Rare disease endemic in South America is model for studying autoimmunity
...s of attack by the immune system, in the pemphigus variant found in her native land. Desmosomes and the plec...ology, she reports characteristics of the El Bagre variant that distinguish it from similar diseases, including Senear-Usher, a combination of lupus and pemphi...Int'l surveillance system suggests 2002 gastroenteritis outbreaks from new variant norovirus
...on US cruise ships-were probably a result of a new variant of norovirus, conclude authors of a study in this ...ith the detection and emergence of a new norovirus variant (of genogroup II4), which had a consistent mutation in the polymerase gene. Detection of the new var...Success of nicotine patches linked to genetic make-up
...s seemed to be related to genotype. Women with the variant T allele (CT or TT genotype) showed considerable benefit from patches, whereas those with the more common CC genotype did not. No significant relation between genotype and patch effectiveness was seen in men. The authors therefore suggest that nicoti...Environmental and dietary influences on cancer risk
... 3975 Scientists have identified a genetic variant that places heavy drinkers who smoke at a much hig...n risk for oral cancer among the ADH3*2 homozygous variant population, compared to a 6-fold increase among the ADH3*1 homozygous wildtype or heterozygous ADH3 ...APOE gene linked to Parkinson's disease
SAN FRANCISCO One variant of the apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene may increase the risk of Parkinson's disease, according to an analysis of research that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology 56th Annual Meeting in San Francisco, Calif., April 24 May 1, 2004. AP...Iressa news backgrounder: Testing of smart drug expands at M. D. Anderson Cancer Center
...ous cell carcinoma of the skin, an aggressive rare variant of common skin cancer. "Whereas many cancers use redundant pathways to maintain their growth and so would not be especially damaged by EGF receptor inhibitors, we believe some, such as the squamous cell carcinoma of the skin, may be especially...Chronic fatigue syndrome and Gulf War veterans
...igue following strenuous exercise, while a genetic variant known as the insertion/deletion (I/D) polymorphism...s with CFS/ICF showed a higher prevalence of the D variant in the DCP1 gene. Veterans with the DD genotype (which has been associated with alcoholism and cardi...Half the population at increased risk of neural tube defects
A genetic variant (MTHFR C677T) puts half the population at increased risk of neural tube defects, finds new research on bmj.com . This finding underscores the importance of folic acid supplementation for all women of childbearing age to prevent neural tube defects. ...New way of controlling cholesterol may help treat Alzheimer's
...d Alzheimer's since it was found that a particular variant of the gene for a protein called apoE significantly increased risk of the disease. Since the apoE protein transports cholesterol, that discovery suggested that disruption of cholesterol handling might cause or worsen the development of the amyloid p......mon form that appears to be protective." The risky variant of PTPN1 gene is found in about 35 percent of the Caucasian population and the protective form of PTPN1 is found in about 45 percent. The other variants are apparently neutral, neither enhancing nor reducing the risk of diabetes. "There are certainl...System that regulates blood pressure may also affect aging
...ts. The projects are: Mobility and ACE A common variant of the gene that controls ACE production can be in...s, ages 70 to 79, researchers investigated how the variant affects response to exercise. Half of the group was active, burning more than 1,000 calories a week ...CT helps find cause of puzzling cough in WTC rescue workers
...breath, dry cough or wheezing and is treated as a variant of asthma, with inhaled steroids and bronchodilators. "We remain attentive to the possibility of other adverse health effects that still may occur," said co-author Rafael de la Hoz, M.D. "We have seen evidence of improvement in some patients, ...Artery variations increase complication risk in liver transplants
...cations after surgery, whereas five of the 24 with variant anatomy experienced complications after surgery. A...cording to the authors of the study, having such a variant anatomy, which occurs during fetal development, usually does not affect a healthy person. However, t...Protein 'key' could aid search for cancer drugs
...most every form of life including bacteria use a variant of the protein that we studied, and we believe the work may also aid drug makers who are developing new forms of antibiotics." In the study, Shamoo and graduate student John Bruning used x-ray crystallography and isothermal titration calorimetry ...Brain imaging reveals new language circuits
...his tidy picture. Now a study employing a powerful variant of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) confirms these... shows the major tissue structures of the brain. A variant called "functional" MRI even allows researchers to identify which areas are being used during differ...New study shows how mad cow prions hitch a ride into intestine
...lprits behind the human form of mad cow disease or variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD), are not destroyed by digestive enzymes found in the stomach. Furthermore, the study finds that the infectious prion proteins, also known as prions, cross the normally stringent intestinal barrier by riding piggyback ...News tips from the Journal of Neuroscience
...oka,and Neena Singh The discovery of the "mad cow" variant of CreutzfeldtJakob disease (CJD) as a foodborne illness not only created a worldwide scare but also focused attention on the mechanisms of transmission of the infective agent, the scrapie prion protein (PrP Sc ). Mishra et al. were surprised to find...New insight into link between homocysteine and stroke
...omocysteine concentration. People randomly inherit variant (TT) of the gene, which gives them a higher concentration of blood homocysteine, or variant (CC), which results in lower levels of the amino acid in their blood. The authors compared risk est...Study sheds light on cross-species infection for BSE
...at the slaughterhouse, to be at risk of developing variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD). Jean-Phillipe Deslys (Commissariat l'Energie Atomique, France) and colleagues gave two adult primates a 5g oral dose of ground brain tissue from a BSE-affected cow. One primate developed a neurological disease clos...Researchers discover genetic variant that may explain why women develop M.S. more than men
...ften because they have a lower frequency of a gene variant that is related to higher secretion of interferon ...e especially true, they hypothesized, if a genetic variant existed that produced high levels of a kind of interferon gamma that tended to promote inflammation ...