Body

LOS ANGELES (May 3, 2010) – A targeted antibiotic provides effective and long-lasting relief of Irritable Bowel Syndrome symptoms, according to the results of two multisite Phase III clinical trials designed by Cedars-Sinai researchers. Rifaximin is the first drug treatment for IBS that relieves symptoms while it's being administered and continues to benefit patients after they stop taking the drug.

New research has identified that a key protein called PEA-15 stops T-cell proliferation by blocking the cell's ability to reproduce. The control of T-cell proliferation is essential in preventing certain blood cancers and autoimmune diseases, as well as the orchestration of the immune response to infection. Findings of the study are reported in a recent online issue of The FASEB Journal, a publication of The Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology.

Electronic cigarettes, or 'E-cigarettes', are used mainly to quit smoking, and may be useful for this purpose. Researchers writing in the open access journal BMC Public Health polled 81 users and former users of the devices, finding that although the majority was happy with them, several concerns remain unaddressed.

Rush University Medical Center has been awarded a $10 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to establish the Rush Center for Urban Health Equity. The aim of the Center is to find ways to promote changes to eliminate the disparities in heart and lung disease affecting inner city residents, in particular those who are low-income persons of color.

In Australia, Martu hunter-gatherers light fires to expose the hiding places of their prey: monitor lizards called goanna that can grow up to six feet long. These generations-old hunting practices, part of the Martu day-to-day routine, have reshaped Australia's Western Desert habitats, according to Stanford University anthropologists Douglas and Rebecca Bird.

Children with ADHD who carry a specific type of dopamine receptor gene respond better to the drug methylphenidate (MPH) than those without the genotype, according to new research from Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.

The findings come from the first-ever placebo-controlled pharmacogenetic drug trial for Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in school age children to evaluate variants of the DRD4 dopamine receptor gene using teacher ratings of children's symptoms.

The prevalence of childhood obesity and overweight appears to vary widely among states, according to a report posted online today that will appear in the July print issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

Screening mammograms in women under age 40 result in high rates of callbacks and additional imaging tests but low rates of cancer detection, according to a study published online May 3 in theJournal of the National Cancer Institute.

Many studies have assessed mammography in women over age 40 years, but little is known about its usefulness in younger women. Although screening mammograms are not generally recommended under age 40, about 29% of women between 30 and 40 report having had one.

(WASHINGTON, May 3, 2010) – Gaucher disease, a rare enzyme deficiency disorder, is one of many conditions with few approved treatment options for patients. In a study published online today in Blood, the journal of the American Society of Hematology, researchers present positive results of a Phase II clinical trial of eliglustat tartrate, an oral therapy in development to treat Gaucher disease.

CHICAGO – The American Dietetic Association has published an updated position paper on nutrition assistance programs for children that reviews existing programs and their value, discusses barriers to participation and encourages more research to evaluate the programs' long-term effectiveness in helping children get and stay healthy.

ADA's updated position paper, published in the May issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, represents the Association's official stance on child and adolescent nutrition assistance programs:

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (May 3, 2010) – Whitehead Institute researchers have converted established human induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells and human embryonic stem (ES) cells to a base state of greater pluripotency.

"This is a previously unknown pluripotent state in human cells," says Jacob Hanna, a postdoctoral researcher in the lab of Whitehead Member Rudolf Jaenisch. "It's the first time these cell types have approached the flexibility found in mouse ES cells."

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Our DNA is under constant siege from a variety of damaging agents. Damage to DNA and the ability of cells to repair that damage has broad health implications, from aging and heritable diseases to cancer. Unfortunately, the tools used to study DNA damage are quite limited, but MIT researchers have developed a new tool for rapid DNA damage analysis that promises to make an impact on human health.

DURHAM, N.C. -- A class of drugs commonly used for asthma, inflammation and skin injury also may hold promise for tissue-repairing regenerative medicine, according to Duke University Medical Center researchers.

In studies on cells from mice, the drugs, a kind of steroid hormone called glucocorticoids, appear to be promoting and protecting stem cell populations that perform tissue repair.

New York, NY (May 3, 2010) -- A new study from researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center found that the imprint of European colonialism and imperialism is evident in the genetic makeup of today's Hispanic/Latino American populations. Scientists discovered that Europeans, Native Americans, as well as West Africans brought to the U.S. and Latin America by the trans-Atlantic slave trade, have influenced the genes of the current Hispanic/Latino populations. However, a large variation in genes among individuals within each population were still found to exist.