http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. (Medical Xpress)—When a baby is born, one of the first things a parent will do is count fingers and toes. New research conducted at UC San Francisco sheds lights on how these specialized digits are formed. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-discovery-reshapes-embryonic.html Medical research Wed, 01 May 2013 06:35:57 EST news286608943 Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) are degenerative motor neuron diseases in which the key mutated genes are involved in RNA metabolism. This similarity suggests that a common dysregulation of some aspect of RNA metabolism in motor neurons may underlie both disorders, although the exact cellular effects of the neurodegenerative mutations are unknown. Koji Yamanaka, Hitomi Tsuiji and colleagues from the RIKEN Brain Science Institute and other institutions in Japan have now obtained evidence that a cellular structure that edits messenger RNA (mRNA) transcripts is defective in both of these motor neuron diseases. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-messenger-rna-transcripts-defective-motor.html Medical research Fri, 26 Apr 2013 09:00:01 EST news286184312 A protein – already known to be involved in a cell's response to stress – called Tetratricopeptide repeat domain 5 (TTC5) is critical to the development of acute myeloid leukaemia (AML), according to a new Cancer Research UK study published in Cell Death and Disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-protein-dna-critical-leukaemia-cell.html Cancer Fri, 05 Apr 2013 06:23:42 EST news284361744 Researchers at Shriner's Hospital Pediatric Research Center at the Temple University School of Medicine, and the University of Pennsylvania have evidence linking the human papillomavirus 16 (HPV16) – the most common cause of cervical cancer – to a common form of childhood epilepsy. They have shown for the first time that HPV16 may be present in the human brain, and found that when they added a viral protein to the brains of fetal mice, the mice all demonstrated the same developmental problems in the cerebral cortex associated with this type of epilepsy, called focal cortical dysplasia type IIB (FCDIIB). The findings suggest that the virus could play a role in the development of epilepsy. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-scientists-cancer-causing-virus-brain-potential.html Neuroscience Thu, 24 Jan 2013 11:31:23 EST news278249475 (Medical Xpress)—UC Irvine-led studies have revealed the cellular mechanism by which circadian rhythms – also known as the body clock – modify energy metabolism and also have identified novel compounds that control this action. The findings point to potential treatments for disorders triggered by circadian rhythm dysfunction, ranging from insomnia and obesity to diabetes and cancer. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-circadian-rhythms-potential-treatment-disorders.html Cardiology Tue, 22 Jan 2013 15:12:20 EST news278089921 Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is the third leading cause of death in the United States and is thought to affect almost three million people in the UK. New research published in BioMed Central's open access journal Genome Medicine has identified genes whose activity is altered with increasing lung damage and, using a database of drug effects on gene activity (the Connectivity Map), finds that the compound Gly-His-Lys (GHK) affects the activity of these genes. When tested on human cells from lungs damaged by emphysema, GHK was able to restore normal gene activity and repair cell function. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-gene-profiling-emphysema.html Genetics Fri, 31 Aug 2012 02:40:54 EST news265599581 A new study identifies the mutation that underlies a rare, inherited accelerated-aging disease and provides key insight into normal human aging. The research, published by Cell Press online May 5 in the American Journal of Human Genetics, highlights the importance of a cellular structure called the "nuclear envelope" in the process of aging. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-mutation-insight-molecular-mechanisms-aging.html Genetics Thu, 05 May 2011 13:06:44 EST news223819543 A new study reports that multipolar electrocoagulation in combination with acid suppression is a safe and effective method to ablate nondysplastic Barrett's esophagus over the long term. No adenocarcinoma (cancer) or high-grade dysplasia of the esophagus developed in any of the study patients. This is the largest published series and longest follow-up of patients with nondysplastic Barrett's esophagus who underwent ablation therapy with multipolar electrocoagulation. The study appears in the April issue of GIE: Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, the monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal of the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-04-long-term-follow-up-multipolar-electrocoagulation-ablation.html Cancer Mon, 25 Apr 2011 16:04:40 EST news222966237