Genetic Clue Found To The Leading Cause Of Blindness In The United States
...rapidly, over weeks or months, and oftenprofoundly affects central vision. But the wet form accounts for less than 20percent of cases, and there is no treatment for "dry" age-related maculardegeneration. The dry form of the disease results from progressive damage to thepigment cell layer of the retina. Visio......on of cysteine proteases, he says. Chagas1 disease affects an estimated 16-18 million people throughout LatinAmerica and approximately 90 million more are at risk. It is spread by the biteof certain blood-sucking insects and through transfusions with infected bloodproducts. At present the only therapies f......behind many chronically dry eyes, a condition that affects millions ofAmericans, according to clinical resear...from over-evaporation, (a problem that potentially affects 50percent of all patients with keratoconjunctivitis sicca)," said McCulley, holderof the David Bruto......is calcium-regulated,calcineurin-dependent pathway affects other muscle types and how it interactswith other cellular activities. This will help them learn if this molecularpathway for converting fast muscle cells to slow muscle cells works the same inhumans and if it can be used for a pharmaceutical solutio......tial therapies for this devastating disease, which affects some fourmillion Americans. "This is the first model in which we were able to simulatethe detrimental effects of human apoE4 on brain function," Mucke said. "Thatshould put us in a good position to test out treatments to combat thesedetrimental effec...University At Buffalo Team Discovers How The Cell Nucleus Orchestrates Genetic Processes
...ctures are, and how dramatically that organization affects the copying andwriting of genetic information in an organism. The results are particularly provocative, the researchers said, with work on thehuman genome so close to completion. "There are so many great genetic probes available now that we will be...Data Support Idea That Zinc Plays Key Role In Fight Against Anorexia
...is functional. Shay theorizes that zinc deficiency affects the processing capabilities of NPY and negatively impairs its normal appetite-stimulating effect....Researchers Identify How AIDS Virus Kills Cells It Doesn't Infect
...is exhausted." "Very little is known about how HIV affects cells other than CD4 helper cells.Our observations...t," Verdin says. "It is likely that this mechanism affects other immunecomponents as well." The J. David Gladstone Institutes are named for a prominent real es...Scientists Find New Clues About Fatal Childhood Disease, Ataxia Telangiectasia
...rchers have long been interested in A-T because it affects many differentsystems in the body, including the n...scovery of a defective gene tounderstanding how it affects cells," says Giovanna Spinella, M.D., of theNational Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke ...NIAID Scientists Discover HIV Disease-Slowing Mutation
... titled "CCR5 promoter polymorphism affects HIV-1 disease progression," was published in the Sept. 12, 1998, issue of <A HREF="http://www.thelancet.com/"> The Lancet .......ients' lungs throughrecurrent infections and often affects other vital organs. While kidney functionis not greatly altered in these patients, kidney stones are an increasinglycommon complication as the life expectancy of these patients increases. Inaddition, nine out of 10 eventually are found to have a hard...Birds Of A Feather: The Physics Of Flocks
...ght be on the left side of the flock,and the error affects its neighbors that are on the left side. But the nextinstant, the bird may be in the middle of the flock, and the error influencesits new neighbors over there. A moment later, and the bird is on the right handside, and it spreads to its neighbors t...Gene Therapy In A Liquid May Lead To Quicker, Easier Methods For Treating Disease
...tose intolerance is a common genetic disorder that affects about halfof the world's population. It results from reduced activity of an enzyme,lactase, and is characterized by an inability to metabolize lactose. The work was supported in part by the Juvenile Diabetes FoundationInternational....Researchers Identify And Isolate First Gene For A Form Of Insulin-Dependent Diabetes
...sease, several of their children may. The disorder affects about one in100,000 individuals. While wor...mutateit in order to study how loss of the protein affects islets and neurons. Thisanimal model may be useful for testing new therapies as well. Gainin...Long Lava Flows May Have Taken Years, Causing Global Cooling And Extinctions
...g lava flows. The duration of a lava flow affects the amount of sulfur dioxidereleased into the atmosphere and therefore the degree of global cooling itcauses. This cooling effect was noted following the relatively small eruption ofthe Laki volcano in Iceland in 1783. Therefore, the study of both ac......isms, see how they interact and determine how this affects thehealth of both soil and surface ecosystems, answering the questions of how humanactivities above-ground influence biodiversity below ground and what theconsequences are of that change in biodiversity? "I think the most exciting thing for u...New Test Spots ALD Carriers With Near-Perfect Accuracy
...the abilityto move or see. The severe form, which affects about 40 percent of all male ALDpatients, kills mo..." was based on a past Hopkinspatient. ALD affects more than one in 50,000 people of all races, the researcherssay. The new technique was presented at...... such asmutations in the gene for amyloid protein, affects the biology of the tau gene,causing the tau protein to become destructive and kill brain cells. Besides offering new direction for exploring Alzheimer's disease, of course, thefindings offer a more immediate direction for exploring treatments for the......f Immunology. MS, a neurological disorder, affects 300,000 or more young adults in theUnited States. Many with the disease suffer from relapses after the initialonset of such symptoms as numbness and paralysis. Trying to remedy theserelapses is the research focus of Rostami and his collaborators. ...Patented Bait System May Hold Answer To Combating Formosan Termites
.... "The toxicant is a chitin inhibitor that affects the molting process ofthe termites, but it doesn't harm people because we don't have chitin, nor do wemolt," Henderson says. "The paper bait is being manufactured and provided byEnsystex, the newest bait on the market." Termite baits are slo...