Rare childhood genetic syndrome identified
...iously undiscovered genetic syndrome that is often fatal by the second year of life, but which may be treatable with calcium channel-blocking drugs. Findings are reported in the October 1 issue of the journal Cell . The disease, named Timothy syndrome after one of the paper's authors, is characterized by...Amyloid fibers sprout one step at a time
...t can kill brain cells. In humans, clumping causes fatal brain-destroying diseases such as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and kuru; in animals it causes bovine spongiform encephalopathy (mad cow disease) and scrapie. In the yeast cells Weissman and his colleagues used as research models, however, the insoluble...Folic acid vitamin use by women reaches all-time high, March of Dimes survey finds
... complacent in our efforts to prevent disabling or fatal NTDs from occurring," said Dr. Howse. "We urge health care professionals and pharmacists to remember to use every contact they have with women capable of having a baby to advise them to take a multivitamin with at least 400 micrograms of folic acid d...Protein is key to fatal disorder and normal cell function
...ant protein that causes juvenile Batten disease, a fatal neurodegenerative disorder of childhood, also plays a key role in normal cell function, Duke University Medical Center researchers have found. The Duke study is the first to identify where the cln3 protein resides in human brain cells and to link the...Missing genes may help explain why plague bacteria are so deadly
...quired by breathing the bacteria, is almost always fatal within two to three days. The last urban plague epidemic in the United States occurred in Los Angeles in 1924-25. An average of 10 to 15 cases in the United States, and between 1,000 and 3,000 cases worldwide, are reported every year. The disease has...Veterinarians discover first known case of canine distemper in a wild tiger
...biting abnormal behavior had the disease, which is fatal in cats. It is suspected that the tiger caught the disease from an infected domestic dog. Despite heroic efforts to save her, the tiger died. "With less than 500 Siberian tigers left in the wilds of Russia, this is a very serious threat that could ...Probing the surface of white blood cells to enhance immune system medicine
...nfections. These conditions can eventually cause a fatal hemorrhage or infection in these patients. Higgs and his team found no differences in the length or density of microvilli on the lymphocytes, despite expressing little to no Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome protein (WASP) -- the protein whose deficiency lead...Visiting African scientists collaborate with MBL scientists on infectious diseases
...vicious parasite causes human sleeping sickness, a fatal disease that has reemerged as a major health problem in sub-Saharan Africa. Gustave Simo, from Cameroon, will be at the MBL from now through mid-September. Henrietta Awobobe, from Nigeria, will arrive mid-September to spend three months in the GID la...Jefferson Lab detector technology aids development of cystic fibrosis therapy
... trials in humans. Right now, cystic fibrosis is a fatal disease. But if everything works out, and we can make it a manageable disease, I think that would be really, really good," Lee says. The CFTR gene codes for a protein that controls the transport of chloride ions into and out of individual ce...Babies with DiGeorge syndrome saved by immune supression, thymus transplant
...ve infants born with complete DiGeorge Syndrome, a fatal genetic disorder. Babies with complete DiGeorge Syndrome have no thymus, a gland important in the maturation of T cells -- specialized immune cells that help protect the body against viruses, bacteria and other pathogens. The thymus teaches T cells t...New pulmonary hypertension guideline challenges use of common medication
...ssure, in unstable patients due to the potentially fatal side effects associated with the medication. PAH ...iting an increased risk of adverse and potentially fatal events related to the use of the medication. Due to the severity of the disease, the panel also adv...Mosquito researchers track dengue fever in Sonora, Mexico
...so painful. One form, dengue hemorrhagic fever, is fatal in about five percent of patients. Currently there is no vaccine against the disease. "The way to look at it is, dengue is an enemy," said Therese Ann Markow, director of the UA Center for Insect Science and Regents' Professor of ecology and evoluti...FSU scientists develop new tests to detect nut allergens in processed food
...at detect minute traces of the nuts -- potentially fatal to allergic consumers -- in seemingly nut-free pro...s most often implicated in permanent and sometimes fatal food allergies, and currently there are no de-sensitizing treatments available," said Sathe. Vulnera...Vacuum assisted deliveries are safe alternative to forceps
... 1998 thatvacuum assisted deliveries may result in fatal complications, sayresearchers in this week's BMJ. ...s forceps.Furthermore, the relatively low rates of fatal complications among vacuumdeliveries argue against the FDA warning, say the authors. Encouraging ins...New technique images gene expression in mice
...minary studies are completed. Cystic fibrosis is a fatal genetic pulmonary disease that causes abnormal mucus to accumulate in the lungs and digestive system. Affecting approximately 30,000 Americans, cystic fibrosis afflicts mostly children and, at one time, took its victims in their teens. Researchers ha...TIGR president discusses significance of finding anthrax toxin
...as been suspected to be the cause of some cases of fatal respiratory disease. At the annual meeting of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB)/8th International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Conference (IUBMB) in Boston, Dr. Fraser discusses, for the firs...Gene mutation causes progressive changes to cell structure in children with Progeria
...l Academy of Sciences (PNAS). Progeria is a rare, fatal genetic condition characterized by an appearance of accelerated aging in children. "Although it is a rare disease, Progeria has long been considered to be a model for studying the mechanisms responsible for normal aging" said lead author Robert D. Go...Lab mice rescued from Type 1 diabetes via dendritic cell-assisted therapy
...ly occur in the human and animal body. Diabetes is fatal if not treated, and even when treated, it is a chronic disease often accompanied by dire complications. The key to understanding the rescue of islet cells is in the kinetics of the T cell response. T cells are well known as a type of "killer"cell of...Gene therapy with growth factor seems promising therapy for incurable muscle disorder ALS
...oldiers in the Gulf War were also affected by this fatal disease. Around half of them die within three years, some even within a year, mostly in full possession of their faculties as a result of asphyxiation. In patients with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) the nerves going to the muscles deteriorate,......ection]," and the various methods used to induce a fatal lung infection in the beagle dogs. The patent also indicated applying the methods to pigs, sheep, monkeys, or chimpanzees and, like many other patents on animals, appeared to be exclusively licensed to a private company. "This decision, hopefully, i...