http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. Research from Western University and Lawson Health Research Institute sheds new light on a gene called ATRX and its function in the brain and pituitary. Children born with ATRX syndrome have cognitive defects and developmental abnormalities. ATRX mutations have also been linked to brain tumors. Dr. Nathalie Bérubé, PhD, and her colleagues found mice developed without the ATRX gene had problems in in the forebrain, the part of the brain associated with learning and memory, and in the anterior pituitary which has a direct effect on body growth and metabolism. The mice, unexpectedly, also displayed shortened lifespan, cataracts, heart enlargement, reduced bone density, hypoglycemia; in short, many of the symptoms associated with aging. The research is published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-aging-molecular.html Medical research Mon, 08 Apr 2013 12:00:05 EST news284633413 Using cervical fluid obtained during routine Pap tests, scientists at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center have developed a test to detect ovarian and endometrial cancers. In a pilot study, the "PapGene" test, which relies on genomic sequencing of cancer-specific mutations, accurately detected all 24 (100 percent) endometrial cancers and nine of 22 (41 percent) ovarian cancers. Results of the experiments are published in the January 9 issue of the journal, Science Translational Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-scientists-pap-fluid-ovarian-endometrial.html Cancer Wed, 09 Jan 2013 14:00:01 EST news276958980 A new study about Human Cytomegalovirus (HCMV), a leading cause of birth defects, reveals how the virus co-opts cells' abilities to repair themselves. In the paper published on November 29 in the Open Access journal PLOS Pathogens, O'Dowd et al. describe their utilization of a novel technique for the simultaneous evaluation of both the viral and host genomes in an infected cell. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-hcmv-techniques-preferential-viral-genome.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 29 Nov 2012 17:39:20 EST news273433147 A mysterious form of cell death, coded in proteins and enzymes, led to a discovery by UNC researchers uncovering a prime suspect for new cancer drug development. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-cell-death-mystery-yields-cancer.html Cancer Thu, 13 Sep 2012 10:26:06 EST news266750756 Double-stranded breaks in cellular DNA can trigger tumorigenesis. Researchers from Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet (LMU) in Munich, Germany, have determined the structure of a protein involved in the repair and signaling of DNA double-strand breaks. The work throws new light on the origins of neurodegenerative diseases and certain tumor types. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-detector-dna-factor-revealed.html Medical research Tue, 19 Jun 2012 11:15:09 EST news259323299 Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine have discovered a novel interaction between two proteins involved in regulating cell growth that could provide possible new drug targets for treating diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, the most common type of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-07-drug-common-non-hodgkin-lymphoma.html Cancer Tue, 19 Jul 2011 14:10:01 EST news230300578 Scientists at Johns Hopkins have provided more clues to one of the least understood phenomena in some cancers: why the "ends caps" of cellular DNA, called telomeres, lengthen instead of shorten. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-genes-linked-telomeres-cancer-cells.html Cancer Thu, 30 Jun 2011 14:00:11 EST news228661010