Body

Montreal, July 8, 2010 - A team of scientists from the Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer (IRIC) of the University of Montreal have identified vitamin B3 as a potential antifungal treatment. Led by IRIC Principal Investigators Martine Raymond, Alain Verreault and Pierre Thibault, in collaboration with Alaka Mullick, from the Biotechnology Research Institute of the National Research Council Canada, the study is the subject of a recent article in Nature Medicine.

In a fascinating example of vocal mimicry, researchers from the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and UFAM (Federal University of Amazonas) have documented a wild cat species imitating the call of its intended victim: a small, squirrel-sized monkey known as a pied tamarin. This is the first recorded instance of a wild cat species in the Americas mimicking the calls of its prey.

Natural compounds in plants may protect us against unwanted inflammation. However, human nutrition researchers agree that many questions remain about exactly how these compounds, known as phytochemicals, do that. Studies led by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) molecular biologist Daniel H. Hwang are providing some of the missing details.

Secreted microRNAs (miRNAs) from cells to blood maybe the novel class of signaling molecules mediating intercellular/interorgan communication. A research article, published this week in Molecular Cell, reports that miRNA can be secreted from one type of cells and delivered into recipient cells, decreases targeted gene expression, thus, regulates recipient cell function.

Happier youths are also healthier youths, according to Emily Shaffer-Hudkins and her team, from the University of South Florida in the US. Adolescents' positive emotions and moods, as well as their satisfaction with life, could be more important than their anxiety or depression levels for predicting their physical health, they argue. Looking at teenagers' so-called 'subjective well-being' could help identify those likely to develop health problems in the future and target them with appropriate prevention strategies.

HPV DNA testing for precancers and cervical cancers is over 50 per cent more sensitive than cytology testing for the same conditions a community-based study in Mexico has revealed. Results of the largest HPV DNA primary screening study ever to be performed in a Latin American country point to the readiness of HPV DNA testing for large-scale implementation in Mexico and are published online today (8 July 2010) in Cancer, Causes and Controls.

New Queen's University research has shown that the growth of melanoma, one of the most deadly forms of skin cancer, can be slowed when a little known gene called MicroRNA 193b is added.

Victor Tron, head of pathology and molecular medicine, focused on miR-193b when he discovered that it was deficient in melanoma tumors and because there were very few studies done about the gene. The miRNA-193b gene is found in people's DNA and was unknown until 10 years ago.

Researchers at the University of Granada -in collaboration with the Clinical Hospital San Cecilio and the University Rey Juan Carlos- have proven that the psychological and physiological state of patients with tension headache improves within 24 hours after receiving a 30-minute massage.

Australian and Vietnamese researchers have estimated the current prevalence of Type 2 diabetes in Vietnam, and have developed a simple tool for identifying individuals at high risk.

Often triggered by sedentary lifestyles and high-fat or high-sugar diets, diabetes is a condition where the body becomes less able to make and use insulin, a hormone that reduces sugar in the blood by moving it into cells for energy use.

The European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) just released an enhanced and revised set of clinical recommendations designed to help oncologists deliver the best quality care to their patients.

The ESMO Clinical Practice Guidelines (CPG) offer vital, evidence-based information including the incidence of the malignancy, diagnostic criteria, staging of disease and risk assessment, treatment plans and follow-up.

Diagnosis of celiac disease is based on a characteristic enteropathy in an intestinal biopsy and evidence that these changes are gluten-triggered. The appropriate use of simpler and more accurate tools would add reliability to the diagnosis of celiac disease. Thus, the celiac disease-related serology might have a key role in defining new diagnostic standards for celiac disease.

Early knowledge of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) response to transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) is crucial for determining treatment success, timing of repeat treatment, and patient prognosis. Currently, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is used 1-3 mo after treatment to evaluate anatomical tumor response, based upon changes in tumor size and contrast-agent enhancement. Alternatively, diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) can be used as a functional imaging technique to depict thermally induced motion of water molecules.

Liver damage is common in patients with tumor following chemotherapy. Although early liver damage causes no symptoms and is reversible in most patients, it occasionally progresses to more severe liver impairment, which may be irreversible, it is thus necessary to demonstrate the presence and severity of drug-related parenchymal changes. At present, the liver function test [alanine aminotransferase (ALT)] is the main index in diagnosis of drug-induced hepatic damage. However, the ALT value is found a less sensitive index and perhaps cannot thoroughly reflect hepatic toxicity.

Women who have the most serious form of angina are three times as likely to develop severe coronary artery disease (CAD) as men with the same condition, according to the July issue of the Journal of Internal Medicine.

Canadian researchers looked at the records of 23,771 patients referred for first diagnostic angiography over a six-year period.