http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress provides the latest news from Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology Hair dye manufacturers are on notice: The cure for gray hair is coming. That's right, the need to cover up one of the classic signs of aging with chemical pigments will be a thing of the past thanks to a team of European researchers. In a new research report published online in The FASEB Journal people who are going gray develop massive oxidative stress via accumulation of hydrogen peroxide in the hair follicle, which causes our hair to bleach itself from the inside out, and most importantly, the report shows that this massive accumulation of hydrogen peroxide can be remedied with a proprietary treatment developed by the researchers described as a topical, UVB-activated compound called PC-KUS (a modified pseudocatalase). What's more, the study also shows that the same treatment works for the skin condition, vitiligo. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-gray-hair-vitiligo-reversed-root.html Medical research Fri, 03 May 2013 12:57:35 EST news286804531 A new use for compounds related in composition to the active ingredient in marijuana may be on the horizon: a new research report published in the Journal of Leukocyte Biology shows that compounds that stimulate the cannabinoid type 2 (CB2) receptor in white blood cells, specifically macrophages, appear to weaken HIV-1 infection. The CB2 receptor is the molecular link through which the pharmaceutical properties of cannabis are manifested. Diminishing HIV-1 infection in this manner might make current anti-viral therapies more effective and provide some protection against certain HIV-1 complications. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-synthetic-derivatives-thc-weaken-hiv-.html HIV & AIDS Tue, 30 Apr 2013 12:08:45 EST news286542519 With the remains of a recent lottery winner having been exhumed for foul play related to cyanide poisoning, future winners might wonder what they can do to avoid the same fate. A new report in The FASEB Journal involving zebrafish suggests that riboflavin, also known as vitamin B2, may mitigate the toxic effects of this infamous poison. In addition, the report shows that zebrafish are a viable model for investigating the effects of cyanide on humans. As with any research involving animal models, these findings are preliminary until thoroughly tested in clinical trials. Anyone who suspects cyanide poisoning should not attempt to use riboflavin as an antidote, and instead contact local poison control centers or emergency health services immediately. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-zebrafish-vitamin-b2-riboflavin-antidote.html Medical research Tue, 30 Apr 2013 12:07:03 EST news286542416 More restaurants are displaying calorie information on their menus than ever before. It's not a coincidence; by law, retail food establishments that are part of a chain with twenty or more locations nationwide must disclose the calorie content of each menu item. The goal is to encourage consumers to make healthier, informed food choices. The majority of studies, however, show that providing information on calorie content does not lead to fewer calories ordered or consumed. A new angle for encouraging reduced calorie intake in these establishments would be welcome by many in the nutrition field. One currently being explored is displaying on the menu the minutes of exercise–brisk walking in this case–needed to burn food calories. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-menu-amount-calories-benefits.html Health Tue, 23 Apr 2013 16:29:11 EST news285953338 Most of us probably know at least one woman, and maybe quite a few more, with endometriosis. Despite the disease's prevalence, there is no consensus on the cause of it, the existing treatment options leave a lot to be desired, and there are too few ways for women to, at the very least, effectively numb the pain that the disease provokes. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-pain-epigenetics-endometriosis-team-molecular.html Medical research Tue, 23 Apr 2013 13:46:14 EST news285943567 A potential new way to fight obesity-related illness has been uncovered, thanks to serendipitous research led by investigators at the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-vitamin-potential-weapon-obesity.html Overweight and Obesity Tue, 23 Apr 2013 13:34:49 EST news285942879 Use and abuse of "bath salts," a new group of designer drugs, have been increasing in recent years, particularly among teenagers. Poison control centers received over 2,000 calls last year for patients with delusions, hallucinations and paranoia following "bath salt" use. Although the synthetic compounds found in "bath salts" are routinely changing in order to circumvent laws on banned substances, federal legislation recently added MDPV, a common constituent in "bath salts," to the list of Schedule 1 drugs – a list that includes cocaine, methamphetamine, ecstasy and other stimulants similar to MDPV. