According to a study published today in the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) journal Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, chronic users of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) have an increased risk of bleeding and visible damage to their small intestine.
“We have always known that NSAIDs can cause potentially deadly stomach complications, but the extent of the impact on the small intestine was largely unknown until now,” said David Graham, MD, lead s
Over the past 20 years, there has been speculation about a connection between immunizations and an increase in autism. However, a study by Mayo Clinic researchers published in the January issue of Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine suggests the increase may be due to improved awareness, changes in diagnostic criteria and availability of services, not environmental factors or immunizations.
“This study is the first to measure the incidence — the occurrence of new c
Using naturally-occurring mutant mice with a defective collagen gene, scientists at Harvard have identified a signaling molecule involved in one of the most common causes of disability among the elderly in the United States, osteoarthritis. Inhibitors of this molecule’s signaling may eventually be used to slow down the progression of the disease, thus helping to relieve chronic pain in a large segment of the population.
The research appears as the “Paper of the Week” in the
Fox Chase Cancer Center researchers have made new discoveries that shed new light on the mystery of why human tissues, such as skin, age. The findings focus on the composition and assembly of key chromosomal protein complexes involved in shutting down reproduction of aging cells. The report by molecular and cell biologist Peter D. Adams, Ph.D. and his colleagues appears in the January 2005 issue of Developmental Cell.
“In the lab, aging cells are called senescent cells. Senesce
An elementary school intervention program that taught children impulse control and gave their teachers and parents better management skills has long-lasting effects extending into early adulthood, showing that the children are more productive and well-adjusted members of society at age 21, according to a new study.
More children who received the intervention graduated from high school and had completed at least two years of college compared to children who did not receive the int
Consistent pattern of moderate drinking may offer slightly lower risk
A new study led by researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) and the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) has found that heavy drinkers — men who consume an average of three or more alcoholic beverages per day — are nearly 45 percent more likely to suffer an ischemic stroke compared with nondrinkers. The study also found that while light and moderate drinkers appear to be at neither great
The replenishment of missing neurons in the brain as a treatment for Parkinson disease reached the stage of human trials over 15 years ago, however the field is still in its infancy. Researchers from Kyoto University have now shown that dopamine-producing neurons (DA neurons) generated from monkey embryonic stem cells and transplanted into areas of the brain where these neurons have degenerated in a monkey model of Parkinson disease, can reverse parkinsonism. Their results appear in the January
Peter Jackson’s JRR Tolkien-inspired film trilogy Lord of the Rings features enormous eagles swooping down to rescue Sam and Frodo from a desolate New Zealand landscape masquerading as Mordor. The image of giant eagles flying around New Zealand, while fanciful, is not so far-fetched as it might appear. New genetic data published in the freely-available online journal PLoS Biology this week from researchers at Oxford and Canterbury Universities shed new light on the evolution of the extinc
New technique could lead to more effective therapies for AIDS
When researchers came up with the powerful cocktail of anti-HIV drugs known as highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), they hoped they had found a way to finally rid the body of the virus. But they were wrong. The virus instead goes into hiding, dormant and practically undetectable in the body – and impervious to attack. While HAART manages to keep the virus at bay, it’s still quite capable – given the rig
In a study that could benefit medical and food-safety research, scientists have used comparative genomics tools to find clues about why some strains of the bacterium Campylobacter – which each year cause more than 400 million cases of gastrointestinal disease – are more virulent than others.
The study, which appears in the January 2005 issue of PLoS Biology, compares the complete genome sequences of two strains of Campylobacter jejuni – the species most often associated with h
A cell surface protein regarded as a potential troublemaker in the lungs plays an unexpected protective role mitigating the damage caused by chronic pulmonary diseases such as asthma, University of Texas Medical School at Houston scientists report in the January edition of The Journal of Clinical Investigation (JCI).
Genetically knocking the protein out of a specialized strain of mouse that models chronic lung disease resulted in higher levels of inflammation, mucus, and tissue
Drugs used to treat the tumors common in people with a disorder called neurofibromatosis 1 rarely work, and scientists now know why. The chemotherapy drugs target a group of related proteins, call RAS proteins, which are thought to be responsible for these tumors. But researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis found that the disease affects only one member of the protein family, and it happens to be the one form of RAS that does not respond well to these particular tre
Shrubs have become more abundant in the Arctic over the past 30 years as air temperatures have increased, a change that is likely to affect the grazing of caribou and the communities that rely on them for food. According to an article in the January 2005 issue of BioScience, a variety of evidence now suggests that winter biological processes form a positive feedback mechanism that is contributing to the expansion of shrubs in the Arctic. The effect could have important implications for the global c
SPACE DIGEST: JANUARY 2005
This release contains a summary of some significant astronomical and space events that will be taking place during January. It has been written in order to assist the media in planning and researching future stories related to space science and astronomy, particularly those with UK involvement. It is not intended to be fully comprehensive. Dates and times may be subject to change.
EINSTEIN YEAR
2005 is Einstein Year, the UK’s contribution to
Children who appear to have higher levels of shyness, or a particular gene, appear to have a different pattern of processing the signals of interpersonal hostility, according to a study in the January issue of The Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
According to background information in the article, “Neuroimaging studies are beginning to clarify the relationship between the brain’s cortical and subcortical activity in regulating the emotional an
10 specific recommendations offered
A survey of mothers in the January issue of Pediatrics found that physicians remain overwhelmingly negative in communicating a diagnosis of Down syndrome in newborn infants. Mothers reported that the majority of physicians were uninformed about the positive potential for children with Down syndrome, and rarely provided an adequate, up-to-date description of the children, printed information, or telephone numbers of other parents. By nearly all
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