http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. (AP)—Merck & Co. says it is ending development of an experimental Parkinson's disease drug because the drug wasn't working. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-merck-parkinson-disease-drug.html Medications Thu, 23 May 2013 17:43:51 EST news288549822 (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 Breast cancer characterized as "triple negative" carries a poor prognosis, with limited treatment options. In some cases, chemotherapy doesn't kill the cancer cells the way it's supposed to. New research from Western University explains why some cancer cells don't respond to chemotherapy, and identifies a mechanism to rectify that. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-cancer-cells-responsive-chemotherapy.html Cancer Thu, 23 May 2013 17:23:58 EST news288548605 Detection of HIV antibodies is used to diagnose HIV infection and monitor trials of experimental HIV/AIDS vaccines. New, more sensitive detection systems being developed use microspheres to capture HIV antibodies and can measure even small amounts of multiple antibodies at one time. This novel multiplex immunoassay approach is described in an article in BioResearch Open Access. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-microsphere-based-methods-hiv-antibodies.html HIV & AIDS Thu, 23 May 2013 17:23:12 EST news288548585 Don't doubt it when a woman harried by hot flashes says she's having a hard time remembering things. A new study published online in Menopause, the journal of The North American Menopause Society (NAMS), helps confirm with objective tests that what these women say about their memory is true. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-memory-menopause.html Health Thu, 23 May 2013 17:21:24 EST news288548476 Mayo Clinic researchers have used next generation genomic analysis to determine that some of the more aggressive prostate cancer tumors have similar genetic origins, which may help in predicting cancer progression. The findings appear online today in the journal Cancer Research. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-mayo-clinic-genomic-analysis-insight.html Cancer Thu, 23 May 2013 17:20:21 EST news288548414 (HealthDay)—A shortage of a critical tuberculosis drug has hampered the efforts of health departments across the United States to contain the spread of the highly infectious lung disease, federal officials report. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-shortage-key-drug-hampering-efforts.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 23 May 2013 17:20:01 EST news288544263 Maintaining a heart healthy lifestyle may also help protect chronic kidney disease patients from developing kidney failure and dying prematurely, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN). The findings suggest that patients with kidney disease should be encouraged to improve their heart health. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-heart-healthy-lifestyle-kidney-disease.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 23 May 2013 17:00:01 EST news288544484 The Senate has overwhelmingly rejected an amendment allowing states to require labeling of genetically modified foods. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-farm-bill-senate-gmo-amendment.html Health Thu, 23 May 2013 16:50:01 EST news288544130 (AP)—Johnson & Johnson is developing what could eventually be game-changing treatments for depression and pain, and it's aiming to apply for approval of more than 10 new medicines by 2017, executives said Thursday during a review of the health care giant's medicine business. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-jj-plus-drug-applications.html Medications Thu, 23 May 2013 16:40:01 EST news288544081 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 Finnish researchers unveiled new data Thursday to link the Pandemrix flu vaccine to a higher risk of the sleeping disorder narcolepsy in adults. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-flu-vaccine-linked-narcolepsy-adults.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 23 May 2013 16:30:06 EST news288543675 A second child has contracted polio in a restive Pakistani tribal region near the Afghan border after the Taliban banned vaccinations there nearly a year ago, a UN official said Thursday. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-child-polio-pakistan-waziristan.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 23 May 2013 16:10:01 EST news288543603 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 (AP)—McDonald's once again faced criticism that it's a purveyor of junk food that markets to children at its annual shareholder meeting Thursday. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-mcdonald-criticism-nutrition.html Health Thu, 23 May 2013 15:57:46 EST news288543459 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 UCLA researchers examining outcomes for advanced heart-failure patients over the past two decades have found that, coinciding with the increased availability and use of new therapies, overall mortality has decreased and sudden cardiac death, caused by the rapid onset of severe abnormal heart rhythms, has declined. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-death-decline-advanced-heart-failure.html Cardiology Thu, 23 May 2013 15:36:08 EST news288542160 Aortic arch pulse wave velocity, a measure of arterial stiffness, is a strong independent predictor of disease of the vessels that supply blood to the brain, according to a new study published in the June issue the journal Radiology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-mri-based-vascular-disease-brain.html Medical research Thu, 23 May 2013 15:35:43 EST news288542100 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 A new study determined that children and adolescents with seizures involving the temporal lobe are likely to have clinically significant behavioral problems and psychiatric illness, especially depression. Findings published in Epilepsia, a journal published by Wiley on behalf of the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE), highlight the importance of routine psychiatric evaluation for pediatric epilepsy patients—particularly for those who do not respond to anti-seizure medications and require epilepsy surgery. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-depression-common-children-temporal-lobe.html Neuroscience Thu, 23 May 2013 13:32:51 EST news288534764 World Health Organization officials said Thursday that their probe into the deadly new coronavirus that has now claimed 22 lives is being delayed because of a dispute over the ownership rights to a sample—a claim disputed by the researcher at the center of the issue. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-deaths-worldwide-coronavirus.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 23 May 2013 12:16:03 EST news288530157 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