Satellite survey enhances knowledge of Tuscan landslides
The 240-km-long River Arno winds its way seaward through the tranquil countryside of Umbria and Tuscany, but this tranquillity masks potential danger. There are more than 300 areas within Italy's Arno Basin at high risk of landslides, and over 20 000 individual landslides have been recorded.... ...Italy's combination of geography, geology and climate makes it one of Europe's most landslide-prone...Hopkins begins human trials with donor adult stem cells to repair muscle damaged from heart attack
Researchers at Johns Hopkins have begun what is believed to be the first clinical trial in the United States of adult mesenchymal stem cells to repair muscle damaged by heart attack, or myocardial infarct. ......The so-called Phase I study is designed to test the safety of injecting adult stem cells at varying doses in patients who have recently suffered a heart attack. .........An estimate...'Speaker's cramp', a new type of involuntary mouth-, lip-muscle movement
Baltimore, MarylandA task-related spasmodic contraction of the muscles of the mouth and jaw, causing involuntary movements of the mouth and lips (oromandibular dystonia), manifesting only during speech as grimacing and sound distortion, has been diagnosed by a research team in Copenhagen, Denmark, and termed "Speaker's Cramp". ......Symptoms were reduced when the affected muscles were treated wit...USC dental researchers develop first test for predicting cavities in children
A simple saliva test can predict for the first time whether children will get cavities, how many cavities they will get and even which teeth are most vulnerable, University of Southern California researchers say....... Developed by a USC School of Dentistry team led by professor Paul Denny, the test quantifies the genetic component of tooth decay (caries)....... Dentists have long known that even...Young blood revives aging muscles, Stanford researchers find
STANFORD, Calif. - Any older person can attest that aging muscles don't heal like young ones. But it turns out that's not the muscle's fault. A study in the Feb. 17 issue of Nature shows that it's old blood that keeps the muscles down. .........The study, led by Thomas Rando, MD, PhD, associate professor of neurology and neurological sciences at the Stanford University School of Medicine, built o...Nonhuman primate males more susceptible to age-related cognitive decline than females
ATLANTA When it comes to aging, women may have another reason to be thankful. Research conducted in nonhuman primates at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center of Emory University shows male nonhuman primates are more susceptible to age-related cognitive decline. The February issue of Behavioral Neuroscience reports this finding, which the researchers say has implications for developing sex...NIH awards USC $8.7 million to study tobacco use in China
Los Angeles, Calif., Feb. 8, 2005-The National Institutes of Health have awarded $8.7 million to the University of Southern California to study genetic and environmental factors that influence tobacco and alcohol use among adolescents in China and the United States....... The new Pacific Rim Transdisciplinary Tobacco & Alcohol Use Research Center (PR TTURC) is conducting the research, under the d...Mayo Clinic researchers identify new form of muscular dystrophy in adults
ROCHESTER, Minn. -- Mayo Clinic researchers have identified a previously unknown form of muscular dystrophy, a group of genetic diseases characterized by progressive weakness and muscle degeneration. This newly identified form develops after age 40 and causes heart muscle damage, limb muscle weakness and nerve damage. The researchers have named the newly defined disorder "zaspopathy" (Zas-PO-path...USC/Norris oncologists test new front-line therapy for pancreatic cancer
LOS ANGELES (Jan. 13, 2005)-USC/Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center oncologists are testing the effectiveness of a new drug against pancreatic cancer that targets the cancer from two directions....... In their National Cancer Institute-sponsored phase II clinical trial, researchers are evaluating how well BAY 43-9006 works alone and paired with gemcitabine, today's standard chemotherapy for pancre...More efficient ways of managing patient flow may benefit Los Angeles County/USC hospital
More efficient ways of managing triage, scheduling and routing of patients through Los Angeles County/USC Hospital could trim delays dramatically and relieve overcrowded conditions, according to a new USC/Los Angeles County Hospital study. ...... "County/USC Hospital serves an enormous population in the region, with many patients going to the emergency room first, so the waits can be long," sai...New guideline: Corticosteroids recommended for duchenne muscular dystrophy
ST. PAUL, Minn. Corticosteroids can be beneficial in the treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy and can be offered as a treatment option, according to the American Academy of Neurology and the Child Neurology Society in a new practice guideline published in the January 11 issue of Neurology, the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology.... Duchenne muscular dystrophy is a geneti...USC researchers find evidence that progesterone signaling influences ovarian cancer risk
Los Angeles, CA, Jan. 4, 2005- A woman's risk of ovarian cancer rises significantly if she carries either of two previously unexamined variations in the gene that codes for the progesterone receptor, according to a team of researchers led by scientists from the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California. ...... , was initially supposed to be a more in-depth look at one parti...USC researchers highlight disparities in cancer rates among racial and ethnic groups in California
LOS ANGELES (Dec. 14, 2004) - Among Californians, black men face the highest risk of being diagnosed with cancer, and their rates are almost three times as high as those among South Asian groups, according to statistics from the California Cancer Registry and researchers at the Los Angeles Cancer Surveillance Program at USC/Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center.... ...Cancer incidence and mortali...Stem cells of limited use for cardiac muscle repair
