Study suggests a common viral infection may increase risk of lupus in African Americans. Findings also show that genetic variation may affect the immune response to Epstein-Barr virus in lupus patients.
Almost everyone has been infected with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), a member of the herpes family and one of the most common human viruses. Symptoms of initial infection range from a typically mild childhood illness with a fever and sore throat to mononucleosis in teenagers or adults. A
New research on prions, the infectious proteins behind “mad cow” disease and Creutzfeld-Jakob disease in humans, suggests that the ability of prions in one species to infect other species depends on the shape of the toxic threadlike fibers produced by the prion. Two studies on the topic appear in the 8 April issue of the journal Cell.
Although research suggests that prions from one species rarely infect other species, some scientists believe the species barrier was breached when a n
A major new Dutch study has found that smoking adds the equivalent of ten years to a 20-year-old subfertile woman’s reproductive age and has a “devastating” impact on a couples’ chances of having a live birth after IVF. Being overweight also seriously damages their chances.
The harmful effects of smoking or being overweight were strongest among those women who had no obvious cause for not conceiving, according to the research, published today (Thursday 7 April) in Europe’s lea
New highly sensitive approach shows no evidence of SV40 in tumors – SV40 unlikely to be factor in asbestos related cancers
SV40 does not have a role in the majority of malignant mesotheliomas — a cancer associated with exposure to asbestos – according to a study in this month’s Cancer Research. The study, led by Mount Sinai School of Medicine researchers used a scrupulous protocol that eliminated contamination that has likely been the reason previous studies have implicated
A study at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston may lead to a better understanding of how antidepressants like Prozac work – and how to make them more effective.
According to results published in today’s issue of the journal Neuron, a study in mice proposes that dopamine and serotonin neurotransmitter systems in the brain occasionally get their signals crossed, causing delays in stabilizing mood. “This study provides a new site for drug discovery in one of the biggest marke
OHSU scientists compared rural transfers to level I, II centers in Oregon, Washington
Head injury patients transferred to level I trauma centers are more likely to survive than if they’re transferred to level II facilities, an Oregon Health & Science University study has found.
The study published in the April issue of the journal Health Services Research found that mortality risk dropped 10 percent among patients with head injury transferred from rural trauma cen
The multiple “litter” births of mice, versus the normal singleton pregnancy of humans, is due to defective processing in mice of a common mammalian protein called bone morphogenetic protein 15 (BMP-15), according to new study by University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine researchers.
Published online the week of April 4, 2005 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, and appearing in the journal’s April 12, 2005 print edition, the study provides one
University of Maryland study may change traditional thinking about offering kidney transplants to dialysis patients whose hearts do not pump effectively
Doctors at the University of Maryland Medical Center say that contrary to conventional thinking, a kidney transplant can significantly improve the heart function of people on dialysis with a serious form of heart failure. In a study published in the April 5, 2005 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, the res
Financial ’buffer’ appears to help preserve well-being after health setbacks
The old saying that ’money doesn’t buy happiness’ may hold true most of the time. But when a serious health problem comes along, financial resources may really cushion the blow to a person’s psyche, a new study suggests.
The finding, made by researchers at the University of Michigan Health System and the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System, stands in contrast to previo
Researchers at the University of Southampton are looking for people to take part in a major new study into organ donation. The national study will look at the decision-making and experiences of bereaved people who after the death of a family member chose not to donate organs or tissues of the deceased relative for transplant operations.
Little is known about how families who do not donate experience the donation process. This means that issues such as how families deal with th
Novel calcium block attacks cause, rather than symptoms, of idiopathic pulmonary hypertension (IPAH), also called primary pulmonary hypertension
Cholesterol-lowering agents, such as the widely-prescribed statin drugs, and cholesterol-blocking agents may prove to be “novel therapeutic agents to modify cellular calcium that contributes to the development of pulmonary hypertension,” according Hemal H. Patel who lead a multidisciplinary team of researchers at the University of Californ
But less likely if sales clerks think they’re trying to lose weight
Sales clerks tend to subtly discriminate against overweight shoppers but treat them more favorably if they perceive that the individual is trying to lose weight, according to a study by Rice University researchers.
The research, conducted in a large Houston shopping mall, will be presented in a poster session at the annual conference of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP)
Young adolescents believe that oral sex is less risky to their health and emotions than vaginal sex, more prevalent among teens their age and more acceptable among their peers. They are also more likely to try oral sex, according to a UCSF study published in the April 2005 issue of Pediatrics.
“These findings suggest that adults should discuss more than one type of sexual practice when they counsel teens,” said Bonnie Halpern-Felsher, PhD, associate professor of adolescent medicine
New findings give infants a greater window of opportunity, better survival odds
A study showing that infants under one year of age can accept heart transplants from donors of different blood groups without the risk of organ rejection means a better chance of survival for infant patients and more efficient use of donor organs overall.
Results will be presented at the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation (ISHLT) Annual Meeting and Scientific Session in Phil
Descriptors from the Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System (BI-RADS) lexicon for ultrasound can be useful in differentiating benign from malignant solid masses, according to a new study by researchers at Duke University School of Medicine in Durham, NC, and supported by the National Institutes of Health.
For the study, the researchers analyzed 403 sonograms of solid masses, 141 of which were found to be malignant at biopsy. Each lesion was described using features from the BI
Bone SPECT is better than FDG PET for detecting breast cancer that has spread (metastasized) to a patient’s bones, according to researchers from Shizuoka Cancer Center Hospital in Japan.
FDG PET is an imaging technique based on the increased metabolism of glucose in tumor cells. SPECT is a type of nuclear medicine scan that detects special radioactive elements administered to the patient by the physician. According to the authors, due to these differences in method, bone SPECT
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