Risk for suicide attempts and violent offending by children appears to be associated with their parents' psychiatric disorders, according to an article published online by JAMA Psychiatry.
Suicide and violent behaviors can cluster within families, possibly because of genetics, epigenetics, and social and environmental influences.
A cell line considered to be the most commonly used in brain cancer research is different from the original patient tumor from which it was derived, say Bengt Westermark and colleagues, who first established the cell line nearly 50 years ago. According to the authors, the publicly available cell line, which has been used in more than 1,700 publications, appears to be a type of glioma cell line, likely a glioblastoma, of unknown origin.
Two newer epilepsy drugs may not harm the thinking skills or IQs of school-aged children whose mothers took them while pregnant - but an older drug is linked to cognitive problems in children, especially if their mothers took high doses - according to new research from The University of Manchester.
Researchers funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC) have shown that when the metabolite fumarate accumulates in a hereditary form of renal cancer it leads to an epigenetic reprogramming that drives cancer, according to a study published in Nature. The tumour growth mechanism seen here could be similar in other cancers, such as lung and bowel cancer, where the enzyme that breaks down fumarate is not present or not fully functional.
Patients with cancer have heightened risks of unintentional and intentional injuries during the diagnostic process, reveal findings from a large study published by The BMJ today.
A range of injuries are common and some are potentially life threatening, the study shows, and the authors call for "the prevention of intentional and unintentional injuries during the diagnostic process of cancer."
Skin bleaching with the use of glutathione is on the rise, despite the potential ethical issues and adverse side effects associated with the practice, warns a doctor in The BMJ this week.
Ophelia Dadzie, a consultant dermatologist at The Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Founder and Director of London Ethnic Skin Limited, says that "there is a lack of authoritative public health information in the UK about the efficacy and safety of this practice."
LA JOLLA, CA--As an arm of the innate immune system, white blood cells called neutrophils form the first line of defense against invading pathogens. Neutrophils spend most of their lives racing through the bloodstream, patrolling for bacteria or other foreign particles. Once they arrive at tissues besieged by infectious agents, they halt on a dime and then blast through the vessel wall to reach the inflammatory attack site. They do this by activating integrins, a class of adhesion receptors that can switch on in less than a second.
It can be challenging for regulators to keep up with advances related to medical drugs and devices. A new analysis and editorial published in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology provide insights on how officials are working to support accelerated access to new therapies while also ensuring their safety.
The Griffith University study investigated parasite interactions in wild birds and found they are a crucial indicator of malaria infection risk.
The study Co-infections and environmental conditions drive the distributions of blood parasites in wild birds has been published in the Journal of Animal Ecology.
Researchers were able to cut the number of patients who died from sepsis, or infections that spread to the bloodstream, by 40% (from 12.5% to 7.1%) after the introduction of relatively simple steps at the wards at Levanger Hospital in Nord-Trøndelag, Norway.
The steps, which included increased training and a special observation chart, were introduced as part of a research project carried out by Nord University, Levanger Hospital, and the Mid-Norway Centre for Sepsis Research at NTNU and St. Olavs Hospital in Trondheim, Norway.
New research uncovers the first steps of how human organs and tissues develop - unlocking new potential for understanding and diagnosing developmental disorders
For the first time, the precise way individual human organs and tissue develop has been mapped - providing new insight into how genetic disorders can occur during the crucial early phase of development.
The research, carried out by a team from the University of Manchester and Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, is published in the current issue of the journal eLife.
A new theory aims to explain how the complex vertebrate body, with its skeleton, muscles, nervous and cardiovascular systems, arises from a single cell during development and how these systems evolved over time. The theory, called embryo geometry, is the culmination of nearly 20 years of work by a team of researchers and science illustrators.
The new theory is published along with illustrations - or "blueprints" - depicting how it applies to different vertebrate organ systems in Progress in Biophysics & Molecular Biology.
CRISPR/Cas9 is likely one of the most revolutionary tools in biotechnology, with tremendous implications for a broad range of biological and medical disciplines. As programmable scissors this technology allows cleavage of DNA at predefined sites in the genome of cells. Now researchers from the National Center for Tumor Disease (NCT) Dresden, the German Consortium ortium for Translational Cancer Research (DKTK) and the Medical Faculty of the TU Dresden have found a way to utilize the technology to diagnose and inactivate cancer mutations, thereby accelerating cancer research.
The Tibetan Plateau, as the Earth's third pole, has long been of interest to many, especially in relation to its human history. Over the last few decades our understanding of the history of human occupation of the Tibetan Plateau has significantly improved as a result of progress made in archaeological, genetic and earth science studies. However, arguments still remain as a result of the major discrepancies which exist between the findings of studies based on different materials and using different approaches.
As a nutritional trace element, selenium forms an essential part of our diet. In collaboration with the International Agency for Research on Cancer, researchers from Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin have been able to show that high blood selenium levels are associated with a decreased risk of developing liver cancer. In addition to other risk factors, the study also examines in how far selenium levels may influence the development of other types of cancer. Results from this study have been published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.*