ScienceDaily: Health & Medicine News

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• Surprising results from smoke inhalation study
• Walk this way: Scientists and physiology students describe how a motor protein 'steps out'
• Faulty proteins may prove significant in identifying new treatments for ovarian cancer
• NIH study shows 32 million Americans have autoantibodies that target their own tissues
• Software for analyzing digital pathology images proving its usefulness
• New clue in battle against Australian Hendra virus: African bats have antibodies that neutralize deadly virus
• Newly identified type of immune cell may be important protector against sepsis
• Genes and disease mechanisms behind a common form of muscular dystrophy discovered
• 'Open-source' robotic surgery platform going to top medical research labs
• How stem cell implants help heal traumatic brain injury
• Thousands of seniors lack access to lifesaving organs, despite survival benefit
• New, noninvasive way to identify lymph node metastasis
• Discovery could help stem smoking-related diseases
• Diet counts: Iron intake in teen years can impact brain in later life
• Selectively stopping glutathione sensitizes brain tumors to chemotherapy
• Pivotal immune cell in Type 1 diabetes in humans identified
• First major genetic mutation associated with hereditary prostate cancer risk
• First step toward treatment for painful flat feet
• Atrial arrhythmias detected by pacemakers increase risk of stroke
• First major gene mutation associated with hereditary prostate cancer risk
• Cause of rare immune disease identified: Genetic mutation leads to cold allergy, immune deficiency and autoimmunity
• Gym benefits help Medicare plans recruit healthy seniors
• New findings lead to test and therapy for kidney failure caused by E. coli

Surprising results from smoke inhalation study Posted: 13 Jan 2012 06:10 PM PST A new study includes some unexpected findings about the immune systems of smoke-inhalation patients.

Walk this way: Scientists and physiology students describe how a motor protein 'steps out' Posted: 13 Jan 2012 06:06 PM PST Scientists have discovered the unique "drunken sailor" gait of dynein, a protein that is critical for the function of every cell in the body and whose malfunction has been associated with neurodegenerative disorders such as Lou Gehrig's disease and Parkinson's disease.

Faulty proteins may prove significant in identifying new treatments for ovarian cancer Posted: 13 Jan 2012 06:06 PM PST A constellation of defective proteins suspected in causing a malfunction in the body's ability to repair its own DNA could be the link scientists need to prove a new class of drugs will be effective in treating a broad range of ovarian cancer patients, a new study found.

NIH study shows 32 million Americans have autoantibodies that target their own tissues Posted: 13 Jan 2012 06:38 AM PST More than 32 million people in the United States have autoantibodies, which are proteins made by the immune system that target the body's tissues and define a condition known as autoimmunity, a study shows. The first nationally representative sample looking at the prevalence of the most common type of autoantibody, known as antinuclear antibodies (ANA), found that the frequency of ANA is highest among women, older individuals, and African-Americans.

Software for analyzing digital pathology images proving its usefulness Posted: 13 Jan 2012 06:38 AM PST As tissue slides are more routinely digitized to aid interpretation, a software program is proving its utility. In bladder cancer test case, a new software tool separates malignancy from background tissue.

New clue in battle against Australian Hendra virus: African bats have antibodies that neutralize deadly virus Posted: 12 Jan 2012 04:34 PM PST A new study on African bats provides a vital clue for unraveling the mysteries in Australia's battle with the deadly Hendra virus.

Newly identified type of immune cell may be important protector against sepsis Posted: 12 Jan 2012 11:22 AM PST Investigators have discovered a previously unknown type of immune cell, a B cell that can produce the important growth factor GM-CSF, which stimulates many other immune cells. They also found that these novel cells may help protect against the overwhelming, life-threatening immune reaction known as sepsis.

Genes and disease mechanisms behind a common form of muscular dystrophy discovered Posted: 12 Jan 2012 10:43 AM PST Continuing a series of groundbreaking discoveries begun in 2010 about the genetic causes of the third most common form of inherited muscular dystrophy, scientists have identified the genes and proteins that damage muscle cells, as well as the mechanisms that can cause the disease.

'Open-source' robotic surgery platform going to top medical research labs Posted: 12 Jan 2012 10:43 AM PST Robotics experts have completed a set of seven advanced robotic surgery systems for use by major medical research laboratories throughout the United States.

