ScienceDaily: Health & Medicine News

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• Normal molecular pathway affected in poor-prognosis childhood leukemia identified
• Math technique de-clutters cancer-cell data, revealing tumor evolution, treatment leads
• Diminished balance found in those with poor vision
• Rapid change in China brings significant improvements in health
• Small lifestyle changes may have big impact on reducing stroke risk
• How brain circuits can become miswired during development
• Compulsive no more: Clues to what causes compulsive behavior could improve OCD treatments
• Conflict-of-interest restrictions needed to ensure strong FDA review
• The swing of architect genes
• Gene variant may provide novel therapy for several cancer types
• MRI study: Breastfeeding boosts babies' brain growth
• Rewinding development: A step forward for stem cell research
• New liver cell for cellular therapy to aid in liver regeneration
• Insights into a debilitating brain disease
• Molecular Velcro for chromosome stability
• Scientists coax brain to regenerate cells lost in Huntington's disease in mouse model
• Tumors disable immune cells by using up sugar
• Mapping the brain: Researchers use signals from natural movements to identify brain regions
• Surgeons implant bioengineered vein: Kidney dialysis patient first in U.S. to receive lab-grown blood vessel
• Autism discovery paves way for early blood test and therapeutic options
• Evolutionary history of a cancer-related gene
• Most youth football player concussions occur during games, not practice
• Reversal cells may tip the balance between bone formation and resorption in health and disease
• Specifically sized gold nanoparticle spheres increase the sensitivity of a light-based chemical detector
• New technique for deep brain stimulation surgery proves accurate and safe

Normal molecular pathway affected in poor-prognosis childhood leukemia identified Posted: 06 Jun 2013 04:10 PM PDT Through genetic engineering of laboratory models, researchers have uncovered a vulnerability in the way cancer cells diverge from normal regenerating cells that may help treat children with leukemia.

Math technique de-clutters cancer-cell data, revealing tumor evolution, treatment leads Posted: 06 Jun 2013 04:09 PM PDT Scientists have developed a mathematical method of simplifying and interpreting genome data bearing evidence of mutations, such as those that characterize specific cancers.

Diminished balance found in those with poor vision Posted: 06 Jun 2013 04:08 PM PDT Researchers have found that visually impaired individuals and those with uncorrected refractive error -- those who could benefit from glasses to achieve normal vision but don't wear glasses -- have a significantly greater risk of diminished balance with their eyes closed on a compliant, foam surface than individuals with normal vision.

Rapid change in China brings significant improvements in health Posted: 06 Jun 2013 04:08 PM PDT In China between 1990 and 2010, communicable disease and child mortality decreased while life expectancy increased. But China faces significant challenges. The top five causes of health loss are dietary risks, high blood pressure, tobacco use, ambient air pollution, and household air pollution. Non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer increased in the past 20 years. China has five cancers in its top 15 causes of premature mortality, more than any G20 country.

Small lifestyle changes may have big impact on reducing stroke risk Posted: 06 Jun 2013 03:57 PM PDT Making small lifestyle changes could reduce your risk of having a stroke, according to a new study.

How brain circuits can become miswired during development Posted: 06 Jun 2013 12:51 PM PDT Researchers have uncovered a mechanism that guides the exquisite wiring of neural circuits in a developing brain -- gaining unprecedented insight into the faulty circuits that may lead to brain disorders ranging from autism to mental retardation.

Compulsive no more: Clues to what causes compulsive behavior could improve OCD treatments Posted: 06 Jun 2013 12:47 PM PDT By activating a brain circuit that controls compulsive behavior, neuroscientists have shown that they can block a compulsive behavior in mice -- a result that could help researchers develop new treatments for diseases such as obsessive-compulsive disorder and Tourette's syndrome.

Conflict-of-interest restrictions needed to ensure strong FDA review Posted: 06 Jun 2013 12:47 PM PDT A 2012 law that loosened conflict-of-interest restrictions for FDA advisory panels could weaken the agency's review system and could allow more drugs with safety problems to gain market approval, says a new analysis.

The swing of architect genes Posted: 06 Jun 2013 12:47 PM PDT Architect genes are responsible for organizing structures of the body during embryonic development. Some of them, namely the Hox genes, are involved in the formation of forelimbs. They are activated in two successive waves, enabling the formation of the arm, then the hand. Scientists are uncovering the workings of this complex process.

Gene variant may provide novel therapy for several cancer types Posted: 06 Jun 2013 12:44 PM PDT A novel gene variant found in human and animal tissue may be a promising treatment for cancer, including breast and brain cancer.

MRI study: Breastfeeding boosts babies' brain growth Posted: 06 Jun 2013 11:10 AM PDT A study using brain images from "quiet" MRI machines adds to the growing body of evidence that breastfeeding improves brain development in infants. Breastfeeding alone produced better brain development than a combination of breastfeeding and formula, which produced better development than formula alone.

