Since the discovery of gene sequencing in the late 1970s, it was predicted that genetics would revolutionise medicine and provide answers to the causes of many of our common killers. But has genetic research delivered its promise? Experts debate the issue on bmj.com today.
London GP, James Le Fanu argues that the influence of modern genetics on everyday medical practice "remains scarcely detectable."
Some neurons from spinal cord have quite long neurites, but the molecular mechanism of long-neurite outgrowth has been still mysterious. The research team led by Assistant Professor Koji Shibasaki in Gumma University and Professor Makoto Tominaga in National Institute for Physiological Sciences (NIPS) in Japan, reported that TRPV2 receptor can act as mechanical stretch-sensor in developing neurons to help their neurites grow much longer. They report their finding in Journal of Neuroscience published on March 31, 2010.
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The age-old maxim "Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper" may in fact be the best advice to follow to prevent metabolic syndrome, according to a new University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) study.
Metabolic syndrome is characterized by abdominal obesity, high triglycerides, insulin resistance and other cardiovascular disease-risk factors.
Hemophilia, a disease linked with legends of European monarchs, frail heirs and one flamboyant charlatan called Rasputin, still afflicts many people today.
And the very treatments that can help can also put patients' lives at risk.
The standard treatment is infusion with an expensively produced protein that helps the blood to clot. But in some patients the immune system fights the therapy, and in a subset of those, it sets off an allergic reaction that can result in death.
BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Eating foods containing flavonoids -- orange juice, in this case -- along with a high-fat, high-carbohydrate fast-food meal neutralizes the oxidative and inflammatory stress generated by the unhealthy food and helps prevent blood vessel damage, a new study by University at Buffalo endocrinologists shows.
(Edmonton) A University of Alberta-led research team has discovered an influenza detector gene that could potentially prevent the transmission of the virus to humans.
A unique collection of St. John's wort (Hypericum) curated by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists in Ames, Iowa, is providing university collaborators with genetically diverse, well-documented sources of this herb to use in studies examining its medicinal potential.
Hamilton, ON (March 30, 2010) – Aspirin, ibuprofen and other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) remain the most common treatment to relieve symptoms of arthritis and other inflammatory disorders. But despite their widespread use (around 2.5 million Canadians have osteoarthritis) these medications are also known to cause severe, sometimes life-threatening adverse effects within the body, particularly in the gastrointestinal tract.
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- Amphibians—frogs, toads, salamanders, and newts—are disappearing worldwide, but the stream salamanders of the Appalachian Mountains appear to be stable. This region is home to the largest diversity of salamanders in the world (more than 70 species reside here), and scientists want to understand what contributes to the stability of these salamander populations.
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - One of the most common house ant species might have been built for living in some of the smallest spaces in a forest, but the ants have found ways to take advantage of the comforts of city living.
About 1900 deaths from lung cancer per year in Germany are due to radon within residential buildings. This was the conclusion reached in the current edition of Deutsches Ärzteblatt International by Klaus Schmid of the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg and his coauthors (Dtsch Arztebl Int 2010; 107(11): 181-6).
AMES, Iowa - People feel it, animals feel it, and yes, plants sense it too.
It's stress.
Plant researchers are taking a long look at stress in order to improve crop productivity, especially when faced with issues of climate change.
A Kansas State University researcher is exploring the use of Chinese wolfberries to improve vision deficiencies that are common for type-2 diabetics.
Dingbo "Daniel" Lin, K-State research assistant professor of human nutrition, is studying wolfberries and their potential to improve damage to the retina. His findings show that the fruit can lower the oxidative stress that the eye undergoes as a result of type-2 diabetes.
In Korea, there has been a rapid epidemiological shift in hepatitis A virus (HAV) infection as a result of rapid economic development. The adult cases of acute hepatitis A have increased rapidly during the past 10 years due to the emergence of susceptible adults in Korea.
Caudate hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has a poorer prognosis than HCC originating from other lobes, due to its proximity to the portal trunk and inferior vena cava, which facilitate intrahepatic and systemic spread early in the disease. Hepatic resection is considered, in principle, to be the first choice treatment. In order to improve surgical outcome, it is necessary to evaluate the potential risk factors affecting long-term survival and to establish guidelines for the appropriate use of hepatectomy for caudate lobectomy.