The number of sigmoidoscopy examinations that fail to attain an adequate depth of insertion increases progressively along with advancing age in men and women, according to a new study by a researcher at the San Francisco VA Medical Center (SFVAMC). In addition, the study found, women are up to twice as likely as men to have inadequate exams. The findings, which are based on reviews of thousands of records of sigmoidoscopies, suggest that a patient’s age and sex are important factors to consider

Artificial glass livers being developed at the University of Leeds could help those suffering from liver failure, and improve understanding of how the organ works, researchers believe.

Dr Peter Walker of mechanical engineering is leading Leeds’ contribution to a three-year £320,000 project that aims to replicate the geometry of the liver, using glass and liver cells.

“The liver is a very complex organ, which we still don’t fully understand,” said Dr Walker. “If we can mimic closely

Microscopic colitis is a newly discovered inflammatory intestinal disease that occurs in two different forms, lymphocytary colitis and collagenic colitis. Örebro University, Sweden, is on the cutting edge of research on these diseases, and Martin Olesen is one of first scientists in the country to write a dissertation on the subject, defending it at University Hospital, Örebro.

The disease is difficult to discover because the mucous lining of the intestine often looks perfect

It is known that previous pregnancy decreases the risk of breast cancer. But a new dissertation from the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden shows that even brief pregnancies terminated prior to full term can have a certain preventive effect. The results could not confirm several earlier studies showing that the risk of developing breast cancer increases among individuals who have had an abortion.

It has long been known that pregnancy has a preventive effect against breast cance

The eradication of leprosy, one of the world’s oldest and most feared diseases, may be one step closer. An international research team lead by scientists from the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) discovered that small changes in certain genes, the Parkin 2 gene and its neighbor, PACRG, result in an increased susceptibility to leprosy. Parkin 2 has also been shown to cause certain forms of Parkinson’s Disease, a common neuro-degenerative disease in developed countries.

Scientists at Northwestern University have designed synthetic molecules that promote neuron growth, a promising development that could lead to the reversal of paralysis due to spinal cord injury.

“We have created new materials that because of their chemical structure interact with cells of the central nervous system in ways that may help prevent the formation of the scar that is often linked to paralysis after spinal cord injury,” said Samuel I. Stupp, Board of Trustees Professor of Materia

Lack of regulatory plan could slow scientific advancement and deter public confidence

Researchers are using biotechnology to develop genetically modified (GM) insects for a wide variety of purposes, including fighting insect-borne diseases like malaria and controlling destructive insect agricultural pests, but the federal government lacks a clear regulatory framework for reviewing environmental safety and other issues associated with GM insects, according to Bugs in the System? Issues

Geneticists found sex-related genes escape from X chromosome

Researchers at the University of Chicago have discovered there is extensive gene “traffic” on the mammalian X chromosome and overturn a conventional theory about how the genes evolved on the sex chromosome.

The study, published in the Jan. 23, 2004, issue of Science, shows that an excess of genes on the X chromosome “jump” to a non-sex chromosome, or autosome, during germline cell division. This finding contradicts

In the most comprehensive study of how multiple sclerosis (MS) symptoms change over time, Mayo Clinic researchers have found that less than half of patients studied developed worsening disability within 10 years. Their report appears in the current edition of the journal Neurology [Pittock SJ et al. (2004). Neurology 62:51-59].

Knowing how the symptoms of MS change over time provides good news for patients newly diagnosed with MS, who may feel the disease leads to inevitable and uniform dec

One of the newest tools in the diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular disease and stroke combines a 40-year-old imaging technique and liposomes, little globules of soluble fats and water that circulate naturally throughout the bloodstream.

The technique, developed by Northwestern University researcher David D. McPherson, M.D., and colleagues with a $2.3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health, uses ultrasound energy to create microbubbles inside specially treated liposomes a

A new vaccine formulation that utilizes an unusual protein derived from a bacterium that causes food poisoning — Listeria — could paradoxically be used to improve the safety and effectiveness of vaccines for a variety of viral diseases. These could include HIV, smallpox and influenza, according to researchers at the University of Michigan.

Conventional vaccine formulations typically use live or weakened viruses to boost the immune response. The Listeria formulation uses viral protein compon

Rats housed in unpredictable conditions appear to have a more negative outlook than those housed in stable, settled conditions, according to new research by scientists at Bristol University Veterinary School, published in this week’s issue of Nature.

The researchers found that whether an animal anticipates that something good or bad is going to happen can provide a clue as to the emotion it may be experiencing. Emma Harding, Liz Paul and Mike Mendl from the Centre for Behavioural Biology at

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have developed a new probe that allows them to watch protein activity in living cells. In their initial study, which focused on a protein tentatively linked to the spread of cancerous cells, the team both proved their new technique works and revealed surprising new details about the protein’s activity.

The protein in this study, neuronal Wiskott–Aldrich syndrome protein (N-WASP), is naturally found in every cell in the bod

An interaction between two brain proteins that leads to abnormal brain development has been identified by researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine in a study published in the January 22, 2004 issue of the journal Neuron.

The studies in mice, conducted in the lab of Joseph G. Gleeson, M.D., UCSD assistant professor of neurosciences, combines work in both humans and mice to identify a protein kinase called Cdk5 as the “off” switch for a crucial neuronal

High levels of estrogen may enhance the brain’s response to stress, making women more vulnerable to mental illnesses such as depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), according to a Yale study.

This finding may explain why stress-related mental illnesses occur at least twice as often in women as in men. It also may explain why the discrepancy in prevalence begins in women at puberty, continues through the childbearing years, and then declines in postmenopausal years, said B

Pittsburgh Compound B gives unique view of amyloid plaques in the living human brain

Scientists at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine in collaboration with researchers at Uppsala University, Sweden, have laid the groundwork for a new era in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) research by completing the first human study of a compound that, through positron emission tomography (PET), enables them to peer into the brains of people with the memory-stealing illness and see the tell