Rewinding development: A step forward for stem cell research Posted: 06 Jun 2013 11:10 AM PDT Scientists have discovered that they can make embryonic stem cells regress to a stage of development where they are able to make placenta cells as well as the other fetal cells. This significant discovery has the potential to shed new light on placenta related disorders that can lead to problematic pregnancies and miscarriages.

New liver cell for cellular therapy to aid in liver regeneration Posted: 06 Jun 2013 11:10 AM PDT Liver transplantation is the mainstay of treatment for patients with end-stage liver disease, the 12th leading cause of death in the United States, but new research suggests that it may one day become possible to regenerate a liver using cell therapy in patients with liver disease.

Insights into a debilitating brain disease Posted: 06 Jun 2013 11:08 AM PDT From the neurons that enable thought to the keratinocytes that make toenails grow -- a complex canopy of sugar molecules, commonly known as glycans, envelop every living cell in the human body. These complex carbohydrate chains perform a host of vital functions, providing the necessary machinery for cells to communicate, replicate and survive. It stands to reason, then, that when something goes wrong with a person's glycans, something goes wrong with them.

Molecular Velcro for chromosome stability Posted: 06 Jun 2013 11:08 AM PDT Scientists have functionally dissected the molecular processes that ensure the stability of chromosomes. They show how three proteins interact on the repetitive sequences at the chromosomal ends (the telomeres) to form a powerful protein scaffold required for telomere homeostasis.

Scientists coax brain to regenerate cells lost in Huntington's disease in mouse model Posted: 06 Jun 2013 11:06 AM PDT Researchers have been able to mobilize the brain's native stem cells to replenish a type of neuron lost in Huntington's disease. The scientists were able to both trigger the production of new neurons in mice with the disease and show that the new cells successfully integrated into the brain's existing neural networks, dramatically extending the survival of the treated mice.

Tumors disable immune cells by using up sugar Posted: 06 Jun 2013 11:04 AM PDT Cancer cells' appetite for sugar may have serious consequences for immune cell function, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have learned.

Mapping the brain: Researchers use signals from natural movements to identify brain regions Posted: 06 Jun 2013 08:05 AM PDT Whether we run to catch a bus or reach for a pen: Activities that involve the use of muscles are related to very specific areas in the brain. Traditionally, their exact location has only been determined through electrical stimulation or unnatural, experimental tasks. A team of scientists has now succeeded for the first time in mapping the brain's surface using measurements of everyday movements.

Surgeons implant bioengineered vein: Kidney dialysis patient first in U.S. to receive lab-grown blood vessel Posted: 06 Jun 2013 08:00 AM PDT In a first-of-its-kind operation in the United States, a team of doctors created a bioengineered blood vessel and implanted it into the arm of a patient with end-stage kidney disease. The procedure, the first U.S. clinical trial to test the safety and effectiveness of the bioengineered blood vessel, is a milestone in the field of tissue engineering. The new vein is an off-the-shelf, human cell-based product with no biological properties that would cause organ rejection.

Autism discovery paves way for early blood test and therapeutic options Posted: 06 Jun 2013 07:20 AM PDT Cells from individuals with autism spectrum disorders showed significantly decreased metabolism of the amino acid L-tryptophan, new research shows. The article shows promise for understanding the mechanism of the pathogenesis, as well as developing an early ASDs screening test by measuring the metabolism of L-tryptophan using advanced Biolog Phenotype MicroArray cell scanning technology.

Evolutionary history of a cancer-related gene Posted: 06 Jun 2013 07:17 AM PDT Scientists have described how a genetic duplication that took place in the vertebrate ancestor some 500 million years ago encouraged the evolution of the ASF1b gene; a gene essential for proper cell division and related to some types of cancer such as breast cancer.

Most youth football player concussions occur during games, not practice Posted: 06 Jun 2013 07:17 AM PDT Despite the lack of data regarding the rates of concussions in youth football, concerns have been raised about the sport being dangerous for this age group. Researchers have analyzed the incidence rates of concussion in youth football players in this age group and found a significantly higher incidence during games compared to practice sessions.

Reversal cells may tip the balance between bone formation and resorption in health and disease Posted: 06 Jun 2013 07:15 AM PDT By analyzing biopsy specimens from patients with postmenopausal osteoporosis and primary hyperparathyroidism, investigators have begun to pay increasing attention to "reversal cells," which prepare for bone formation during bone remodeling. The hope is that these reversal cells will become critical therapeutic targets that may someday prevent osteoporosis and other bone disorders.

Specifically sized gold nanoparticle spheres increase the sensitivity of a light-based chemical detector Posted: 06 Jun 2013 06:59 AM PDT A sensor that relies on reflected light to analyze biomedical and chemical samples now has greater sensitivity, thanks to a carpet of gold nanoparticles. Scientists have determined the ideal size of nanoparticle to improve surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensors.

New technique for deep brain stimulation surgery proves accurate and safe Posted: 05 Jun 2013 04:06 PM PDT The surgeon who more than two decades ago pioneered deep brain stimulation surgery in the United States to treat people with Parkinson's disease and other movement disorders has now developed a new way to perform the surgery -- which allows for more accurate placement of the brain electrodes and likely is safer for patients.

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