Body

Scientists at Queen's University Belfast have discovered proteins in frog skins which could be used to treat cancer, diabetes, stroke and transplant patients by regulating the growth of blood vessels.

Boston, Mass (June 6, 2011)—A new study finds that the cancer care provided by the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) for men 65 years and older is at least as good as, and by some measures better than, Medicare-funded fee-for-service care obtained through the private sector. The study, reported in the June 7 issue of Annals of Internal Medicine, was led by Nancy Keating, an associate professor of health care policy at Harvard Medical School.

(Boston) - Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) researchers found that girls who followed the Dietary Approach to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet pattern had a lower incidence of excess weight gain as measured by body mass index (BMI) over the 10-year period of their adolescence. These findings are reported in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.

ST. PAUL, Minn. – An analysis of several studies shows that people with Parkinson's disease have a significantly higher risk of melanoma, the most dangerous type of skin cancer and the leading cause of death from skin diseases. The research is published in the June 7, 2011, print issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

Parkinson's disease is a brain disorder that causes tremors and difficulty with movement and walking. It affects about one million people in the United States.

The size and pumping ability of the right side of the heart differs by age, gender and race/ethnicity, according to the first large imaging study of the right ventricle.

The study, reported in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association, also suggests that understanding the fundamental differences in the right side of the heart gives doctors and researchers a basis for determining what is abnormal. The researchers think that changes in right ventricle size and function may be a sign of cardiopulmonary disease (conditions that involve both the heart and lungs).

Men who report having bullied peers in childhood appear to have an increased risk of perpetrating violence against an intimate partner in adulthood, according to a report posted online today by the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

Adolescent girls whose diet resembles one recommended for adults with hypertension appear to have smaller gains in overall body mass index (BMI) over 10 years, according to a report in the June issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

A new study by researchers at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) shows that jellyfish are more than a nuisance to bathers and boaters, drastically altering marine food webs by shunting food energy from fish toward bacteria.

An apparent increase in the size and frequency of jellyfish blooms in coastal and estuarine waters around the world during the last few decades means that jellies' impact on marine food webs is likely to increase into the future.

Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is the leading genetic cause of death in children under 2, with no treatment other than supportive care. In the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (Early Edition, week of June 6), researchers at Children's Hospital Boston show how loss or mutation of the SMA gene causes progressive muscle degeneration and weakness, and suggest a promising approach to treating the condition, sometimes referred to as a "Lou Gehrig's disease of babies."

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Research from the University of Louisville published today (June 6) in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences indicates the removal of a tiny RNA molecule in mice suppresses carcinogenic tumor formation. The study appears in the journal's Early Edition online at www.pnas.org.

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- According to the American Cancer Society, more than 11.4 million Americans are currently living with cancer. While cancer treatments are plentiful, many have negative side effects. Previous studies have indicated that a significant number of patients who receive chemotherapy also experience cognitive declines, including decreases in verbal fluency and memory. Now, one University of Missouri health psychologist has found evidence that indicates Tai Chi, a Chinese martial art, might help overcome some of those problems.

ATHENS, Ohio (June 6, 2011)—Yo-yo dieters may be healthier and live longer than those who stay obese, a new Ohio University study finds.

Mice that switched between a high-fat and low-fat diet every four weeks during their approximate two-year lifespan lived about 25 percent longer and had better blood glucose levels than obese animals that ate a high-fat diet. The yo-yo dieters also lived about as long as a control group of mice steadily fed a low-fat diet.

Wrinkles are a telltale sign of aging, and they might also be able to predict a woman's bone fracture risk, according to Yale School of Medicine researchers who report in a new study that the severity and distribution of skin wrinkles and overall skin quality could tell the story of bone mineral density in early menopausal women.

The findings will be presented June 6 at the Endocrine Society Meeting in Boston, Mass., by Lubna Pal, associate professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Science at Yale School of Medicine.

Overweight girls lose more weight and can better stay on a healthy diet if they eat sugar-free, low-fat desserts several times weekly, as opposed to any dessert once a week, a new study finds. The results will be reported Monday at The Endocrine Society's 93rd Annual Meeting in Boston.

Women who have higher levels of the appetite-controlling hormone leptin have fewer symptoms of depression, and this apparent inverse relationship is not related to body mass index (BMI), a new study finds. On Monday the results will be presented at The Endocrine Society's 93rd Annual Meeting in Boston.

"Animal data suggest that leptin may reduce anxiety and improve depression. Our study in women suggests that leptin may indeed have antidepressant qualities," said the study's lead author, Elizabeth Lawson, MD, of Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston.