ACS news service weekly press package - May 15, 2006
..., older people become more vulnerable to falls and disabling hip fractures, and are less able to perform everyday tasks and continue living independently. Cecilia Gelfi and colleagues are reporting the first use in human muscle research of a powerful technology (2-D DIGE) for studying large numbers of the prot...Scientists tie several cancers to common 'oncogene engine'
...by showing that when tumors in mice were shrunk by disabling one of the transcription factors, replacing it with another member of the family re-started the tumor's growth.In the short term, clinicians will attempt to exploit this interconnectedness by using therapies that may be effective against one tumor to...Reversing 'hibernating' heart muscle focus of UB researchers
...ion called "hibernating myocardium" that can cause disabling heart failure and sudden death. Hibernating myocardium is a condition in which myocytes (cells in the heart's muscular tissue) shut down, but remain viable in areas that receive reduced blood flow over an extended period of time due to narrowed a...Wild meerkats school their young
...e item and return it to the pup, sometimes further disabling it before returning it to the young meerkat. The researchers, Alex Thornton and Katherine McAuliffe, Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, are part of the Kalahari Meerkat Project, located at the Kuruman River Reserve, South Africa. The ...Neurologists developing first standardized measurement scale for dyskinesia in Parkinson's patients
...ecause patients often cite them as one of the most disabling aspects of living with the disease. Goetz and Nutt have already consolidated elements of existing dyskinesia scales into a working draft of the unified scale. Funding from the MJFF will allow this draft to be finalized, tested and presented to the ...UF scientists reverse muscle contractions in mouse model of muscular dystrophy
...ida scientists have used gene therapy to eliminate disabling muscle contractions in a mouse model of the most common form of adult-onset muscular dystrophy. The inherited disorder, known as myotonic dystrophy, is found in one of every 8,000 people and causes skeletal muscles to lose the ability to relax once...Hunt for DNA amplified in cancers uncovers important target gene
...on the other hand, is like stepping on the gas and disabling the brakes at the same time. Such an activity would be thought to be coveted by cancer cells. Therefore these genes, Yki (YAP), Hpo, Sav, Wts, and Mats, most of which were first discovered in the fruit fly, represent a relatively new and exciting pat...A humble aquarium fish may be the key to new therapies for birth defects
...ment of varying the amount of copper available and disabling different pieces of the molecular mechanisms that cells use to handle this potentially toxic material. The consequences were quite dramatic because copper-containing enzymes play a number of critical roles in the life of the cell. They are involved i...Unique Huntington's study moves forward
...o informs us how persons at high risk to develop a disabling genetic disease deal with lingering uncertainties about their future health and complex choices about their participation in research," said Shoulson, part of a Rochester team that treats Huntington's patients from more than 200 families. The group...Being obese and a couch potato may have a biological basis in the brain
... consuming too many. Other studies have shown that disabling the orexin system of lean rats causes them to eat less and move less, which leads them to become obese, Kotz said. When the orexin system is working optimally, the increase in eating which orexin causes is believed to be offset by increased physical ...BGSU biologist trying to crack microscopic code
...nowing how they communicate would provide a key to disabling it, Larsen says. Once communication questions are answered, a goal is to develop drugs to break the barrier, rendering the bacteria more susceptible to the human body's natural defenses--antibodies--as well as certain antibiotics, he points out. ...A new way to treat colon cancer?
...hemistry. By knocking out that is, genetically disabling a molecule called C-Terminal Binding Protein (CTBP) researchers were able to rescue zebrafish from the effects of a mutation in the adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) gene. In humans, mutations in this gene long have been known to initiate a series...Scientists discover toxin that causes gastro disease
...component of the cell machinery in half, therefore disabling it," he said. As well as learning how the toxin works, the scientists have also determined its three-dimensional structure, which will aid in the development of treatments for toxin-related diseases. "This toxin belongs to the family of toxins ...Naturally occurring enzyme can break down key part of Alzheimer's plaques
...he Journal of Neuroscience, Lee's group found that disabling the mouse gene for MMP-9 increased levels of Abeta in the spaces between brain cells. The finding proves that MMP-9 contributes to clearance of Abeta from extracellular spaces and suggests its dysfunction could potentially contribute to the developme...Malaria drug may treat metabolic syndrome's many symptoms
...many symptoms of metabolic syndrome, a potentially disabling condition that is estimated to affect as many as a quarter of American adults. The findings appear in the November 2006 issue of the journal Cell Metabolism, published by Cell Press. Researchers, led by Clay F. Semenkovich of Washington University S...Scientific meeting on pulmonary hypertension, December 7-8
...d pressure in the blood vessels of the lungs, is a disabling and often fatal disease, which affects people of all ages from newborns to seniors. Pulmonary hypertension contributes to an estimated 15,000 deaths in the United States annually, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The goal...'Diabetes gene' may be linked to polycystic ovary syndrome
...n who are diagnosed with the painful and sometimes disabling disease. At the same time, the authors recommend that additional case-control studies and meta-analysis be undertaken to better understand these findings....Eculizumab is well-tolerated and shows significant improvement in PNH patients (Ph III)
...re hemolysis (red blood cell destruction), anemia, disabling fatigue, recurrent pain, and intermittent episodes of dark colored urine, known as hemoglobinuria. Importantly, PNH patients are at increased risk of forming life-threatening blood clots, or thromboses, which are a significant cause of death. Eculizu...Feinstein Institute and Cold Spring Harbor Lab join forces, seek manic depression genes
...entative strategies and better treatments for this disabling illness....... cocaine use during pregnancy can cause subtle but disabling cognitive impairments -- attention deficits, learning disabilities and emotional problems. A recent study by investigators at the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center for Research on Human Development may help explain the long-term behavioral and neurologica...