Body

Recent studies have shown that older adults with chronic kidney disease (CKD; defined as an estimated glomerular filtration rate [GFR; a measure of kidney function] of less than 60 mL/min/1.73 m2) have a high prevalence of concurrent complications and increased risk for adverse outcomes including mortality, cardiovascular disease, and kidney failure. A prior study demonstrated an increase in CKD prevalence between 1988-1994 and 1999-2004 for the general U.S. population.

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Determining whether a patient's lung cancer has spread to nearby lymph nodes is critical for identifying the most effective therapy, but it usually requires surgery. A new study suggests, however, that measuring levels of a particular molecule in a sample of tumor tissue might accurately answer the question.

ANN ARBOR—Caregiving is always tough, but it's that much tougher when caregivers have to rely on family ties that are ambiguous, strained or virtually nonexistent, suggests a University of Michigan study.

Published online this month in the Journal of Marriage and Family, the U-M study is one of the first to explore how divorce and remarriage affect wives who are caregivers.

Infection, pneumonia, blood clots and kidney failure are all possible complications after any major surgery. A new study shows that smoking boosts the risk of such complications following some of the most common colorectal procedures, including surgery for colon cancer, diverticulitis or inflammatory bowel disease. Lighting up also increases a patient's risk of death after surgery compared with patients who have never smoked.

The study, published in the Annals of Surgery, is unique because it focuses on elective, or non-emergency, surgeries.

AMES, Iowa – Using a new and super-sensitive instrument, researchers have discovered where a protein binds to plant cell walls, a process that loosens the cell walls and makes it possible for plants to grow.

Researchers say the discovery could one day lead to bigger harvests of biomass for renewable energy.

PHILADELPHIA -- Adult survivors of childhood cancers who underwent certain chemotherapy treatments or kidney surgery had worse kidney function that did not recover over time. Because of this, they may be at higher risk for premature renal failure, according to a study published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

Chevy Chase, MD—While calcium supplements noticeably improved bone health in postmenopausal women, vitamin D supplements did not reduce bone turnover, according to a recent study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM).

Chevy Chase, MD—Men who have low testosterone levels may have a slightly elevated risk of developing or dying from heart disease, according to a recent study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM).

Testosterone is a key male sex hormone that helps maintain sex drive, sperm production and bone health. Over time, low testosterone may contribute to an increase in body fat, loss of body hair and muscle bulk.

Chevy Chase, MD—A biological ability to compensate for the body's reduced response to insulin may explain why women typically develop heart disease 10 years later than men, according to a recent study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM).

It is estimated that over a third of the new cancer cases expected to occur in the U.S. in 2013 will be related to overweight or obesity, physical inactivity, and poor nutrition. Thanks to the work of one NYU Steinhardt researcher, we may better understand why.

Human civilisation has had an impact on the world, and it continues to have an even greater impact. One of these is that the forests have been cleared and especially so in flat lowlands, so that they have gradually become restricted to steep terrain. This pattern is now emerging all across the world.

PHILADELPHIA -- Pancreatic cancer ranks as the fourth-leading cause of cancer death in the United States, and is one of the most deadly forms of cancer, due to its resistance to standard treatments with chemotherapy and radiation therapy and frequently, its late stage at the time of diagnosis.

Common variable immune deficiency (CVID) is a genetic disease associated with enhanced susceptibility to infection, autoimmunity, and decreased antibody production.

Mutations in the tumor necrosis factor receptor superfamily member TACI, are associated with CVID and autoimmunity development. Interestingly, autoimmunity develops in CVID patients with only one mutated copy of TACI, and CVID patients with two mutated TACI alleles do not develop autoimmunity.

Hereditary spastic paraplegias (HSP) are a group of hereditary diseases that result in progressive loss of motor function in the lower limbs, and mutations in many different genes have been implicated in disease progression. One common feature of HSP is the progressive degradation of the axons of cortical motor neurons; however, it is not fully understood how mutations in is so many different genes result in axonal degradation.

Distal renal tubular acidosis (dRTA) develops in response to the loss of acid secretion by α-intercalated cells in the kidney. The inability to remove acid from the body results in low blood potassium levels (hypokalemia), dehydration, and excess calcium in the urine (hypercalcemia), which leads to urinary stone formation. Recently, patients with dRTA have been identified with genetic mutations that lead to the inactivation of proton pumps found in β-intercalated cells, which have been thought to be responsible for base-secretion in the kidney.