Body | Page 4450 | Science Codex

South Asian Canadians failing to get exercise message

Edmonton – Exercise is a wonderful way of boosting heart health, but it's proving to be a tough sell in Ontario South Asian communities, Dr. Milan Gupta told the Canadian Cardiovascular Congress 2009, co-hosted by the Heart and Stroke Foundation and the Canadian Cardiovascular Society.

South Asians recovering from coronary heart disease have less access to opportunities for physical activity than do white Caucasians, says Dr. Gupta, a Stroke Foundation researcher. They also develop coronary artery disease much earlier – in some cases in their 30s or 40s.

Aerobic exercise no big stretch for older adults but helps elasticity of arteries

Edmonton – Just three months of physical activity reaps heart health benefits for older adults with type 2 diabetes by improving the elasticity in their arteries – reducing risk of heart disease and stroke, Dr. Kenneth Madden told the 2009 Canadian Cardiovascular Congress, co-hosted by the Heart and Stroke Foundation and the Canadian Cardiovascular Society.

Dr. Madden studied adults between the ages of 65 to 83 with controlled Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and high blood cholesterol to see how increased activity might affect stiffness of the arteries.

The heart attack myth: Study establishes that women do have same the heart attack symptoms as men

Edmonton − The gender difference between men and women is a lot smaller than we've been led to believe when it comes to heart attack symptoms, according to a new study presented to the Canadian Cardiovascular Congress 2009, co-hosted by the Heart and Stroke Foundation and the Canadian Cardiovascular Society.

1 shot of gene therapy and children with congenital blindness can now see

Philadelphia, Pa., Oct. 24, 2009 – Born with a retinal disease that made him legally blind, and would eventually leave him totally sightless, the nine-year-old boy used to sit in the back of the classroom, relying on the large print on an electronic screen and assisted by teacher aides. Now, after a single injection of genes that produce light-sensitive pigments in the back of his eye, he sits in front with classmates and participates in class without extra help. In the playground, he joins his classmates in playing his first game of softball.

Surgery potentially best option for severe migraine headaches

CLEVELAND – The disability from migraine headaches is an enormous health burden affecting over 30 million Americans.

In newly released research, 79 migraine sufferers were followed for at least five years after having undergone detection of migraine "trigger sites" and surgery. The new data finds promising outcomes for treating trigger sites surgically for migraine headaches resulting in elimination of pain for those afflicted with the condition.

Cleanliness is next to godliness: New research shows clean smells promote moral behavior

People are unconsciously fairer and more generous when they are in clean-smelling environments, according to a soon-to-be published study led by a Brigham Young University professor.

The research found a dramatic improvement in ethical behavior with just a few spritzes of citrus-scented Windex.

Workshop tackles challenges in biomarker and drug development

A commentary published online October 23 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute summarizes a set of critical decision points in cancer biomarker and drug development. The points, which emerged from a workshop, include developing a clear understanding of the biology of the target and its interaction with the drug and the factors affecting the performance of the biomarker assay.

Concurrent imaging of metabolic and electric signals in the heart

Cardiac rhythm disorders can result from disturbances in cardiac metabolism. These metabolic changes are tightly linked with specific cardiac electrophysiology (CEP) abnormalities, such as depressed excitability, impaired intra- and extracellular conductivities, wave propagation block, and alteration of conduction velocity, action potential amplitude, and duration.

Adolescents' gambling a part of a cluster of problem behaviors

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Ten percent of young adolescent boys -- or one in 10 -- exhibit a symptom of conduct disorder as well as a symptom of risky or problem gambling, according to new research findings from the University at Buffalo's Research Institute on Addictions (RIA).

As the number of conduct disorder symptoms increase, the number of problem gambling symptoms increase in step, the study showed.

Interestingly, female adolescents exhibit conduct disorder (four percent) and risky or problem gambling (two percent) to a much lesser degree.

Canadian scientists link fat hormone to death from potentially deadly blood infection

A new Canadian study has found that lower-than-normal levels of a naturally-occurring fat hormone may increase the risk of death from sepsis—an overwhelming infection of the blood which claims thousands of lives each year.

The study by researchers at St. Michael's Hospital and the University of Toronto focused on adiponectin, a hormone secreted by visceral fat surrounding the abdominal organs. The findings were presented this week at the 2009 Clinical Congress of the American College of Surgeons held in Chicago.

New insight in the fight against the Leishmania parasite

Laval, October 23, 2009 – Professor Albert Descoteaux's team at Centre INRS – Institut Armand-Frappier has gained a better understanding of how the Leishmania donovani parasite manages to outsmart the human immune system and proliferate with impunity, causing visceral leishmaniasis, a chronic infection that is potentially fatal if left untreated. This scientific breakthrough was recently published in PLoS Pathogens.

Learning the risks for stroke -- and taking action

The theme of this year's World Stroke Day on 29th October is "What can I do?". As the World Stroke Organization says, everyone can do something: learn to recognise symptoms and take action, learn to recognise the risk factors and take action.

Trembling hands and molecular handshakes

Fragile X tremor/ataxia syndrome (FXTAS) is a recently recognized condition, which is actually one of the most prevalent heritable neurodegenerative diseases. It is assumed that the condition is caused by deficiency for the protein Pur-alpha, which is essential for normal neural function. Structural studies undertaken by a team under the leadership of Dr. Dierk Niessing of the Helmholtz Zentrum München and the Gene Center at Ludwigs-Maximilians-University (LMU) have now determined the three-dimensional structure of Pur-alpha, and gained insights into the molecular function of the protein.

Iberian wolves prefer wild roe deer to domestic animals

A Spanish researcher has analysed the preferences of wolves from the north east of the Iberian Peninsula to demonstrate that, in reality, their favourite prey are roe deer, deer and wild boar, ahead of domestic ruminants (sheep, goats, cows and horses).

Seeing previously invisible molecules for the first time

A team of Harvard chemists led by X. Sunney Xie has developed a new microscopic technique for seeing, in color, molecules with undetectable fluorescence. The room-temperature technique allows researchers to identify previously unseen molecules in living organisms and offers broad applications in biomedical imaging and research.

The scientists' results are published in the Oct. 22 issue of Nature. Partial funding for the project was provided by the National Science Foundation (NSF).