Researchers at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary (MEEI) have found that Chlamydia pneumoniae, a bacterium linked to heart disease and capable of causing chronic inflammation, was present in the diseased eye tissue of five out of nine people with neovascular, or “wet,” age-related macular degeneration (AMD). However, it was not found in the eyes of more than 20 individuals without AMD, providing more evidence that this disease may be caused by inflammation. The study is described in the
Understanding how pollution effects the dynamics of Earth and the spread of disease in ancient times are two areas in which ASU’s new School of Human Evolution & Social Change can make a dramatic and immediate impact, said Sander van der Leeuw, director of the school.
By drawing from a wide range of expertise and considering several perspectives outside the traditional anthropology disciplines, researchers at the school will be well equipped to take on important problems of today
Tailored follow-up plans, new clinical guidelines are needed
Citing shortfalls in the care currently provided to the country’s 10 million cancer survivors, a new report recommends that each cancer patient receive a “survivorship care plan.” The report, by the Institute of Medicine and National Research Council of the National Academies, says such plans should summarize information critical to the individual’s long-term care, such as the cancer diagnosis, treatment, and
Certain behaviors, such as eating, drinking and urinating, are so crucial to survival that the brains of all vertebrates contain clusters of nerve cells that can suppress pain long enough to allow the animal to eat, drink — or pee — in peace.
A report from researchers at the University of Chicago, published early online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, shows that by activating “OFF” cells and shutting down “ON” cells in the ventromedial medulla (VMM) – a
Tiny worms that can trick the body’s natural defences could hold the key to new treatments for a range of conditions, including diabetes, asthma and hay fever. University of Edinburgh scientists, who have discovered that helminth parasites can exploit an ’Achilles heel’ in our immune system, now hope to mimic the worms’ survival tactics in a bid to beat infection.
To find out how helminths fool the body’s defences, the team are focusing on the role played b
A team of scientists is proposing that endangered California condors raised in captivity be released near seal and sea lion rookeries so that the birds can once again feast on the carcasses of marine mammals as their ancestors did centuries ago.
The researchers from Stanford University and four other institutions base their conclusion on the feeding behavior of modern and early condors and their potential prey. Writing in the Nov. 7 online edition of the Proceedings of the Nati
Researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine and the University of Virginia hope to reset part of the “epigenetic code” in lupus patients and thus improve treatment.
The epigenetic research focuses on histones, the tiny spools in the nuclei of cells around which DNA winds and compacts when it is not in the process of copying in cell division. Epigenetic changes in the histones are those that can alter gene expression – and associated proteins – without altering the un
UCLA scientists use statins to overcome learning disabilities in mice
In a surprise twist that recalls the film classic “Flowers for Algernon,” but adds a happy ending, UCLA scientists used statins, a popular class of cholesterol drugs, to reverse the attention deficits linked to the leading genetic cause of learning disabilities. The Nov. 8 issue of Current Biology reports the findings, which were studied in mice bred to develop the disease, called neurofibromatosis 1 (NF1).
Universal health care systems such as Canada’s exist, to a very large extent, because access to health care is considered a fundamental right of everyone, irrespective of income and social status. While there is good evidence that access to acute medical care such as cardiac surgery is equitably distributed across income groups, there is little evidence regarding access to the expanding array of diagnostic imaging procedures such as CT scans and MRIs.
In this study, inv
Obstruction of the intestines due to adhesions resulting from previous abdominal surgery is painful, results in vomiting and dehydration and requires urgent medical and often surgical intervention.
Typical management requires placement of a nasogastric tube (a small plastic tube inserted to drain the contents of the stomach and its gastric juices), intravenous rehydration and prolonged observation to see if the obstruction will spontaneously resolve. Often surgical intervention is
Although the Canadian National Advisory Committee on Immunization recommends that children receive the new pneumococcal vaccine PCV7 beginning at 2 months of age, provincial implementation of the recommendation has been slow. The vaccine protects against infections that result in pneumonia, otitis media, meningitis and other diseases. In Alberta, however, the vaccine is a publicly funded service.
This report of the experience with the vaccine in the greater Calgary region shows 2 imp
For children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), possessing a variant of a gene involved in brain signaling may predict antisocial behavior and increase susceptibility to the effects of lower birth weight, according to a study in the November issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
Biological processes play a key role in the genesis of antisocial behavior with specific evidence of brain involvement and contribution of gene
Medication commonly used to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may be effective for treatment of hyperactivity symptoms in children with autism and related pervasive developmental disorders, according to a study in the November issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
Children with autism and other pervasive developmental disorders often also have symptoms of hyperactivity, distractibility and impulsiveness requiring treatme
This week, researchers report evidence that a statin drug already shown to be safe for use in humans has proven effective at correcting cell-cell communication and curing learning disfunction in a mouse model of Neurofibromatosis type I, a human genetic disorder that causes learning disabilities in millions of people worldwide.
Learning disabilities affect 5% of the world’s population, have a profound impact on countless lives, and cost billions of dollars, but there is little
Books offering advice to parents about teens are less likely to contain injury prevention messages than those that give advice on parenting smaller children, according to a new University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill study. Notably absent from most such books were discussions about preventing automobile accidents among adolescents.
The UNC Injury Prevention Research Center investigation, which appears in the November issue of the journal Pediatrics, involved reviewing the 46
Social learning and use of social information in general have been understood to be largely restricted to vertebrates. Among insects, social learning or processes akin to it have been reported only in colonial species (bees, ants, termites), suggesting that highly structured social organizations may have assisted the evolution of social learning. However, learning about predators or predation risk from others may constitute life-saving information, and not just in vertebrates or colonial insects.
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