Protein can nurture or devastate brain cells, depending on its 'friends,' researchers find

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DALLAS – Nov. 11, 2008 – Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have uncovered new insights into the "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" nature of a protein that stimulates stem-cell maturation in the brain but, paradoxically, can also lead to nerve-cell damage.

In two separate studies in mice scheduled to appear online this week and in an upcoming issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, UT Southwestern research teams studied the protein Cdk5 and discovered both helpful and detrimental mechanisms it elicits in nerve cells.

Damage inflicted during cardiac attacks more widespread, MSU researchers find

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EAST LANSING, Mich. — Cholesterol crystals released in the bloodstream during a cardiac attack or stroke can damage artery linings much further away from the site of the attack, leaving survivors at greater risk than previously thought.

George Abela, a physician in Michigan State University's College of Human Medicine and chief of the Department of Medicine's cardiology section, is leading innovative research into the role that the crystallization and expansion of cholesterol play in heart attacks, strokes and other cardiovascular events in humans.

EPFL launches Center for Neuroprostheses

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EPFL (Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne) announces the creation of a large world-class center of neuroprostheses. This Lausanne-based pioneering facility, to be inaugurated in January, 2009, will include five Chairs and is situated at the crossroads between fundamental research, clinical applications and market opportunities.

Scientists map steps to block key enzyme action in heart failure

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Taking a cue from the way drugs like Viagra put the biological brakes on a key enzyme involved in heart failure, scientists at Johns Hopkins have mapped out a key chemical step involved in blocking the enzyme.

The Johns Hopkins team reports how the enzyme, phosphodiesterase 5, or PDE5A, slows down the breakdown of another, more vital compound in the body, cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cyclic GMP) which influences a variety of biological activities, including cell growth and muscle contraction. A buildup of cyclic GMP limits stress and overgrowth of heart tissue.

Past gains in reducing risk of heart disease have flattened, women especially affected

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NEW ORLEANS - The positive U.S. health trend documented over the past 30 years of reduction in risk for heart disease is not as strong as is widely perceived - and, in fact, the trend has flattened, according to a new analysis of national data by Mayo Clinic.

This suggests that the public health challenge of curbing heart disease may be greater than is commonly thought, says Francisco Lopez-Jimenez, M.D., cardiologist and lead researcher.

LSUHSC public health contributes to estimate of HPV-related cancers

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Professor Vivien Chen, PhD,. Associate Professor Xiao Cheng Wu, MD, PhD and Assistant Professor Edward Peters, DMD, SM, ScD, at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans School of Public Health contributed five papers to the largest most comprehensive assessment of the burden of human papillomavirus (HPV)-associated cancers in the United States to date. The report, "Assessing the Burden of Human Papillomavirus (HPV)-Associated Cancers in the United States (ABHACUS)," is available now online and will be published in the November 15, 2008 supplement to the journal Cancer.

What happens in Vegas? Place as a risk factor for suicide

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Every day 85 Americans die by suicide and hundreds of thousands more make attempts every year. The vast majority of recent studies on suicide have focused on identifying psychiatric risk factors. However, a new study by Temple University Sociology Professor Matt Wray, published online this month in Social Science and Medicine, explores time and place as factors in suicide by closely analyzing the patterns of suicide in a single geographic area—Las Vegas—over a 30 year period.

Miniaturizing memory: Taking data storage to the molecular level

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Computers are getting smaller and smaller. And as hand-held devices — from mobile phones and cameras to music players and laptops — get more powerful, the race is on to develop memory formats that can satisfy the ever-growing demand for information storage on tiny formats.

Researchers at The University of Nottingham are now exploring ways of exploiting the unique properties of carbon nanotubes to create a cheap and compact memory cell that uses little power and writes information at high speeds.

MSU researcher studies ties between cholesterol drugs, muscle problems

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EAST LANSING, Mich. — A Michigan State University researcher is studying whether the most popular class of cholesterol-lowering drugs may cause muscle problems in users.

There is accumulating evidence that the effect statins can have on skeletal muscle – including muscle weakness, fatigue and deterioration – is underestimated, said Jill Slade, assistant professor of radiology and osteopathic manipulative medicine at MSU.

Exercise is safe, improves outcomes for patients with heart failure

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DURHAM, N.C. – Working out on a stationary bicycle or walking on a treadmill just 25 to 30 minutes most days of the week is enough to modestly lower risk of hospitalization or death for patients with heart failure, say researchers from Duke Clinical Research Institute (DCRI).