Combination hormone therapy doubles breast density and quadruples risk of abnormal mammograms
...a twofold increase in breast density a known risk factor for breast cancer and a quadrupled risk of having an abnormal mammogram, according to new findings from a sub-study of the Women's Health Initiative, or WHI. Lead investigator Anne McTiernan, M.D., Ph.D., of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Cente...Other highlights in the October 20 JNCI
... of NonSmall-Cell Lung Cancer Insulin-like growth factor binding protein 3 (IGFBP-3)--a natural inhibitor of lung cancer cell survival and growth--is frequently decreased in lung cancers, a trait associated with poor prognosis and survival. A potential obstacle to treating lung cancer patients with IGFBP-3...New genomic method can identify disease-causing genes
...researchers to identify a single causative genetic factor by correlating a pattern of observable physiological or pathological differences among selected strains of mice with a pattern of genomic variation. Using conventional methods, pin-pointing a gene contributing to disease risk could take five scientis...Mouse study: 'Critical' Down syndrome region isn't
...cular genetic region long assumed to be a critical factor in Down syndrome isn't nearly as important as once thought. Their report in the Oct. 22 issue of Science , based on studies in genetically engineered mice, shreds a 30-year-old notion that genes in this region are largely responsible for the condit...Reductions in blood oxygen levels in newborns could contribute to ADHD development
...itive apnea during neonatal development may be one factor leading to the development of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). This research will be reported at the Society for Neuroscience annual meeting in San Diego on October 24 by Glenda Keating, PhD, and Michael Decker, PhD, of the Departmen...... EN2 gene encodes a protein called a transcription factor that binds to cells' DNA to control the expression of dozens or even hundreds of other genes. Therefore, a variation in EN2 could have far-reaching effects on brain development and behavior. The next step in this line of research will be to sh...Early life stress harms mental function and immune system in later years
...motional quality of earlier home life was the only factor that affected learning, as measured by these tests. "The finding that only the social and emotional quality of these children's homes affected their learning ability in later childhood mirrors findings on early stress and memory develo...Soaking up signal: Endocytosis controls spreading and effective signaling range of Fgf8 protein
...nd cell differentiation. One member of this growth factor group, Fgf8, has key functions during the development of such structures as the vertebrate brain, heart, and inner ear. Growth factors such as Fgf8 are emitted by particular cells and travel within tissues in the extracellular space, where they signa...Sandbagging cancer in the bloodstream
...ete a protein known as vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). VEGF stimulates a protein called Src kinase, which causes proteins known as cadherins to disengage from each other. Normally, cadherins are something like the mortar in between the endothelial cell bricks, and they maintain the integrity of b...Gene therapy approach reverses diabetic neuropathy in animal model, Pitt study finds
... for one of two neurotrophin factors: nerve growth factor (NFG) and neurotrophin-3 (NT-3). "Herpes simplex ...iver the HSV vectors encoded with the neurotrophic factor genes for NGF or NT-3, the researchers inoculated an area just under the skin, directly to sensory n...Yerkes researchers to present array of new data at Society for Neuroscience Meeting
...n distribution patterns of corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) and urocortin, hormones known to mediate stress and anxiety as well as learning and memory systems, in the brains of monogamous prairie and promiscuous meadow voles. (11 a.m. 12 noon) discovered CRF receptor distribution patterns in the nuc...Solutions to stop fishermen returning dead and dying marine animals back into sea - study
.... The discarding of juvenile fish has been a major factor in depleting the North Sea stocks and continues to threaten the long-term sustainability of fish populations. Although the full extent of the consequences on the marine environment are not known, discards are considered to have contributed to the gro...Military hazards are greater for Native Americans, according to sociological research
...licies in locating Indian reservations are a major factor in determining their exposure." The study cites historical evidence showing that the United States widely expanded its military infrastructure in the 1940s, and then reinforced that infrastructure again during the Cold War, each time using remote lan...Academics work to help stressed-out cats
...s led us to believe that stress could be a trigger factor for FIC, and we wanted to identify differences in ...rm stress. We concluded that this is a significant factor in the development FIC, and will be carrying out further studies to see how best this and other stre...New Italian research links migraine and endometriosis
...ine with aura, was known to be an independent risk factor for ischaemic stroke in women of reproductive age. Although the absolute risk of stroke was extremely low, it was important that women with endometriosis receiving hormonal treatments should have migraine investigated and diagnosed by a headache spec...UCSD biologists discover chemical important in guiding visual system development
...ey were early in development. To find the factor that might be responsible for coordinating the behavior of the retinal ganglion cells, Feller and Wang took electrical recordings from retinal ganglion cells kept alive in a dish. Following up on work started when Feller was a postdoctoral fellow wo...Gene found to defend against environmental pollutants and pulmonary emphysema
...nvestigation. The so-called "master gene"--nuclear factor erythroid-derived 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2)--is activated in response to environmental pollutants such as cigarette smoke, and then tur...UGA scientist Moran receives $2.6 million from Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation for marine research
...e faculty in using these new approaches was a key factor in Moran receiving the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation grant, said Gordhan Patel, UGA's vice president for research. "We greatly appreciate the foundation's confidence that its support will lead to new insights into the organisms that affect the h...Gut microbes can open gates in fat cells
...tion of a protein called fasting-induced adipocyte factor (Fiaf). Fiaf functions to help keep the gates to fat cells closed. The findings will be reported in the Nov. 2, 2004 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and are currently available online. "Finding that Fiaf is directly man...Bristol scientists find key to unlock body's own cancer defence
...covered that a type of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) found in normal tissue, including blood, can prevent cancers from growing. The research findings will be published in the world's most prestigious scientific cancer journal, 'Cancer Research', next week [1 November 2004]. The growth of any ca...