Dysfunction in Biological News

Genetic factors may predict depression in heart disease patients

... that genetic variations involving endothelial dysfunction a hallmark for vascular diseases, such as ... VWF is a strong predictor of endothelial dysfunction and a risk factor for atherosclerosis. ... is needed, our findings suggest that endothelial dysfunction may be a novel mechanism contributing to ...

Male impotence drugs may deserve a second look in women

... a study author. Scientists define female sexual dysfunction as a multifaceted disorder that includes ... and others are beginning to believe sexual dysfunction provides an early, or at least visible, clue of ... and the like, are a major cause of sexual dysfunction in men and women. "You don't feel atherosclerosis ...

Pulmonary hypertension in children may result from reduced activity of gene regulator

... boost PPAR activity prevent the usual endothelial dysfunction that occurs in the first few weeks after birth. Conversely, PPAR antagonists cause endothelial dysfunction without the underlying heart defect. At its core, endothelial dysfunction is decreased ability of blood vessels to dilate ...

NJIT professor finds engineering technique to identify disease-causing genes

... analyzed large cellular molecular networks whose dysfunction contributed to the development of certain complex ... of cells in the body is vulnerable to the dysfunction of some molecules within a cell. "In other words," he added, "different diseases may arise from the dysfunction of one or several molecules within an ...

NYU Langone Medical Center's tip sheet to the International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease 2008

... at understanding how amyloid causes neuronal dysfunction in the brain. All of this research helps advance ... may be one of the underlying causes of nerve dysfunction during Alzheimer's disease pathogenesis. ... Partial gene-deletion improves memory dysfunction in Alzheimer's mice Masuo Ohno, Ph.D., NYU ...

Mitochondrial dysfunction and redox signaling in atrial tachyarrhythmia

... tachycardia is associated with mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress followed by the activation ... the influence of tachyarrhythmia on endocardial dysfunction (called endocardial remodelling) and to decipher ... myocardial/endocardial dysfunction. Endocardial dysfunction appears as a well recognised risk factor for ...

Study finds Viagra increases release of key reproductive hormone

... of a chemical mechanism through which erectile dysfunction drugs like Viagra may have physical effects ... absence of stimulation, Jackson says. "Erectile dysfunction drugs do not induce erections spontaneously, they ... "But it raises the possibility that erectile dysfunction drugs could be doing more than just affecting ...

USC researchers identify gene variant associated with both autism and gastrointestinal dysfunction

... with autism, researchers have long debated whether co-occurring GI dysfunction represents a unique autism subgroup, Levitt and lead author Daniel ... needs to be research looking at whether the children with co-occurring GI dysfunction and autism have unique features that will help us predict what treatments ...

American Chemical Society's weekly PressPac -- Jan. 14, 2009

... with DIT and calls for an increase in awareness of preadult immune dysfunction and its consequences on life-long chronic disease. A protected, well ... Identifying hazards for developing immune systems and protection against dysfunction provide opportunities to reduce health risks for the most significant ...

Hypertension develops early, silently, in African-American men

... hypothesized that the blood vessels of the black men would show greater dysfunction than the white men, even though both groups were young and equally healthy ... factor profile as young white men, diffuse macrovascular and microvascular dysfunction is present at a young age in apparently healthy African American men," the ...

Study provides insight on a common heart rhythm disorder

... found that variants in a gene called ankyrin 2, or ANK2, resulted in dysfunction in the protein ankyrin-B in the members of these two different families, ... symptoms, including ventricular arrhythmias, the prevalence of sinus node dysfunction in these patients was extremely high. In fact, most required the ...

The benefits of green tea in reducing an important risk factor for heart disease

... function of (endothelial) cells lining the circulatory system; endothelial dysfunction is a key event in the progression of atherosclerosis. The study, ... Another study has already shown that green tea reverses endothelial dysfunction in smokers. Green tea, which originates in China but is now consumed ...

Study uncovers clues to cystic fibrosis gene dysfunction and gastrointestinal disease

... in patients without CF. Yet the underlying mechanism by which CFTR gene dysfunction causes disease is poorly understood, limiting potential treatment options. ... findings will lead to a more comprehensive understanding of how CFTR gene dysfunction can cause such a wide range of disease, eventually enabling us to develop ...

