Health and Medicine

Researchers at Case Western Reserve University have discovered kinks in aggrecan, a widely studied protein at the submolecular root of arthritis, a finding that brings scientists closer toward new drugs and other interventions to prevent or alleviate the disease. “Aggrecan acts to organize and densely pack sugar molecules that give cartilage its resilience,” said Steven Eppell, an assistant professor of biomedical engineering and director of the Nanoscale Orthopedic Biomaterials Labo

The only known adults in the world who possess a rare genetic mutation that prevents their bodies from producing leptin may open the door to a new way of fighting fat. After injections with leptin — a human hormone linked to appetite control — the adults’ dramatic weight loss suggests that leptin offers significant promise for treating obesity. Dr. Julio Licinio, professor of medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, flew three cousins — two women and one man — from a

University of Minnesota Cancer Center researchers have found that morphine, which is routinely given to cancer patients to manage severe pain, actually stimulates signals in endothelial cells that in turn prompt tumors to grow in mice. The study will be published in the Aug. 1 issue of Cancer Research. Kalpna Gupta, Ph.D., assistant professor in the hematology, oncology and transplantation division of the university’s department of medicine and lead author of the study, found that doses of morp

Scallops, oysters and mussels – the best of fare Scotland`s kitchens have resulted in a top Parisian award for a researcher from the University of Dundee. Matthew Gubbins is not a chef but a scientific expert on toxicity in shellfish. Matthew (26) has scooped the Daniel Jouvance award for his work on how shellfish become toxic and then lose their toxicity again in the sea. Identifying these processes will allow the industry to monitor more closely when shellfish are non-toxic , ready for harvest a

New study looks at link between ADHD symptoms and smoking in a community sample of high school students Adolescents with symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are more likely to experiment with smoking and become regular tobacco users, a study by researchers from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and Georgetown University indicates. This study appears in the July issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. ADHD i

Pregnancy complications and maternal cardiovascular risk: opportunities for intervention and screening? BMJ Volume 325, pp 157-60 Recent evidence suggests that women with a history of complications in pregnancy may be at increased risk of diabetes and heart disease in later life. Researchers in this week’s BMJ suggest that these women should be screened and given relevant health education. Women who develop diabetes during pregnancy (a condition known as gestational diabetes) are