Anthrax stops body from fighting back, study shows
...the 2001 anthrax attacks. The victims did not have elevated white blood cell counts, typical for most infections, and a large number of the inhaled anthrax bacteria had spread from the lungs into the bloodstream, which is unusual, Southwick said. This led researchers to believe anthrax may be impairing the ce...Symptoms of depression may worsen heart failure
...three cytokines, which all cause inflammation, are elevated in patients with heart failure. Indeed, all of the patients in the study had higher-than-normal levels of each cytokine. However, TNF-alpha was still markedly higher in patients who reported feeling depressed on a regular basis. "We were surprised to...Aspirin might prevent Vioxx cardiac damage
...sence of the prostacyclin receptor, mice exhibited elevated blood pressure, the team reported. The animals also suffered exaggerated cardiac fibrosis and heart enlargement. Fibrosis, or scarring of the heart, can lead to arrhythmias and organ failure as the heart loses its ability to pump blood to the body's ...New tooth enamel dating technique could help identify disaster victims
...ations were conducted at only a few locations, the elevated carbon-14 levels in the atmosphere rapidly equalized around the globe," he said. Since atmospheric testing was banned in 1963, the levels have dropped substantially as the carbon-14 reacted with oxygen to form carbon dioxide, which was taken up by pl...Researcher: Toxic flood lifts lid on common urban pollution problem
...ne and three co-authors report that runoff from an elevated section of Interstate 10 in Baton Rouge contained some contaminants at levels "greater than those found in untreated municipal wastewater from the same service area," according to the study. The findings were based on periodic analysis of runoff that...Other highlights in the September 21 JNCI
... of the general population, and this risk remained elevated for 35 years. Risks were higher for patients diagnosed with testicular cancer at younger ages and lower for patients diagnosed at older ages. Cancers of the bladder, colon, lung, pancreas, and stomach accounted for 60% of the total excess risk. The a...U-M researchers identify new blood test for prostate cancer
...o PSA. A physician might suggest a patient with an elevated PSA have this test before a biopsy to better determine whether it's a cancerous or benign condition. In the future, I think this could replace PSA," says lead study author Arul Chinnaiyan, M.D., Ph.D., the S.P. Hicks Collegiate Professor of Pathology......e plant populations no longer provided windblocks, elevated dune structures, or added to the sand and soil fertility. On Galveston Island, "the loss of such species is already occurring, where sea oats (Uniola paniculata) have disappeared due to a combination of human-induced disturbance and climate change,"...Tissue stiffness drives tumor formation
...eversible. "We showed that some breast tumors with elevated signaling for the growth factor ERK also have high tension and that their behavior would return to normal by inhibiting cell tension," says Zahir. With this knowledge, Weaver's group is now looking to see whether drugs that inhibit cell contractility...A cytokine not kind to an injury of the spine
...fluid from TM patients. The researchers show that elevated IL-6 levels alone are necessary and sufficient to mediate injury to both neuronal and glial cells, in a manner that is dependent on nitric oxide. This is the first description of IL-6 as a mediator of neural injury. Further, high levels of IL-6 were...JCI table of contents October 1, 2005
...fluid from TM patients. The researchers show that elevated IL-6 levels alone are necessary and sufficient to mediate injury to both neuronal and glial cells, in a manner that is dependent on nitric oxide. This is the first description of IL-6 as a mediator of neural injury. Further, high levels of IL-6 were...Study identifies gene in mice that may control risk-taking behavior in humans
...t a fear response in normal mice. They used a maze elevated 40 centimeters above a tabletop where mice had the option to walk along narrow, unprotected walkways or arms with protective walls. Half of the time the neuroD2-deficient mice chose the unprotected arms, whereas the normal mice almost always chose th...Questionnaire identifies women at risk of inherited breast or ovarian cancer
...y have inherited a mutation that would put them at elevated risk. In comparison, the family histories of only...women who had not developed those cancers indicate elevated risk. The current study was designed to further investigate the extent to which women with these mut...Penguin chicks exposed to human visitors experience spike in stress hormone
...t 75 days old. None of the chicks demonstrated an elevated baseline corticosterone level. But 30 minutes and ...ker said. But it is unclear what later effects the elevated stress hormones might have. "We don't know yet what it means it might mean nothing, but it will ta...Rate of gain, obesity factor into increased risk for prostate cancer recurrence
...s a screening marker, measured in blood, that when elevated to over four nanograms per milliliter is a signal ...primary source of this protein. Obese patients had elevated PSA levels much sooner after surgery 12 months earlier than their lighter counterparts. In a st...Discovery links blood cell defect to common lung disorder, leads to novel treatment
... times more SNO in their blood than did those with elevated lung pressure. In fact, those with the lung condition almost completely lacked hemoglobin with bound SNO, a finding consistent with the effects of hypoxia observed in the lab, Stamler said. That SNO-deficiency led to impaired blood vessel dilation by...Joslin study sheds light on birth defect cause in pregnant women with diabetes
...nant mice injected with glucose (the sugar that is elevated in the blood during diabetes) to mimic diabetic pregnancy. The researchers knew that oxygen is needed by cells to break down glucose and produce energy, and that normally, when oxygen is consumed, more oxygen is delivered to tissues by increasing blo...Collaborations yield new discoveries in psychiatric genetics
...ample of post-mortem brains, the researchers found elevated levels of this variant in the brains from individuals with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Brzustowicz and Firestein also offered their conclusions about how CAPON operates in its signaling context, functional evidence supporting the connection b...Katrina floodwaters not as toxic to humans as previously thought, study says
...icant component of the floodwaters, as measured by elevated levels of three of its components: benzene, toluene and ethylbenzene. These compounds were somewhat elevated in comparison to typical stormwater runoff, the researchers say. The chemicals most likely came from...... policy, when people are angry, afraid or in other elevated emotional states, they tend to favor symbolic, viscerally satisfying solutions to problems over more substantive, complex, but ultimately more effective policies. Over the past 40 years, this has led the United States into two costly and controversia...