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-drug-salts-confer-additional-adolescents.html Health Tue, 23 Apr 2013 12:49:39 EST news285940172 Parkinson's disease (PD) is a progressive degenerative disease affecting a person's ability to coordinate and control their muscle movement. What starts out as a tremor in a finger will eventually lead to difficulty in writing and speaking, and ultimately the inability to walk without assistance. Since the 1950s research has shown that people with Parkinson's have decreased levels of the chemical dopamine in their brains, which is involved in sending messages to the part of the brain that controls coordination and movement. Subsequent research has found that dopamine-generating cells, known as dopaminergic neurons, are also absent in a specific area of the brain in those with PD. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-inflammatory-stimulus-parkinson-disease.html Parkinson's & Movement disorders Tue, 23 Apr 2013 10:23:18 EST news285931393 A passing remark launched the project that will be described at the Experimental Biology 2013 conference in Boston on Monday. A poster, presented by undergraduate Ashley McMichael from Albany State University, has preliminary data that hint that there is an association between a rare pregnancy condition and malaria. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-rare-condition-implicated-pregnant-women.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Mon, 22 Apr 2013 12:30:06 EST news285847279 When the space shuttle Atlantis touched down in the summer of 2011 at Cape Canaveral, closing the book on the U.S. shuttle program, a team of U.S. Army researchers stood at the ready, eager to get their gloved hands on a small device in the payload that housed a set of biological samples. On Monday, April 22, at the Experimental Biology 2013 conference in Boston, the team will present the results of nearly two years' worth of study on those samples, results that shed light on how the human immune system responds to stress and assaults while in space – and maybe here on Earth. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-effects-microgravity-human-body.html Immunology Mon, 22 Apr 2013 12:30:05 EST news285849779 Since 1977, there has been a 70% increase in caffeine consumption among children and adolescents. Whether it is coffee, tea, soda, or energy drinks, our children are consuming more of it. One well documented effect of caffeine is improved cognitive performance on certain tasks. However, scientists also hypothesize that habitual caffeine use may lead to greater neural rewards if the caffeine drinker were to consume illicit drugs. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-caffeine-effect-cognitive-tasks-food.html Health Mon, 22 Apr 2013 12:00:06 EST news285849631 When thousands of experimental biology researchers gather in Boston this weekend, many of them undoubtedly will be presenting work related to the hunt for the next generation of antibiotics and how to battle back existing and emerging superbugs. But for one scientist from Texas Rio Grande Valley, it's not about what the research of tomorrow holds: It's about the kind of action the people in communities like his need today. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-border-long-term-effects-antibiotic-overuse.html Medications Sun, 21 Apr 2013 19:40:01 EST news285789893 Regular use of low-dose aspirin may prevent the progression of breast cancer, according to results of a study by researchers at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Kansas City, Mo., and the University of Kansas Medical Center. The study found that aspirin slowed the growth of breast cancer cell lines in the lab and significantly reduced the growth of tumors in mice. The age-old headache remedy also exhibits the ability to prevent tumor cells from spreading. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-low-dose-aspirin-stymies-proliferation-breast.html Cancer Sun, 21 Apr 2013 19:30:01 EST news285789799 Snot. It's not something most of us spend a lot of time thinking about, but, for a team of researchers in Washington, D.C., it's front and center. Robert I. Henkin, founder of the Taste and Smell Clinic in is charmingly self-deprecating. He says with a chuckle that he's often called a "spit and snot doctor," but he knows all too well that for his patients – those who no longer can appreciate the fragrance of fresh-cut grass or the intricacies of an herb-infused sauce – such loss is no laughing matter. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-sniffing-solutions-millions-americans-loss.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Sun, 21 Apr 2013 19:20:01 EST news285789745 Researchers at Northeastern University in Boston have developed a gene therapy approach that may one day stop Parkinson's disease (PD) in it tracks, preventing disease progression and reversing its symptoms. The novelty of the approach lies in the nasal route of administration and nanoparticles containing a gene capable of rescuing dying neurons in the brain. Parkinson's is a devastating neurodegenerative disorder caused by the death of dopamine neurons in a key motor area of the brain, the substantia nigra (SN). Loss of these neurons leads to the characteristic tremor and slowed movements of PD, which get increasingly worse with time. Currently, more than 1% of the population over age 60 has PD and approximately 60,000 Americans are newly diagnosed every year. The available drugs on the market for PD mimic or replace the lost dopamine but do not get to the heart of the problem, which is the progressive loss of the dopamine neurons. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-noninvasive-avenue-parkinson-disease-gene.html Parkinson's & Movement disorders Sun, 21 Apr 2013 19:02:02 EST news285789711