EurekAlert! - National Institutes of Health

Public Release: 25-Apr-2013

Science
NIH study offers clues to making vaccine for infant respiratory illness
An atomic-level snapshot of a respiratory syncytial virus protein bound to a human antibody represents a leap toward developing a vaccine for a common -- and sometimes very serious -- childhood disease.

NIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

Public Release: 25-Apr-2013

Neuron
Suppressing protein may stem Alzheimer's disease process
Scientists have discovered a potential strategy for developing treatments to stem the disease process in Alzheimer's disease. It's based on unclogging removal of toxic debris that accumulates in patients' brains, by blocking activity of a little-known regulator protein called CD33. Too much CD33 activity may promote late-onset Alzheimer's by preventing support cells from clearing out toxic plaques. Future medications that impede CD33 activity might help prevent or treat the disorder.

National Institutes of Health

Public Release: 18-Apr-2013

Scientific Reports
Treatment for novel coronavirus shows promise in early lab tests
National Institutes of Health scientists studying an emerging coronavirus have found that a combination of two licensed antiviral drugs, ribavirin and interferon-alpha 2b, can stop the virus from replicating in laboratory-grown cells. These results suggest that the drug combination could be used to treat patients infected with the new coronavirus, but more research is needed to confirm this preliminary finding.

NIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

Public Release: 15-Apr-2013

Epidemiology
Vitamin D may reduce risk of uterine fibroids, according to NIH study
Women who had sufficient amounts of vitamin D were 32 percent less likely to develop fibroids than women with insufficient vitamin D, according to a study from researchers at the National Institutes of Health.

NIH/National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences

Public Release: 10-Apr-2013

Nature
Fat-free see-through brain bares all
Slicing optional: Scientists can now study the brain's finer workings, while preserving its 3-D structure and integrity of its circuitry. A breakthrough method, called CLARITY, opens the intact postmortem brain to chemical, genetic and optical analyses that previously could only be performed using thin slices of tissue.

National Institutes of Health

Public Release: 9-Apr-2013

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
New genetic link found between normal fetal growth and cancer
NIH researchers discovered a genetic switch that appears to activate the rapid growth of healthy fetuses and the uncontrolled cell division in cancer. The scientists focused on a growth-promoting gene called IGF2. They found evidence that a protein known as E2F3 activates the IGF2 gene in normal development and in cancer -- in particular, in bladder and metastatic prostate cancers.

NIH/National Institute of Child Health and Human Development

Public Release: 9-Apr-2013

Journal of Neuroscience
NIH-funded researchers create next-generation Alzheimer's disease model
A new genetically engineered lab rat that has the full array of brain changes associated with Alzheimer's disease supports the idea that increases in a molecule called beta-amyloid in the brain causes the disease.

NIH/National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, NIH/National Institute on Aging, NIH/National Institute of Mental Health, Alzheimer's Association, Ellison Foundation/American Federation for Aging Research

Public Release: 3-Apr-2013

Nature
NIH study sheds light on how to reset the addicted brain
Could drug addiction treatment of the future be as simple as an on/off switch in the brain? A study in rats has found that stimulating a key part of the brain reduces compulsive cocaine-seeking and suggests the possibility of changing addictive behavior generally.

NIH/National Institute on Drug Abuse

Public Release: 3-Apr-2013

New England Journal of Medicine
NIH scientists develop monkey model to study novel coronavirus infection
National Institutes of Health researchers have developed a model of infection in rhesus macaques that will help scientists around the world better understand how an emerging coronavirus, first identified in Sept. 2012, affects people. The virus has so far infected at least 17 people in the Middle East and Europe, killing 11 of them.

NIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

Public Release: 3-Apr-2013

Nature
NIH scientists, grantees map possible path to an HIV vaccine
In an advance for HIV vaccine research, scientists have for the first time determined how both the virus and a resulting strong antibody response co-evolved in one HIV-infected individual. The findings could help researchers identify which proteins to use in investigational vaccines to induce antibodies capable of preventing infection from an array of HIV strains.

NIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

Public Release: 2-Apr-2013

Cell Metabolism
Targeting cholesterol buildup in eye may slow age-related vision loss
Targeting cholesterol metabolism in the eye might help prevent a severe form of age-related macular degeneration, one of the most common causes of blindness in older Americans, according to indications in a study in mice, which was supported by the National Institutes of Health.

NIH/National Eye Institute

Public Release: 2-Apr-2013
New NIH funding for 2 Autism Centers of Excellence
The National Institutes of Health has awarded $5.3 million in initial one-year funding to the latest two recipients of the Autism Centers of Excellence (ACE) program. With these awards, announced on World Autism Awareness Day, these and nine other ACE centers around the country are now being funded for up to five years. The program was created in 2007 to launch an intense and coordinated research effort aimed at identifying the causes of autism spectrum disorders and finding new treatments.

