EurekAlert! - National Institutes of Health

Public Release: 6-Jun-2012

Neuron
Brain cell activity imbalance may account for seizure susceptibility in Angelman syndrome
New research by scientists at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine may have pinpointed an underlying cause of the seizures that affect 90 percent of people with Angelman syndrome, a neurodevelopmental disorder.

NIH/National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, Angelman Syndrome Foundation, Simons Foundation, NIH/National Eye Institute, NIH/National Institute of Mental Health

Public Release: 6-Jun-2012

PLOS Genetics
Cell contents may be key to controlling toxicity of Huntington's disease protein
New research proposes novel therapeutic targets for treating Huntington's disease. A new study found the toxic effects of the huntingtin protein on cells may not be driven exclusively by the length of the protein's expansion, but also by which other proteins are present in the cell.

National Institutes of Health, Hereditary Disease Foundation

Public Release: 6-Jun-2012

PLOS ONE
Why belly fat isn't all bad
A fatty membrane in the belly called the omentum appears to play an important role in regulating the immune system. The finding could lead to new drugs for organ transplant patients and patients with auto-immune diseases.

National Institutes of Health

Public Release: 6-Jun-2012

New England Journal of Medicine
Studies show new drug to be effective in treating skin cancer, Stanford researchers say
A new drug has been shown to be effective in treating and preventing the most common cancer in the United States: basal cell carcinoma skin cancer, according to a new study in the New England Journal of Medicine to be published June 7.

National Institutes of Health, Damon Runyon Clinical Investigator award, Swim Across America Foundation

Public Release: 6-Jun-2012

Science Translational Medicine
Baby's genome deciphered prenatally from parents' lab tests
Maternal blood sampled at 18 weeks into a pregnancy and a paternal saliva specimen contained enough information for scientists to map the fetus' whole genome. Fetal DNA is in a pregnant women's bloodstream starting a few weeks after conception. Scientists assessed many and more subtle variations in the fetus' genome, down to a one-letter change in the DNA code, compared to current tests that screen for only a few major genetic errors.

NIH/National Human Genome Research Institute, Washington Research Foundation

Public Release: 6-Jun-2012

New England Journal of Medicine
New drug found effective against rare form of basal cell skin cancer
A clinical study has demonstrated that a new drug, a targeted molecular therapy called vismodegib (trade name Erivedge), can dramatically shrink basal cell skin cancers and prevent the formation of new ones, in patients with basal cell nevus syndrome. The phase II clinical study, led by researchers at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center and Children's Hospital of Oakland Research Institute, was published today in the online edition of the New England Journal of Medicine.

National Institutes of Health, NIH/National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation, Swim Across America Foundation, Genentech

Public Release: 6-Jun-2012

Biology of Reproduction
3 types of fetal cells can migrate into maternal organs during pregnancy
A pregnant woman's blood stream contains not only her own cells, but a small number of her child's, as well, and some of them remain in her internal organs long after the baby is born. Understanding the origin and identity of these cells is vital to understanding their potential effects on a mother's long-term health.

NIH/National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Provost Fund at Tufts University, Sackler Dean's Fellowship Award

Public Release: 6-Jun-2012

Nature Communications
The real culprit behind hardened arteries? Stem cells, says landmark study
Vascular diseases are actually a type of stem cell disease, according to a new study by UC Berkeley scientists. The discovery challenges a long-standing belief that smooth muscle cells contribute to clogged blood vessels, and could revolutionize research into therapies for heart attacks and strokes, which account for one in three deaths in the United States.

National Institutes of Health, California Institute for Regenerative Medicine

Public Release: 6-Jun-2012

Science
Good bugs gone bad: Gut immune cells keep beneficial microbes in their place
How immune cells limit the location of commensal bacteria to intestinal sites is unclear. Researchers have identified that innate lymphoid cells are resident in the intestinal tissues of healthy humans, mice, and non-human primates, and are critical in limiting the location of commensal bacteria. If the innate lymphoid cells are depleted in mice, commensal bacteria move to peripheral tissues and promote inflammation. The bacteria found in peripheral tissues were all members of the Alcaligenes group.

NIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, Penn Center for AIDS Research, Burroughs Wellcome Fund

Public Release: 6-Jun-2012

Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs
Medical marijuana outlets not linked to crime
Despite some concerns to the contrary, neighborhoods with medical marijuana dispensaries may not have higher crime rates than other neighborhoods -- at least in one California city.

NIH/National Institute on Drug Abuse, NIH/National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism

Public Release: 5-Jun-2012

Aging Cell
Calorie-restricted diet keeps heart young
People who restrict their caloric intake in an effort to live longer have hearts that function more like those in people who are 20 years younger. Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found that a key measure of the heart's ability to adapt to physical activity, stress and other factors, doesn't decline nearly as rapidly in people who have significantly restricted their caloric intake.

NIH/National Center for Research Resources, NIH/National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, Longer Life Foundation, Bakewell Foundation, Scott and Annie Appleby Charitable Trust

Public Release: 5-Jun-2012

Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science
Study offers hope for more effective treatment of nearsightedness
Research by a University of Houston optometrist supports the continued investigation of optical treatments that attempt to slow the progression of nearsightedness in children. The study compared the effects of wearing and then not wearing no-line bifocals in children with myopia, and the results were published in Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science.

