Study suggests obesity prevention efforts should begin by age 4 for at-risk children
By age six, children of overweight mothers are fifteen times more likely to be obese than children of lean mothers. The research, at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and the University of Pennsylvania, showed the strength of genetic influences, and suggests that efforts to prevent obesity should focus on such children at risk, preferably by four years of age. The study appears in the
Lack of the enzyme, acetyl CoA carboxylase 2 or ACC2, appears to turn the adipose or fat cells of mice into fat burners, explaining in part why the animals can eat more and weigh less than their normal counterparts, said Baylor College of Medicine researchers. The report that appears online today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
“We studied the fat cells in these mice bred to lack ACC2,” said Dr. Salih Wakil, chair of the BCM department of biochemistry an
Carnegie Mellon University research enables location proteomics
For the first time, researchers have automatically grouped fluorescently tagged proteins from high-resolution images of cells. This technical feat opens a new way to identify disease proteins and drug targets by helping to show which proteins cluster together inside a cell.
The approach, developed by Carnegie Mellon University, outperforms existing visual methods to localize proteins inside cells, says Profe
Primary-care physicians who encourage their patients to let them know about bothersome side effects of prescribed medications –– and who address such problems promptly –– can reduce the chances that patients will be harmed by the medications, according to a new study by researchers in Boston.
The study results, published in the Jan. 24 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine, will help researchers develop strategies for decreasing the number of adverse drug events (ADEs) ––
For the first time, sociologists have mapped the romantic and sexual relationships of an entire high school over 18 months, providing evidence that these adolescent networks may be structured differently than researchers previously thought.
The results showed that, unlike many adult networks, there was no core group of very sexually active people at the high school. There were not many students who had many partners and who provided links to the rest of the community.
Inste
The best strategy for minimizing future influenza morbidity and mortality would be to concentrate vaccinations in school children and high-risk groups, according to a new research commentary by scientists at Emory University. The alternative vaccine plan is based on mathematical models developed by Ira Longini, PhD, and Elizabeth Halloran, MD, DSc, professors of biostatistics in Emory’s Rollins School of Public Health, and on influenza field studies. The report will be published in the Feb
Living in a disadvantaged urban neighborhood can increase a male residents’ risk of contracting HIV, according to researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Their study related disadvantaged neighborhoods to stress and stress to increased injection drug use in male study participants. This is the first empirical study that illustrates how neighborhood characteristics may directly lead to HIV infection. The study is published in the January 2005 issue of Health Psycholog
Younger adults don’t cope as well with pain as their elders, study finds, but blacks feel it worse
Adults under the age of 50 who have chronic pain may be less able to cope with their condition and more prone to associated depression than their elders, a new study suggests. And the same “generation gap” pattern exists among both blacks and whites, though blacks of all ages have previously been found to experience more pain and more pain-related negative effects than whites.
A group of studies published in the January 24 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine add to the growing body of medical literature about the cardiovascular risks that may be associated with the class of pain-relieving drugs known as COX-2 inhibitors. Archives of Internal Medicine is one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
The Celecoxib Rofecoxib Efficacy and Safety in Comorbodities Evaluation Trial (CRESCENT) evaluated the effects of the COX-2 inhibitors and naproxen on 24-hour blood p
The consumption of tuna or other broiled or baked fish is associated with a lower risk of stroke in the elderly, while eating fried fish or fish sandwiches is linked to a higher risk, according to an article in the January 24 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
“Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death and disability in the elderly, who are the fastest-growing segment of the population,” according to background information in
A group of four-footed mammals that flourished worldwide for 40 million years and then died out in the ice ages is the missing link between the whale and its not-so-obvious nearest relative, the hippopotamus.
The conclusion by University of California, Berkeley, post-doctoral fellow Jean-Renaud Boisserie and his French colleagues finally puts to rest the long-standing notion that the hippo is actually related to the pig or to its close relative, the South American peccary. In doing
Temple University researchers have developed a new drug that could potentially treat all forms of Gleevec-resistant chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML). Their work is published in this week’s early edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
According to lead researcher, Prem Reddy, Ph.D., professor of biochemistry and Director of the Fels Institute for Cancer Research at Temple University School of Medicine, most patients with advanced CML, a rare but deadly
High cholesterol, hypertension, diabetes, and smoking have long been considered and treated as risk factors for cardiovascular disease. A new study has concluded that these same cardiovascular (CV) risk factors in middle age may also increase significantly the risk of dementia in old age. The study of nearly 9,000 northern Californians is published in the January 25 issue of Neurology, the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Each of these four CV risk factors
There is no association between increased physical activity and the risk of developing ALS, according to a new study published in the January 25 issue of Neurology, the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology. The new study contradicts previous studies linking risk of developing ALS to excessive physical activity and a slim physique.
ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), sometimes called “Lou Gehrig’s Disease” after the famous baseball player whose career w
A new case definition for distal symmetrical polyneuropathy has been developed by the American Academy of Neurology, the American Association of Electrodiagnostic Medicine, and the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. The definition is published in the January 25 issue of Neurology, the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology. This represents a new effort to standardize and facilitate clinical research.
The three organizations initially intend
Our evolutionary ancestors’ lack of choice in the mating game has left modern humans exposed to disease, according to new research published in the journal PLOS Biology tomorrow (Tuesday 25 January 2005).
Key regions of our DNA, that control when genes are switched on and off, have been altered by around 140,000 naturally-occurring mutations over the last six million years, the researchers found. This has left modern humans with ‘sloppy’ gene control mechanisms which can make us s
Feedback
