U of M researcher says Viagra may cause permanent vision loss in some men
...to the small space in the back of the eye. "Viagra regulates a chemical in the body to constrict the arteries. This constriction may cut off the blood flow to the optic nerve, especially in people with a low cup to disk ratio, where the blood vessels and nerves are tightly bundled provoking NAION," says Pomera...Fat may promote inflammation, new study suggests
... also looked at two "good" proteins, leptin, which regulates energy metabolism, and adiponectin, which has anti-inflammatory effects. To gauge production levels of the proteins, the scientists took small samples of subcutaneous fat, which is just under the skin, from the abdomen and measured levels of messenge...Scientist works on innovative treatments for brain tumors
...kin 13 (IL 13), a naturally occurring protein that regulates the immune system in the body. Normal cells do not have these same receptors. Debinski developed a drug that combines a form of Il 13 with a toxin that kills cancer cells. By targeting the therapy to these receptors, the drug finds and kills the canc...Mechanism of RNA recoding: New twists in brain protein production
...In all species Reenan studied, the RNA region that regulates folding is located within an intron--a string of non-protein coding letters that cells cut out or "splice" from the molecule during processing. RNA recoding can't occur without introns, so cells must have a way of slowing down splicing long enough f...Mayo Clinic discovers 'new pathway' against pancreatic cancer
...nown to researchers as a transcription factor that regulates many genes. In cancer cells, NF Kappa B regulates genes involved in cancer cell survival, proliferation and blood vessel formation (angiogenesis). NF...Epstein-Barr virus protein crucial to its role in blood cancers
...fic viral protein targets a molecule that normally regulates the cell-cycle progression, or duplication process, of resting B cells. In the presence of this viral protein called EBNA3C (for EBV nuclear antigen) the cell cycle of the usually quiescent human B cells gets a jump start, which ultimately initiate...Decreased levels of 'good' cholesterol in children with Progeria may cause premature heart disease
...ogeria. Additionally, adiponectin, a hormone that regulates the metabolism of fat and sugar, may be linked to ...good" cholesterol--and adiponectin, a hormone that regulates the metabolism of fat and sugar. Both factors work to remove fat from plaques in arteries, and the ...News tips from the 2005, 54th Annual Scientific Sessions of the American College of Cardiology
...rking leptin receptors. Made by fat cells, leptin regulates appetite and energy balance. Normally, greater quantities of leptin are released from fat cells when an animal is "full," as a signal to stop eating, but the signal is blocked in obesity. Comparison of heart tissue samples from obese mice and norma...Laughter helps blood vessels function better
...ium has a powerful effect on blood vessel tone and regulates blood flow, adjusts coagulation and blood thickening, and secretes chemicals and other substances in response to wounds, infections or irritation. It also plays an important role in the development of cardiovascular disease. "The endothelium is ...Studies underscore genetic involvement in nicotine addiction & aggressive hostility
...hrough linkage to an as-yet undetermined gene that regulates alcohol intake. Stitzel concludes that, "Common genes likely play a part in why there is such a [strong] link between nicotine and ethanol intake, which in humans means smoking and drinking." In addition, the finding could help to account for the ...Mood elevating hormone may trigger depression and heart problems
...Haven, Conn.--Impaired function of a receptor that regulates release of a mood elevating hormone in the brain may be responsible for causing depression, anxiety and cardiovascular disorders, according to a Yale study in Pharmacogenetics and Genomics. The genetic variant that causes this malfunction is nearly 1...Stem cell therapy for spinal injury
...nce of neurogenin-2, a "transcription factor" that regulates the activity of other genes during the stem cell maturing process, inhibited the development of astrocytes and encouraged the formation of oligodendrocytes, another type of glial cell that forms the fatty myelin sheaths around the axons. The small nu...Stat5 protein inhibits spread of breast cancer cells
...and invasive." Stat5 is a DNA-binding protein that regulates expression of certain genes, many of which remain unknown. During pregnancy, Stat5 is activated by the hormone prolactin, and stimulates milk production in the breast. In related research, Rui and colleagues have recently shown that Stat5 remains a...New non-hormonal hot flash treatment set for clinical trial
...ct on the hypothalamus, the part of the brain that regulates temperature. Thomas Guttuso, Jr., M.D., UB assistant professor of neurology and principal investigator on the clinical trial, conducted a small study in 2004 using the amino acid treatment with 15 postmenopausal women. "The study showed very promis...Penn study shows how next-generation diabetic drugs could work more selectively
...nd that PPAR can turn genes both on and off. "What regulates it, in this case, is the drug, which is acting as a switch to turn genes on," says Lazar. "This paper shows that we can separate the two different aspects of the drug's action on fat cells." These findings appear in the January 28th online edition of...Controversial drug shown to act on brain protein to cut alcohol use
...e. "By identifying the brain protein that Ibogaine regulates to reduce alcohol consumption in rats, we have established a link between GDNF and reversal of addiction -- knowledge of a molecular mechanism that should allow development of a new class of drugs to treat addiction without Ibogaine's side effects," ...American Thoracic Society journal news tips for January 2005 (first issue)
...nin is the precursor molecule of calcitonin, which regulates calcium concentrations in the blood. Procalcitonin levels rise during bacterial infections but not during either viral infections or inflammatory reactions of a non-infectious origin. Serum levels of procalcitonin are very low in healthy individual...Mice with depression-like behaviors reveal possible source of human depression
...or normal function, the brain closely monitors and regulates the hormone. People with major depressive disorder release excessive amounts of adrenal hormones, including glucocorticoid, possibly because their brains sense stress differently, according to the researchers. "We wanted to find out if depression st...Decreased sensitivity in the brain to estrogen may help explain menopausal changes
...an that, with age, a part of a woman's brain which regulates reproductive hormone levels may become less sensitive to estrogen. Other study findings suggest that the decreases in sensitivity can lead to significantly increased hot flashes and night sweats." The analysis was led by Gerson Weiss, M.D., New Je...... Fisher's longtime work on a gene called MITF that regulates the development of skin pigment-producing cells called melanocytes. Regulatory genes like MITF act on other genes in a chain-of-command fashion. When Fisher's group looked for genes regulated by MITF, they found a pigment gene called SILVER, and they...