How stem cell implants help heal traumatic brain injury Posted: 12 Jan 2012 08:26 AM PST Researchers have identified key molecular mechanisms by which implanted human neural stem cells aid recovery from traumatic axonal injury.

Thousands of seniors lack access to lifesaving organs, despite survival benefit Posted: 12 Jan 2012 08:19 AM PST Thousands more American senior citizens with kidney disease are good candidates for transplants and could get them if physicians would get past outdated medical biases and put them on transplant waiting lists, according to a new study by Johns Hopkins researchers.

New, noninvasive way to identify lymph node metastasis Posted: 12 Jan 2012 08:19 AM PST Using two cell surface markers found to be highly expressed in breast cancer lymph node metastases, researchers have developed targeted, fluorescent molecular imaging probes that can non-invasively detect breast cancer lymph node metastases. The new procedure could spare breast cancer patients invasive and unreliable sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsies and surgery-associated negative side effects.

Discovery could help stem smoking-related diseases Posted: 12 Jan 2012 07:06 AM PST Sufferers of smoking-related lung diseases could have their debilitating symptoms reduced following the discovery of a potential new treatment.

Diet counts: Iron intake in teen years can impact brain in later life Posted: 12 Jan 2012 06:58 AM PST Researchers have found that a lack of iron in the diet during the teenage years can have a negative impact on the brain years later, making the brain more susceptible to such disorders as Alzheimer's. Further, the researchers have identified a common set of genes that influence both iron and brain structure.

Selectively stopping glutathione sensitizes brain tumors to chemotherapy Posted: 12 Jan 2012 06:58 AM PST Brain cancer cells are especially resistant to chemotherapy -- new research details the mechanism of this resistance and provides a powerful strategy for countering it.

Pivotal immune cell in Type 1 diabetes in humans identified Posted: 12 Jan 2012 06:58 AM PST Researchers have demonstrataed -- for the first time in human tissues -- the specific immune system T cells which trigger the destruction of Type 1 diabetes in the pancreas. The finding is an important advance that verifies in humans several important disease characteristics shown in mouse studies and provides a key focal point for interrupting the disease process.

First major genetic mutation associated with hereditary prostate cancer risk Posted: 11 Jan 2012 07:37 PM PST After a 20-year quest to find a genetic driver for prostate cancer that strikes men at younger ages and runs in families, researchers have identified a rare, inherited mutation linked to a significantly higher risk of the disease.

First step toward treatment for painful flat feet Posted: 11 Jan 2012 07:37 PM PST Scientists have made an advance in understanding the causes of adult-acquired flat feet -- a painful condition particularly affecting middle-aged women.

Atrial arrhythmias detected by pacemakers increase risk of stroke Posted: 11 Jan 2012 07:33 PM PST Silent atrial fibrillation is very common and may be the cause of many strokes that previously could not be explained. In all, atrial fibrillation may be responsible for nearly one in five strokes.

First major gene mutation associated with hereditary prostate cancer risk Posted: 11 Jan 2012 07:33 PM PST After a 20-year quest to find a genetic driver for prostate cancer that strikes men at younger ages and runs in families, researchers have identified a rare, inherited mutation linked to a significantly higher risk of the disease.

Cause of rare immune disease identified: Genetic mutation leads to cold allergy, immune deficiency and autoimmunity Posted: 11 Jan 2012 07:33 PM PST Investigators have identified a genetic mutation in three unrelated families that causes a rare immune disorder characterized by excessive and impaired immune function. Symptoms of this condition include immune deficiency, autoimmunity, inflammatory skin disorders and cold-induced hives, a condition known as cold urticaria.

Gym benefits help Medicare plans recruit healthy seniors Posted: 11 Jan 2012 07:33 PM PST Medicare Advantage plans are not allowed to exclude unhealthy (and costly) seniors, but new research shows that they have effectively used gym memberships to bring healthier (and more profitable) members into their subscriber base.

New findings lead to test and therapy for kidney failure caused by E. coli Posted: 10 Jan 2012 11:04 AM PST Scientists have made new discoveries about the basic workings of endothelial cells that could lead to a diagnostic test for the serious kidney disease known as hemolytic uremic syndrome and a possible treatment.

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