http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. U.S. government health regulators have halted Amgen's studies of its drug Sensipar after the death of a 14-year-old patient in a company trial. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-halts-amgen-teen-patient-death.html Medications Tue, 26 Feb 2013 16:19:56 EST news281117914 Unusually high calcium levels in the blood can almost always be traced to primary hyperparathyroidism, an undertreated, underreported condition that affects mainly women and the elderly, according to a new study by UCLA researchers. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-endocrine-disorder-common-elevated-calcium.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 21 Feb 2013 12:49:42 EST news280673313 Researchers at the University of Minnesota's Department of Integrative Biology and Physiology and the Lillehei Heart Institute have utilized molecular genetic engineering to optimize heart performance in models of diastolic heart failure by creating an optimized protein that can aid in high-speed relaxation similar to fast twitching muscles. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-molecular-calcium-sponge-tackle-heart.html Cardiology Sun, 10 Feb 2013 13:00:05 EST news279716658 Drugmaker Amgen Inc. on Wednesday posted a 16 percent drop in fourth-quarter profit, as higher costs for production, marketing, research and other items offset higher sales for many of its biologic medicines. The results fell short of Wall Street expectations. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-amgen-4q-profit-pct-higher.html Other Wed, 23 Jan 2013 17:36:36 EST news278184989 A new study from Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center is the first to report that high blood calcium levels might predict of ovarian cancer, the most fatal of the gynecologic cancers. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-high-blood-calcium-ovarian-cancer.html Cancer Wed, 23 Jan 2013 11:20:22 EST news278162409 Epileptic seizures occur when neurons in the brain become excessively active. However, a new study from MIT neuroscientists suggests that some seizures may originate in non-neuronal cells known as glia, which were long believed to play a mere supporting role in brain function.  http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-discovery-seizures-glial-cells-epilepsy.html Neuroscience Wed, 16 Jan 2013 09:57:00 EST news277552613 Researchers at Temple University's Center for Translational Medicine and the University of Pennsylvania have identified a protein that serves as a gatekeeper for controlling the rush of calcium into the cell's power source, the mitochondria. Without this calcium spigot under control, calcium levels can run amok, contributing to cardiovascular disease, diabetes and neurodegeneration. The findings, reported online October 25, 2012, in the journal Cell, add important new insights into the inner workings of the mitochondria and may eventually help scientists better understand and target certain cellular processes gone awry, leading to new therapies for disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-gatekeeper-protein-cell-power-source.html Medical research Thu, 25 Oct 2012 13:50:01 EST news270389746 Taking vitamin D supplements to compensate for vitamin D deficiency didn't improve cholesterol—at least in the short term, according to new research in Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology, an American Heart Association journal. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-vitamin-d-supplement-cholesterol-short.html Cardiology Tue, 04 Sep 2012 16:00:03 EST news265964748 Calcium and vitamin D supplements are associated with high calcium levels in the blood and urine, which could increase the risk of kidney stones, a new study finds. The results will be presented Tuesday at The Endocrine Society's 94th Annual Meeting in Houston. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-long-term-calcium-vitamin-d-supplement.html Health Tue, 26 Jun 2012 13:38:44 EST news259936718 Patients with a gland disorder that causes excessive calcium in their blood who also have vitamin D deficiency can safely receive vitamin D treatment without it raising their calcium levels, a new study has determined. The results with one-year follow-up will be presented Tuesday at The Endocrine Society's 94th Annual Meeting in Houston. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-vitamin-d-therapy-safe-patients.html Health Tue, 26 Jun 2012 13:37:56 EST news259936662 An investigational parathyroid hormone replacement effectively treated a rare disorder characterized by low calcium and high phosphate levels in the blood, a new study finds. The results will be presented at The Endocrine Society's 94th Annual Meeting in Houston. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-hormone-treatment-rare-disorder.html Health Mon, 25 Jun 2012 09:10:01 EST news259834179 Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are molecules produced in the skin to fend off infection-causing microbes. Vitamin D has been credited with a role in their production and in the body's overall immune response, but scientists at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine say a hormone previously associated only with maintaining calcium homeostasis and bone health is also critical, boosting AMP expression when dietary vitamin D levels are inadequate. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-hormone-role-skin-infections.html Medical research Wed, 23 May 2012 14:00:16 EST news256995631 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 An international team led by the University of Melbourne Australia, has found that increasing a specific protein in muscles could help treat Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), a severe and progressive muscle wasting disease that affects young boys. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-treatment-duchenne-muscular-dystrophy.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Wed, 04 Apr 2012 13:00:15 EST news252759461 Surgeons at the University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences System performed a rare living-donor parathyroid gland transplant to help a 22-year-old woman maintain normal calcium levels without the need for high-dose supplementation. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-rare-transplant-young-woman-forgo.html Surgery Wed, 14 Mar 2012 07:28:17 EST news250928870 Higher than normal levels of lead in the blood may signal a risk two times higher than average of developing renal cell carcinoma in smokers, according to medical researchers. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-blood-smokers-kidney-cancer.html Cancer Mon, 23 Jan 2012 12:32:20 EST news246544307 The lowly and simple roundworm may be the ideal laboratory model to learn more about the complex processes involved in repairing wounds and could eventually allow scientists to improve the body's response to healing skin wounds, a serious problem in diabetics and the elderly. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-worms-reveal-secrets-wound-healing-response.html Medical research Thu, 17 Nov 2011 15:40:01 EST news240763772 As an individual's level of vitamin D increases, the risk of nonmelanoma skin cancer (NMSC) seems to increase as well, although factors such as ultraviolet (UV) radiation exposure may complicate the relationship, according to a report published Online First by Archives of Dermatology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-vitamin-d-skin-cancer-relationship.html Health Mon, 15 Aug 2011 17:37:47 EST news232648650 During thyroidectomy (surgery to remove the thyroid gland), the technique surgeons use to identify an important nerve appears to make a difference in terms of complications such as impairment of the parathyroid glands (which make a hormone that controls calcium levels), according to a report published Online First today by Archives of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-nerve-identification-technique-thyroid-complications.html Other Mon, 15 Aug 2011 17:37:04 EST news232648598