Body

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- The weak tendons and fragile bones characteristic of osteogenesis imperfecta, or brittle bone disease, stem from a genetic mutation that causes the incorrect substitution of a single amino acid in the chain of thousands of amino acids making up a collagen molecule, the basic building block of bone and tendon.

A recent study by doctors at the University of Washington explained that patients who are significantly underweight or very severely obese prior to liver transplantation are at increased risk of death following transplantation surgery. These findings, from the largest known observation of liver transplantation at the extremes of BMI, are published in the August issue of Liver Transplantation, a journal published by John Wiley & Sons on behalf of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases.

Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune disease that causes inflammation of the joints and surrounding tissues. More than 1.3 million adults in the U.S. suffer from RA, 75% of which are women.

DURHAM, N.C. -- Emergency physicians should trust their judgment when evaluating patients who report with chest pain symptoms, said a group of researchers led by Abhinav Chandra, M.D., at Duke University Medical Center.

Their research suggests that emergency physicians should counsel with other physicians against discharge when they feel strongly about a patient for whom there is no compelling data, other than our evaluation and judgment, Chandra said.

In many types of cancer, parts of the genetic material of tumor cells are switched off by chemical labels called methyl groups. This kind of methyl labeling ranges among the epigenetic changes that do not change the sequence of DNA building blocks. Such labels are found particularly often in genes which act as important inhibitors of pathogenic cell growth.

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Twenty minutes per day of guided workplace meditation and yoga combined with six weekly group sessions can lower feelings of stress by more than 10 percent and improve sleep quality in sedentary office employees, a pilot study suggests.

The study offered participants a modified version of what is known as mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), a program established in 1979 to help hospital patients in Massachusetts assist in their own healing that is now in wide use around the world.

PITTSBURGH, Aug. 4 – Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine have learned that some healthy people naturally developed an immune response against a protein that is made in excess levels in many cancers, including breast, lung, and head and neck cancers. The finding suggests that a vaccine against the protein might prevent malignancies in high-risk individuals.

A McMaster University study finds that for people 50 or older you have a one in four chance of dying within five years if you break your hip. Break your back, and you have a one in six chance of dying that soon.

The research, to be published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ), has found that approximately 25 per cent of men and women who develop hip fractures and 16 per cent of people who develop spine factures will die over a five-year period.

WHAT: The Nutrient-Rich Foods (NRF) Index is a new, objective, science-based way to measure the total nutritional quality of foods and beverages.

In the September 1st issue of G&D, Dr. Karen Oegema (UCSD) and colleagues identify the molecular basis of the lethal developmental disorder, hydrolethalus syndrome, and reveal that hydrolethalus syndrome actually belongs to the emerging class of human ciliopathy diseases.

Elevated cholesterol levels in midlife – even levels considered only borderline elevated – significantly increase the risk of Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia later in life, according to a new study by researchers at Kaiser Permanente's Division of Research and the University of Kuopio in Finland. The study appears in the journal Dementia & Geriatric Cognitive Disorders.

Vertebral and hip fractures are associated with an increased risk of death, found a new study of 7753 people in Canada aged 50 years and older published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). According to the results, approximately 25% of people (both men and women) living in the community who develop a hip fracture and 16% who develop a spine fracture will die over a 5 year period.

PHILADELPHIA – How you eat may be just as important as how much you eat, if mice studies are any clue.

Cancer researchers have long studied the role of diet on breast cancer risk, but results to date have been mixed. New findings published in Cancer Prevention Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, suggest the method by which calories are restricted may be more important for cancer protection than the actual overall degree of calorie restriction.

A marker of the likely course of diabetic nephropathy (DN) has been found. An 18-year study, published in the journal BMC Medicine, has shown that Immunoglobulin M (IgM) is a reliable predictor of cardiovascular complications in DN patients.

STANFORD, Calif. —Two common anti-influenza drugs — Relenza and Tamiflu — appear equally effective at preventing common flu symptoms when given before infection, say researchers from the Stanford University School of Medicine. However, data is lacking on the effectiveness and safety of the two drugs in vulnerable groups such as the very young and people with compromised immune systems.