Body

HOUSTON (Aug. 4, 2009) –A subset of tumor cells that remain after a woman with breast cancer undergoes treatment with either anti-cancer or anti-hormone therapy shows a "gene signature" that could be used to define targets for developing new drugs against the disease, said a consortium of researchers led by Baylor College of Medicine (www.bcm.edu). The report appears in the current issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

SEATTLE – The latest drug regimens, vaccines and diagnostic tools under development to combat tuberculosis could have a potentially large impact on the disease once they become available, according to research findings published in the Aug. 3 early edition online of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Colorectal cancer, the second most common cause of death from cancer in the United States, is associated with an abnormally high rate of increase in the number of cells lining the colon (colonic hyperproliferation). In mice, overexpression of the human protein progastrin has been shown to cause colonic hyperproliferation and promote colorectal cancer, but the molecular mechanisms underlying this have remained undetermined.

As a fetus does not mount an immune response to maternal proteins that cross the placenta, it has been assumed that a fetus would not reject non–genetically matched blood cells (specifically allogeneic blood cells) if they were transplanted while the fetus was in utero. The hope is that this procedure, which is known as IUHCT, could provide a viable approach for treating congenital blood disorders. However, studies using a mouse model of IUHCT indicate that most fetal recipients of allogeneic blood cells lose their transplanted cells 3-5 weeks after transplantation.

Researchers at Stanford's School of Medicine have identified the first human bladder cancer stem cell and revealed how escapes the body's natural defenses.

Infectious-disease specialists at UT Southwestern Medical Center have demonstrated that a cannibalistic process in cells plays a key role in limiting Salmonella infection.

Salmonella, the causative agent of salmonellosis, causes many of the intestinal infections and food-related illnesses reported in the U.S. About 600 people die each year as a result of these infections, accounting for roughly 30 percent of all reported food-related deaths. It is particularly dangerous among the elderly.

There is mounting evidence that omega-3 fatty acids from fish or fish oil supplements not only help prevent cardiovascular diseases in healthy individuals, but also reduce the incidence of cardiac events and mortality in patients with existing heart disease. A new study, published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, extensively reviews data from a broad range of studies in tens of thousands of patients and sets forth suggested daily targets for omega-3 consumption.

Researchers have identified what they believe is the original source of malignant malaria: a parasite found in chimpanzees in equatorial Africa.

UC Irvine biologist Francisco Ayala and colleagues think the deadly parasite was transmitted to humans from chimpanzees perhaps as recently as 5,000 years ago – and possibly through a single mosquito, genetic analysis indicates.

Daytime temperature fluctuations greatly alter the incubation period of malaria parasites in mosquitoes and alter transmission rates of the disease. Consideration of these fluctuations reveals a more accurate picture of climate change's impact on malaria.

With the antibiotic Vancomycin now plagued by the first signs of bacterial resistance, a scientific collaboration centered at Duke University has identified how a candidate successor antibiotic known as Ramoplanin A2 can kill pathogenic bacteria by interrupting how they form their cell membranes.

Alexandria, VA – Restraining the use of some patients' unaffected upper limb during the subacute phase following a stroke does not appear to generate greater improvements in motor impairment and capacity than standard rehabilitation alone, according to a study published in Physical Therapy.

Our cells are controlled by billions of molecular "switches" and chemists at UC Santa Barbara have developed a theory that explains how these molecules work. Their findings may significantly help efforts to build biologically based sensors for the detection of chemicals ranging from drugs to explosives to disease markers. The research is described in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

Get Your Shots! Eating Ouchless Vaccines Protects Prairie Dogs in the Lab Against Plague:

Kefir, one of the world's oldest "health" drinks, did little to prevent diarrhea in young children being treated with antibiotics, say researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center (GUMC), who tested the drink in a unique and rigorous double-blind clinical trial.

While the study results, published in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, are negative, investigators say there are intriguing hints that the drink, which is rich in probiotics (live bacteria) appeared to help the children in the study who were the least healthy.

With the epidemic of childhood obesity in the United States, there is concern that overweight and obese children need to be screened for chronic medical conditions, including high cholesterol levels. However, body fat is not an effective indicator of high cholesterol in children, according to new University of Michigan research.

Those are the findings of a U-M study led by U-M pediatricians Joyce Lee, M.D., MPH, and Matthew Davis, M.D., MAPP, which will appear in the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine.