Body

Copper deficiency diseases can be devastating. Symptoms can range from crippling neurological degeneration in Menkes disease – a classic copper deficiency disease – to brittle bones, anaemia and defective skin pigmentation in gastric bypass patients. Unfortunately, very little is known about how the body uses this essential nutrient.

ROCHESTER, Minn. -- Mayo Clinic investigators, with Belgian collaborators, have demonstrated that rationally "guided" human adult stem cells can effectively heal, repair and regenerate damaged heart tissue. The findings -- called "landmark work" in an accompanying editorial -- appear in today's Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

Antagonistic people, particularly those who are competitive and aggressive, may be increasing their risk of heart attack or stroke, researchers report in Hypertension: Journal of the American Heart Association.

The humanitarian organization Médecins Sans Frontières performed close to 20,000 procedures in resource-limited settings between 2001 and 2008 with an operative death rate of only 0.2 percent, suggesting surgical care can be provided safely in these circumstances with appropriate minimum standards and protocols, according to a report in the August issue of Archives of Surgery, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

Individuals with psoriasis appear to have an increased risk of depression, anxiety and suicidality, according to a report in the August issue of Archives of Dermatology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

Dysphagia, or difficulty swallowing, is associated with longer hospital stays among patients with any diagnosis, is increasingly prevalent with older age and is an indicator of a poor prognosis, according to a report in the August issue of Archives of Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

A new discovery about selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) suggests that these drugs, which are used to treat mental health disorders like depression and anxiety, have multiple effects on our cells. In a research report published in the August 2010 issue of GENETICS (http://www.genetics.org), researchers used yeast cells to identify secondary drug targets or pathways affected by SSRIs.

In experiments with potentially broad health care implications, a research team led by a University of Washington physicist has devised a method that works at a very small scale to sequence DNA quickly and relatively inexpensively.

That could open the door for more effective individualized medicine, for example providing blueprints of genetic predispositions for specific conditions and diseases such as cancer, diabetes or addiction.

A UCSF-led team has discovered at least one key reason why blood stem cells are susceptible to developing the genetic mutations that can lead to adult leukemia. Their finding also may explain, they say, why some other age-related hematological disorders develop.

The study, reported in "Cell Stem Cell" (Aug. 6, 2010) and reviewed in Cell Stem Cell and Cell, opens a new frontier for studying the molecular underpinnings of adult leukemia.

Another reason for including asthma on the list of potential health risks posed by secondhand tobacco smoke, especially for non-smokers, has been uncovered. Furthermore, the practice of using ozone to remove the smell of tobacco smoke from indoor environments, including hotel rooms and the interiors of vehicles, is probably a bad idea.

Troy, N.Y. – Building on an enzyme found in nature, researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have created a nanoscale coating for surgical equipment, hospital walls, and other surfaces which safely eradicates methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), the bacteria responsible for antibiotic resistant infections.

Is the science of diagnosing pain causing a number of pain sufferers to defend their honor? Research out of the University of Cincinnati is examining the diagnosis of pain that evades scientific testing, and the additional emotional suffering that can result for the patient.

New research in the Journal of General Physiology helps explain how the body's "flight-or-fight" response is mediated. The study, which may provide new answers to the question of how the heart pacemaker—the sinoatrial (SA) node—is regulated, appears online on August 16 (www.jgp.org).

HOUSTON - For the first time, Salt Inducible Kinase 2 (SIK2) has been found to play a critical role in cell division and to regulate the response of some ovarian cancers to chemotherapy.