Body

Berkeley -- Newborns whose first few months of life coincide with high pollen and mold seasons are at increased risk of developing early symptoms of asthma, suggests a new study led by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley.

Researchers found that children born in the high mold season, which generally encompasses the fall and winter months, have three times the odds of developing wheezing - often an early sign of asthma - by age 2 compared with those born at other times of the year.

Parents who have conceived children with the help of sperm or egg donors and then try to find the donors and also other children conceived with the donors' help, often end up creating new forms of extended families, according to research published today (Tuesday 24 February).

New research published in the March 3, 2009, issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology finds that anger-induced electrical changes in the heart can predict future arrhythmias in patients with implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs).

Drugs that target a single signaling pathway that drives tumor development and/or progression have been developed successfully to treat a few forms of cancer. However, in many cases drugs designed using this approach have not worked. Dario Altieri and colleagues, at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, have now addressed this issue by using a combinatorial approach to drug design.

Tumors that are about to progress and metastasize go through a process also seen in normal embryonic development, known as the epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT). Tumor cells revert to a less-differentiated state, stop adhering to each another and become more mobile and prone to invade and proliferate. Now, researchers at Children's Hospital Boston show, for the first time, that a small protein called lipocalin 2 triggers the EMT in human breast cancer – and that the same protein, when measured in tissues and urine, can predict a cancer's invasiveness.

STANFORD, Calif. — Scientists at the Stanford University School ofMedicine and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital have devised a new wayto decode the immune signals that cause slow, chronic rejection of alltransplanted kidneys. They've created an immune-system "atlas" that willimprove doctors' ability to monitor transplanted organs and shed lighton the mechanisms of gradual, cumulative kidney malfunction aftertransplant.

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Researchers have identified the gene that ultimately controls the production of tooth enamel, a significant advance that could some day lead to the repair of damaged enamel, a new concept in cavity prevention, and restoration or even the production of replacement teeth.

The gene, called Ctip2, is a "transcription factor" that was already known to have several functions - in immune response, and the development of skin and the nervous system. Scientists can now add tooth development to that list.

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Scientists have developed a way to manipulate bacteria so they will grow mutant sugar molecules on their cell surfaces that could be used against them as the key component in potent vaccines.

Any resulting vaccines, if proven safe, could be developed more quickly, easily and cheaply than many currently available vaccines used to prevent bacterial illnesses.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – UAB (University of Alabama at Birmingham) researchers have developed a new, inexpensive and efficient method for producing and studying a type of human papillomavirus (HPV) that causes cervical cancer. The process could speed understanding of how the virus functions and causes diseases, and lead to new prevention or treatment options.

Vitamin D may be an important way to arm the immune system against disorders like the common cold, report investigators from the University of Colorado Denver (UC Denver) School of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and Children's Hospital Boston.

BOSTON, Mass. (Feb. 23, 2009)—As the United States transitions to a new administration, and as the health care crisis mounts, the debate about how to buttress primary care delivery with information technology is getting louder. While much of the attention—and controversy— is focused on how to better equip physicians, little focus appears to be aimed at how to better equip patients to improve their health care.

Women with higher intake of calcium appear to have a lower risk of cancer overall, and both men and women with high calcium intakes have lower risks of colorectal cancer and other cancers of the digestive system, according to a report in the February 23 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

Taking a combination of vitamins B6 and B12 and folic acid appears to decrease the risk of age-related macular degeneration in women, according to a report in the February 23 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

Men who are infertile appear to have an increased risk of developing testicular cancer, according to a report in the February 23 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

Mailed reminders to patients appear to promote colon cancer screening, according to a report in the February 23 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. In addition, electronic reminders to physicians appear to increase screening among patients with more frequent primary care visits.