EurekAlert! - National Institutes of Health

Public Release: 17-Jul-2012

PLOS Biology
Stress fuels breast cancer metastasis to bone
Stress can promote breast cancer cell colonization of bone, Vanderbilt Center for Bone Biology investigators have discovered. The studies, reported July 17 in PLoS Biology, demonstrate in mice that activation of the sympathetic nervous system -- the "fight-or-flight" response to stress � primes the bone environment for breast cancer cell metastasis. The researchers were able to prevent breast cancer cell lesions in bone using propranolol, a cardiovascular medicine that inhibits sympathetic nervous system signals.

NIH/National Cancer Institute, NIH/National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, NIH/National Institute of General Medical Sciences

Public Release: 16-Jul-2012
Nursing researcher uses Nintendo Wii to fight cancer-related fatigue
With the support of a $379,741 grant from the National Cancer Institute and the Nintendo Wii game system, nursing researcher Amy Hoffman aims to help lung cancer patients reduce fatigue and get more exercise as they transition from the hospital to the home after surgery.

NIH/National Cancer Institute

Public Release: 16-Jul-2012

Aging Cell
Low-cal diet's effects seen in fly brain, mouthpart
Neurotransmission is increased in fruit fly disease models that eat less, a new study shows. The study utilized a novel system to analyze the impact of diet on life span, motor behavior and neurotransmission, which is believed to underlie most neurological disorders in humans.

Ellison Medical Foundation, NIH/National Institute on Aging

Public Release: 16-Jul-2012

Cancer Discovery
Uncommon BRAF mutation in melanoma sensitive to MEK inhibitor drug therapy
An uncommon mutation of the BRAF gene in melanoma patients has been found to respond to MEK inhibitor drugs, providing a rationale for routine screening and therapy in melanoma patients who harbor the BRAF L597 mutation.

NIH/National Cancer Institute, T.J. Martell Foundation, Kleberg Foundation, Seaver Institute, Wesley Coyle Memorial Fund, Garcia-Corsini family fund, Harry J. Lloyd Charitable Trust, American Cancer Society, Stand Up to Cancer, and others

Public Release: 16-Jul-2012

Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition
Increase in RDA for vitamin C could help reduce heart disease, stroke, cancer
The recommended dietary allowance, or RDA, of vitamin C is less than half what it should be, scientists argue in a recent report, because medical experts insist on evaluating this natural, but critical nutrient in the same way they do pharmaceutical drugs and reach faulty conclusions as a result. At higher levels, it could help prevent serious diseases.

National Institutes of Health

Public Release: 16-Jul-2012
Researchers to use novel metabolomics technology for COPD
Researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College were awarded a $6.5 million grant from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute for a five-year investigation into metabolic changes occurring within airway epithelial cells in the lungs of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients caused by cigarette smoking. In addition, researchers aim to identify which cigarette smokers are at highest risk of developing COPD as well as novel biomarkers to assist in the development of new therapeutic treatments for the disease.

National Institutes of Health

Public Release: 16-Jul-2012
Duke selected to receive multi-million dollar grant for HIV vaccine
A large federal grant awarded to Duke University will fund a highly focused program to discover how to induce the precise immune factors needed for effective vaccines against HIV.

NIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

Public Release: 16-Jul-2012

Neurology
LSUHSC research finds treating stress prevented new MS brain lesions
Research conducted by Jesus Lovera, M.D., assistant professor of neurology at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans, and colleagues has shown that stress management treatment significantly reduced the formation of new brain lesions in people with multiple sclerosis over the course of treatment. These lesions are markers of disease activity used to objectively measure disease status.

National Institutes of Health

Public Release: 16-Jul-2012

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Force of nature: Defining the mechanical mechanisms in living cells
A multidisciplinary team of researchers at Stanford measured mechanical tension at the nanoscale to explore how living cells produce and detect force. The research could lead to a better understanding of how tissues and tumors form and grow, and, ultimately, to how complex living organisms organize themselves.

National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, Burroughs-Wellcome Career

Public Release: 16-Jul-2012

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Human cells, plants, worms and frogs share mechanism for organ placement
Biologists at Tufts University have produced the first evidence that a class of proteins that make up a cell's skeleton -- tubulin proteins -- drives asymmetrical patterning of internal organs across a broad spectrum of species, including plants, nematode worms, frogs, and human cells, at their earliest stages of development.

National Institutes of Health, American Heart Association

Public Release: 16-Jul-2012

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
To clean up the mine, let fungus reproduce
Harvard-led researchers have discovered that an Ascomycete fungus that is common in polluted water produces environmentally important minerals during asexual reproduction. The key chemical in the process, superoxide, is a byproduct of fungal growth when the organism produces spores. Once released into the environment, superoxide reacts with the element manganese, producing a highly reactive mineral that aids in the cleanup of toxic metals, degrades carbon substrates, and controls the bioavailability of nutrients.

National Science Foundation, US Department of Energy, National Institutes of Health

Public Release: 16-Jul-2012

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Genetically engineered bacteria prevent mosquitoes from transmitting malaria
Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute have genetically modified a bacterium commonly found in the mosquito's midgut and found that the parasite that causes malaria in people does not survive in mosquitoes carrying the modified bacterium.

NIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute, Bloomberg Family Foundation

Public Release: 16-Jul-2012

Archives of Internal Medicine
Frail, older adults with high blood pressure may have lower risk of mortality
A new study suggests that high blood pressure is actually associated with lower mortality in extremely frail, elderly adults.

NIH/National Institute on Aging, American Heart Association

Public Release: 16-Jul-2012

Journal of Clinical Investigation
A new target in acute myeloid leukemia
Activating mutations in a protein receptor known as FLT3 receptor are among the most prevalent mutations observed in acute myeloid leukemias. Dr. Daniel Tenen and colleagues from Harvard University in Boston discovered a new pathway activated by FLT3 mutation.

National Institutes of Health

Public Release: 16-Jul-2012

Mayo Clinic Proceedings
Mayo Clinic creates tool to track real-time chemical changes in brain
Mayo Clinic researchers have found a novel way to monitor real-time chemical changes in the brains of patients undergoing deep brain stimulation.

National Institutes of Health, Grainger Foundation

Public Release: 15-Jul-2012

PLOS ONE
Copper's previously unknown exit strategy
Scientists have long known that the body rids itself of excess copper and various other minerals by collecting them in the liver and excreting them through the liver's bile. However, a new study led by Johns Hopkins researchers and published June 22 in PLoS ONE suggests that when this route is impaired there's another exit route just for copper: a molecule sequesters only that mineral and routes it from the body through urine.

National Institutes of Health

Public Release: 15-Jul-2012

Nature
UMMS researchers isolate gene mutations in patients with inherited amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
A new genetic mutation that causes familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a fatal neurological disorder also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease, has been identified by a team of scientists led by researchers at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. Mutations to the profilin gene, which is essential to the growth and development of nerve cell axons, points to defects in a neuron's cytoskeleton structure as a potential common feature among diverse ALS genes.

NIH/National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, Project ALS and P2ALS, Angel Fund for ALS Research, Muscular Dystrophy Association, AriSLA, and others

Public Release: 14-Jul-2012

2012 Alzheimer's Association International Conference

PLOS ONE
Mayo Clinic maps brain, finds Alzheimer's patients drive differently
Activity lingers longer in certain areas of the brain in those with Alzheimer's than it does in healthy people, Mayo Clinic researchers who created a map of the brain found. The results suggest varying brain activity may reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease. The study, "Non-stationarity in the "Resting Brain's" Modular Architecture," was presented at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference and recently published in the journal PLoS One.

NIH/National Institute on Aging, Alexander Family Alzheimer/s Disease Research Professorship of the Mayo Foundation, Alzheimer's Association

Public Release: 13-Jul-2012
$2 million to study role-switching cells in heart failure
The National Institutes of Health has awarded more than $2 million to a team of scientists from Washington University in St. Louis and InvivoSciences, a biotechnology startup with WUSTL roots, to construct artificial tissue models that will allow the rapid testing of new drugs for heart failure.

National Institutes of Health

Public Release: 13-Jul-2012

Environmental Health Perspectives
Chemicals in personal care products may increase risk of diabetes in women
A study lead by researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital shows an association between increased concentrations of phthalates in the body and an increased risk of diabetes in women. Phthalates are endocrine disrupting chemicals that are commonly found in personal care products such as moisturizers, nail polishes, soaps, hair sprays and perfumes.

American Diabetes Association, NIH/National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences

Public Release: 13-Jul-2012

Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics
Want to lose weight? Keep a food journal, don't skip meals and avoid going out to lunch
Women who want to lose weight should faithfully keep a food journal, and avoid skipping meals and eating in restaurants -- especially at lunch -- suggests new research from Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.

NIH/National Cancer Institute, NIH/National Center for Research Resources

Public Release: 12-Jul-2012

Science
Large, medically important class of proteins starts to yield its secrets
A recent wave of articles, most recently in the July 13, 2012, issue of Science, all published this year by collaborations headed by the Scripps Research Institute laboratory of Professor Raymond Stevens, illuminate a large and medically important family of proteins called G protein-coupled receptors.

NIH Common Fund Joint Center for Innovative Membrane Technologies, NIH/National Institute for General Medical Sciences, NIH/National Institute on Drug Abuse

Public Release: 12-Jul-2012
Cleveland Clinic researchers receive $5 million grant to discover novel pathways to heart disease
The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute has awarded a $4.78 million grant to researchers at Cleveland Clinic's Lerner Research Institute to use metabolomics -- a new approach that focuses on the small-molecule byproducts of metabolism -- for discovery of novel pathways linked to the development of cardiovascular diseases.

NIH/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

Public Release: 12-Jul-2012
$4.7 million study looks at why diabetes makes heart disease worse
Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have received a $4.7 million grant from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute to investigate heart disease in patients with diabetes.

NIH/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

Public Release: 12-Jul-2012
Louisiana Tech biomedical engineering professor earns recognition, funding for research
Dr. Teresa Murray, assistant professor in biomedical engineering at Louisiana Tech University, has received notice from the National Institute of Health that her proposal titled "Long Term 3D Imaging of Mouse Brain in Vivo to Study Glial Cells and Gliogenesis" was recognized for excellence and will receive funding.

National Institutes of Health