Body

Patients with head and neck cancer who experience a higher level of post-treatment pain appear to have a lower survival rate than those who experience little or no post-treatment pain, according to a report in the August issue of Archives of Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery.

A new study shows that elderly patients who underwent endoscopy within one day of presentation for peptic ulcer bleeding had a two-day shorter hospital stay and were less likely to require upper gastrointestinal surgery than patients who did not receive endoscopy within the first day of presentation. Researchers from University Hospitals Case Medical Center in Cleveland, Ohio, note that unless specific contraindications exist, the data supports the routine use of early endoscopy for upper gastrointestinal bleeding. The study appears in Gastrointestinal Endoscopy.

Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have found a link, in mice and in human brain tissue, between high blood pressure and multiple sclerosis. Their findings suggest that a safe, inexpensive drug already in wide use for high blood pressure may have therapeutic value in multiple sclerosis, as well. The paper will be published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

In a study to be published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), researchers at the Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, in Portugal, show that an anti-oxidant drug can protect against the development of deadly forms of malaria. These findings have direct implications for the treatment of this devastating disease, caused by the parasite Plasmodium, and still one of the main causes of death worldwide.

With the help of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and molecular engineering, researchers have designed synthetic protein-like mimics convincing enough to interrupt unwanted biological conversations between cells.

Researchers at Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah have uncovered new information on the notion that sugar "feeds" tumors. The findings may also have implications for other diseases such as diabetes. The research is published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Researchers at the University of Leeds have discovered a previously unknown mechanism that allows the hepatitis C virus (HCV) to remain in the body for decades. A study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) shows that the virus blocks the actions of a specific ion channel in the cell membrane that would usually trigger apoptosis -- the cell's self-destruct program -- and in doing so, has evolved another way of protecting itself.

For the early lung to develop properly, a tissue-repair-and-regeneration pathway is essential. When removed in genetically engineered mice, they failed to develop lungs. Wnt2 and Wnt2b were the two molecules in this pathway that were knocked out. The findings are described in Developmental Cell.

"We wanted to know the answer to a seemingly simple question: What is required to generate the lung in mammals?" asked senior author Edward Morrisey, PhD, Associate Professor of Medicine and Cell and Developmental Biology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.

GAINESVILLE — A multicenter team of childhood cancer researchers has discovered two genetic variations linked to an increased risk for acute lymphoblastic leukemia, or ALL, the most common childhood cancer in the United States.

PITTSBURGH—The four-day testing period the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) commonly uses to determine safe levels of pesticide exposure for humans and animals could fail to account for the toxins' long-term effects, University of Pittsburgh researchers report in the September edition of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry.

PHILADELPHIA – "A biologist, a physicist, and a nanotechnologist walk into a ..." sounds like the start of a joke. Instead, it was the start of a collaboration that has helped to decipher a critical, but so far largely unstudied, phase of how cells divide. Errors in cell division can cause mutations that lead to cancer, and this study could shed light on the role of chromosome abnormalities in uncontrolled cell replication.

Plastic that conducts electricity holds promise for cheaper, thinner and more flexible electronics. This technology is already available in some gadgets – the new Sony walkman that was introduced earlier this summer and the Microsoft Zune HD music player released last week both incorporate organic light-emitting electronic displays.

Researchers in China have discovered the first protein-based toxin in an amphibian –a 60 amino acid neurotoxin found in the skin of a Chinese tree frog. This finding may help shed more light into both the evolution of amphibians and the evolution of poison.

University of Washington (UW) researchers have successfully developed a novel genome-analysis strategy for more rapid, lower cost discovery of possible gene-disease links. By saving time and lowering expenses, the approach makes it feasible for scientists to search for disease-causing genes in people with the same inherited disorder but without any family ties to each other.

The strategy also might be extended to common medical conditions with complex genetics by making it more cost-effective and efficient to study the genomes of large groups of people.

In the area of genetic diagnosis of embryos, the choice of words matters as they can influence policies and perceptions, according to an analysis in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) http://www.cmaj.ca/press/cmaj080658.pdf (www.cmaj.ca).