New evidence suggests that a promising investigational treatment for patients with damaged hearts -- using adult stem cells to regenerate heart tissue -- may not work as planned. In the December 2004 issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, researchers from the University of Chicago show that although stem cells derived from bone marrow can find their way to areas of damaged heart muscle,...More muscle means better regulation of blood pressure, study finds
People with more muscle than fat have increased ability to regulate their blood pressure in response to stress, according to a Medical College of Georgia study....... "Fitness facilitates the ability to regulate blood pressure; fatness impedes your ability to regulate blood pressure through your ability to regulate sodium," says Dr. Gregory Harshfield, hypertension researcher and second author on...Risk of muscle-damaging disorder low for most commonly prescribed statin drugs
Patients taking the lipid-lowering medications atorvastatin, pravastatin, and simvastatin to reduce cholesterol levels, have a relatively low risk of developing rhabdomyolysis, (a disorder that causes the breakdown of muscle), according to a new study in the December 1 issue of JAMA. However, older patients with diabetes mellitus taking combined statin-fibrate therapy appear to be at an increase...Skeletal muscle cells could be source of stem cells for regenerating nerve tissue
This release is also available in <a href="http://www.eurekalert.org/staticrel.php?view=LancetSaS...">German. Cells from skeletal muscle could be an important source of stem cells for repairing damaged muscle or nerve tissue, suggest authors of a research article in this week's issue of THE LANCET....... A group of cells called skeletal-muscle satellite cells are able to regenerate muscle fibres...Malnutrition in early years leads to low IQ and later antisocial behavior, USC study finds
Malnutrition in the first few years of life leads to antisocial and aggressive behavior throughout childhood and late adolescence, according to a new University of Southern California study....... "These are the first findings to show that malnutrition in the early postnatal years is associated with behavior problems through age 17," said Jianghong Liu, a postdoctoral fellow with USC's Social Sci...New insights into muscle adaptation to exercise
DURHAM, N.C. -- Duke University Medical Center researchers have identified the skeletal muscle changes that occur in response to endurance exercise and have better defined the role of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in creating new blood vessels, known as angiogenesis, in the process.... ...VEGF is a protein known to trigger blood vessel growth by activating numerous genes involved in a...Researchers shed light on cancer susceptibility using 'supermice'
At any given time, there are many cells in our body that are in the process of dividing, yet they almost never go out of control to give rise to cancers. Cell proliferation is normally kept in check by a group of gatekeeper genes called "tumor suppressors". Of these, the Ink4a/ARF locus has been of considerable interest since this locus is inactivated in a majority of human cancers. This locus e...Study reports genetic susceptibility to alcoholism in NMDA receptor
Receptors in the brain that are highly sensitive to alcohol may function differently in a person with a family history of alcoholism, according to a Yale study published this month....... The study included 45 healthy subjects, some with a family history of alcoholism and others with no family history. None of the study participants had a drinking problem. All of the participants were administer...Department of Energy announces new agreement with USC, national labs and private company
Los Angeles, Oct. 14- In an effort to speed the design and development of an artificial retina that might potentially help millions of people blinded by degenerative retinal diseases, U.S. Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham has announced that five Department of Energy (DOE) national laboratories, along with a California-based private company and three universities, have signed agreements to form...Using 'smart fluids' to retrain muscles
Boston, Mass. Physical rehabilitation has traditionally consisted of arduously retraining the body on weight machines and other resistance devices, but with the growing interest in "smart fluids," NU engineering professor Constantinos Mavroidis envisions a simple brace that can increase the resistance on a healing joint with the turn of a dial. ... ... "Smart fluids," is a generic term for any pa...Ads with 'supersized' actors leave men depressed, unhappy with their muscles, UCF study shows
ORLANDO, Fla., May 4, 2004 -- TV images of muscular, bare-chested men lifting weights and endorsing cologne leave men feeling depressed and unhappy with their muscularity, which may lead to steroid abuse and unhealthy, extreme exercising, University of Central Florida researchers have concluded....... While many studies have shown how images of thin, beautiful models affect women's self-esteem, U...SMASH imaging increases effectiveness of MRI for musculoskeletal imaging
Using simultaneous acquisition of spatial harmonics (SMASH) T2-weighted imaging for knee MRI results in a significant decrease in imaging time, as compared to conventional fat-saturated T2-weighted imaging, without any negative effects on MRI interpretation or patient clinical outcome, says a new study by researchers from the Neuroskeletal Imaging Institute in Melbourne, FL.... ...According to th...Creatine is safe, but not effective, in pediatric neuromuscular disease
SAN FRANCISCO The muscle supplement creatine can be safely taken by children with neuromuscular diseases, but does not improve strength or muscle mass, according to research that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology 56th Annual Meeting in San Francisco, Calif., April 24 May 1, 2004.... ...Creatine stores energy within muscles, and creatine supplements are a mainstay of high-pe...Testosterone replacement improves muscle strength, function in HIV-infected women
Researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) have found that restoring normal levels of testosterone can improve muscle strength and function in HIV-infected women with low levels of the male hormone. The report in the April 26 Archives of Internal Medicine is the first long-term, randomized, placebo-controlled study of testosterone treatment in women with HIV. ...... "There has been v...A team of USC researchers has brought cutting-edge imaging tools to the study of human speech, capturing the clearest moving images of the rapid vocal movements that turn sound to language....... "We're using technological tools to get better data on how the vocal tract moves during speech," said study author Dani Byrd, an associate professor of linguistics and director of the USC Phonetics Labor...When 'switched on' muscle stem cells morph to resemble nerve cells
HOUSTON -- Taking a major step forward in stem cell biology, researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center have turned muscle progenitor cells -- stem cells that are "committed" to becoming muscle tissue -- into cells that look and act like neurons (nerve cells). ......Using an artificial gene they created, the researchers "switched on" a panel of genes that are normally si...Ultrasound treatment for hurt muscles may feel good, but doesn't promote healing, study suggests
COLUMBUS, Ohio Ultrasound therapy does nothing to help an injured skeletal muscle heal any faster, according to a new study conducted in rats.... ...Although ultrasound is one of the most frequently prescribed treatments for one of the most common sport and athletic injuries skeletal muscle contusions there's really no good scientific evidence showing that it treats injured muscles effectively...Blood-forming stem cells fail to repair heart muscle in Stanford study
STANFORD, Calif. - A new study adds a twist to the ongoing debate over using blood-forming stem cells to repair heart muscle. In the March 21 online issue of Nature, researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine report that the cells are unable to replace heart muscle after a heart attack, which refutes earlier findings.... ......During the past three years, several gr...USC study finds hormone supplement used by athletes may not increase testosterone
LOS ANGELES (March 10)-Athletes who take the popular supplement DHEA to increase their testosterone levels and improve their performance may actually be raising levels of a hormone that could potentially harm the prostate, according to researchers at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California.... ...DHEA, shorthand for dehydroepiandrosterone, is a hormone that breaks do...Mouse model of neuromuscular disease identifies key player in motor neuron death
Scientists have created a new mouse model for spinal and bulbar muscular atrophy (SBMA), a disease characterized by adult-onset progressive weakness and degeneration of limb muscles, often resulting in the patient being confined to a wheel chair. SBMA causes the death of cells called motor neurons that control muscle function. The study, published in the March 4 issue of , presents a clearer pic...Cord blood cells proven to differentiate into heart muscle and brain cells
DURHAM, N.C. -- Scientists at the Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center have scientifically validated for the first time that stem cells in umbilical cord blood can infiltrate damaged heart tissue and transform themselves into the kind of heart cells needed to halt further damage.... ...Clinical proof of this principle has existed for a decade, as Duke physicians have used cord blood to correct heart,...Study: Muscles respond to getting on your feet after spinal cord injury
ANN ARBOR, Mich.---When someone's spinal cord is completely severed, brain signals can no longer reach the legs to tell the legs to walk....... A study in this month's journal Spinal Cord shows that those who have suffered a spinal cord injury can generate muscle activity independent of brain signals. Dan Ferris, now an assistant professor of kinesiology at U-M, led the research as part of his po...UCSD, Salk researchers define role of abnormal muscle, fat & liver in common metabolic disorder
Metabolic Syndrome, a cluster of health symptoms including obesity, high blood pressure and insulin resistance, puts one in four Americans at increased risk for diabetes, heart disease and stroke. Although a common disorder affecting upwards of 60 million Americans, the syndrome is not completely understood by scientists. ...... Now, researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD)...Genomics research: New genetic 'hit list' may underlie susceptibility to sudden cardiac death
ROCHESTER, Minn. -- Researchers at Mayo Clinic have discovered that genetic variants associated with instances of sudden cardiac deaths are far more prevalent and diverse than first thought -- especially among minorities. The news comes from a study on a specific cardiac disorder affecting young people -- long QT syndrome -- which may kill as many as 3,000 teenagers and young adults in the United...Age-related muscle loss linked to protein interplay, says Stanford researcher
STANFORD, Calif. - Any older athlete can attest that aging muscles don't heal as fast as youthful ones. Now researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine have found a molecular link between older muscles and slow healing. This work could lead to ways of preventing atrophy from immobilization, space flight or simply due to aging....... "What you really want to do is maintain the youthfulne...Cardiac MRI detects thinned heart muscle previously deemed unsalvageable
ORLANDO, FLA. - Duke University Medical Center researchers have used cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to demonstrate that heart muscle that had been "thinned" by a heart attack could indeed be "saved" by restoring blood flow to the affected region.... ...In the past, physicians would typically write off such thinned heart tissue as unsalvageable and would not pursue revascularization ther...Universal bone marrow cell spurs growth of vessels and heart muscle
Orlando, Fla., Nov. 10 A "universal stem cell clone" found in adult bone marrow regenerated blood vessels and heart muscle, according to research reported at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2003. ...The cells, called human bone marrow-derived multipotent stem cells (hBMSC), were implanted into animal hearts where they formed multiple cell types. ...The hBMSC improved animals...