Body

SAN FRANCISCO ― Age alone should not determine whether an older patient with acute myeloid leukemia or myelodysplastic syndrome receives a blood stem cell transplant from a matched donor, researchers of the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research reported today at the 50th annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology.

Scientists from Monash University, Melbourne have shown that infants born prematurely have lower blood pressure during sleep in the first six months of life, compared to healthy, full-term infants.

Scientists at the Ritchie Centre for Baby Health Research, Monash Institute of Medical Research, believe this may be one reason premature infants are at an increased risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).

The United States can learn from the Dutch Health Insurance System model, according to an article by Pauline V. Rosenau, Ph.D., in the December issue of the Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law.

Rosenau, professor of management, policy and community health at The University of Texas School of Public Health at Houston, co-authored the lead article, which discusses universal health care coverage in the Netherlands and its possible lessons for the United States.

Los Angeles, London, New Delhi, Singapore and Washington DC (December 5, 2008) The election of Barack Obama, America's first African-American president, was a watershed moment in U.S. racial politics. The election is being hailed as a statement about the progress America has made beyond destructive and divisive racial politics. But is the election really about transcending history? A Mini Symposium, "American Political Development through the Lens of Race," has been published in the December 2008 issue of Political Research Quarterly analyzing that question.

Cytori Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: CYTX) reported preclinical study results, which demonstrate the potential benefit of adipose-derived stem and regenerative cells (ADRCs) for the treatment of damaged intervertebral discs, evidenced by significantly increased disc tissue density and disc-specific extracellular matrix components at 12-months post treatment in a large animal model. The data were presented today at the 2008 Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine International Society meeting.

PHILADELPHIA – Although the link between early screening and prostate cancer survival is well established, men are less likely to go for early screening unless they have a wife or significant other living with them, according to a study published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

PHILADELPHIA – A study published in the December issue of Cancer Prevention Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, suggests that selenium, a trace mineral found in grains, nuts and meats, may aid in the prevention of high-risk bladder cancer.

Big males outperform smaller ones in head-to-head mating contests butdiminutive males make ten times better lovers because they're quickerto mature and faster on their feet, a new study of redback spidersreveals.

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A drug once dismissed as ineffective in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) has shown promising results in two phase I and II clinical trials, according to researchers at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute.

An international research team has identified 11 novel locations in the human genome where common variations appear to influence cholesterol or triglyceride levels, bringing the total number of lipid-associated genes to 30. While major mutations in some of these genes have been known to underlie rare lipid metabolism disorders, it is becoming apparent that common changes in the same genes that have modest effects can combine with risk-associated variants in other genes to significantly influence blood lipid levels.

ANN ARBOR, Mich.---Scientists have identified 12 new genes that are somewhat strange bedfellows: Some link gallstones and blood cholesterol levels, others link melatonin and sleep patterns to small increases in glucose levels and larger jumps in the risk of diabetes.

While these associations are surprising, all the genes are potential new drug targets and some of them could help explain conditions that have been a mystery. Nature Genetics will publish two papers explaining the findings online Dec 7, in advance of the January print edition.

Diabetes and high levels of blood sugar may be linked to abnormalities in a person's body clock and sleep patterns, according to a genome-wide association study published today in the journal Nature Genetics.

The research suggests that diabetes and higher than normal blood sugar levels could partly be tackled by treating sleep problems, say the researchers, from Imperial College London, the French National Research Institute CNRS, Lille University, McGill University in Canada, Steno Diabetes Centre in Denmark and other international institutions.

BOSTON, Mass. (Dec. 7, 2008) — Rods and cones coexist peacefully in healthy retinas. Both types of cells occupy the same layer of tissue and send signals when they detect light, which is the first step in vision. The incurable eye disease Retinitis Pigmentosa, however, reveals a codependent relationship between the two that can be destructive. When flawed rods begin to die, otherwise normal cones follow them to the grave, leading to blindness. A new study might explain why.

A connection between the body clock and abnormalities in metabolism and diabetes has been suggested in new research by an international team involving the University of Oxford, the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute and the MRC Epidemiology Unit in Cambridge.

The researchers have identified a gene involved in the way the body responds to the 24 hour day-night cycle that is strongly linked to high blood sugar levels and an increased risk of type 2 diabetes. The results of the genome-wide association scan are published in Nature Genetics.

Leuven, Belgium – VIB researchers connected to the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven have discovered an important new mechanism with which cells can detect nutrients. This happens in the same way − and with the same effects – as when cells receive a message from a hormone. This finding can teach us more about how food affects our body; and, furthermore, it can form the basis for new candidate targets for medicines.

Receptors