health, Duchenne Alliance, RaceMD, Ryan's Quest

Contact: Leila Gray
leilag@uw.edu
206-685-0381
University of Washington

Public Release: 1-Aug-2013
PLOS Genetics
Genetics: More than merely a mutated gene
If two women have the same genetic mutation that puts them at higher-than-average risk for a disease such as breast cancer, why does only one develop the disease?
National Science Foundation

Contact: Layne Cameron
layne.cameron@cabs.msu.edu
517-353-8819
Michigan State University

Public Release: 1-Aug-2013
Neuron
Speedier scans reveal new distinctions in resting and active brain
A boost in the speed of brain scans is unveiling new insights into how brain regions work with each other in cooperative groups called networks.

Contact: Michael C. Purdy
purdym@wustl.edu
314-645-1910
Washington University School of Medicine

Public Release: 1-Aug-2013
Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy
Antibiotic resistance among hospital-acquired infections is much greater than prior CDC estimates
Hospital-acquired infections' antibiotic resistance is higher than prior CDC reports, and the FDA's reboot of its antibiotic development rules to combat these infections has fallen short.

Contact: Laura Mecoy
lmecoy@labiomed.org
310-546-5860
Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center (LA BioMed)

Public Release: 1-Aug-2013
Cancer Research
UPCI researchers target 'cell sleep' to lower chances of cancer recurrence
By preventing cancer cells from entering a state of cellular sleep, cancer drugs are more effective, and there is a lower chance of cancer recurrence, according to new research from an international research team led by University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute scientists. The discovery is the first to show that it is possible to therapeutically target cancer cells to keep them from entering a cellular state called quiescence, or "cell sleep."
American Cancer Society, GIST Cancer Research Fund, Life Raft Group

Contact: Allison Hydzik
hydzikam@upmc.edu
412-647-9975
University of Pittsburgh Schools of the Health Sciences

Public Release: 1-Aug-2013
FASEB Journal
Fetal stress disrupts the way genes are transmitted
Stress might have harmed your health even before you were born. In a new report in The FASEB Journal, Harvard researchers find that epigenetic disruptions associated with chronic disease later in life are already common at birth. These aberrations result from stressors in the intrauterine environment (maternal smoking, diet, or high levels of endocrine-disrupting chemicals). Consequently, the seeds of disease may be sown before birth, increasing the importance of optimal prenatal care.

Contact: Cody Mooneyhan
cmooneyhan@faseb.org
301-634-7104
Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology

Public Release: 1-Aug-2013
Journal of Pediatrics
Children with elevated blood pressure don't get recommended follow-up, few at risk for hypertension
Children who have a first elevated blood pressure at the doctor's office are not likely to receive the recommended follow-up blood pressure readings within a month, according to a study published today in Pediatrics. However, when the blood pressure was later repeated, most children's blood pressure returned to normal for their age, sex and height.
NIH/National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute

Contact: Catherine Hylas Saunders
csaunders@golinharris.com
202-585-2603
Kaiser Permanente

Public Release: 1-Aug-2013
Pain
Study reveals target for drug development for chronic jaw pain disorder
In a study in mice, researchers at Duke Medicine identified a protein that is critical to temporomandibular joint disorder pain, and could be a promising target for developing treatments for the disorder.
National Institutes of Health, Duke, Keimyung University School of Medicine

Contact: Rachel Harrison
rachel.harrison@duke.edu
919-419-5096
Duke University Medical Center

Public Release: 1-Aug-2013
FASEB Journal
Inflammatory on and off switch identified for allergic asthma and COPD
Japanese researchers have made strides toward understanding runaway inflammation for both COPD and allergic asthma. New research appearing in The FASEB Journal shows how two receptors of the inflammatory molecule, leukotriene B4, plays opposing roles in turning inflammation on and off for allergic asthma and COPD. The first receptor, BLT1, promotes inflammation, while the second receptor, BLT2, may weaken inflammation during an allergic reaction. Until now, BLT2 was believed to increase inflammatory reaction.

Contact: Cody Mooneyhan
cmooneyhan@faseb.org
301-634-7104
Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology

Public Release: 1-Aug-2013
Journal of Health Economics
Consumers don't understand health insurance, Carnegie Mellon research shows
This fall, as part of the 2010 Affordable Care Act, Americans will have a greater range of health care insurance options to choose from, including, for many, state-based plans. But will they make the right decisions? That's doubtful, according to a new study led by Carnegie Mellon University's George Loewenstein.