NIH/National Eye Institute, Essilor of America, American Optometric Foundation Ezell Fellowship

Public Release: 5-Jun-2012
UC San Diego to study accelerated aging in schizophrenia
Researchers at the Stein Institute for Research on Aging at the University of California, San Diego have received a $4 million grant from the National Institute of Mental Health, part of the National Institutes of Health, to study accelerated biological aging in schizophrenia.

NIH/National Institute of Mental Health

Public Release: 5-Jun-2012

Journal of Structural Biology
Molecular matchmaking for drug discovery
Computational drug discovery allows researchers to target a small group of possible molecules for therapeutic use, saving significant time and money. In the February 2012 edition of the Journal of Structural Biology, UT researcher Chandrajit Bajaj reported on advances in image reconstruction that allow his group to detect the secondary structures of proteins from single particle cryo-electron microscopy.

National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, Texas Institute of Drug and Diagnostic Development

Public Release: 5-Jun-2012
Scientists work together to achieve milestone against deadly diseases
Investigators at the Center for Structural Genomics of Infectious Diseases and the Seattle Structural Genomics Center for Infectious Disease reached a significant milestone by determining 1,000 protein structures from infectious disease organisms. The knowledge gained from these structures should lead to new interventions for the deadly diseases caused by these pathogens.

NIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, US Department of Health and Human Services

Public Release: 5-Jun-2012

Journal of Psychopharmocology
Mothers' teen cannabinoid exposure may increase response of offspring to opiate drugs
A study in rats suggests that mothers who use marijuana during their teen years -- then stop -- may put their eventual offspring at risk of increased sensitivity to opiates.

National Institutes of Health

Public Release: 5-Jun-2012

Biochimica et Biophysica Acta � Molecular Basis of Disease
Overfed fruit flies develop insulin resistance; Represent new tool to study human diabetes
Researchers at Southern Methodist University, Dallas, demonstrate that adult fruit flies fed either high-carb or high-protein diets develop metabolic abnormalities, including insulin resistance, which is a hallmark of type 2 human diabetes. Fruit fly D. melanogaster has been used successfully to investigate multiple human diseases. The new study demonstrates that diet profoundly influences fruit fly physiology and health and that insulin-resistant flies provide a new research tool for investigating the molecular mechanisms of insulin resistance.

NIH/National Institute on Aging

Public Release: 5-Jun-2012

Blood
Type 2 diabetes linked to increased blood cancer risk, say Miriam Hospital researchers
A new meta-analysis by Miriam Hospital researchers reveals patients with type 2 diabetes have a 20 percent increased risk of developing blood cancers.

NIH/National Center for Research Resources

Public Release: 5-Jun-2012

Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior
RIH study: Restricted food intake a predictor of increased suicide attempts in BDD patients
Rhode Island Hospital and Auburn University researchers found a link between restrictive food intake, or excessive dieting, and an increase in suicide attempts in people with Body Dysmorphic Disorder. The study focused on the acquired capability of suicide, a component of Joiner's interpersonal-psychological theory of suicide, comprised of physical pain tolerance and lowered fear of death. It is published in Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, and is now available online in advance of print.

National Institutes of Health

Public Release: 5-Jun-2012

Journal of Neuroscience
Between the ear and brain, an orderly orchestra of synapses
The brain receives information from the ear in a surprisingly orderly fashion, according to a University at Buffalo study scheduled to appear June 6 in the Journal of Neuroscience.

National Institutes of Health

Public Release: 5-Jun-2012

EULAR 2012
Ultrasounds spot heart disease early in rheumatoid arthritis patients, Mayo Clinic finds
Special echocardiograms show promise for early detection of a potentially deadly complication in rheumatoid arthritis: heart disease, Mayo Clinic research shows.

NIH/National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases

Public Release: 5-Jun-2012

JAMA
Therapists phone it in and keep more patients
New research shows patients who had telephone therapy were more likely to complete treatment than those who had face-to-face sessions. Both were equally effective in reducing depression during treatment. The JAMA-published study is the first large trial to compare the benefits of these two therapies. Phone therapy is a rapidly growing trend among therapists because patients have difficulty getting to therapists' offices.

NIH/National Institute of Mental Health

Public Release: 4-Jun-2012

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
New technology improves malaria control and vaccine development
A new technique that accurately determines the risk of infants in endemic countries developing clinical malaria could provide a valuable tool for evaluating new malaria prevention strategies and vaccines. The technique could even help to understand how anti-malarial vaccine and treatment strategies act to reduce malaria, say researchers from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, University of Basel and the Papua New Guinea Institute of Medical Research.

Swiss National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, Victorian Government

Public Release: 4-Jun-2012

Health Affairs
Ill, older patients who rely on emergency room often live final days in hospital, study finds
Half of adults over age 65 made at least one emergency department visit in the last month of life, in a study led by a physician at the San Francisco VA Medical Center and UCSF.

National Palliative Care Research Center, NIH/National Center for Research Resources, NIH/National Institute on Aging

Public Release: 4-Jun-2012

Science
UT Southwestern investigators provide first atomic-level images of the CLOCK complex
UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have taken a major step toward understanding the cellular clock, mapping for the first time the atomic-level architecture of a key component of the timekeeper that governs the body's daily rhythms.

Howard Hughes Medical Institute, American Heart Association, National Institutes of Health