EurekAlert! - National Institutes of Health

Public Release: 3-Jul-2012

Arthritis & Rheumatism
Study sheds light on pregnancy complications and overturns common belief
A study led by Hospital for Special Surgery researchers has demonstrated that women who have a specific type of antibody that interferes with blood vessel function are at risk for adverse pregnancy outcomes and that other antibodies in the same family thought to cause pregnancy complications do not put women at risk.

NIH/National Institute of Arthritis, Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases

Public Release: 3-Jul-2012

American Journal of Physiology - Gastrointestinal and Liver Physiology
New animal model may lead to treatments for common liver disease
Scientists at Texas Biomed have developed the laboratory opossum as a new animal model to study the most common liver disease in the nation -- afflicting up to 15 million Americans -- and for which there is no cure.

National Institutes of Health, Robert J. Kleberg, Jr., and Helen C. Kleberg Foundation

Public Release: 3-Jul-2012

Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases
Epigenetics alters genes in rheumatoid arthritis
Researchers at the University of California, San Diego -- led by Gary S. Firestein, professor in the Division of Rheumatology, Allergy and Immunology at UC San Diego School of Medicine -- investigated a mechanism usually implicated in cancer and in fetal development, called DNA methylation, in the progression of rheumatoid arthritis. They found that epigenetic changes due to methylation play a key role in altering genes that could potentially contribute to inflammation and joint damage.

NIH/National Center for Advancing Translational Science

Public Release: 3-Jul-2012

Experimental Gerontology
Bees can 'turn back time,' reverse brain aging
Scientists at Arizona State University have discovered that older honey bees effectively reverse brain aging when they take on nest responsibilities typically handled by much younger bees. While current research on human age-related dementia focuses on potential new drug treatments, researchers say these findings suggest that social interventions may be used to slow or treat age-related dementia.

NIH/National Institute on Aging, Pew Charitable Trusts, Research Council of Norway

Public Release: 3-Jul-2012

American Journal of Cardiology
Obesity, larger waist size associated with better outcomes in heart failure patients
A slim waist and normal weight are usually associated with better health outcomes, but that's not always the case with heart failure patients, according to a new UCLA study. Researchers found that in both men and women with advanced heart failure, obesity -- as indicated by a high body mass index -- and a higher waist circumference were factors that put them at significantly less risk for adverse outcomes.

NIH/National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute

Public Release: 3-Jul-2012

Journal of Adolescent Health
Exposure to violence has long-term stress effects among adolescents
Children who are exposed to community violence continue to exhibit a physical stress response up to a year after the exposure, suggesting that exposure to violence may have long-term negative health consequences, according researchers at Penn State and University College London.

NIH/National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Penn State

Public Release: 3-Jul-2012

Cell Metabolism
Discovery explains how cellular pathways converge to regulate food intake and body weight
In the complex chain of molecular events that underlie eating behaviors and body weight, the AMPK enzyme has proven to be a critical link. New research from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center further elucidates AMPK's role, and could yield new treatment strategies for both metabolic diseases and cancers.

National Institutes of Health, Picower Foundation, JPB Foundation

Public Release: 3-Jul-2012

Psychosomatic Medicine
Parents less likely to develop colds, Carnegie Mellon research shows
There is no question that being a parent is, at times, challenging both physically and mentally. However knowledge of the actual affect parenthood has on health has been inconsistent at best, until now. New research led shows that being a parent influences health in a positive way. The research provides the first evidence that, when exposed to a common cold virus, parents are 52 percent less likely to develop a cold than non-parents.

NIH/National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, NIH/National Institute of Mental Health, NIH/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, NIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and others

Public Release: 3-Jul-2012

PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases
New drug prospect offers hope against hookworm infections
A drug candidate that is nearing clinical trials against a Latin American parasite is showing additional promise as a cure for hookworm, one of the most widespread and insidious parasites afflicting developing nations, according to a collaborative study at UCSF and Yale University.

Sandler Foundation, Yale Child Health Research Center, National Institutes of Health

Public Release: 3-Jul-2012

Nature Communications
Genetic 911: Cells' emergency systems revealed
Toxic chemicals wreak havoc on cells, damaging DNA and other critical molecules. A new study from researchers at MIT and the University at Albany reveals how a molecular emergency-response system shifts the cell into damage-control mode and helps it survive such attacks by rapidly producing proteins that counteract the harm.

NIH/National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, MIT Westaway Fund, Merck-MIT Graduate Student Fellowship, Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology