http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. Two mutations central to the development of infantile myofibromatosis (IM)—a disorder characterized by multiple tumors involving the skin, bone, and soft tissue—may provide new therapeutic targets, according to researchers from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. The findings, published in the American Journal of Human Genetics, may lead to new treatment options for this debilitating disease, for which the only current treatment option is repeated surgical removal of the tumors. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-drug-childhood-genetic-tumor-disorder.html Genetics Fri, 24 May 2013 14:41:04 EST news288625258 Women at a particular stage in their monthly menstrual cycle may be more vulnerable to some of the psychological side-effects associated with stressful experiences, according to a study from UCL. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-hormone-key-psychological-disorders-women.html Psychology & Psychiatry Fri, 24 May 2013 12:05:42 EST news288615932 Biological processes are generally based on events at the molecular and cellular level. To understand what happens in the course of infections, diseases or normal bodily functions, scientists would need to examine individual cells and their activity directly in the tissue. The development of new microscopes and fluorescent dyes in recent years has brought this scientific dream tantalisingly close. Scientists from the Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology in Martinsried have now presented not one, but two studies introducing new indicator molecules which can visualise the activation of T cells. Their findings provide new insight into the role of these cells in the autoimmune disease multiple sclerosis (MS). The new indicators are set to be an important tool in the study of other immune reactions as well. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-immune-cell-multiple-sclerosis.html Immunology Fri, 24 May 2013 11:35:22 EST news288614094 (Medical Xpress)—A new study by researchers in the US has shown that an ancient virus can be modified to help in the fight against the simian immunodeficiency virus SIV, which is the equivalent in monkeys to HIV in humans. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-cytomegalovirus-monkeys-hiv-equivalent.html HIV & AIDS Fri, 24 May 2013 09:01:38 EST news288604885 (Medical Xpress)—Patients with diabetes who are depressed are much more likely to develop episodes of dangerously low blood sugars, or hypoglycemia, than are those who are not depressed, a new study has found. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-depression-diabetics-severe-blood-sugar.html Psychology & Psychiatry Fri, 24 May 2013 07:54:30 EST news288600853 (Medical Xpress)—Regulating the distribution of power in neurons is done by a system that makes the national electric grid look simple by comparison. Each neuron has several thousand mitochondria confined into narrow neuritic farms. Near-incessant motion within these channels forces mitochondria to transact constant fusion and fission events whose roles in genetic repair are just beginning to be understood. Many common neurodegenerative diseases have been found to have an underlying mitochondrial deficit either in their ability to produce energy, or deal with the oxidative byproducts of producing that energy. It has recently emerged that deficits in the ability of mitochondria to translocate, fuse, and divide also contribute significantly to disease. A new study in Plos One now suggests that alterations in the way mitochondria move may directly underlie even more esoteric phenomena—like mood. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-mood-motions-mitochondria.html Neuroscience Thu, 23 May 2013 17:35:03 EST news288549263 Even while being dragged to its destruction inside a cell, a cancer-promoting growth factor receptor fires away, sending signals that thwart the development of tumor-suppressing microRNAs (miRNAs) before it's dissolved, researchers reported in an early online publication at Nature. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-oxygen-short-egfr-maturation-cancer-fighting.html Cancer Thu, 23 May 2013 16:30:07 EST news288544056 Ethnic background plays a surprisingly large role in how diabetes develops on a cellular level, according to two new studies led by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-diabetes-genetic-underpinnings-vary-based.html Diabetes Thu, 23 May 2013 16:02:27 EST news288543732 Cinnamon: Can the red-brown spice with the unmistakable fragrance and variety of uses offer an important benefit? The common baking spice might hold the key to delaying the onset of –– or warding off –– the effects of Alzheimer's disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-scientists-cinnamon-compounds-potential-ability.html Alzheimer's disease & dementia Thu, 23 May 2013 15:41:05 EST news288542270 By discovering the new mechanism by which estrogen suppresses lipid synthesis in the liver, UC Irvine endocrinologists have revealed a potential new approach toward treating certain liver diseases. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-reveals-mechanism-estrogen-suppression-liver.html Medical research Thu, 23 May 2013 15:40:01 EST news288540951 Chinese and U.S. scientists have used virus isolated from a person who died from H7N9 avian influenza infection to determine whether the virus could infect and be transmitted between ferrets. Ferrets are often used as a mammalian model in influenza research, and efficient transmission of influenza virus between ferrets can provide clues as to how well the same process might occur in people. The research was supported, in part, by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-ferrets-pigs-susceptible-h7n9-avian.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 23 May 2013 15:16:52 EST news288540994 An anti-cancer drug reverses memory deficits in an Alzheimer's disease mouse model, University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health researchers confirm in the journal Science. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-drug-reverses-alzheimer-disease-deficits.html Alzheimer's disease & dementia Thu, 23 May 2013 14:06:26 EST news288536778 Can economic incentives such as gift cards, T-shirts, and time off from work motivate members of the public to increase their donations of blood? http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-economic-incentives-blood-donation-negative.html Health Thu, 23 May 2013 14:01:36 EST news288536486 Teams of highly respected Alzheimer's researchers failed to replicate what appeared to be breakthrough results for the treatment of this brain disease when they were published last year in the journal Science. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-multiple-teams-unable-high-profile-alzheimer.html Alzheimer's disease & dementia Thu, 23 May 2013 14:00:13 EST news288536227 Since the discovery of Prontosil in 1932, sulfonamide antibiotics have been used to combat a wide spectrum of bacterial infections, from acne to chlamydia and pneumonia. However, their side effects can include serious neurological problems like nausea, headache, dizziness, hallucinations and even psychosis. In a recent Science publication, EPFL researchers have shown for the first time how sulfonamides can interfere with a patient's nervous system. