Medicine posts
- May 1, 2013
- 12:29 PM
- 61 views
Pericytes can be used for muscle regeneration
by beredim in Stem Cells Freak
Researchers from the Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center (WFBMC) announced today that they may have unveiled some of the mechanisms involved in obesity, diabetes mellitus type 2, muscular dystrophy and other diseases associated with fat replacing muscle tissue, causing it to weaken and degenerate. Their findings have the potential to lead to new therapies for the aforementioned diseases, say the researchers.Read More... Read more »
Birbrair, A., Zhang, T., Wang, Z., Messi, M., Enikolopov, G., Mintz, A., & Delbono, O. (2013) Role of Pericytes in Skeletal Muscle Regeneration and Fat Accumulation. Stem Cells and Development, 2147483647. DOI: 10.1089/scd.2012.0647
- May 1, 2013
- 12:17 PM
- 60 views
Patterned Hearts
by Perikis Livas in Tracing Knowledge
A team of bioengineers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) is the first to report creating artificial heart tissue that closely mimics the functions of natural heart tissue through the use of human-based materials. Their work will advance how clinicians treat the damaging effects caused by heart disease, the leading cause of death in the United States.... Read more »
BWH Media Relations. (2013) Patterned Hearts . Brigham and Women's Hospital. info:/
- May 1, 2013
- 11:54 AM
- 53 views
Advances In Parkinson's Disease Treatment: Part II
by William Yates, M.D. in Brain Posts
Globus Pallidus Region of Brain Targeted in DBS in YellowIn a previous post, I summarized some of the highlights of a recent review of Parkinson's disease management by the German neurologists Pedrosa and Timmerman.The first post can be located here and was limited to the drug treatment of the motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease.In part II, I want to focus on deep brain stimulation and the treatment of non-motor symptoms.The authors of the review note the following key points regarding deep br........ Read more »
Pedrosa, D., & Timmermann, . (2013) Review: management of Parkinson's disease. Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment, 321. DOI: 10.2147/NDT.S32302
- May 1, 2013
- 09:45 AM
- 77 views
Autism risk spotted at birth in abnormal placentas
by Perikis Livas in Tracing Knowledge
Researchers at the Yale School of Medicine have figured out how to measure an infant’s risk of developing autism by looking for abnormalities in his/her placenta at birth, allowing for earlier diagnosis and treatment for the developmental disorder.... Read more »
Karen N. Peart. (2013) Autism risk spotted at birth in abnormal placentas. Yale News. info:/
- May 1, 2013
- 09:17 AM
- 61 views
Video Tip of the Week: My Cancer Genome
There are a lot of cancer database resources out there. Most of the ones we’ve focused on have been the data repository types. TCGA, ICGC, CaBIG, COSMIC, Cancer Genome Workbench, UCSC Cancer Genomic Browser, and of course big repositories like GEO. Researchers will need these sources of data to locate key alterations in cancer cells [...]... Read more »
Swanton, C. (2012) My Cancer Genome: a unified genomics and clinical trial portal. The Lancet Oncology, 13(7), 668-669. DOI: 10.1016/S1470-2045(12)70312-1
Yeh, P., Chen, H., Andrews, J., Naser, R., Pao, W., & Horn, L. (2013) DNA-Mutation Inventory to Refine and Enhance Cancer Treatment (DIRECT): A Catalog of Clinically Relevant Cancer Mutations to Enable Genome-Directed Anticancer Therapy. Clinical Cancer Research, 19(7), 1894-1901. DOI: 10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-12-1894
- May 1, 2013
- 08:59 AM
- 50 views
New gene therapy could treat devastating heart failure
by Perikis Livas in Tracing Knowledge
Heart failure, when the heart is unable to pump blood adequately, affects more than 750,000 people in the UK, causing breathlessness and hindering day-to-day activities.
The therapy is designed to increase the levels of SERCA2a protein in heart muscle cells by using a harmless virus to insert extra genes into the cells.... Read more »
Sam Wong. (2013) New gene therapy could treat devastating heart failure. London Imperial College of London. info:/
- May 1, 2013
- 08:54 AM
- 71 views
Four APS Fellows Elected to NAS
by ebender in Daily Observations
Five psychological scientists, including four APS Fellows, are among the 84 new members and 21 foreign associates elected to the National Academy of Sciences, in recognition of their contributions and The post Four APS Fellows Elected to NAS appeared first on Association for Psychological Science.... Read more »
Aslin, R.N. (2012) Questioning the questions that have been asked about the infant brain using near-infrared spectroscopy. Cognitive Neuropsychology, 29(1-2), 7-33. PMID: 22329690
- May 1, 2013
- 08:10 AM
- 67 views
Venomous Plants – A Hairy Situation
by Mark Lasbury in As Many Exceptions As Rules
There are many thousands of poison plants, but not too many are venomous. The nettles and the dendrocnidaes have hollow spines that deliver neurotoxins when they stab you. Recent research has shown that nettle toxin is beneficial in liver regeneration. It stimulates cell proliferation and reduces apoptosis. In an opposite effect, the dendrocnidae toxin called moroidin is a mitotic spindle inhibitor. It may prove useful as an anticancer drug.... Read more »
Oguz, S., Kanter, M., Erboga, M., Toydemir, T., Sayhan, M., & Onur, H. (2013) Effects of Urtica dioica on oxidative stress, proliferation and apoptosis after partial hepatectomy in rats. Toxicology and Industrial Health. DOI: 10.1177/0748233713480211
Hammond-Tooke, G., Taylor, P., Punchihewa, S., & Beasley, M. (2007) Urtica ferox neuropathy. Muscle , 35(6), 804-807. DOI: 10.1002/mus.20730
- May 1, 2013
- 07:29 AM
- 51 views
Nanomedicine: a new frontier
by Perikis Livas in Tracing Knowledge
Everything our bodies do depends on interactions that happen on a nanoscale, the realm of atoms and small molecules. Today, medicine is catching up.
