Chronic sinusitis patients experience improved quality of life after endoscopic sinus surgery
December 31, 2009 by admin · Leave a Comment
Contact: Jessica Mikulski
newsroom@entnet.org
703-535-3762
American Academy of Otolaryngology — Head and Neck Surgery Read more
Study links restless leg syndrome with erectile dysfunction in older men
December 31, 2009 by admin · Leave a Comment
Contact: Kelly Wagner
kwagner@aasmnet.org
708-492-0930
American Academy of Sleep Medicine
Westchester, Ill. A study in the Jan. 1 issue of the journal Sleep shows that erectile dysfunction was more common in older men with restless leg syndrome (RLS) than in those without RLS, and the magnitude of this association increased with a higher frequency of RLS symptoms.
Nervous culprit found for Tassie devil facial tumor disease
December 30, 2009 by admin · Leave a Comment
Contact: Penny Fannin
fannin@wehi.edu.au
61-417-125-700
Walter and Eliza Hall Institute
Cells that protect nerves are the likely origin of the Devil Facial Tumour Disease (DFTD) that has been devastating Australia’s Tasmanian devil population, an international team of scientists has discovered.
Unusual protein modification involved in muscular dystrophy, cancer
December 30, 2009 by admin · Leave a Comment
Contact: Jennifer Brown
jennifer-l-brown@uiowa.edu
319-356-7124
University of Iowa
With the discovery of a new type of chemical modification on an important muscle protein, a University of Iowa study improves understanding of certain muscular dystrophies and could potentially lead to new treatments for the conditions.
Body’s own veins provide superior material for aortic grafts
December 29, 2009 by admin · Leave a Comment
Contact: Katherine Morales
katherine.morales@utsouthwestern.edu
214-648-3404
UT Southwestern Medical Center
DALLAS Dec. 30, 2009 A vascular surgical technique pioneered at UT Southwestern Medical Center and designed to replace infected aortic grafts with the body’s own veins has proved more durable and less prone to new infection than similar procedures using synthetic and cadaver grafts.
The cancer ‘TRAP’
December 28, 2009 by admin · Leave a Comment
Contact: Angela Colmone, Ph.D.
acolmone@asip.org
301-634-7953
American Journal of Pathology
Worcester, MA Current research suggests that TNF-receptor associated protein-1 (TRAP-1) may prevent cancer cell death. The related report by Leav et al, “Cytoprotective Mitochondrial Chaperone TRAP-1 as a Novel Molecular Target in Localized and Metastatic Prostate Cancer,” appears in the January 2010 issue of the American Journal of Pathology.
Rapid flu testing
December 28, 2009 by admin · Leave a Comment
Contact: Angela Colmone, Ph.D.
acolmone@asip.org
301-634-7953
American Journal of Pathology
Milwaukee, WI Researchers from the Medical College of Wisconsin, the Children’s Research Institute, and the Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin have developed a rapid, automated system to differentiate strains of influenza. The related report by Beck et al, “Development of a rapid automated influenza A, influenza B, and RSV A/B multiplex real-time RT-PCR assay and its use during the 2009 H1N1 swine-origin influenza virus (S-OIV) epidemic in Milwaukee, Wisconsin,” appears in the January 2010 issue of the Journal of Molecular Diagnostics.
New research could advance research field critical to personalized medicine
December 28, 2009 by admin · Leave a Comment
Contact: Karen Mallet
km463@georgetown.edu
215-514-9751
Georgetown University Medical Center
Washington, DC — It’s the ultimate goal in the treatment of cancer: tailoring a person’s therapy based on his or her genetic makeup. While a lofty goal, scientists are steadily moving forward, rapidly exploiting new technologies. Researchers at Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center report a significant advance in this field of research using a new chip that looks for hundreds of mutations in dozen of genes.
Common mechanism underlies many diseases of excitability
December 27, 2009 by admin · Leave a Comment
Contact: Karen Honey
press_releases@the-jci.org
215-573-1850
Journal of Clinical Investigation
Inherited mutations in voltage-gated sodium channels (Navs) are associated with many different human diseases, including genetic forms of epilepsy and chronic pain. Theodore Cummins and colleagues, at Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, have now determined the functional consequence of three such mutations. As noted by Stephen Cannon and Bruce Bean, in an accompanying commentary, these results suggest that there might be a common mechanism for many channelopathies, diseases arising from mutations in ion channel genes such as those analyzed by Cummins and colleagues.
Small molecules found to protect cells in multiple models of Parkinson’s disease
December 27, 2009 by admin · Leave a Comment
Contact: Nicole Giese
giese@wi.mit.edu
617-258-6851
Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research
FINDINGS: Several structurally similar small molecules appear capable of protecting cells from alpha-synuclein toxicity, a hallmark of Parkinson’s disease.
