Body

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--Broken hearts could one day be mended using a novel scaffold developed by MIT researchers and colleagues.

The idea is that living heart cells or stem cells seeded onto such a scaffold would develop into a patch of cardiac tissue that could be used to treat congenital heart defects, or aid the recovery of tissue damaged by a heart attack. The biodegradable scaffold would be gradually absorbed into the body, leaving behind new tissue.

A new study reveals an important and newly discovered pathway used by disease-causing bacteria to evade the host immune system and survive and grow within the very cells meant to destroy them. This discovery may lead to new treatments and vaccines for tuberculosis (TB) and certain other chronic bacterial and parasitic infections.

By playing it safe and using a two-pronged attack, a novel designer molecule fights malignant melanoma. It was created and tested by an international team of researchers led by the University of Bonn. On the one hand, the substance is similar to components of viruses and in this way alerts the immune system. The body's own defences are also strengthened against cancer cells in this process. At the same time, the novel molecule also puts pressure on the tumour in a different way. It switches off a specific gene in the malignant cells, thus driving them to suicide.

ROCHESTER, Minn. -- A new study shows that an imaging technology developed by Mayo Clinic researchers can identify liver fibrosis with high accuracy and help eliminate the need for liver biopsies. Liver fibrosis is a common condition that can lead to incurable cirrhosis if not treated in time.

Alexandria, VA - The American Academy of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery Foundation (AAO-HNSF) will issue a comprehensive clinical guideline to help healthcare practitioners identify and treat patients with benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV), one of the most common underlying conditions that cause dizziness. The guideline emphasizes evidence-based recommendations on managing BPPV, the most common vestibular (inner ear) disorder in adults.

A study of nearly 1,500 patients treated for kidney cancer at UCLA in the last 15 years shows that an aggressive, tailored treatment approach results in better survival rates and uncovered subsets of kidney cancer that behave differently and need to be treated accordingly.

A new high throughput microscopy technique enabled researchers at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston to analyze thousands of individual cells expressing androgen receptor, a finding that could herald new ways of evaluating the effect of drugs or other treatments on cells with normal or aberrant hormone receptors.

OAK BROOK, Ill. – October 31, 2008 – A study by researchers in Japan concludes that Double Balloon Endoscopy™ (DBE) was very useful in the diagnosis of obscure gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding and had a therapeutic impact on the majority of patients. The study appears in the October issue of GIE: Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, the monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal of the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE).

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Scientists have discovered a crucial step in hormone-triggered bone growth, a finding that could lead to new osteoporosis drugs and better bone-building therapies, according to a new study.

The research was performed at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). It showed that parathyroid hormone (PTH) given intermittently enhances the body's own bone-building action through a specific "co-receptor" on the surface of bone cells.

CINCINNATI – Two proteins interact in a previously unknown molecular mechanism that may have broad implications in future studies looking for the causes of defective organs in fetuses, metastatic cancers and other diseases, according to researchers at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.

Reporting their work in the Oct. 15 Genes & Development, the researchers said the mechanism coordinates cell identity and behavior in the forming organs of embryos.

Pregnant women whose labor stalls while in the active phase of childbirth can reduce health risks to themselves and their infants by waiting out the delivery process for an extra two hours, according to a new study by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco.

By doing so, obstetricians could eliminate more than 130,000 cesarean deliveries – the more dangerous and expensive surgical approach – per year in the United States, the researchers conclude.

OAK BROOK, Ill. – October 31, 2008 – A study by researchers in Japan concludes that Double Balloon Endoscopy™ (DBE) was very useful in the diagnosis of obscure gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding and had a therapeutic impact on the majority of patients. The study appears in the October issue of GIE: Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, the monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal of the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE).

ALEXANDRIA, VA, October 31, 2008---Patients with diabetes who participate in a program combining aerobic and high-force eccentric resistance exercise demonstrate improvements in glucose control, physical performance, and body fat composition, according to a study published in the November 2008 issue of Physical Therapy (PTJ), the scientific journal of the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA).

Medical researchers at the University of Alberta have unlocked part of the mystery underlying a childhood eye disease. New research shows how children with some types of glaucoma end up with missing or extra pieces of DNA.

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Only six months after undergoing a unique and innovative surgery at Michigan State University, Jake – part dog and now part machine – spends his time working out on an underwater treadmill, traversing obstacle courses and prancing around pain free.