At the University of Minnesota, nanomedicine researchers are pushing forward with projects like new drug-delivery technologies and better screening of potential drugs.... Read more »
UM News. (2013) Nanomedicine: a new frontier. University of Minessota. info:/
- May 1, 2013
- 06:38 AM
- 64 views
Marijuana ingredients can help against HIV-1 infection
by Usman Paracha in SayPeople
Main point:
Treatment strategies against HIV-1 infection could be enhanced by the use of marijuana derivatives.
Journal:
Journal of Leukocyte Biology
Study Further:
Technically speaking, researchers have found that the compounds that stimulate the cannabinoid type-2 (CB2) receptor in white blood cells, particularly in macrophages, can reduce the severity of HIV-1 infection. CB2 is responsible for showing the effects of cannabis.
"The synthetic compounds we used in our stud........ Read more »
Ramirez, S., Reichenbach, N., Fan, S., Rom, S., Merkel, S., Wang, X., Ho, W., & Persidsky, Y. (2013) Attenuation of HIV-1 replication in macrophages by cannabinoid receptor 2 agonists. Journal of Leukocyte Biology, 93(5), 801-810. DOI: 10.1189/jlb.1012523
- May 1, 2013
- 03:52 AM
- 63 views
Depression is not much common in U.S. as said
by Usman Paracha in SayPeople
Main point:
Researcher has found that over-diagnosis and over-treatment of depression is common in Americans.
Journal:
Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics
Study Further:
"Depression over-diagnosis and over-treatment is common in the U.S. and frankly the numbers are staggering," said Ramin J. Mojtabai, PhD, author of the study and an associate professor with the Bloomberg School's Department of Mental Health.
Researcher, in this study, worked on 5,639 participants wi........ Read more »
Mojtabai, R. (2013) Clinician-Identified Depression in Community Settings: Concordance with Structured-Interview Diagnoses. Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, 82(3), 161-169. DOI: 10.1159/000345968
- May 1, 2013
- 01:35 AM
- 53 views
A “switch” for the winter blues
by Shelly Fan in Neurorexia
We’ve all been there. Mid-winter morning, you crawl out of bed, slouch towards work, and pass the day in a hazy daze. There seems to be no concept of time, just never-ending darkness and cold. You’re not depressed, just…bleh. Well, rats have that feeling too. Being nocturnal though, they prefer long nights to long days [...]... Read more »
Dulcis D, Jamshidi P, Leutgeb S, & Spitzer NC. (2013) Neurotransmitter switching in the adult brain regulates behavior. Science (New York, N.Y.), 340(6131), 449-53. PMID: 23620046
- May 1, 2013
- 12:02 AM
- 39 views
Early Degenerative Changes After an ACL Injury
by Nicole Cattano in Sports Medicine Research (SMR): In the Lab & In the Field
Take Home Message: Knees with a recent history of an anterior cruciate ligament injury have radiographic and biochemical differences from healthy knees.
An anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury predisposes a knee to osteoarthritis. Little is known about the causes and characteristics of the path from injury to osteoarthritis. Without these fundamental concepts it is challenging to determine who will develop knee osteoarthritis, optimal interventions, and how to measure if the treatments a........ Read more »
Tourville, T., Johnson, R., Slauterbeck, J., Naud, S., & Beynnon, B. (2013) Assessment of Early Tibiofemoral Joint Space Width Changes After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury and Reconstruction: A Matched Case-Control Study. The American Journal of Sports Medicine, 41(4), 769-778. DOI: 10.1177/0363546513477838
Tourville, T., Johnson, R., Slauterbeck, J., Naud, S., & Beynnon, B. (2013) Relationship Between Markers of Type II Collagen Metabolism and Tibiofemoral Joint Space Width Changes After ACL Injury and Reconstruction. The American Journal of Sports Medicine, 41(4), 779-787. DOI: 10.1177/0363546513476481
- April 30, 2013
- 06:05 PM
- 60 views
Lyme and soda: hold the autism risk?
