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Mayo Clinic researchers find experimental therapy turns on tumor suppressor gene in cancer cells

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Researchers at Mayo Clinic have found that the experimental drug they are testing to treat a deadly form of thyroid cancer turns on a powerful tumor suppressor capable of halting cell growth. Few other cancer drugs have this property, they say.

In the Feb. 15 issue of Cancer Research (available online Jan. 20), they report that RS5444, being tested in a Phase 1/2 clinical trial to treat anaplastic thyroid cancer, might be useful for treating other cancers. The agent is also known as CS-7017.

Motor skill learning may be enhanced by mild brain stimulation

People who received a mild electrical current to a motor control area of the brain were significantly better able to learn and perform a complex motor task than those in control groups. The findings could hold promise for enhancing rehabilitation for people with traumatic brain injury, stroke and other conditions.

Socially active and not easily stressed? You may not develop dementia

ST. PAUL, Minn. – A new study shows that people who are socially active and not easily stressed may be less likely to develop dementia. The research is published in the January 20, 2009, print issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

Victims of intimate partner violence display distinct patterns of facial injury

Women who are victims of intimate partner violence tend to have different patterns of facial injury than women who experience facial trauma from other causes, according to a report in the January/February issue of Archives of Facial Plastic Surgery, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. This information, and other key characteristics such as a delay before visiting a health care facility, could help surgeons and other physicians recognize patients who are victims of this type of abuse.

Gene switch sites found mainly on 'shores,' not just 'islands' of the human genome

Scientists who study how human chemistry can permanently turn off genes have typically focused on small islands of DNA believed to contain most of the chemical alterations involved in those switches. But after an epic tour of so-called DNA methylation sites across the human genome in normal and cancer cells, Johns Hopkins scientists have found that the vast majority of the sites aren't grouped in those islands at all, but on nearby regions that they've named "shores."

Large DNA stretches, not single genes, shut off as cells mature

Experiments at Johns Hopkins have found that the gradual maturing of embryonic cells into cells as varied as brain, liver and immune system cells is apparently due to the shut off of several genes at once rather than in individual smatterings as previous studies have implied.

New step in DNA damage response in neurons discovered

Researchers have identified a biochemical switch required for nerve cells to respond to DNA damage.

The finding, scheduled for advance online publication in Nature Cell Biology, illuminates a connection between proteins involved in neurodegenerative disease and in cells' response to DNA damage.

Most children with the inherited disease ataxia telangiectasia are wheelchair-bound by age 10 because of neurological problems. Patients also have weakened immune systems and more frequent leukemias, and are more sensitive to radiation.

Canada-US scientists discover gene responsible for brain's aging

Montreal, January 16, 2009 – Will scientists one day be able to slow the aging of the brain and prevent diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's? Absolutely – once the genetic coding associated with neuronal degeneration has been unraveled.

Gene associated with reduced mortality from acute lung injury

Researchers at National Jewish Health and the University of Colorado Denver have discovered a gene that is associated with improved survival among patients with acute lung injury. Acute lung injury (ALI) is often caused by a respiratory infection and results in low oxygen levels in the blood, and fluid in the lungs. It is one of the most vexing problems for intensive care units, afflicting almost 200,000 people in the United States each year, and killing 40 percent of them.

Players love the game not the gore

The next time a loved one brandishes a virtual shotgun in their favorite video game, take heart. That look of glee, says a new study, likely stems from the healthy pleasure of mastering a challenge rather than from a disturbing craving for carnage.

Researchers find essential proteins for critical stage of malaria

Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute (JHMRI) have identified the molecular components that enable the malaria-causing parasite Plasmodium to infect the salivary glands of the Anopheles mosquito—a critical stage for spreading malaria to humans. According to the researchers, saglin, a mosquito salivary protein, is a receptor for the Plasmodium protein Thrombospondin-Related Anonymous Protein (TRAP). The two proteins bind together to allow invasion of the salivary gland by Plasmodium sporozoites, which can be transmitted to a human when bitten by an infected mosquito.

Postnatal depression can be effectively treated and possibly prevented

Health visitors can be trained to identify women with postnatal depression and offer effective treatment, while telephone peer support (mother to mother) may halve the risk of developing postnatal depression, suggests research published on bmj.com today.

About 13% of women experience postnatal depression in the year following the birth of their child. But postnatal depression is frequently undetected and untreated, often because of poor recognition of symptoms, unawareness of treatment options or fear of stigmatisation.

A fantastic voyage brought to life

Ever since the 1966 Hollywood movie, doctors have imagined a real-life Fantastic Voyage –– a medical vehicle shrunk small enough to "submarine" in and fix faulty cells in the body. Thanks to new research by Tel Aviv University scientists, that reality may be only three years away.

Does universal health care affect attitude toward dementia?

INDIANAPOLIS – A new study has found that in spite of their universal health care system which facilitates access to free dementia care, older adults in the United Kingdom are less willing to undergo dementia screening than their counterparts in the U.S. because the Britons perceive greater societal stigma from diagnosis of the disease than do Americans.

Reduced breast cancer risk: Physical activity after menopause pays off

Several studies had previously suggested that regular physical exercise reduces the breast cancer risk of women. However, it had been unknowned just how much exercise women should take in which period in life in order to benefit from this protective effect. Moreover, little was known about which particular type of breast cancer is influenced by physical activity.