Body

Diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH) is a common but often unrecognized systemic disorder observed mainly in elderly people. All papers related to DISH demonstrate a consistent and marked increase of the disease with advancing age. Various local structural lesions such as oropharyngeal tumors, vascular pathologies, retropharyngeal abscesses, and anterior cervical osteophytes may lead to mechanical esophageal dysphagia.

Lipoma is relatively common in the colon but is less often in the small intestine. Most lipomas are incidentally detected at endoscopy and are usually small and asymptomatic. However, some of them can present with obstruction and/or intussusceptions. Surgical resection is commonly recommended to remove such significant lipomas with a limited pedicle and larger than 2 cm in size, as endoscopic resection may result in unfavorable complications such as intestinal perforations.

SALT LAKE CITY—After receiving only the fourth U.S. implant of a new-generation, Utah-made ventricular assist (VAD ) device, an Idaho man with heart failure is looking forward to resuming an active life following an operation on March 17 at University of Utah Hospital.

Douglas Wiley, Kuna, Idaho, received the Levacor™ VAD as part of national clinical trial under way at the University and is anxious to give his new VAD a real-world tryout. "I can't wait to get back on my motorcycle," the 44-year-old says.

The vocalisations or 'groans' of male fallow deer provide rivals and potential mates with an honest account of the emitting animal's competitive abilities. A study, published in the open access journal BMC Biology, describes how the acoustic qualities of a deer's call change year by year and reflect changes in status and age.

Nicotine withdrawal can cause dangerous agitation in intensive care patients. Researchers writing in BioMed Central's open access journal Critical Care found that, compared to non-smokers, agitated smokers were more likely to accidentally remove tubes and catheters, require supplemental sedative, analgesic or anti-psychotic medications, or need physical restraints.

SAN FRANCISCO, April 8, 2010 — Using adult stem cells, researchers have created functional blood vessels that could one day replace synthetic grafts often required in various vascular bypass surgeries, according to research presented at the American Heart Association's Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology Annual Conference 2010.

Avian influenza (H5N1) outbreaks in Europe during the winter of 2005-2006 occurred at the edge of cold weather fronts, according to researchers from Princeton University and the Erasmus Medical Centre, Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Their results, published April 8 in the open-access journal PLoS Pathogens, show that these outbreaks were driven by aggregated movements of wild waterbirds away from areas of frozen water.

Hamilton, ON (April 5, 2010) –Women are susceptible to HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, but scientists have been puzzled as to how it finds its way into the female reproductive tract.

One theory has been that trauma, such as a little tear during intercourse, causes HIV to cross epithelial cells – the protective barrier that keeps out infection. There is also the suggestion an unknown mechanism is at work.

For the first time, researchers at McMaster University have discovered the culprit could be HIV itself and what the virus does when it binds to epithelial cells.

Montréal, April 8, 2010 – The discovery by Dr. Éric A. Cohen's team at the Institut de recherches cliniques de Montréal, could potentially lead to the development of new strategies to combat the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1), the causal agent of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). In their article published in the open-access journal PLoS Pathogens, Dr. Cohen's team explains how the Vpu viral protein prevents the expression of Tetherin, a host factor inhibiting HIV-1 release, on the surface of infected cells.

COLLEGE STATION, April 8, 2010 - Two well-preserved skeletons of a human ancestor never before seen have been discovered in South Africa by a team that includes a Texas A&M University anthropologist.

LOS ANGELES (EMBARGOED UNTIL APRIL 8, AT 4 PM EASTERN) –Researchers at the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute have found in animals that infusing cardiac-derived stem cells with micro-size particles of iron and then using a magnet to guide those stem cells to the area of the heart damaged in a heart attack boosts the heart's retention of those cells and could increase the therapeutic benefit of stem cell therapy for heart disease.

SALT LAKE CITY—After receiving only the fourth U.S. implant of a new-generation, Utah-made ventricular assist (VAD ) device, an Idaho man with heart failure is looking forward to resuming an active life following an operation on March 17 at University of Utah Hospital.

Douglas Wiley, Kuna, Idaho, received the Levacor™ VAD as part of national clinical trial under way at the University and is anxious to give his new VAD a real-world tryout. "I can't wait to get back on my motorcycle," the 44-year-old says.

Social influence plays a substantial role in the surging number of autism diagnoses, according to a study published in the American Journal of Sociology.

CLEVELAND ––Maria Pagano, PhD, assistant professor of psychiatry at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, has established an empirical model to quantify and gauge an alcohol addicts' level of engagement in Alcoholics Anonymous (AA)-related helping (AAH). The instrument validity study, "Running Head: Service to Others in Sobriety," is published in the spring 2010 issue of Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (April 8, 2010) – Using T cells primed for the infectious disease toxoplasmosis, Whitehead Institute researchers have created novel mouse models of the immune system that more accurately reflect how immune cells actually respond to pathogens in their presence.

"These models have a lot of potential," says Oktay Kirak, who is a postdoctoral researcher in the labs of Whitehead Members Hidde Ploegh and Rudolf Jaenisch. "It allows us to study both the biology of T cells as well as their role in toxoplasmosis."