Robertson and colleagues state that folic acid fortification has not yet had the expected effect of reducing homocysteine levels, which are associated with carotid plaque area, a strong predictor of cardiovascular events.

The authors measured levels of serum vitamin B12, homocysteine and carotid plaque in 421 patients referred to vascular disease prevention clinics and found that vitamin B12 deficiency was surprisingly common. They found that, in a subset of 224 patients whose creati

A single injection of a genetically engineered virus has shown promise as a treatment for patients with colorectal cancer that has spread to the liver, according to preliminary results reported today at the 2nd ESMO Scientific & Educational Conference (ESEC) in Budapest, Hungary.

In their phase I study, Professor Nancy Kemeny from Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York, and colleagues tested an oncolytic Herpes simplex virus (oHSV). These viruses selectively kill can

Women who drink to excess are more likely to experience depression and anxiety according to new research.

Work done by Dr Rosa Alati, a research fellow from The University of Queensland`s School of Population Health, and colleagues from UQ and the University of Bristol, showed women who have more than 15 drinks a week have an increased risk of experiencing mental illness.

However Dr Alati said heavy drinking was also linked to smoking and women from low income groups we

Five years ago, the negative appendectomy rate at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) in Boston was 20%, but since the advent of CT screening, it has dropped to 3%, say MGH researchers. The negative appendectomy rate measures how often patients with symptoms of appendicitis have their appendix removed and then are diagnosed as not having acute appendicitis.

For the study, the researchers analyzed 663 patients who were examined on CT for suspected appendicitis. An appendectomy was perfor

It’s a girl … and she’s pregnant!

Paleontologists at North Carolina State University have determined that a 68 million year-old Tyrannosaurus Rex fossil from Montana is that of a young female, and that she was producing eggs when she died.

The proof, they say, is in the bones.

In a case of a literal “lucky break,” the scientists discovered unusual bone tissue lining the hollow cavity of the T. rex’s broken leg bone. In a paper published in the June 3 issue

New York University chemists have employed a computer simulation whose results have enhanced scientific understanding of the DNA transcription process. The study, funded by the National Institutes of Health, appears in the June 7 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Previous research has indicated that chromatin–a chromosome’s substance consisting of histone proteins and DNA–exhibits salt-dependent conformations. Specifically, chains of nucleosomes

Biological assays on computer study molecular basis of cellular behavior

Scientists at the University of Chicago and Argonne National Laboratory have constructed a computer simulation that allows them to study the relationship between biochemical fluctuations within a single cell and the cell’s behavior as it interacts with other cells and its environment.

The simulation, called AgentCell, has possible applications in cancer research, drug development and combating b

In order to improve the standard of cancer care across Europe and around the globe, more funding needs to be channeled toward clinical research, according to oncologists surveyed by the European Society for Medical Oncology.

The standard of cancer care in Europe and around the world varies significantly. Survival times for cancer patients vary by up to 100% between countries in Europe and even more across other regions of the globe. The world’s oncologists are increasingly awa

A bioadhesive tablet containing the antifungal drug miconazole is an effective and convenient means of treating oropharyngeal candidiasis, which is the most frequently occurring infection in head and neck cancer patients undergoing radiation therapy, scientists report today at the 2nd ESMO Scientific & Educational Conference (ESEC) in Budapest, Hungary.

Dr. Rene-Jean Bensadoun from Centre Antoine Lacassagne in Nice, and international colleagues, studied patients in 36 centers

Researchers develop simple way to test loss of lubrication following injury

Researchers have found an association between inflammation from knee injuries and a progressive loss of joint lubrication, which may predispose people to arthritis. They have also found a way to quantify how much lubrication is lost following injury.

The results, which appear in the June issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism, are from a study by Rhode Island Hospital, University of Rhode Island, and Ca

A University of Alberta research team has discovered important new information they hope will lead to more effective treatments for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH)–a deadly form of high blood pressure in the pulmonary arteries caused by uncontrolled cell growth. Therapies are currently limited for a disease that can lead to heart failure and death within a few years.

The researchers have shown that Survivin, a protein almost exclusively expressed in cancer, is also heavily

According to a study published in the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) journal Gastroenterology, women with a high dietary intake of vitamin B6 over several years have a decreased risk of colorectal cancer (CRC). Women who consume moderate to large amounts of alcohol in addition to vitamin B6 have more than a 70 percent reduced risk of developing CRC.

“Consuming a diet high in vitamin B6 may reduce the risk of colorectal cancer in women, more specifically those who

Educating parents and physicians could reduce overuse of antibiotics

The most frequent reason pediatricians prescribe antibiotics to young children is for an ear infection (acute otitis media). With increased concerns about high rates of antibiotic use and resistance, recent guidelines suggest consideration of “watchful waiting” for some ear infections to see if they resolve without antibiotics. Previous studies have shown that many ear infections do resolve on their own.

When gene is disabled, young flies don’t grow up

University of Utah researchers showed that a fruit fly gene is crucial for determining when juveniles begin to mature into adults, and how the transformation initially proceeds. Understanding this process in humans may help explain how adorable children become surly teenagers.

When the DHR4 gene is disabled, fruit flies prematurely begin metamorphosis – maturation from an immature larva to a sexually active adult. It is the

A male fly’s sexual courtship of a female fly is a complicated business of tapping, singing, wing vibration, and licking, but a single gene is all that is needed to produce this complex behavior, according to new research published in this week’s issue of the journal Cell.

The gene encodes the Fruitless protein. Male and female flies carry different versions of the fruitless protein, as a result of sex-specific splicing of the mRNA. The male form of Fruitless is c

Finding could have implications for Alzheimer’s disease

Abnormal prion proteins are little understood disease agents involved in causing horrific brain-wasting diseases such as Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease in people, mad cow disease in cattle and chronic wasting disease in deer and elk. Now, new research suggests that a variant form of abnormal prion protein–one lacking an “anchor” into the cell membrane–may be unable to signal cells to start the lethal disease process, accordi