American Thoracic Society Journal news tips for September (second issue)
...al accumulation of fluid in the pleurathe delicate membrane covering the lung and the interior wall of the chest. Analysis of lung fluid identified fly ash, degraded glass,and asbestos fibers. In an editorial in the same issue, an expert points out that acute eosinophilic pneumonia is a condition recognized...Artificial liver trials show progress, as transplant candidates wait
...a plastic tube filled with hollow fibers made of a membrane that has been coated with albumin. On one side of the fiber's membrane is the blood; on the other, a dialysis solution containing more albumin. The toxins on the albumin i...Other highlights in the September 4 issue of JNCI
...ncrease in permeability of the inner mitochondrial membrane and a decrease in oxygen consumption. These findings suggest that vanilloids may be useful for preventing or treating skin cancers. Contact: Laura Sussman, M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, 713-745-2457, lsussman@mdanderson.org Macrophage Activating F...Lipid abnormalities linked to Lou Gehrigs disease
...ed ISP-1. The drug prevents the formation of large membrane molecules called sphingolipids, which, in turn, pr...holesterol and lipids involved in the formation of membrane sphingolipids might have an impact on an individual's susceptibility to ALS....Conjoined twins celebrate first birthday at UCLA's Mattel Children's Hospital
...lts showed the twins' brains appear separated by a membrane and look normal in size and structure. However, tests also showed that while each child possesses normal arteries feeding the brain, a portion of the veins draining the brain return to the other twin. If doctors can't preserve and reroute those veins...Platelet molecule regulates blood coagulation, study finds
...t it is a negatively charged component of platelet membrane structure. Lentz said the new findings unequivocal...hrombin to thrombin in the absence of the platelet membrane surface. And it does so by triggering assembly of the enzyme complex, prothrombinase, which is cruci...Drug developed at Duke appears effective in treating respiratory failure in newborns
...ne oxygenation method is the use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), a smaller version of the heart-lung machine used in surgery, which adds oxygen and removes carbon dioxide from the blood. The second approach is the use of inhaled nitric oxide (NO), a gas that is known to help relax blood vessels...Wake Forest researchers find brain region 'exquisitely' sensitive to alcohol
...rough which calcium ions flow from one side of the membrane to the other. The calcium ions carry an electrical charge and the charge "helps to determine whether or not the cell that possesses that channel will communicate with the next cell down the line in the chain of neurons." It is the calcium channels w...With cues from nature, scientists develop new method to purify drugs
...ome time discussed replacing chromatography with a membrane that would automatically capture the desired drug....unch of solvents over it, you just have this smart membrane in contact with the mixture that knows what molecule it wants and goes and grabs it," Martin said. C...U-M artificial lung showing promise, as need grows
...ett led the team that developed the extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, or ECMO, machine now used in intensive care units worldwide to circulate and oxygenate the blood of desperately ill trauma, burn, infection and organ failure patients. Though he and his UMHS colleagues have built the world's most experie...Does your brain shutdown with Alzheimer's?
... Ingram. This potential difference across the cell membrane allows it to receive electrical signals from neigh... the key to Alzheimer's. "There's no evidence that membrane depolarisation is the most critical disease process," he says. "But I might be wrong." Neil Buckholt...Nutritional value of enriched egg yolks as a weaning food for infants
...cid enriched egg yolks had 30-40% greater red cell membrane DHA levels than those fed regular egg yolks. There was no effect of n-3 fatty acid enriched egg yolks on plasma cholesterol, but plasma iron levels were increased. The advantages of egg yolks for weaning purposes include their practicality and palat...American Thoracic Society Journal news tips for May (second issue)
...nflammatory responses during treatment for hyaline membrane disease. Allinfants in the study had both clinical and radiological evidence of hyaline membrane disease,which results from a deficiency of surfactant necessary for normal lung function.) KGF is ...XALACOM more effective than Cosopt for IOP reduction in patients with glaucoma or ocular hypertens
...t covers the front of the eye, inflammation of the membrane that covers the eye and lines the inner surface of the eyelid, eyelid inflammation, eye pain, headache, and skin rash. Darkening, thickening and lengthening of eye lashes and darkening of eye color (increase in the amount of brown color) were also n...Study shows infliximab can prolong remissions in Crohns disease
...gned to attach to and neutralize TNF-a on the cell membrane and in the blood. Because it suppresses part of the immune response, infliximab may increase the risks of serious infections. There are also reports of serious infusion reactions with hives, difficulty breathing, and low blood pressure. In clinical ...Post-genomic technique provides real-time, multiscale look at protein life cycles in living cells
... Both compounds are capable of crossing the plasma membrane of living cells to quickly reach the protein genet...on of thousands of proteins which cross the plasma membrane of two adjacent cells. Through their nano-scale sized pores, cells in the gap junction establish a c...Newly published data show at-home dialysis therapy may benefit more patients
...ickly different solutes move across the peritoneal membrane of a patient) and other factors that have long bee... osmosis, toxins and excess fluids move across the membrane into the solution, which is then drained from the abdomen. The other form of therapy is called he...MGH study identifies key immune system molecule
...receptor -- a molecule that sits on a cell?s outer membrane and receives chemical signals -- called PGRP-LC. The researchers found that inactivating PGRP-LC destroyed macrophages' ability to recognize and ingest E. coli bacteria but not another type of bacteria called S. aureus, suggesting that the protein i...JDRF launches multimillion-dollar Center for Islet Transplantation at Emory University
...ted from animals can be protected in a sheath-like membrane from the bodys immune response. Christian P. Larse...ability of pig islets encapsulated in a protective membrane to correct diabetes in laboratory mice. The researchers will work to optimize the design of the pro...Biopsies of the internal mammary sentinel nodes may improve patients chances of survival
...ually serious (in 7% of cases slight damage to the membrane round the lungs is caused, but this is treated by simple vacuum drainage for 12 hours). The biopsy involves a small cut (2-2.5 cms) over the area adjacent to the breast bone, through which the radioactive IM-SN is removed surgically. IM-SN biopsy i...