Body | Page 3556 | Science Codex

Scientists design nano-sized drug transporter to fight disease

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Scientists seeking to improve cancer treatments have created a tiny drug transporter that maximizes its ability to silence damaging genes by finding the equivalent of an expressway into a target cell.

The transporter, called a nanocarrier, is a lipid-based structure containing a piece of RNA. Lipids are fatty molecules that help maintain the structure of cell membranes.

The RNA segment encased in the carrier sets off a process to silence genes, rendering the genes unable to produce proteins that lead to disease or other health problems.

Quality of life for children with ADHD and their families worsens with greater disease severity

The greater the severity of a child's Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) symptoms, the more negative impacts on the child's health-related quality of life from the perspective of the child and the parent, a new study by a Baylor University psychologist has found.

Researchers compared children with ADHD in different types of treatment settings and found that children with ADHD being treated by a general pediatrician have better overall health-related quality of life and family functioning than children with ADHD being treated in a psychiatric clinic.

Local efforts can stem the increasing unnecessary cesarean sections

Caesarean section rates are steadily increasing globally. Requiring two doctors to agree that a Caesarean section is the best way to deliver a baby, rather than just needing one opinion, providing internal feedback to doctors on the number of operations performed and seeking support from local opinion leaders may reduce the use of this procedure. For low-risk pregnancies, nurse-led relaxation classes for women with a fear or anxiety of childbirth and birth preparation classes for mothers may decrease caesarean sections.

Hormone therapy may be hazardous for men with heart conditions

Fairfax, Va., July 26, 2011 – Adding hormone therapy to radiation therapy has been proven in randomized clinical trials to improve overall survival for men with intermediate- and high-risk prostate cancer. However, adding hormone therapy may reduce overall survival in men with pre-existing heart conditions, even if they have high-risk prostate cancer according to a new study just published online in advance of print in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology•Biology•Physics, the official scientific journal of ASTRO.

Single-dose H1N1 vaccine not reliable protection for pediatric liver-transplant patients

Researchers from Australia determined that pediatric liver transplant patients who received a single-dose of the H1N1 vaccine were not adequately protected against the virus compared to healthy children. This study appearing in the August issue of Liver Transplantation, a journal of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, found that a second vaccination was needed to elicit an effective immune response in children 10 and older who had recently received a liver transplant.

Zinc lozenges may shorten common-cold duration

Depending on the total dosage of zinc and the composition of lozenges, zinc lozenges may shorten the duration of common cold episodes by up to 40%, according to a study published in the Open Respiratory Medicine Journal.

Models show Coho salmon at risk in US urbanizing watersheds

For a decade researchers in Seattle have worked to solve the mystery of why adult coho salmon are dying prematurely in urban streams when they return from the ocean to mate and spawn. In a study published in Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management the team use models to estimate the potential impact of urban land development on the salmon population in the decades ahead.

How testosterone protects against inflammation

Jena (Germany) It's all down to the testosterone: men are usually more muscular than women, they have deeper voices and more body hair. And – men are less susceptible to inflammatory diseases and allergies than women. This is also due to the male sex hormones as pharmacists at the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (Germany) have shown in a recent study.

Does menopause matter when it comes to diabetes?

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Menopause has little to no impact on whether women become more susceptible to diabetes, according to a one-of-a-kind study.

Postmenopausal women had no higher risk for diabetes whether they experienced natural menopause or had their ovaries removed, according to the national clinical trial of 1,237 women at high risk for diabetes, ages 40 to 65.

Common drugs initiate a molecular pas de quatre at the surface of the cell membrane

Brussels, 25 July 2011 - G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are popular drug targets, accounting for about one-third of approved drugs and many hundreds of drugs currently in development. They act as molecular switches that transduce extracellular signals by activating heterotrimeric G proteins (G proteins) located at the inside of the cell. Changes in shape of these proteins determine essential processes, including whether an eye detects light, a virus invades a cell or a drug slows a racing heart. GPCRs sit in the membranes of cells throughout the body.

High-throughput screen finds compounds that regulate cancer cell invasion

LA JOLLA, Calif., July 25, 2011 – Metastasis—the spread of cancer from the place where it first started to another place in the body—is the most common reason that cancer treatments fail. To metastasize, some types of cancer cells rely on invadopodia, cellular membrane projections that act like feet, helping them "walk" away from the primary tumor and invade surrounding tissues.

Simple guidelines decreased unnecessary antibiotic use in Quebec, Canada

[EMBARGOED FOR JULY 26, 2011] Antibiotic overuse and resistance have emerged as major threats during the past two decades. Following an outbreak of Clostridium difficile infections, which often result from antibiotic use, health care professionals in Quebec, Canada targeted physicians and pharmacists with an education campaign that reduced outpatient antibiotic use, according to a study published in Clinical Infectious Diseases and now available online.

Global depression statistics

Depression affects 121 million people worldwide. In can affect a person's ability to work, form relationships, and destroy their quality of life. At its most severe depression can lead to suicide and is responsible for 850,000 deaths every year. New research published in BioMed Central's open access journal BMC Medicine compares social conditions with depression in 18 countries across the world.

Mitochondria share an ancestor with SAR11, a globally significant marine microbe

Billions of years ago, an astounding evolutionary event occurred: certain bacteria became obliged to live inside other cells, thus starting a chain of events that resulted in what is now the mitochondria, an organelle found in all eukaryotic cells. A recent study by researchers at the University of Hawaii – Manoa (UHM) and the Oregon State University (OSU) provides strong evidence that mitochondria share a common evolutionary ancestor with a lineage of marine bacteria known as SAR11, arguably the most abundant group of microorganisms on Earth.

Study finds important risk factors for death/transplantation in children with heart muscle disease

WHAT:Researchers have identified important risk factors for death and transplantation in children with dilated cardiomyopathy (heart muscle disease), according to results from a study supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health.

Using these risk factors, physicians may be able to better identify children who will or will not benefit from life-saving transplantation surgery; the current criteria for receiving a transplant sometimes miss children who may benefit.