Secretin is active in a brain region implicated in autism
Researchers from the Brain Imaging Center at McLean Hospital and Repligen Corporation (Nasdaq: RGEN) reported today the results of a clinical trial designed to assess the neurological activity of secretin by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The results demonstrate for the first time in humans, that secretin is active in the central nervous system and that it potentiates activity in the amygdala, a region of the bra
Researchers have discovered that a molecule best known for its anti-microbial properties also has the ability to activate key cells in the immune response. This newly discovered function, reported in the Nov. 1, 2002, issue of Science*, suggests the molecule, a peptide called ß-defensin 2, may be useful in the development of more effective cancer vaccines. Scientists have found that ß-defensin 2 initiates a chain of events leading to the growth and multiplication of T cells, components of the immune
Everyone knows that if you eat a plate of beans or a bowl of bran cereal, you’re likely to get full pretty quickly. UC Davis nutrition researchers now have a better idea why.
A UC Davis study, published recently in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, indicates that increased fiber content in a meal boosts feelings of fullness in women and increases levels of a certain hormone associated with satiety.
Previous research has shown that the hormone cholecystokinin is rele
Nitric oxide is a natural part of the body’s immune defense. Linköping University researcher Thomas Schön has studied this compound in connection with the skin disease leprosy and the lung disease tuberculosis. The Swedish researcher has found that nitric oxide probably contributes to the disease in the case of leprosy but, on the other hand, plays a positive role in protecting against tuberculosis. This role can be reinforced by adding a supplement of arginine, which is found in peanuts, for example
About as complex as it gets—that’s how pediatric urologist Andrew Freedman, M.D., director of pediatric urology at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center’s Endourology Institute, describes the surgery he performed this summer on then 17- month-old Jalen Brown, born with Prune Belly Syndrome. That surgery required reconstructing the toddler’s urinary system in a nearly 10-hour procedure. Prune Belly Syndrome, also known as Eagle-Barrett Syndrome, is a very rare occurrence: just one in 80,000 births. An
Muscle strength, abdominal fat linked to bone mineral density
While day-to-day physical activities such as walking, housework and shopping may be good for your heart, they don’t do much for your bones, according to a Johns Hopkins study.
The new report, published in the November issue of the Journal of Internal Medicine, found that neither light-intensity activities nor aerobic fitness level contributed to bone health, contrasting previous studies suggesting that aerobics co
Report provides key information resource for local and European decision makers
The Apheis programme, funded by the EC`s Health and Consumer Protection DG, today released the findings of a health impact assessment of particulate air pollution it conducted in 26 cities in 12 European countries during 2001.
The Apheis (Air Pollution and Health: A European Information System) study revealed in particular that air pollution continues to pose a significant threat to public health
Herpes viruses have two infectious phases: one just after infecting a new host, and one years or decades later when they reactivate.
According Michael Stumpf (UCL), Zoe Laidlaw (University of Sheffield), and Vincent Jansen (Royal Holloway, University of London), that latency period evolved because it allows the viruses to flourish when the availability of hosts from year to year is highly unpredictable.
Until now, scientists have thought that viruses like herpes simplex 1 a
Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center have made significant progress in identifying the first susceptibility gene for clinical depression, the second leading cause of disability worldwide, possibly providing an important step toward changing the way doctors diagnose and treat major depression that affects nearly 10 percent of the population.
Research results, which were accepted for rapid publication and published today in the American Journal of Medical Genetics, sho
A dietary supplement in the form of a cheap, fortified, orange-flavored drink can reduce Third World deficiencies in micronutrients such as iron, iodine and vitamin A, a Cornell University physician and international nutritionist reports. The supplement, he says, eases the so-called “hidden hunger” that plagues more than 2 billion people worldwide and particularly affects pregnant and nursing mothers and young children.
Studies by Michael C. Latham, professor of international nutrition at C
Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis are developing methods to track molecular events in the body to diagnose disease long before symptoms appear and to predict the effectiveness of drug therapies. The research is under way at the School of Medicine’s new Molecular Imaging Center at the Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology. The Center is funded by a five-year $9.4 million grant from the National Cancer Institute.
“Molecular imaging combines the latest in
A new study of the most commonly prescribed post-kidney transplant drug suggests it may not be the most effective weapon to fend off organ rejection and may even damage some donor kidneys. The research, to be presented Nov. 2 at the American Society of Nephrology annual meeting, identified another drug that seems to work better, a finding that could help expand the pool of donor organs.
An analysis by an Ohio University physiologist suggests that large doses of cyclosporine, the most often
Scientists at UCLA’s Jonsson Cancer Center have developed the world’s first animal model for mature human B-cell lymphomas, a discovery that may lead to the uncovering of the genetic mutations that cause these types of cancer. Mature B-cell type lymphomas account for about 85 percent of all lymphomas.
The basic science discovery is outlined in the Oct. 29 issue of the peer-reviewed journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
“What we can do now is grow cell
Children who live with several siblings or who go to nurseries have less hay fever, but more asthma as adults, suggests a large international study in Thorax.
The findings are based on interviews with over 18,500 adults aged 20 to 44 from 36 countries in Europe, the USA, Australia and New Zealand. Blood samples were also taken from over 13,000 to measure levels of IgE, antibodies involved in the response to allergens such as house dust mite, cat, and grass.
Family size, access to
Promising animal test results that could lead to a vaccine to fight rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis (MS) and other autoimmune diseases were announced by researchers at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology. The vaccine reversed an arthritic-like disease in rats by mobilizing part of the immune system to protect joints under attack by other immune cells. The work was reported in two related papers in the September Journal of Immunology .
Autoimmune diseases, in which the immune
Treatment with a common diabetes drug effectively shrank these tumors in mice
While most cases of a hormonal disorder called Cushing’s Syndrome are caused by non-cancerous pituitary tumors that secrete too much of a particular hormone resulting in high cortisol levels, the disorder can ultimately lead to an early death for many patients whose tumors cannot be removed surgically.
Now, researchers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center have found that pituitary tumors express an
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