Body

Researchers from VIB (Flanders Institute for Biotechnology) and Ghent University have shown that a defective gene can contribute to the onset of rheumatoid arthritis, an often-crippling inflammation of the joints that afflicts about 1% of the world's population.

New research has identified five inherited genetic variants that are strongly associated with aggressive, lethal prostate cancer. The discovery ultimately could lead to the development of a simple blood test that could be given upon diagnosis to determine which men should receive aggressive treatment versus a more conservative “watchful waiting” approach.

Depending on the total dosage of zinc and the composition, zinc lozenges may shorten the duration of common cold episodes by up to 40%, according to a recent meta-analysis published in the Open Respiratory Medicine Journal.

An observational study of 416,175 Taiwanese shows that low-volume, moderate intensity exercise reduces death rates and extends life expectancy by three years.

They also found that a person's risk of death from any cause decreased by 4 percent for every additional 15 minutes of exercise up to 100 minutes a day over the course of the study. Those exercising for 30 minutes daily added about four years to life expectancy.

The indication that vitamin D and its derivatives have a protective effect against various types of cancer is not new. In the field of colon cancer, numerous experimental and epidemiological studies show that vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) and some of its derivatives inhibit the growth of cancerous cells.

Researchers funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) have discovered a new mechanism controlling aging in white blood cells. The research, published in the September issue of the Journal of Immunology, opens up the possibility of temporarily reversing the effects of aging on immunity and could, in the future, allow for the short-term boosting of the immune systems of older people.

OrbusNeich today announced that the that the company's Genous Stent showed no significant difference in the rate of target vessel failure (TVF) at two years compared to the Taxus Liberte™ paclitaxel-eluting stent in patients with de novo coronary artery lesions carrying a high risk for restenosis.

 The two-year follow-up data from the prospective, randomized TRIAS pilot study were published in Catheterization and Cardiovascular Interventions.

More than a decade of targeted Muscular Dystrophy Association-funded research, made possible as a result of generous public support of the MDA Labor Day Telethon and thousands of grass-roots special events, has today culminated in MDA providing financial assistance for the start of the first Phase 2 placebo-controlled, multiple dose efficacy, safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics clinical trial of an exon-51 skipping drug, eteplirsen, as a potential therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD).

Drink coffee? Maybe just slather it on your skin too, and prevent skin cancer. According to the National Cancer Institute, sunlight-induced skin cancer is the most prevalent cancer in the United States with more than 1 million new cases each year.

A research team has identified a potential new target for treatment of the childhood eye tumor retinoblastoma and they say their work also settles a scientific debate by showing the cancer's cellular origins are as scrambled as the developmental pathways at work in the tumor.

A compound found in green tea shows great promise for the development of drugs to treat two types of tumors and a deadly congenital disease. The discovery is the result of research led by Principal Investigator, Dr. Thomas Smith at The Donald Danforth Plant Science Center and his colleagues at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

A new prostate screening test developed by AnalizaDx, Inc., a Cleveland-based biotech company, and studied by researchers at the Seidman Cancer Center at University Hospitals (UH) Case Medical Center along with colleagues at the Cleveland Clinic, the Veterans Administration Boston Healthcare and the National Cancer Institute, may prove to be a promising new tool in the diagnosis of prostate cancer. The study in Urology found that this new screening test, the PSA/SIA assay, may be more sensitive in detecting prostate cancer than traditional screening methods.

Scientists at the Gladstone Institutes have gained new insight into the delicate relationship between two proteins that, when out of balance, can prevent the normal development of stem cells in the heart and may also be important in some types of cancer.

A study conducted by Hebrew University researchers has found that that there can be very short latency periods between the time of exposure and development of cancer in workers in tasks with intense or prolonged exposure to electro-magnetic fields (EMFs). Previous studies have described excess risks for cancer from such high occupational exposures. However, none have addressed the issue of short latency periods from high exposure.

Here's good news if you are eating a donut while reading this: Being fat can actually be good for you. Or at least not bad

A new study in Applied Physiology, Nutrition and Metabolism finds that obese people who are otherwise healthy live just as long as their slim counterparts, and are less likely to die of cardiovascular causes.