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-antibiotics-sulfonamide-nervous-side-effects.html Medical research Thu, 23 May 2013 14:00:09 EST news288536311 Scientists at the National Institutes of Health report they have discovered in mouse studies that a small molecule released in the spinal cord triggers a process that is later experienced in the brain as the sensation of itch. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-scientists-molecule-triggers-sensation.html Medical research Thu, 23 May 2013 14:00:01 EST news288536360 (Medical Xpress)—The human brain is able to identify individuals' voices by comparing them against an internal 'average voice' prototype, according to neuroscientists. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-brain-internal-average-voice-prototype.html Neuroscience Thu, 23 May 2013 13:43:48 EST news288535418 Little is known about why asthma develops, how it constricts the airway or why response to treatments varies between patients. Now, a team of researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College, Columbia University Medical Center and SUNY Downstate Medical Center has revealed the roots of a common type of childhood asthma, showing that it is very different from other asthma cases. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-common-childhood-asthma-unconnected-allergens.html Inflammatory disorders Thu, 23 May 2013 13:34:48 EST news288534882 Gaucher disease causes debilitating and sometimes fatal neurodegeneration in early childhood. Recent studies have uncovered a link between the mutations responsible for Gaucher disease and an increased risk of developing Parkinson's disease later in life. New research published online on May 23 in the Cell Press journal Cell Metabolism indicates that the neurodegeneration found in Gaucher disease stems from defects in processes that break down and remove unwanted material from cells. This defective trash removal in cells can lead to the toxic build-up of proteins found to be responsible for neurodegeneration in Parkinson's disease, providing insight into the link between the two diseases. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-defective-cellular-gaucher-patients-parkinson.html Parkinson's & Movement disorders Thu, 23 May 2013 12:14:20 EST news288530028 A brief visual task can predict IQ, according to a new study. This surprisingly simple exercise measures the brain's unconscious ability to filter out visual movement. The study shows that individuals whose brains are better at automatically suppressing background motion perform better on standard measures of intelligence. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-motion-quotient-iq-ability-filter.html Psychology & Psychiatry Thu, 23 May 2013 12:02:02 EST news288529313 Scientists have uncovered a survival mechanism that occurs in breast cells that have just turned premalignant-cells on the cusp between normalcy and cancers-which may lead to new methods of stopping tumors. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-protein-preps-cells-survive-stress.html Cancer Thu, 23 May 2013 12:00:03 EST news288529037 As the human body fine-tunes its neurological wiring, nerve cells often must fix a faulty connection by amputating an axon—the "business end" of the neuron that sends electrical impulses to tissues or other neurons. It is a dance with death, however, because the molecular poison the neuron deploys to sever an axon could, if uncontained, kill the entire cell. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-secret-deaths-neurons.html Neuroscience Thu, 23 May 2013 11:50:43 EST news288528637 A study by researchers at Henry Ford Hospital found "substantial evidence" that a regenerative process involving damaged nerve fibers in the spinal cord could hold the key to better functional recovery by most stroke victims. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-regenerating-spinal-cord-fibers-treatment.html Neuroscience Thu, 23 May 2013 11:50:08 EST news288528379 A known difficulty in fighting influenza (flu) is the ability of the flu viruses to mutate and thus evade various medications that were previously found to be effective. Researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have shown recently that another, more promising, approach is to focus on improving drugs that boost the body's natural flu killer system. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-boosting-body-natural-flu-killers.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 23 May 2013 11:06:47 EST news288525999 Scientists at Newcastle University have shed new light on how the brain tunes in to relevant information. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-attention-focus.html Neuroscience Thu, 23 May 2013 09:45:15 EST news288521088 Professor Michael Jennings, Deputy Director of the Institute for Glycomics at Griffith University, was part of an international team that discovered the previously unknown pathway of how the bacterium colonizes people. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-discovery-deadly-meningococcal-disease.html Medical research Thu, 23 May 2013 09:41:47 EST news288520878 (Medical Xpress)—Research by U of T Mississauga psychology professor Glenn Schellenberg reveals that two key personality traits – openness-to-experience and conscientiousness—predict better than IQ who will take music lessons and continue for longer periods. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-kids-music-lessons.html Psychology & Psychiatry Thu, 23 May 2013 09:20:01 EST news288517168 (Medical Xpress)—Scientists from the Joint Center for Structural Genomics (JCSG) at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory have determined the 3-D structure of the chemically active part of an enzyme involved in stuttering. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-reveals-site-enzyme-linked-stuttering.html Medical research Thu, 23 May 2013 09:00:01 EST news288516535 For the first time, physicists from the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics (MPE), biologists and physicians demonstrated the synergistic effect of cold atmospheric plasma - a partly ionized gas - and chemo therapy on aggressive brain tumour cells. Laboratory tests showed that the proliferation of glioblastoma cells – the most common and aggressive brain tumour in adults – is arrested and that even resistant cell populations become sensitive to treatment with chemo therapy if pre-treated with cold atmospheric plasma. This could be the first step on the way to a new combination therapy, providing new hope for fighting this lethal cancer. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-cold-plasma-successful-brain-cancer.html Cancer Thu, 23 May 2013 08:40:01 EST news288515555 As health services strive to improve quality and reduce costs, researchers study the benefits – and the pitfalls – of 'pay for performance' in hospitals. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-price-health.html Health Thu, 23 May 2013 08:30:07 EST news288515062