http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. Contrary to current belief, routine newborn screening improves the detection of the lethal form of congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) in girls as well as boys, saving lives in both sexes, according to a unique study of CAH during the last 100 years published Online First in The Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology. Babies are routinely screened for CAH in most developed countries, but this is not yet the case in all countries, including the UK and Australia. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-unique-highlights-importance-universal-newborn.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Mon, 25 Feb 2013 18:30:01 EST news281010233 For chronic pain sufferers, such as people who develop back pain after a car accident, avoiding the harmful effects of stress may be key to managing their condition. This is particularly important for people with a smaller-than-average hippocampus, as these individuals seem to be particularly vulnerable to stress. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-chronic-pain-stress.html Neuroscience Mon, 25 Feb 2013 04:08:10 EST news280987682 So, is it a girl or a boy? This is the first question parents ask at the birth of an infant. Though the answer is obvious, the mechanism of sex determination is much less so. Researchers at the University of Geneva (UNIGE) attempt to shed light on this complex process by identifying the crucial role played by insulin and IGF1 and IGF2 growth factors, a family of hormones known for its role in metabolism and growth. In the absence of these factors at the time of sex determination, embryos do not differentiate into either male or female and have no adrenal glands. The results of this study, published in the journal PLOS Genetics, allow us to better understand sexual development and will eventually improve diagnosis and genetic counseling practices for individuals with disorders of sex development. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-embryo-male-female.html Genetics Thu, 03 Jan 2013 17:00:10 EST news276442976 (HealthDay)—Signifor (pasireotide diaspartate) has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat Cushing's disease in cases that cannot be treated by surgery. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-signifor-cushing-disease.html Medications Mon, 17 Dec 2012 18:10:02 EST news274989641 (Medical Xpress)—Researchers at the National Institutes of Health have discovered a genetic mutation that appears to increase production of red blood cells in tumors. The discovery, based on analysis of tissue from rare endocrine tumors, may help clarify how some tumors generate a new blood supply to sustain their growth, the researchers explained. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-rare-cancers-yield-potential-source.html Cancer Tue, 18 Sep 2012 07:46:03 EST news267173152 UCLA geneticists have identified the mutation responsible for IMAGe* syndrome, a rare disorder that stunts infants' growth. The twist? The mutation occurs on the same gene that causes Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome, which makes cells grow too fast, leading to very large children. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-gene-stunts-infants-growth-big.html Genetics Sun, 27 May 2012 13:01:57 EST news257319893 A hormone-depleting drug approved last year for the treatment of metastatic prostate cancer can help eliminate or nearly eliminate tumors in many patients with aggressive cancers that have yet to spread beyond the prostate, according to a clinical study to be presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), June 1-5, in Chicago. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-hormone-depleting-drug-localized-high-risk-prostate.html Cancer Wed, 16 May 2012 18:00:05 EST news256405573 Endocrinologists at the University of Birmingham have played a key role in a major international clinical trial which has found that giving a combination of chemotherapy drugs to patients suffering from advanced adrenal cancer can help them to live up to a fifth longer. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-combination-chemotherapy-benefits-adrenal-cancer.html Cancer Fri, 04 May 2012 04:31:10 EST news255324652 (Medical Xpress) -- Immunity experts at the University of Birmingham have found biological evidence to suggest that bereavement lowers physical immunity, putting older people at risk of life-threatening infections.. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-die-broken-heart-bereavement-weaken.html Immunology Wed, 28 Mar 2012 06:46:57 EST news252135993 Medical scientists at Trinity College Dublin in conjunction with researchers in Paris have investigated the consequence of natural killer cell deficiency in six related patients and identified a new genetic disorder which is responsible for this immune defect. The findings were recently published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-natural-killer-cell-deficiency.html Medical research Thu, 15 Mar 2012 09:44:55 EST news251023443 The pulse quickens, the heart pounds and adrenalin courses through the veins, but in stressful situations is our reaction controlled by our genes, and does it differ between the sexes? Australian scientists, writing in BioEssays, believe the SRY gene, which directs male development, may promote aggression and other traditionally male behavioural traits resulting in the fight-or-flight reaction to stress. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-men-aggressively-women-stress-gene.html Genetics Wed, 07 Mar 2012 19:00:01 EST news250359768 Two independent groups of researchers — one led by Adrian Clark, at Queen Mary University of London, United Kingdom; and the other led by Jean-Laurent Casanova, at The Rockefeller University, New York — have now identified the disease-causing gene in patients with a complex inherited syndrome most commonly observed in the Irish Traveller community. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-uncovered-genetic-complex-disease-irish.html Genetics Wed, 22 Feb 2012 12:57:39 EST news249137824 Scientists at the University of Birmingham have developed a ground-breaking technique that uses a urine test to help to diagnose adrenal cancer. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-scientists-urine-cancer.html Cancer Fri, 16 Sep 2011 09:08:52 EST news235382846 Infants of human immunodeficiency virus 1 (HIV-1) infected mothers who were treated before and after birth with the protease inhibitor lopinavir-ritonavir were more likely to experience adrenal dysfunction, including life-threatening adrenal insufficiency in premature infants, compared with a zidovudine-based regimen, according to a preliminary report in the July 6 issue of JAMA. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-07-hiv-medication-adrenal-dysfunction-newborns.html HIV & AIDS Tue, 05 Jul 2011 17:15:09 EST news229104878