Paradigm shift in Alzheimers's research: new treatments

... explain cholinergic deficits in AD patients and indicates that cholinergic dysfunction is a down-stream event in AD pathology. In addition, complete loss of ... implications Overall, this mouse model develops a robust neuronal dysfunction and degeneration, which triggers AD-typical changes on different levels ...

CU-Boulder worm study sheds light on human aging, inherited diseases

... might find application in treating diseases linked to mitochondrial dysfunction such as Huntington's, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's. "We appear to have ... his team used RNAi to produce worms with varying levels of mitochondrial dysfunction with the hope of solving a mystery that has baffled scientists for years. ...

Brain difference in psychopaths identified

... date, nobody has investigated the 'connectivity' between the specific brain regions implicated in psychopathy. Earlier studies had suggested that dysfunction of specific brain regions might underpin psychopathy. Such areas of the brain were identified as the amygdale, ie the area associated with emotions, ...

22nd Congress of the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology, Sept. 12-16, 2009, Turkey

... or neurotheology. A central assumption in neuropsychopharmacology is that all states of mind as well as diseases involving mental or cognitive dysfunction have a neurochemical basis. Thus, the understanding of neurons in the brain is central to understanding the mind, and essential for the understanding ...

Fate in fly sensory organ precursor cells could explain human immune disorder

... Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome, the work done by Bellen and his colleagues suggest that defects in the presentation of Delta could explain the loss and dysfunction of T-cells in patients with Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome. ...

Stress puts double whammy on reproductive system, fertility

... California, Berkeley, researchers have found what they think is a critical and, until now, missing piece of the puzzle about how stress causes sexual dysfunction and infertility. Scientists know that stress boosts levels of stress hormones - glucocorticoids such as cortisol - that inhibit the body's main ...

NIH funds $9.5 million for research on HIV and the human innate immune system

... from HIV-infected individuals on HAART that impact the cell's cycle and immune responses. "We now have proteomic data telling us that there is a dysfunction occurring in the epithelial cells," says Weinberg. The researchers are interested in understanding what it means from a biological perspective ...

A genetic link to premature ejaculation

... and their older or younger brothers - about the first time they had sex. Many participants in the study reported that they had suffered from erectile dysfunction and premature ejaculation at their first sexual encounter. These common problems are often attributed to external factors, such as intoxication or ...

New evidence of how high glucose damages blood vessels could lead to new treatments

... change we see in the vasculature of hypertensives?" Dr. Tostes says. "If we know how this changes vascular function, we can understand some of the dysfunction that we see in diabetes." To make sure they were targeting the O-GlcNAc sugar and not dealing with other effects of glucose on blood vessels, the ...

Heart protein regulates blood vessel maintenance

... FHL2 is important in the regulation of vasomotor tone, or the contraction and relaxation of muscles in the blood vessel. This is important because dysfunction in vasomotor tone is thought to cause high blood pressure. Our study demonstrates that FHL2 is essential in modulating the physical state of vSMCs, ...

Rotator cuff tears: Are they all in the family?

... influences; however, scientists unclear as to exactly why it occurs, have several theories including: Decreased blood flow leading to tendon dysfunction and tearing Bumping (impingement) of the rotator cuff on the undersurface of the shoulder cap (acromion) when moving the arm This may lead to a ...

Older men more likely than women to die after pneumonia

... key inflammatory molecules are associated with the risk of developing pneumonia, and the risk of progression to severe sepsis, septic shock, organ dysfunction or death. Because pneumonia is the most common cause of sepsis, patients with this infection represent an excellent clinical model for studying ...

Some short-term memories die suddenly, no fading

... decisions on the basis of weak, inaccurate memories. Zhang and Luck are currently incorporating these findings into a study of short-term memory dysfunction in people with schizophrenia. ...

LSUHSC student awarded top national honor for diabetes research

... beta cell function. Beta cells are located in islet cell clusters throughout the pancreas. Diabetes mellitus type 1 results from the destruction or dysfunction of islets and their beta cells. Type 2 diabetes results from the body's inability to use insulin properly and a gradual decrease in the pancreas's ...

