Study examines racial differences among children to environmental tobacco smoke exposure
... of cotinine -- a substance produced when the body breaks down nicotine -- even though these children's parents report lower exposure to environmental tobacco smoke, commonly known as second-hand smoke. "There are at least two possible reasons why African Americans have higher levels of cotinine," says Step...Both inherited traits and tumor mutations affect response to treatment of leukemia
...f relapse. The GSTMI gene codes for an enzyme that breaks down certain drugs used to treat ALL, such as etoposide and cyclophosphamide, preventing them from killing cancer cells. "The presence of the GSTM1 non-null polymorphism in a child means that the child has inherited the mechanism to more rapidly deg...Mount Sinai stroke prevention trial published in JAMA
... to pool and clot. If a section of the blood clot breaks off and travels to an artery in the brain, a stroke may result. AF affects more than two million Americans, and this number is expected to more than double by 2050. Approximately 15 percent of all strokes occur in people with AF. Age, high blood pr...Elderly people cared for by spouse are at greater risk for abuse, Pitt researchers find
...e health effects. "Caregiving is stressful, and it breaks down the people that are providing the care--they wear down," said Beach. "This study shows that that's not good for the person they're taking care of." Beach and colleagues studied 265 pairs of caregivers and care recipients. Caregivers were primari...Full-body MRI shows promise for screening, but should stay in research area for now, study says
...issue. The whole process takes about an hour, with breaks scattered throughout for patient comfort, equipment set-up and dialogue with the doctor. "Theoretically, screening with such proven MRI techniques could be of value to certain patients. There are some studies proving the benefit of early therapy for ......e prone to going it alone. If a man's relationship breaks down, he is more likely to change to a lone existence, whereas women tend to live as one-parent households. For women, the transition to solo living comes mostly in their 40s and 50s, as their children leave home or as their relationships with partn...CT venography increases detection of dangerous blood clots
...ulmonary emboli occur when a blood clot in the leg breaks free and travels to the lung. The researchers studied 1,590 consecutive patients undergoing both CTPA and CTV at New York Presbyterian HospitalWeill Medical College at Cornell University for suspected pulmonary embolism between 1998 and 2001. CTPA d...Grapefruit juice and medication can be a dangerous mix
...s metabolized by the same enzyme in the liver that breaks down many drugs. The cytochrome P-450 3A4 enzyme breaks down grapefruit juice into useful components for body, just like it breaks down dozens of medication...Jefferson scientists help explain statins' effects in Alzheimer's disease
...at Jefferson's Farber Institute for Neurosciences, breaks up amyloid aggregates. Vaccines stimulate the immune system to break down amyloid. Statins are yet another strategy....UCLA-VA study names India dietary staple as potential Alzheimer's weapon
...ids in the brains of Alzheimer's patients and also breaks up existing plaques. Reporting in the Dec. 7, 2004, online edition of the Journal of Biological Chemistry, the research team also determined curcumin is more effective in inhibiting formation of the protein fragments than many other drugs being te...Discovery of key protein's shape could lead to improved bacterial pneumonia vaccine
...ce at the other side of the cell, the pneumococcus breaks free of pIgR and enters the blood, where it can multiply and infect the body. S. pneumoniae is the only bacterium known to use CbpA to invade human cells by binding to pIgR, according to Richard W. Kriwacki, Ph.D., associate member of St. Jude Struc...Research in yeast yields missing link in DNA maintenance machinery
...repair double-stranded DNA breaks. "Double strand breaks are the most serious type of DNA damage," said Shen. "The two DNA strands are completely severed. It is a disaster for a cell. If it is not repaired, the chromosomes become unstable and can fuse to other chromosomes. Many types of cancer result from ...TV ads during sports depict unsafe behavior and violence
...6 percent depicted violence. Of the 322 commercial breaks reviewed in the study, 158, or 49 percent, contained at least one commercial that showed unsafe behavior or violence. Forty-eight percent of commercials that contained violence were for movies and an additional 38 percent were for television programs...Two-fisted assault on dopamine transport system may be foundation of Parkinson's disease
...dopamine accumulates in the neuron's cytoplasm and breaks down, causing a release of toxic free radicals, which destroy the neuron....Stanford study reveals that cells linked to asthma and eczema also help cure deadly illness in mice
...triggered, the cells produced another protein that breaks down endothelin-1, reducing its toxic effects. In other words, said Galli, the mast cells help to restore normal physiological balance in the mice with high levels of endothelin-1. High levels of endothelin-1 have been reported in a number of human d...Body shaving and turf burns spread infection in college football team
... in this even if you don't see it, there are small breaks there." The researchers recommend discontinuing the practice of body shaving to decrease the risk of infection. Turf burns may not be entirely preventable, but athletes should take note when they happen, said Dr. Begier. "When they have these larg...Workplace smoking bans help smokers cut back, says study
...tes while at work by smoking more at lunch, during breaks or after work but overall they don't. People are more likely to cut down or to give up cigarettes." Using data from Statistics Canada's comprehensive 2001 Canadian Community Health Survey, the study determined that 24 per cent of employed adult Cana...Several new techniques show promise for spinal cord repair
...nanospheres) were found to release the enzyme that breaks down a component of the scar that forms after spin...am blocks an enzyme--phosphodiesterase (PDE)--that breaks down cAMP, thus inhibiting PDE , which leads to an accumulation of cAMP and nerve regrowth. To trea......y of the enzyme acetylcholinesterase (AChE), which breaks down the chemical messenger or neurotransmitter, acetylcholine. Alzheimer's is characterised by a drop in acetylcholine. Green tea and black tea also hinder the activity of the enzyme butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE), which has been discovered in prote...