Contact: Shilo Rea
shilo@cmu.edu
412-268-6094
Carnegie Mellon University

Public Release: 1-Aug-2013
Molecular Cell
Sanford-Burnham researchers map a new metabolic pathway involved in cell growth
Deciphering the body's complex molecular pathways that lead to disease when they malfunction is highly challenging. Researchers at Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute now have a more complete picture of one particular pathway that can lead to cancer and diabetes. In the study published by Molecular Cell, the scientists uncovered how a protein called p62 has a cascade affect in regulating cell growth in response to the presence of nutrients such as amino acids and glucose.
National Institutes of Health

Contact: Deborah Robison
drobison@sanfordburnham.org
407-615-0072
Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute

Public Release: 1-Aug-2013
Cell
New insight into how brain 'learns' cocaine addiction
A team of researchers says it has solved the longstanding puzzle of why a key protein linked to learning is also needed to become addicted to cocaine. Results of the study, published in the Aug. 1 issue of the journal Cell, describe how the learning-related protein works with other proteins to forge new pathways in the brain in response to a drug-induced rush of the "pleasure" molecule dopamine.
NIH/National Institute on Drug Abuse, NIH/National Institute of Mental Health, NIH/National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, NIH/National Cancer Institute, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, US Department of Energy

Contact: Shawna Williams
shawna@jhmi.edu
410-955-8236
Johns Hopkins Medicine

Public Release: 1-Aug-2013
American Journal of Physiology - Renal Physiology
Research hope for bladder cancer
Researchers from Plymouth University in the UK have for the first time identified the mechanism that causes a small, benign polyp to develop into severe invasive bladder cancer.

Contact: Andrew Gould
andrew.gould@plymouth.ac.uk
University of Plymouth

Public Release: 1-Aug-2013
Cell
Stray prenatal gene network suspected in schizophrenia
Researchers have reverse-engineered the outlines of a disrupted prenatal gene network in schizophrenia, by tracing spontaneous mutations to where and when they likely cause damage in the brain. Some people with the brain disorder may suffer from impaired birth of new neurons in the front of their brain during prenatal development, suggest the researchers, who compared spontaneous mutations in 105 affected and 84 unaffected siblings, in families without previous histories of the illness.
NIH/National Institute of Mental Health

Contact: Jules Asher
NIMHpress@nih.gov
301-443-4536
NIH/National Institute of Mental Health

Public Release: 1-Aug-2013
American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine
ATS publishes clinical practice guideline on ILD in infancy
The American Thoracic Society has released new clinical practice guidelines on the classification, evaluation and management of childhood interstitial lung disease in infants. Childhood ILD includes a diverse group of rare lung diseases found in infants, children and teens that involve the interstitial tissues of the lung, which surround the air sacs (alveoli) in the lung and airways (breathing tubes).

Contact: Nathaniel Dunford
ndunford@verizon.net
American Thoracic Society

Public Release: 1-Aug-2013
Science
Common genetic ancestors lived during roughly same time period, Stanford scientists find
A study led by the Stanford University School of Medicine indicates the two roughly overlapped during evolutionary time: from between 120,000 to 156,000 years ago for the man, and between 99,000 and 148,000 years ago for the woman.

Contact: Krista Conger
kristac@stanford.edu
650-725-5371
Stanford University Medical Center

Public Release: 1-Aug-2013
Cell Stem Cell
Boning up: McMaster researchers find home of best stem cells for bone marrow transplants
McMaster University researchers have revealed the location of human blood stem cells that may improve bone marrow transplants. The best stem cells are at the ends of the bone.
Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Ontario Cancer Research Institute

Contact: Thana Dharmarajah
dharmar@mcmaster.ca
905-525-9140 x22196
McMaster University

Public Release: 1-Aug-2013
Journal of American Society of Nephrology
Simple ultrasound treatment may help protect the kidneys
Ultrasound treatment can help prevent acute kidney injury in animals. Anti-inflammatory effects of the treatment appear to give it its kidney-protective properties.
National Institutes of Health

Contact: Tracy Hampton
thampton@nasw.org
American Society of Nephrology

Public Release: 1-Aug-2013
Journal of Clinical Investigation
JCI early table of contents for Aug. 1, 2013
This release contains summaries, links to PDFs, and contact information for the following newsworthy papers to be published online, Aug. 1, 2013, in the JCI: Prolactin reduces arthritis inflammation; Identification of a molecule linking bone loss and bone formation; and defense against bacterial infection in chronic granulomatous disease.

Contact: Corinne Williams
press_releases@the-jci.org
Journal of Clinical Investigation

Public Release: 1-Aug-2013
Journal of American Society of Nephrology
Moderate kidney disease costs medicare tens of billions of dollars each year
Medicare spending attributable to moderate stages of chronic kidney disease is likely to exceed $48 billion per year. Efforts to prevent the development of chronic kidney disease may lead to significant medical cost savings.

Contact: Tracy Hampton
thampton@nasw.org
American Society of Nephrology

Public Release: 1-Aug-2013
Annals of Thoracic Surgery
Bigger lungs may be better for transplants
A University of Iowa study has found that bigger lungs appear to improve the survival for patients receiving double-lung transplants. The UI team used a new formula based on height and gender to match lung donors and recipients and to calculate optimal lung sizes for transplant patients. Results were published in the Annals of Thoracic Surgery.

Contact: Richard Lewis
richard-c-lewis@uiowa.edu
319-384-0012
University of Iowa