http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. (Medical Xpress)—A groundbreaking technique developed at the University of Virginia School of Medicine is allowing scientists to examine histone modifications of genetic loci – a process that regulates gene expression – in single cells. The researchers believe the new method will have broad applications for most biomedical areas, most immediately in atherosclerosis research. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-discovery-unprecedented-gene.html Medical research Fri, 25 Jan 2013 06:35:19 EST news278318097 Human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) can develop into bone cells and are useful for tissue engineering and regeneration. However, when grown in the laboratory they quickly lose their ability to continue dividing and they die. A method for genetically engineering hMSCs so they become immortal and still retain their ability to become bone cells is described in an article published in BioResearch Open Access. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-method-long-lived-stem-cells-bone.html Medical research Tue, 04 Dec 2012 11:59:32 EST news273844751 Researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine have shown for the first time in an animal model that vitamin C actively protects against osteoporosis, a disease affecting large numbers of elderly women and men in which bones become brittle and can fracture. The findings are published in the October 8 online edition of PLoS ONE. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-vitamin-bone-loss-animal.html Health Tue, 09 Oct 2012 15:51:46 EST news269016694 A study developed by researchers at the IDIBELL, led by Manel Esteller, has identified epigenetic changes that occur in adult stem cells to generate different tissues of the human body. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-adult-stem-cells-epigenome.html Medical research Tue, 02 Oct 2012 12:27:25 EST news268399589 Scientists at the University of Glasgow are working to harness the regenerative power of stem cells to improve orthopaedic implant surgery. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-stem-cell-powered-implant-revolutionize-orthopedic.html Surgery Mon, 03 Sep 2012 07:51:32 EST news265877485 The fate of people suffering with obesity or osteoporosis could lie in the hands of Deakin University researchers who are looking into the way fat and bone cells develop, with the assistance of the humble zebrafish. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-humble-zebrafish-treatments-obesity-osteoporosis.html Medical research Wed, 08 Aug 2012 09:57:01 EST news263638613 (Medical Xpress) -- The ability to control whether certain stem cells ultimately become bone cells holds great promise for regenerative medicine and potential therapies aimed at treating metabolic bone diseases. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-epigenetic-links-cell-fate-decisions-adult.html Genetics Mon, 09 Jul 2012 06:10:20 EST news261032998 A pregnant woman's blood stream contains not only her own cells, but a small number of her child's, as well, and some of them remain in her internal organs long after the baby is born. Understanding the origin and identity of these cells is vital to understanding their potential effects on a mother's long-term health. For example, fetal cells have been found at tumor sites in mothers, but it is unknown whether the cells are helping to destroy the tumor or to speed its growth. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-fetal-cells-migrate-maternal-pregnancy.html Medical research Wed, 06 Jun 2012 16:00:41 EST news258217179 (Medical Xpress) -- University of Michigan researchers have proven that a special surface, free of biological contaminants, allows adult-derived stem cells to thrive and transform into multiple cell types. Their success brings stem cell therapies another step closer. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-stem-cell-growing-surface-enables-bone.html Medical research Wed, 23 May 2012 15:11:59 EST news257004393 Bone cancer-related fractures and pain can be reduced by drug treatment, but no one drug is superior, according to a review published in The Cochrane Library. Researchers undertook a systematic review of the current evidence on bisphosphonate drugs, which are used to prevent bone damage in multiple myeloma. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-drugs-bone-cancer-clinical-guidance.html Cancer Tue, 15 May 2012 19:00:02 EST news256311964 Biomedical engineers at Tufts University's School of Engineering have demonstrated the first all-polymeric bone scaffold material that is fully biodegradable and capable of providing significant mechanical support during repair. The new technology uses micron-sized silk fibers to reinforce a silk matrix, much as steel rebar reinforces concrete. It could improve the way bones and other tissues are repaired following accident or disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-high-strength-silk-scaffolds-bone.html Medical research Mon, 30 Apr 2012 15:50:02 EST news255019420 Vitamin D is renowned for its role in creating strong bones and is a key regulator of serum calcium levels. Calcium is primarily obtained through diet and absorbed through the intestine and into the blood stream. In addition to building bone, calcium is required for a variety of important physiological processes. Vitamin D, which is detected by receptors in bone and intestinal cells, regulates the level of calcium in the blood stream and determines how much should be stored in the skeleton. Several recent clinical trials have examined the effects of vitamin D supplements on the prevention of bone fractures in the elderly; however, the results of these trials have not offered a consensus on the efficacy of these supplements. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-vitamin-d-double-edged-sword-osteoporosis.html Health Mon, 23 Apr 2012 12:00:03 EST news254395905 Scientists at the University of Sheffield have discovered new ways to help detect and treat the debilitating brittle bone disease osteoporosis. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-ways-debilitating-brittle-bone-disease.html Genetics Thu, 19 Apr 2012 10:20:02 EST news254048921 Cancer is usually attributed to faulty genes, but growing evidence from the field of cancer epigenetics indicates a key role for the gene "silencing" proteins that stably turn genes off inside the cell nucleus. A new study from Rice University and Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) promises to speed research in the field by rapidly identifying the genes that epigenetic proteins can target for silencing. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-cancer-epigenetics-breakthrough-iding-genes.html Cancer Tue, 13 Mar 2012 16:55:30 EST news250876524 The carnage evident in disasters like car wrecks or wartime battles is oftentimes mirrored within the bodies of the people involved. A severe wound can leave blood vessels and nerves severed, bones broken, and cellular wreckage strewn throughout the body – a debris field within the body itself. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-effort-regenerate-nerves.html Neuroscience Tue, 21 Feb 2012 11:25:11 EST news249045901 An endocrine hormone used in clinical trials as an anti-obesity and anti-diabetes drug causes significant and rapid bone loss in mice, raising concerns about its safe use, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have shown. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-rapid-bone-loss-side-effect.html Medical research Tue, 07 Feb 2012 10:11:54 EST news247831901 Researchers at the Columbia University College of Dental Medicine have identified a genetic variation that raises the risk of developing serious necrotic jaw bone lesions in patients who take bisphosphonates, a common class of osteoclastic inhibitors. The discovery paves the way for a genetic screening test to determine who can safely take these drugs. The study appears in the online version of the journal The Oncologist. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-genetic-variation-linked-bisphosphonates.html Cancer Fri, 27 Jan 2012 09:50:02 EST news246879501 University of Rochester Medical Center researchers have discovered new links between leukemia cells and cells involved in bone formation, offering a fresh perspective on how the blood cancer progresses and raising the possibility that therapies for bone disorders could help in the treatment of leukemia. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-leukemia-cells-bad-bone.html Medical research Thu, 26 Jan 2012 16:51:22 EST news246819076 It looks like bone. It feels like bone. For the most part, it acts like bone. And it came off an inkjet printer. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-3d-printer-bone-like-material.html Medical research Tue, 29 Nov 2011 16:38:25 EST news241807050 Prostate tumor cells can be lulled to sleep by a factor released by bone cells, according to a study published online this week in the Journal of Experimental Medicine. Disease recurs in up to half of prostate cancer patients after treatment, often as a result of metastases that spread to distant organs. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-dormant-tumor-cells.html Cancer Mon, 28 Nov 2011 13:03:46 EST news241707817 (Medical Xpress) -- To keep the skeleton strong as the body ages, bones go through a process akin to urban renewal: Old structures are torn down and new ones built in their place. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-scientists-proteins-bone-demolition.html Medical research Wed, 09 Nov 2011 07:34:16 EST news240046441 (Medical Xpress) -- Ultrasound, the diagnostic tool first developed at the Glasgow Royal Infirmary in the 1950s to scan the body, is now being used in its fracture clinic to help heal fractured bones and speed up the recovery time. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-ultrasound-fractures.html Medical research Thu, 13 Oct 2011 13:29:42 EST news237731370 (Medical Xpress) -- High cholesterol has been found to contribute to a loss of bone density in two ways, according to researchers at Duke University Medical Center. It blocks formation of new bone cells and it encourages the activity of mechanisms responsible for breaking down bone. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-cholesterol-contributes-bone-loss-aging.html Medical research Wed, 28 Sep 2011 11:14:59 EST news236427291 Cells in bone, fat and the pancreas appear to be talking to each other and one thing they likely are saying is, "Get moving." http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-healthy-chatter-bone-fat-pancreatic.html Medical research Mon, 19 Sep 2011 11:31:35 EST news235650539 Compounds in blueberries might turn out to have a powerful effect on formation of strong, healthy bones, if results from studies with laboratory rats turn out to hold true for humans. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-blueberries-lab-rats-strong-bones.html Medical research Tue, 21 Jun 2011 11:03:35 EST news227873001 Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine have shown in an animal study that transplantation of adult stem cells enriched with a bone-regenerating hormone can help mend bone fractures that are not healing properly. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-stem-cell-treatment-option-broken.html Medical research Sun, 05 Jun 2011 13:58:24 EST news226501077 A study by researchers at Children's Hospital Boston and collaborators at other institutions has provided new insights into the means by which bone cells produce new bone in response to mechanical stresses, such as exercise. Their findings lay a path for developing new strategies for treating diseases characterized by low bone density, such as osteoporosis in adults and osteogenesis imperfecta in children. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-path-brittle-bones.html Medical research Sun, 22 May 2011 13:00:41 EST news225287138