Body

Working like an architect, Prof. Hagit Eldar-Finkelman of Tel Aviv University's Sackler School of Medicine is "building" a new drug, L803-MTS, to treat a number of central nervous system (CNS) diseases like Alzheimer's. In pre-clinical studies, it also shows promise against Parkinson's, Huntington's and diabetes.

Although most wolves in Yellowstone National Park live to be nearly six years old, their ability to kill prey peaks when they are two to three, according to a study led by Dan MacNulty and recently published online by Ecology Letters. The study will appear in the journal's December print issue.

The finding challenges a long-held belief that wolves are successful predators for their entire adult lives. It now appears that like human athletes, they are only at the top of their game for about 25 percent of that time. It also shows that physiology can limit predation.

A cellular protein from a family involved in several human diseases is crucial for the proper production and release of insulin, new research has found, suggesting that the protein might play a role in diabetes.

Mice lacking the ClC-3 channel, a passageway that allows negatively-charged chloride ions to pass through cell membranes, have only one-fifth the circulating insulin of normal mice, according to research published this month in the journal Cell Metabolism.

Patients who visit their family doctors for fatigue have a wide range of diagnoses yet the prevalence of serious illness was low, according to a Dutch study (pre-embargo link only)http://www.cmaj.ca/embargo/cmaj090647.pdf in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) www.cmaj.ca.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. A new Mayo Clinic study suggests that video capsule endoscopy (CE), a procedure that uses wireless technology in diagnosing intestinal disease, is safe for patients with heart devices. Wireless electrical gadgets, such as cell phones, have been shown to interfere with implanted heart devices, including pacemakers and defibrillators. This risk has led medical experts to speculate that capsule endoscopy could similarly cause heart devices to fail.

DETROIT – Pregabalin, FDA-approved for neuropathic pain (pain caused by shingles and peripheral neuropathy), effectively reduced abdominal pain and improved sleep in women with adhesions, according to a Henry Ford study.

Adhesion pain, a common complication after abdominal or pelvic surgery, currently lacks effective therapy. Adhesions can also form after infections in the bowel such as diverticulitis.

Waterford City, Ireland, October 26, 2009 – Results of an important new study show that implantation of blue light-filtering intraocular lens (IOLs) at the time of cataract surgery increases a nutritional component of the eye, which may afford protection against the development and/or progression of age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

DURHAM, N.C. –- What do spore-launching mushrooms have in common with highly water-repellant surfaces?

According to Duke University engineers, the answer is "jumping" water droplets. As it turns out, the same phenomenon that occurs when it's time for certain mushrooms to eject spores also occurs when dew droplets skitter across a surface that is highly water repellant, or superhydrophobic.

(Boston) –Boston Medical Center (BMC) surgeons are now offering patients an incisionless alternative to laparoscopic and traditional surgery for treatment of acid reflux or GERD.

Using the new procedure known as EsophyX TIF (Transoral Incisionless Fundaplication), surgeons can repair or reconstruct the valve between the esophagus and stomach, effectively stopping GERD. BMC is the only hospital in New England offering this new treatment.

Two different anti-apoptotic proteins support cancer cell survival via an identical mechanism, yet differ in their sensitivity to chemotherapeutic drugs, report Brunelle et al. The study will be published online October 26, 2009 and in the November 2, 2009 print issue of the Journal of Cell Biology (JCB).

The November 2009 issue of the Journal of General Physiology (JGP) contains two papers by the Rittenhouse laboratory that describe novel findings on how N-type voltage-gated calcium channel (VGCC) function is modified by lipids.

In a commentary accompanying the manuscripts, Jörg Striessnig (University of Innsbruck) provides context for the importance of the new Rittenhouse studies, which support one of two distinct hypotheses on modulation of VGCCs that have been pitted in an "oily competition": the "PIP2 breakdown" vs. "ArA generation" hypotheses.

A new analysis has identified a significant delay in follow-up times among African-American women after the finding of a suspicious breast abnormality. Published in the December 15, 2009 issue of Cancer, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, the study indicates that African-American women may face obstacles to receiving appropriate breast cancer–related care.

Edmonton − A team of Canadian cardiologists, in collaboration with oncologists, are playing an important role in the war against breast cancer Dr. Michael McDonald told the Canadian Cardiovascular Congress 2009, co-hosted by the Heart and Stroke Foundation and the Canadian Cardiovascular Society.

Edmonton – Edmonton researchers recommend that people over age 40 be screened for peripheral artery disease (PAD), which puts people at high risk for serious medical complications including heart disease, stroke, and possible lower limb amputation.

It contributes to thousands of deaths every year yet nobody knows for sure how many Canadians have PAD.

BETHESDA, Md. (Oct. 26, 2009) — The probiotic, Bacillus polyfermenticus, can help mice recover from colitis, a new study has found. Mice treated with B. polyfermenticus during the non-inflammatory period of the disease had reduced rectal bleeding, their tissues were less inflamed and they gained more weight than mice that did not receive the treatment.