Body

University Hospitals Case Medical Center clinical researchers will present findings about a one-two punch to prevent colds and flu in San Francisco at the Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC) on Sept. 9.

The research team is presenting data in two poster presentations that a new oral antiseptic spray is effective in killing 99.9 percent of infectious airborne germs. Findings from these two presentations led to the development of Halo Oral Antiseptic, a first-of-its kind germ-fighting spray which is currently on store shelves.

Alexandria, VA — Ear, nose, throat, and head and neck physicians from around the world will gather to share the latest scientific research and industry insights at the 2012 Annual Meeting & OTO EXPO of the American Academy of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery Foundation (AAO-HNSF), at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC.

NEW YORK (September 9, 2012) -- Less than half of community-based substance abuse treatment programs in the United States currently make HIV testing available on-site or through referral. A new study led by researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College shows the cost-effectiveness of integrating on-site rapid HIV testing into drug treatment programs.

Castor oil is known primarily as an effective laxative; however, it was also used in ancient times with pregnant women to induce labour. Only now have scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Heart and Lung Research succeeded in unravelling the mysteries of the action mechanism. A receptor by the name of EP3 on the cells of the intestine and uterus is apparently responsible. This is activated by an ingredient in the oil.

Pituitary hypoplasia, or incomplete growth of the pituitary gland, causes hormone deficiencies in humans. One form is caused by a mutation in the SOX2 gene, resulting in eye abnormalities, short stature, hearing loss, digestive problems, and learning difficulties.

SOX2 is broadly involved in embryonic development.

To determine exactly how Sox2 influences development of the pituitary gland, researchers at University College London studied the development of mice that lost SOX2 at different points in development.

Malignant nerve peripheral sheath tumors are a form of cancer in the connective tissue surrounding nerve cells that is driven by the loss of the tumor suppressor gene NF1.

Researchers at the Whitehead Institute in Cambridge, MA recently found that loss of NF1 causes an increase in the expression of a protein known as Heat Shock Factor 1 (HSF1), a protein that normal cells use to respond to cellular stress.

The hormone serotonin is probably best known for its role in the brain; however, it is also made elsewhere in the body where it regulates multiple physiological processes.

Serotonin that is made in the gut is reduces the proliferation of bone cells (osteoblasts) and scientists have suggested that blocking gut serotonin might be method for treating osteoporosis.

To determine if this is a feasible treatment method, researchers led by Stavroula Kosteni at Columbia University set out to determine exactly how gut serotonin exerts its effects on bone mass.

Pemphigus vulgaris (PV) is an autoimmune disease in which the body's immune system develops antibodies to two of its own proteins, the desmogleins DSG1 and DSG3 that help maintain the integrity of the skin.

The immune attack causes painful blisters on the skin and mucus membranes that can lead to infections. Current therapies are geared towards suppressing the entire immune system, but this is problematic as it causes many side effects and leaves the patient vulnerable to infection.

Allergens, such as dust, pollen, and smoke, trigger airway inflammation, leading to an increase in mucus secretion. The mucus binds up the allergens and, in a process known as mucociliary clearance, ejects the allergens from the airway.

Mucus is formed when dehydrated mucin molecules mix with free water in the airway. Mucus production is required to protect the airway, but in certain inflammatory airway diseases, too much mucus is produced, leading to difficulty in breathing.

More than 12000 deaths per year are attributed to alcoholic liver disease (ALD). Early stages of ALD are believed to be reversible, but there is no definitive treatment available. The early stages of ALD are associated with increased activation of inflammatory pathways.

In the Journal of Clinical Investigation, researchers at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center blocked inflammatory molecules to treat an ALD-like disease in mice.

An emerging class of therapies called "checkpoint blockade" enhance the immune system's ability to attack cancer cells by interfering with the immunological checkpoints that slow or stop immune cell activation and proliferation in the presence of tumors.

Cytotoxic T lymophocyte antigen-A (CTLA) receptor is a protein that acts like an "off switch" on certain immune cells. Antibodies targeting CTLA can keep the protein from turning the immune cells off and allow them to attach tumor cells.

As many as a quarter of Medicare recipients spend more than the total value of their assets on out-of-pocket health care expenses during the last five years of their lives, according to researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine. They found that 43 percent of Medicare recipients spend more than their total assets minus the value of their primary residences. The findings appear online in the current issue of the Journal of General Internal Medicine.

At the 1st ECRC "Franz-Volhard" Symposium on September 7, 2012 at the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) in Berlin-Buch, Professor Ken Bernstein reported that in mice an excess of ACE led to a much stronger immune response than usual. In animal experiments, not only could bacterial infections be combated more effectively, but also the growth of aggressive skin cancer (melanoma) in mice could be contained by a stronger response of the immune system. In contrast, if the mice lacked ACE, the immune cells worked less effectively.

High blood pressure is responsible for many cardiovascular diseases that are the leading cause of death in industrialized countries. High salt intake has long been considered a risk factor, but not every type of high blood pressure is associated with high salt intake. This has puzzled scientists for a long time. However, new findings by Professor Jens Titze (Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA and the University of Erlangen) now point to previously unknown mechanisms.

Boston, Mass. - Although some studies have portrayed tight blood sugar control as a potential means of lowering infection rates in critically ill adults, a new study—led by principal investigator Michael Agus, MD, director of the Medicine Critical Care Program at Boston Children's Hospital—found no indication that the approach benefits pediatric patients undergoing heart surgery. The results of the Safe Pediatric Euglycemia in Cardiac Surgery (SPECS) trial, which was conducted at Boston Children's and at the University of Michigan C.S.