Tiny protein prevents disease-related cell death
...g cell balance. Many diseases are identified with malfunction of apoptosis: too much cell death is associated with degenerative diseases of the nervous system, stroke and heart attack; failure to activate the cell death program is one of the hallmarks of cancer. Dr. Reeds laboratory identified humanin as a B...B-vitamins prove effective in relieving chronic pain
...h neuropathic pain, that is result of an injury or malfunction in the peripheral or central nervous system. The pain is often triggered by an injury, but this injury may or may not involve actual damage to the nervous system. Researchers recently found that intraperitoneal (i.p.)- or intrathecal (i.t.)- injecti...Boston chemist wins national award for research with enzymes, antibiotics
... About one-third of human diseases start with some malfunction in one of the body's thousands of enzymes. Most recently his research team has focused on antibiotics, drugs that fight bacterial infections by selectively blocking bacterial enzymes while leaving human ones alone. For example, vancomycin kills bacte...Rutgers researcher advances understanding of attention deficit disorder and schizophrenia
...involving attention, seem to be characterized by a malfunction or breakdown in how the brain processes information sequentially. When normal brain dynamics are understood from the brain's normal grammar to its systematic interactions then a template for normal brain dynamics can be compared to the dynamics of ...Researchers pinpoint cause of inherited form of heart failure
...d that affected individuals would suffer a chronic malfunction of calcium regulation in their heart muscle, which ultimately would lead to heart failure. Previously known inherited defects underlying dilated cardiomyopathy affected muscle proteins, said Seidman. However, the latest findings by Seidman and her co...Fetal death, miscarriage linked to genetic mutation
... to be linked to two key processes that frequently malfunction when cancer begins proliferation (cell growth), and apoptosis (cell death). There is some sort of problem in the Rb pathway in virtually every cancer we know, says Leone. Although Rb mutation is most readily linked with retinoblastoma, Leone and hi...Causation between white blood cells and lung disorders confirmed
...est, it is believed that asthma occurs following a malfunction of our protective mechanism against parasites. At worst, several studies with mouse models that correlate pulmonary eosinophilia with lung dysfunction fail to articulate eosinophil effector functions. This has led to recent questioning of the role ...Mutation causes specific arrhythmia and sudden cardiac death
...rs now that the arrhythmia arises, not due to some malfunction of the ion channels themselves, but a failure to ensure that multiple ion channels open at the right place and at the right time. Scientists have been looking for ion channel mutations, but they have not been able to find them." The QT interval is a ...Mutation in DKC1 gene can cause rare aging disease and cancer
...east, he added, noting that this suggests ribosome malfunction is important in the genesis of cancer and may have clinical implications for the identification of new molecular targets for cancer drugs....Study finds link between common neurological disorder and Alzheimer's disease
...nternal transport of proteins can lead to neuronal malfunction and death. "This protein, kinesin-1, is like a locomotive that pulls cargo throughout the cell," says Ramin Shiekhattar, Ph.D., an associate professor at The Wistar Institute and senior author on the study. "In neurons, it pulls its cargo down microt...What inspires yeast cells to divide?
...y normally work in humans, as well as how it might malfunction in cancer." How cells reproduce All eukaryotic cells (cells that contain a nucleus) must undergo some form of a cell cycle in order to grow and reproduce. During this process, two crucial events must occur within a cell's nucleus: replication of ...New metabolic 'switches' discovered
... glands, liver, brain and other organs. G proteins malfunction in humans can lead to symptoms associated with diabetes, alcoholism, cholera and whooping cough. To date, scientists have reported approximately 450 genes for G proteins. Metabolic pathways involving the receptors for such G proteins are the targets ...Tracing the neural circuitry of second sight
...tanding of both the system itself and how it might malfunction to cause sleep disorders, said Yau. "Sleep disorders are a major health problem that profoundly impact the lives of those affected," he said. "As we find out more about the circadian photoentrainment system, we may well discover subtle genetic altera...... research suggested that the condition is due to a malfunction of the sympathetic nervous system, which helps maintain a normal blood pressure by controlling the size of arterial blood vessels. This was an ambitious project because it was the first space flight in which researchers directly recorded the sympathe...New epilepsy gene identified in mice
...teins, particularly ion channels that are known to malfunction in other forms of epilepsy. However, said Ptacek, the protein has multiple regions that resemble those of calcium-binding proteins, suggesting a possible role in regulating calcium flow in neurons. "We're at the early stages of studying the protein a...Penn study findings reverse key chronology for development of Alzheimer's disease
...n (oxidative damage.) That leads, in turn, to cell malfunction and eventual cell death. It is known that amyloid beta protein can produce free radicals on its own, as well as stimulate other cells to do the same. Many scientists believe that a build-up of amyloid plaques causes a parallel increase in free radica...Scientists create first animal model of Rett Syndrome
...he Rett-like symptoms in mice were caused by brain malfunction rather than problems of Mecp2 deficiency in the rest of the body. Contrary to previous theories, the authors also indicate that the role of Mecp2 is not limited to the development of the brain before birth, but is also critical in the maintenance of...Human disease gene survey yields underlying principles
... 2001 By compiling and categorizing 923 genes that malfunction in inherited diseases, Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) researchers have discerned patterns that indicate that this approach might be a powerful new tool for understanding genetic contributions to human diseases. Future analyses of newly disco...Novel route to lupus-like disease in mice
...immune system, or they might indirectly cause cell malfunction and death, that overactivate the immune system, creating chronic inflammation, said Marth. Also, he noted, compounds that inhibit a -mannosidase II have shown therapeutic effect as an anti-cancer drug. "In animal studies, these compounds have inh......ld one day lead to a better understanding of nerve malfunction in Lou Gehrig's disease and other, similar neurological disorders. For the past two decades, scientists have struggled to observe how proteins critical to the growth and maintenance of the nervous system travel through the body's network of nerves. ...