by Paul Whiteley in Questioning Answers
I've talked about the mighty tick previously on this blog and some speculation on how a tick harbouring the bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi (or a close relation) bites and transmits said bacteria to humans which can lead to Lyme disease and whether this might be implicated in some cases of autism. Tickety boo @ Wikipedia The suggestion from that post was that whilst the data was speculative and relatively sparse at that time on whether Lyme disease is common in cases of autism........ Read more »
Mary Ajamian, Barry E. Kosofsky, Gary P. Wormser, Anjali M. Rajadhyaksha, & Armin Alaedini. (2013) Serologic Markers of Lyme Disease in Children With Autism. JAMA, 309(17), 1771-1773. info:/
- April 30, 2013
- 11:31 AM
- 133 views
Treatment Advances in Parkinson's Disease: Part I
by William Yates, M.D. in Brain Posts
3D Molecular Model of L-DopaDrug treatment of Parkinson's disease is a complex clinical problem. This complexity relates to several factors including incomplete response, multiple symptom domains and adverse effects of commonly used drugs.David Pedrosa and Lars Timmerman from the Department of Neurology at University Hospital Cologne in Germany have recently published an excellent review of Parkinson's disease management.The review is packed with comprehensive tables with specific drug inf........ Read more »
Pedrosa, D., & Timmermann, . (2013) Review: management of Parkinson's disease. Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment, 321. DOI: 10.2147/NDT.S32302
- April 30, 2013
- 02:54 AM
- 68 views
Adult females lack oocyte-forming stem cells
by beredim in Stem Cells Freak
Many researchers have claimed in the past that some of the eggs (oocytes) formed by mammals may actually originate from stem cells. In turn, this gave hope for a new possible source of stem cells that could be used to treat infertility and perhaps other diseases. Unfortunately, a new study by two researchers reveals that mice and probably humans don't use stem cells to produce eggs. Read More... Read more »
Lei, L., & Spradling, A. (2013) Female mice lack adult germ-line stem cells but sustain oogenesis using stable primordial follicles. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1306189110
- April 29, 2013
- 12:52 PM
- 102 views
Potential Diabetes Breakthrough
by Perikis Livas in Tracing Knowledge
Researchers at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI) have discovered a hormone that holds promise for a dramatically more effective treatment of type 2 diabetes, a metabolic illness afflicting an estimated 26 million Americans. The researchers believe that the hormone might also have a role in treating type 1, or juvenile, diabetes.... Read more »
B.D. COLEN. (2013) Potential Diabetes Breakthrough. Harvard Medical School. info:/
- April 29, 2013
- 11:26 AM
- 78 views
'Invasive Blastocystis' in ECCMID 2013
by Christen Rune Stensvold in Blastocystis Parasite Blog
A post on a Blastocystis abstract submitted for oral presentation in the category 'Emerging Infectious Diseases' at the ECCMID 2013 conference in Berlin.... Read more »
Alfellani MA, Stensvold CR, Vidal-Lapiedra A, Onuoha ES, Fagbenro-Beyioku AF, & Clark CG. (2013) Variable geographic distribution of Blastocystis subtypes and its potential implications. Acta tropica, 126(1), 11-8. PMID: 23290980
Stensvold CR. (2013) Comparison of sequencing (barcode region) and sequence-tagged-site PCR for Blastocystis subtyping. Journal of clinical microbiology, 51(1), 190-4. PMID: 23115257
Stensvold CR, Suresh GK, Tan KS, Thompson RC, Traub RJ, Viscogliosi E, Yoshikawa H, & Clark CG. (2007) Terminology for Blastocystis subtypes--a consensus. Trends in parasitology, 23(3), 93-6. PMID: 17241816
- April 29, 2013
- 10:37 AM
- 69 views
Essential Tremor as a Risk Factor for Parkinson's Disease
by William Yates, M.D. in Brain Posts
The number people suffereing from Parkison's disease in the United States is estimated to be between 500,000 and 1,000,000.The key symptoms of Parkinson's disease include tremor and slowed movement or bradykinesia.Known risk factors for Parkinson's disease include advanced age, male gender, family history of Parkinson's disease and exposure to pesticides.Of note, smokers appear to have a reduced risk of Parkinson's disease although the mechanism for this protective effect is unknown.Romero and c........ Read more »
Romero JP, Benito-León J, & Bermejo-Pareja F. (2012) The NEDICES Study: Recent Advances in the Understanding of the Epidemiology of Essential Tremor. Tremor and other hyperkinetic movements (New York, N.Y.). PMID: 23439396
- April 29, 2013
- 10:02 AM
- 77 views
Autism and the folding placenta
by Paul Whiteley in Questioning Answers
Men don't generally talk about placentas it has to be said. But today, in the name of blogging, I'm going to.I'm going to start by telling you how the placenta really is a marvel of biological engineering. An absolutely vital part of our existence in-utero that nourishes us and protects us during our earliest days living in the amniotic sac. Little wonder that whole nations have come to revere the placenta as mother, sibling even doubles of ourselves (see here). Although I have to say I do ........ Read more »
Walker, C., Anderson, K., Milano, K., Ye, S., Tancredi, D., Pessah, I., Hertz-Picciotto, I., & Kliman, H. (2013) Trophoblast Inclusions Are Significantly Increased in the Placentas of Children in Families at Risk for Autism. Biological Psychiatry. DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2013.03.006
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