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Association of herpesvirus with lung disorder questioned

Contrary to the results of a recent U.S. study, investigators in Japan found no association between a herpesvirus infection and a potentially life-threatening form of high blood pressure, as reported in the March 1 issue of The Journal of Infectious Diseases, now available online. The researchers reported that they were not able to detect human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8), also known as the Kap...

Newly discovered virus linked to childhood lung disorders and Kawasaki disease

Late updatetonight; my girlfriend is sick and I took care of her. First headline :a newly discovered virus causing respiratory infection. Let's hope itsjust a coincidence :) A newly discovered virus may be responsible for many respiratory tractillnesses in infants and children, and may be associated with animportant multi-organ disease whose cause has...

Mouse brain tumors mimic those in human genetic disorder

A recently developed mouse model of braintumors common in the genetic disorder neurofibromatosis 1 (NF1)successfully mimics the human condition and provides unique insightinto tumor development, diagnosis and treatment, according toresearchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.After validating their animal model, the team made two importantdiscoveries: New blood vesse...

Beyond lithium for bipolar disorder

While lithium treatment has proven to be a godsend for many of the two million Americans with bipolar disorder, it is not without its downside. People on the drug may develop hypothyroidism, tremors, cognitive impairment, and excessive thirst and urination and gain weight. However, better treatments for bipolar disorder depend on a better understanding of the still-mysterious mechanism by...

UCLA launches $20 million stem cell institute to investigate HIV, cancer and neurological disorders

Experts in bioengineering, imaging, molecular genetics, immunology, ethics, hematology/oncology and cellular biology to collaborate on Proposition 71 research Drawing together experts from fields as diverse as engineering to molecular biology, UCLA officials announced March 16 the formation of the Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Medicine to conduct embryonic and adult stem cell resear...

Iron exporter revealed that may explain common human disorder

The first direct evidence that a single protein is critical in the cellular export of iron may help to explain human hemochromatosis, researchers report in the March issue of Cell Metabolism. Hemochromatosis--which affects one in every 200 to 300 people in Western populations --causes tissues of the body to become overloaded with iron. Left untreated, the hereditary disease can lead to org...

Mystery Blood Vessel Disorder Implicated In 'Mini' Strokes

Physicians have long been puzzled by a condition called intracranial arterial dolichoectasia, in which the larger arteries of the brain become elongated and misshapen. Typically, it has been considered a complication of atherosclerosis ("hardening of the arteries"), and not directly life-threatening. However, there is recent evidence that people with dolichoectasia are more likely to have aortic...

Researchers Identify Cause of Early Bird Sleep Disorder

A few rare people who consistently nod off early, then wake up wide-eyed much before dawn, can blame a newly-found mutant gene for their sleep troubles, Howard Hughes Medical Institute researchers announced today. This odd "time-shift" trait -- called familial advanced sleep phase syndrome (FASPS) -- was studied in one affected family by neurologist Louis J. Ptacek, a Howard Hughes Medical...

Pinpointing the cause of a neurodegenerative disorder

New understanding of spinocerebellar ataxiaResearchers have discovered how the abnormal repetition of a genetic sequence can have disastrous consequences that lead to the death of neurons that govern balance and motor coordination. The studies bolster the emerging theory that neurodegenerative disorders can be caused by having extra copies of a normal protein, not just a mutated one. Peopl...

Men Estimate Men's Risks Of Common Disorders Higher Than Women Do, And Vice Versa

New research from University of Glasgow researchers on lay perceptions about gender differences in health reveals that both men and women believe health risks are higher for their own sex than for the opposite sex. But, it also shows that males think that men are fitter and females think women are more athletic. Professor Sally Macintyre in the MRC Social and Public Health Sciences Unit at...

Researchers track down cause of a disfiguring bone disorder

Scientists have tracked down the biological trigger that gives rise to Van Buchem disease, a hereditary, disfiguring bone disorder that can cause blindness and deafness. The findings provide insight into long-range gene regulation and could lead to new treatments for osteoporosis and other crippling bone disorders. A research team from Lawrence Livermore and Lawrence Berkeley national labo...

Anti-cancer drugs may hold promise for premature aging disorder

In a surprising development, a research team led by the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has found that a class of experimental anti-cancer drugs also shows promise in laboratory studies for treating a fatal genetic disorder that causes premature aging. In a study published Monday in the online edition of the Proceedings of...

New book highlights world's borderless conservation areas

Publication emphasizes global focus on protecting Earth's ecosystems across national boundariesNature knows no borders, according to a new book released today by CEMEX, Conservation International, and Agrupacion Sierra Madre. "Transboundary Conservation: A New Vision for Protected Areas," describes in detail new strategies of shared environmental responsibility for keeping important wilde...

New Therapeutic Target Identified In Inherited Brain Tumor Disorder

With preliminary results from a study in Botswana, Harvard School of Public Health researchers have found that people with HIV-1 subtype C in resource-poor settings, who receive antiretroviral (ARV) therapy, can achieve comparable results to those in the developed world. A fully supported health care delivery system and infrastructure help ensure this success, according to data published in Novem...

Study ties 'new' cell-death mechanism to developmental and degenerative brain disorders

An international research team has provided the first conclusive evidence that neurodevelopmental disorders such as mental retardation and neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and ataxias can be caused, at least in part, by specific gene defects that interfere with the electrical impulses of rapid-firing brain nerve cells called bursting neurons. The...

Clock molecule's sensitivity to lithium sheds light on bipolar disorder

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine discovered that a key receptor protein is a critical component of the internal molecular clock in mammals. What's more, this molecule –called Rev-erb?is sensitive to lithium and may help shed light on circadian rhythm disorders, including bipolar disorder. The findings, which also provide insight into clock-controlled aspects of met...

Tumor cells that border normal tissue are told to leave

The thin, single-cell boundary where a tumor meets normal tissue is the most dangerous part of a cancer according to a new study by scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. The researchers found that tumor cells bordering normal tissue receive signals that tell them to wander away from the tumor, allowing the cancer cells to establish deadly metastatic tumors elsewhere...

Mice learn tasks that may help treat human psychiatric disorders

Mice that couldn't be dissuaded from the object of their attention by a piece of sweet, crunchy cereal may help researchers find new treatments and cures for human disorders like autism and Parkinson's disease. For the first time, a psychiatric test for monitoring many human mental abnormalities has been adapted for use in mice, according to researchers at Purdue University, University of...

Tests for 'face-blindness' reveal disorder may not be so rare

Researchers at Harvard University and University College London have developed diagnostic tests for prosopagnosia, a socially disabling inability to recognize or distinguish faces. They've already used the new test and a related web site ( ) to identify hundreds of "face-blind" individuals, far more than scientists had identified previously....

First major study of mammalian 'disorderly' proteins

Investigators at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital turned up the heat on "disorderly" proteins and confirmed that most of these unruly molecules perform critical functions in the cell. The St. Jude team completed the first large-scale collection, investigation and classification of these so-called intrinsically unstructured proteins (IUPs), a large group of molecules that play vital roles in...

Origin of inherited pain disorder pinpointed

The genetic basis for a rare inherited disorder that causes severe burning pain with no warning has been pinpointed by researchers. They found that paroxysmal extreme pain disorder (PEPD) is caused by specific mutations in porelike sodium channels in peripheral nerve cells—a discovery that they said emphasizes the role of such channel disorders in inflammatory pain. Such findings of abnormal func...

Who gives stem cells their marching orders?

Researchers from the Swiss Institute for Experimental Cancer Research (ISREC) have shown that a single gene involved in embryonic development is responsible for two seemingly contradictory activities -- maintaining stem cells after the embryo has implanted in the mother's uterus, and later providing cues to direct their differentiation in a coordinated fashion when the time is ripe. The d...

New gene linked to bipolar disorder

A new gene linked to both depression and bipolar disorder has been identified by UCL (University College London) and Danish researchers. The collaboration, led by Professor Hugh Gurling at UCL and Professor Ole Mors at the University of Aarhus, first looked at bipolar cases in families living in the UK and in Denmark, and then at large numbers of unrelated people with bipolar disorder. T...

Anxiety disorders surprisingly common yet often untreated

A new study by researchers led by Kurt Kroenke, M.D., of the Indiana University School of Medicine and the Regenstrief Institute, Inc. reports that nearly 20 percent of patients seen by primary care physicians have at least one anxiety disorder. The study outlines the effectiveness of a new screening tool which can alert busy primary care physicians to those patients with one or more anxiety diso...

Gene found for rare disorder may reveal new pathway in mental retardation

Studying mutations that give rise to a rare genetic disease, genetics researchers have identified a novel biological pathway that may have a broader role during human development, potentially in cases of mental retardation and autism. An international team of researchers identified two genes that contribute to Cornelia deLange syndrome (CdLS), a multisystem genetic disease that affects an...

Cow protein aids in treatment of gastrointestinal disorder

Recent evidence suggests that therapy currently used to treat Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection, a major cause of upper gastrointestinal disorders, is unsuccessful in around 25 percent of cases. A new study, published in The American Journal of Gastroenterology, finds that adding a bovine protein called lactoferrin to the existing treatment may yield more effective results, with fewer of...

Genetic roots of bipolar disorder revealed by first genome-wide study of illness

The likelihood of developing bipolar disorder depends in part on the combined, small effects of variations in many different genes in the brain, none of which is powerful enough to cause the disease by itself, a new study shows. However, targeting the enzyme produced by one of these genes could lead to development of new, more effective medications. The research was conducted by scientists at...

'Smart' mice teach scientists about learning process, brain disorders

, reveal a new mechanism of learni...

Brain holds clues to bipolar disorder

Th...

Common cancer gene sends death order to tiny killer

The research team identified a tiny bit of genetic code, a microRNA called miR-34a that participates in p53's uncanny ability to kill cells likely to become malignant because of damaged genes in...