A gene commonly mutated in Crohn’s disease sufferers is responsible for allowing the body’s immune system to ‘chat’ to microbes in the gut. Researchers at Hammersmith Hospitals NHS Trust and Imperial College London who have uncovered the role of this gene say that it will now be possible to develop better tests for this debilitating disease, and will help researchers to uncover the genetic basis of Crohn’s and similar inflammatory bowel diseases.
Writing in the journal The Lancet
Ultrasound-guided percutaneous biopsies are a safe and effective alternative to endoscopic biopsies for obtaining samples in the pancreas, a new study shows.
The study included 23 pancreatic biopsies in 22 patients. “We were able to obtain adequate samples in 22 of the 23 cases,” said Kedar Chintapalli, MD, professor of radiology at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio and lead author of the study. The ultrasound-guided biopsies can be performed with smal
A team of scientists at The Scripps Research Institute and the University of Wisconsin have demonstrated a new way of fighting antibiotic resistance: by stopping evolution.
In the June issue of the open-access journal PloS Biology, the team describes how a protein called LexA in the bacterium Escherichia coli promotes mutations and helps the pathogen evolve resistance to antibiotics. The scientists also show that E. coli evolution could be halted in its tracks by subjecting the
New findings in research led by Purdue University biologists provide further evidence that the protein envelope protecting DNA in viruses evolved billions of years ago from a common ancestor and uses the same basic protein “fold” to construct the critical outer shell.
The most recent findings, which appear in the current issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, show that the T4 virus has a similar protein fold in its outer shell, or capsid, as another viru
A novel way of administering an anti-cancer drug to bone-marrow transplant patients using continuous infusion may be more effective and safer than the method currently used, new study findings indicate.
The new method achieves more predictable, stable drug levels in patients than the current method and could eventually allow doctors to more accurately adjust doses to accommodate individual differences in metabolism, thus increasing treatment effectiveness while avoiding side effec
In this week’s journal Nature, researchers report finding the first gene responsible for inherited susceptibility of testicular cancer in mice. The Ter mutation occurs in a gene called dead end, which is involved in normal testicular development and which may play a role in inherited forms of a testicular cancer occurring in infants.
The mutation causes a huge increase in testicular cancer incidence, from 5 percent to 94 percent. Although this dramatic rise was described i
A team of University of California scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory have developed the first completely inorganic, multi-color light-emitting diodes (LEDs) based on colloidal quantum dots encapsulated in a gallium nitride (GaN) semiconductor. The work represents a new “hybrid” approach to the development of solid-state lighting. Solid-state lighting offers the advantages of reduced operating expenses, lower energy consumption and more reliable performance.
In res
Extolling the safety and benefits of childhood vaccinations may only serve to strengthen and entrench the positions of those philosophically opposed to them, says new research led by University of Toronto scientists.
“Changing attitudes about pediatric vaccination can be challenging,” says Dr. Kumanan Wilson, professor of medicine and health policy, management and evaluation at U of T, internal medicine physician at Toronto General Hospital, University Health Network, and lead aut
University of Toronto researchers have designed a chemical screening tool that will light up when dangerous pathogens and diseases in air, water and bodily fluids are present.
“This detection technique, which uses DNA to seek out target DNA, could one day be used in clinical care situations to quickly detect diseases such as AIDS and hepatitis,” says Professor Ulrich Krull, the AstraZeneca Chair in biotechnology and vice-principal (research) at the University of Toronto at
Patients with type 2 diabetes who participate in group education programs to manage their disease show measurable improvement and require less medication, according to a systematic review of current evidence.
Group-based education resulted in improved diabetes control as reflected by blood glucose levels and patients’ knowledge of diabetes. Evidence also suggested that participants in diabetes group education programs may reduce their blood pressure and body weight and increase se
Leveling insulin/sugar effect could point to therapeutic role in diabetes
In this obesity-obsessed world, the dream ingredient must be something that tastes good enough to be a condiment or flavoring and yet somehow helps us keep our weight down. Consider hydroxycitric acid (HCA), known variously as Brindle berry or Malabar tamarind, which is used in Indian and Thai food as a condiment and flavoring agent.
In Indian folk medicine as a dried powder or tea it’s indi
For many people, the mere thought of public speaking makes their palms sweat, heart race and stomach reel. But help may be on the way in the form of virtual reality exposure therapy – computer-generated images and sound delivered through a helmet-like headset. Page Anderson, an assistant professor of psychology at Georgia State University, is beginning a clinical study later this month to determine how effective the technology is in allaying the fear and anxiety that often accompany public speakin
Test for protein cystatin is a more accurate predictor than standard test for creatinine, especially for cardiac risk
A study at the San Francisco VA Medical Center (SFVAMC) has found that a test of kidney function that measures blood levels of cystatin C — a protein produced by most cells in the body — is a far more accurate predictor of mortality risk in elderly people than the current standard kidney function test, which measures levels of the protein creatinine.
Researchers have located a gene dubbed dead end that when mutated or lost, causes testicular tumors in mice. They say their study, published in the online journal Nature, on May 18, 2005 will likely offer future insights into the genetic causes of the disease in humans because the cancer originates from the same cell type, the primordial germ cell, in both mice and men.
If that notion is validated through further research, the finding could lead to a way to either screen for the
Umbilical cord-blood transplants save the lives of newborns with a rare genetic disorder called Krabbe’s disease and helps their brains develop more normally, a study led by researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Duke University Medical Center concludes.
“Infants with Krabbe Disease lack an enzyme necessary for normal myelination of the brain and peripheral nervous system at the time when myelination is occuring most rapidly. The infants become i
Women treated for breast cancer who are considering taking Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) should be cautious when using published research to inform their decision. An article published today in the journal Breast Cancer Research reveals that qualitative studies on the recurrence of breast cancer in breast cancer survivors undergoing HRT are unreliable.
There are two main types of research studies – qualitative and quantitative. Each type is used to answer different research
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