Case Western Reserve University receives $1.66m grant from NIH for otoprotection research

... from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Research Project Grant Program (R01) to explore the impact of several molecular pathways on inner ear dysfunction in Ushers syndrome. Usher Syndrome (USH) is a clinically and genetically heterogeneous disorder characterized by congenital deafness and ...

Freezing prostate cancer does a man's body good

... as possible of the prostate gland and its neurovascular bundles, limiting the side effects of bladder control problems (incontinence) and erectile dysfunction (impotence) that result from more radical prostate cancer treatments. It also represents an advantage over "watchful waiting," because all treatment ...

ChemoBrain: How cancer therapies can affect your mind

... Cancer Centers of New York: Beth Israel and St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospitals, is a doctor at the forefront of a new movement to treat cognitive dysfunction as a real symptom with real potential solutions. "We will learn more about the causes of cognitive impairment soon, asking future patient generations ...

Smoking during pregnancy may impair thyroid function of mom and fetus

... maternal thyroid function during pregnancy is vital for a successful pregnancy outcome, said Dr. Vaidya. The adverse outcomes associated with thyroid dysfunction during pregnancy include increased risk of miscarriage, premature birth, low birth weight and impaired neuropsychological development of the baby. ...

UT faculty members win American Heart Association awards for advancing research

... multiple organ systems. Discovery of this pathway has allowed new therapeutic strategies to control blood pressure, correct conditions of endothelial dysfunction and even treat erectile dysfunction," said Nathan Bryan, Ph.D., assistant professor of molecular medicine at the IMM. Murad completed his ...

Gene therapy corrects sickle cell disease in laboratory study

... causes hemoglobin-containing red blood cells to tend to deform, clump and break apart. The resulting clogged blood vessels can lead to cognitive dysfunction by causing small strokes in the brain and cause damage to kidneys, liver, spleen and lungs. The only permanent cure for the disease is a bone marrow ...

Tiny protein provokes healthy bonding between cells

... in contact, bonding strengths continued to diminish. Wirtz suggested that if scientists could figure out a way to repair or replace the alpha-catenin dysfunction found in some cancer cells, it could lead to a therapy that thwarts the spread of cancer. ...

Pain is in the eyes of the beholder

... in Australia. (The work was done at the University of Oxford.) In the study, the researchers asked ten right-handed patients with chronic pain and dysfunction in one arm to watch their own arm while they performed a standardized set of ten hand movements. The participants repeated the movements under four ...

Apelin to rescue diabetics

... on the surface of liver cells are desensitized (type II diabetes). Consequently, the cell is no longer capable of assimilating glucose. Such a dysfunction causes a rise in blood sugar levels leading to the onset of numerous complications. Philippe Valet's team has just found that our cells are ...

New cardiology research presented at CHEST 2008

... #6363 TADALAFIL PROVES EFFECTIVE THERAPY FOR PULMONARY HYPERTENSION (Tuesday, October 28, 10:30 AM EST) New research shows that the erectile dysfunction drug, tadalafil, may be an effective adjunct therapy for patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Italian researchers randomized 405 ...

MU brain imaging center provides research for autism, schizophrenia and Parkinson's disease

... laboratory recently initiated a grant-funded project that will utilize the MRI in an effort to increase our understanding of the cognitive and neural dysfunction experienced by individuals with autism." MU is one of the few academic institutions to have this technology available on campus and accessible ...

2008 SNM Wagner-Torizuka Fellowships announced

... medicine. "Through molecular imaging techniques, physicians can more accurately diagnose and better treat many serious conditions, from neurological dysfunction to cancer. This fellowship supports the achievable goal of individualized medicine, which will allow physicians to provide optimized care for each ...

American Chemical Society's Weekly PressPac -- Sept. 24, 2008

... that an ancient Chinese herbal remedy known as "horny goat weed" shows potential in lab studies as source for new future drugs to treat erectile dysfunction (ED). The study, which provides scientific evidence supporting the herb's well-known use as a natural aphrodisiac, is scheduled for the October 24 ...