National Institutes of Health

Public Release: 27-Mar-2013

American Journal of Epidemiology
Stressful life events may increase stillbirth risk, NIH network study finds
Pregnant women who experienced financial, emotional, or other personal stress in the year before their delivery had an increased chance of having a stillbirth, say researchers who conducted a National Institutes of Health network study.

National Institutes of Health

Public Release: 22-Mar-2013

American Journal of Psychiatry
Delay in shifting gaze linked to early brain development in autism
At seven months of age, children who are later diagnosed with autism take a split second longer to shift their gaze during a task measuring eye movements and visual attention than do typically developing infants of the same age, according to researchers supported by the National Institutes of Health.

National Institutes of Health

Public Release: 21-Mar-2013

New England Journal of Medicine
NIH study shows people with serious mental illnesses can lose weight
People with serious mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and major depression can lose weight and keep it off through a modified lifestyle intervention program. Over 80 percent of people with serious mental illnesses are overweight or obese, which contributes to them dying at three times the rate of the overall population. Lifestyle modifications such as diet and exercise should work for these patients, yet they are often left out of weight loss studies.

NIH/National Institute of Mental Health

Public Release: 20-Mar-2013

Science Translational Medicine
NIH-supported researchers identify new class of malaria compounds
A group of researchers from 16 institutions around the world has identified a new class of anti-malarial compounds that target multiple stages of the malaria parasite's life cycle. These compounds could potentially be developed into drugs that treat and prevent malaria infection.

NIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

Public Release: 19-Mar-2013

Journal of Neural Engineering
Wireless, implanted sensor broadens range of brain research
A compact, self-contained sensor recorded and transmitted brain activity data wirelessly for more than a year in early stage animal tests, according to a study funded by the National Institutes of Health.

National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency

Public Release: 7-Mar-2013

PLOS Pathogens
NIH study sheds light on role of climate in influenza transmission
Two types of environmental conditions -- cold-dry and humid-rainy -- are associated with seasonal influenza epidemics, according to an epidemiological study led by researchers at the National Institutes of Health's Fogarty International Center. The paper, published in PLOS Pathogens, presents a simple climate-based model that maps influenza activity globally and accounts for the diverse range of seasonal patterns observed across temperate, subtropical and tropical regions.

National Institutes of Health

Public Release: 4-Mar-2013

20th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections
Daily-use HIV prevention approaches prove ineffective among women in NIH study
Three antiretroviral-based strategies intended to prevent HIV infection among women did not prove effective in a major clinical trial in Africa. For reasons that are unclear, a majority of study participants -- particularly young, single women -- were unable to use their assigned approaches daily as directed, according to findings presented today by one of the study's co-leaders at CROI in Atlanta.

NIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

Public Release: 4-Mar-2013

20th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections
Toddler 'functionally cured' of HIV infection, NIH-supported investigators report
A two-year-old child born with HIV infection and treated with antiretroviral drugs beginning in the first days of life no longer has detectable levels of virus using conventional testing despite not taking HIV medication for 10 months, according to findings presented at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections in Atlanta.

NIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

Public Release: 3-Mar-2013

Nature Genetics
7 genetic risk factors found to be associated with common eye disorder
An international group of researchers has discovered seven new regions of the human genome -- called loci -- that are associated with increased risk of age-related macular degeneration, a leading cause of blindness.

National Institutes of Health

Public Release: 27-Feb-2013

PLOS ONE
First grade math skills set foundation for later math ability
Children who failed to acquire a basic math skill in first grade scored far behind their peers by seventh grade on a test of the mathematical abilities needed to function in adult life, according to researchers supported by the National Institutes of Health.

National Institutes of Health

Public Release: 21-Feb-2013

Science
US government to announce new policies for dual use research
The US government today released two new documents to guide researchers in carrying out dual use research of concern.

National Institutes of Health

Public Release: 20-Feb-2013
NIH-funded researchers begin trial of Shigella vaccine candidates
Researchers have launched an early-stage human clinical trial of two related candidate vaccines to prevent infection with Shigella, bacteria that are a significant cause of diarrheal illness, particularly among children. The Phase I clinical trial, funded by NIAID, part of NIH, will evaluate the vaccines for safety and their ability to induce immune responses among 90 healthy adults ages 18 to 45 years.

NIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

Public Release: 20-Feb-2013

NIH Consensus Development Conference: Diagnosing Gestational Diabetes Mellitus
Independent panel to present findings on diagnosing gestational diabetes mellitus
To better understand the benefits and risks of various gestational diabetes mellitus diagnostic approaches, the National Institutes of Health is convening a Consensus Development Conference Mar. 4-6, 2013 to assess the available scientific evidence. An impartial, independent panel will hold a press telebriefing after the conference to discuss their findings and implications for the public.