http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. Understanding the molecular control of placenta formation, the organ which enables fetal growth, is critical in diagnosing and treating related pregnancy complications. A group of scientists at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China, and the University of Calgary, Canada has revealed a molecular feedback loop that governs the earliest steps of placenta formation in mice, which is known to mimic placenta formation in humans. Their findings are published April 16 in the open access journal PLOS Biology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-molecular-early-placenta-formation-clues.html Medical research Tue, 16 Apr 2013 17:27:42 EST news285352056 A new study by British scientists reveals that motile Escherichia coli isolates demonstrated significant activation of NF-κB signaling suggesting that flagellin plays a key role in up-regulating the host innate defences against urinary tract infections (UTIs). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-utis-flagellin-key-body-natural.html Medical research Fri, 15 Mar 2013 03:00:04 EST news282499121 Once the initial episode of influenza has passed, the chronic effects tend to be overlooked. The results of a new study indicate that the cytokine interleukin-22 (IL-22) plays a critical role in normal lung repair following influenza infection. This study is published in the April 2013 issue of the American Journal of Pathology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-essential-role-il-lung-flu.html Medical research Mon, 11 Mar 2013 00:00:07 EST news282138712 Cornell University researchers have discovered a likely origin of epithelial ovarian cancer (ovarian carcinoma), the fifth leading cause of cancer death among women in the United States. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-aggressive-ovarian-cancer.html Cancer Wed, 06 Mar 2013 13:00:16 EST news281795982 (HealthDay)—Feeding obese-prone rats a high-fat diet leads to impaired satiation signaling through glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), a gastrointestinal hormone that suppresses food intake and helps regulate energy balance, according to a study published online Feb. 19 in Diabetes. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-high-fat-diet-impairs-satiation-obese-prone.html Diabetes Wed, 27 Feb 2013 15:40:01 EST news281200420 If you have an overactive bladder or incontinence, help could be on the way. A new research report published online in the FASEB Journal, shows that the epithelium, a thin layer of cells which line the surface of the bladder, is able to sense how full the bladder is through the action of a family of proteins called integrins. As the bladder becomes full, the cells in the epithelium stretch and become thinner, which activates the integrins to send that information to nerves and other cells in the bladder. As a result of this new knowledge, researchers may one day be able to design drugs that target this mechanism to treat conditions like incontinence and overactive bladder, both of which are common, serious, problems affecting millions of people. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-harvard-scientists-figure.html Medical research Fri, 08 Feb 2013 17:21:22 EST news279566477 Nestled deep within the body, the epithelial lining of the respiratory system is nonetheless seriously exposed. Its direct contact with environmental air necessitates protective mechanisms that both seal off the respiratory tract from other compartments of the body and neutralize microbial invaders. This is achieved by the coordinated action of the functionally specialized various cell types that make up the lining of the airway. These respiratory cell populations include major ciliated cells, exocrine Clara cells, and neuroendocrine (NE) cells, all of which are generated by a common epithelial progenitor cell type during embryogenesis. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-airways-notch-bronchial-cell-fates.html Medical research Tue, 22 Jan 2013 07:31:21 EST news278062267 Tefina, the first testosterone based intranasal gel, has been in part developed by the ULg's Galenic Pharmacy Laboratory. It is currently at the stage of testing before being marketed by the Canadian company, Trimel Pharmaceuticals. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-tefina-female-viagra.html Medications Mon, 19 Nov 2012 07:52:56 EST news272533966 If narrowed or blocked coronary vessels have to be widened or opened, a vascular support (stent) is usually inserted. Drug-coated stents are preferred for patients at high risk of renewed narrowing of vessels (restenosis). However, the use of antibody-coated stents has been increasing in recent years. Current studies provide indications that these new antibody-coated stents more frequently lead to myocardial infarction and make re-operation necessary. This is the conclusion reached in the rapid report of the German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG), as published on 12 October 2012. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-myocardial-infarction-re-operation-greater-drug-coated.html Cardiology Wed, 14 Nov 2012 10:21:07 EST news272110857 For the first time, Wisconsin researchers have taken skin from patients and, using induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) technology, turned them into a laboratory model for an inherited type of macular degeneration. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-cells-skin-eye-disease.html Genetics Thu, 08 Nov 2012 10:23:43 EST news271592604 The use of certain water-based, over-the-counter personal lubricants can dry out and irritate vaginal and rectal tissue, but does not appear to increase susceptibility to HIV, according to a laboratory study published today in PLoS ONE. Even so, say study authors affiliated with the National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded Microbicide Trials Network (MTN), more research is needed to fully understand the safety of personal lubricants and their effect on epithelial tissue, the layer of mucosal cells that acts as the body's first line of defense against sexually transmitted HIV. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-cell-personal-lubricants-hiv.html HIV & AIDS Wed, 07 Nov 2012 17:00:22 EST news271519316 A study characterizing the multipotency and transplantation value of olfactory stem cells, as well as the ease in obtaining them, has been published in a recent issue of Cell Transplantation (20:11/12), now freely available on-line. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-potential-impact-olfactory-stem-cells.html Medical research Tue, 05 Jun 2012 15:25:23 EST news258128717 Within the nasal cavity, millions of sensory neurons in a postage-stamp-sized patch of tissue called the olfactory epithelium control our sense of smell. Thanks to the exquisitely controlled expression of some 300 different olfactory receptor genes, each neuron can detect a small number of distinct volatile odorants. How these genes are regulated, however, has long been a mystery. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-gene-reveals-architecture-genes-responsible.html Genetics Fri, 18 May 2012 08:44:33 EST news256549451 Regenerating sensory hair cells, which produce electrical signals in response to vibrations within the inner ear, could form the basis for treating age- or trauma-related hearing loss. One way to do this could be with gene therapy that drives new sensory hair cells to grow. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-gene-therapy-loss-potential-limitations.html Neuroscience Fri, 11 May 2012 15:09:35 EST news255967767 Women aged 50 and over with breasts that have a high percentage of dense tissue are at greater risk of their breast cancer recurring, according to Swedish research presented at the eighth European Breast Cancer Conference (EBCC-8) in Vienna today. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-dense-breasts-breast-cancer-recurrence.html Cancer Wed, 21 Mar 2012 05:17:59 EST news251525843 Scientists have found that the gut endoderm has a significant role in propagating the information that determines whether organs develop in the stereotypical left-right pattern. Their findings are published 6 March 2012 in the online, open-access journal PLoS Biology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-scientists-primitive-gut-role-left-right.html Medical research Tue, 06 Mar 2012 17:00:01 EST news250274406 Can eating grapes slow or help prevent the onset of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a debilitating condition affecting millions of elderly people worldwide? Results from a new study published in Free Radical Biology and Medicine suggest this might be the case. The antioxidant actions of grapes are believed to be responsible for these protective effects. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-grapes-age-related.html Ophthalmology Thu, 12 Jan 2012 10:21:38 EST news245586079 Sickle cell anemia causes pain, fatigue and delayed growth, all because of a lack of enough healthy red blood cells. And yet genetic mutations that cause it - recessive genes for the oxygen-carrying hemoglobin protein - have survived natural selection because they also seem to provide a natural defense against malaria. Scientists have long known this, and they have long wondered how it worked. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-sickle-cell-anemia-malaria-defense.html Medical research Wed, 30 Nov 2011 10:30:01 EST news241865840 Many of the people who died from the new strain of H1N1 influenza that broke out in 2009 were suffering from another infection as well: pneumonia. A new study to be published Tuesday, September 20 in the online journal mBio reveals how the two infections, pandemic influenza and pneumonia, interact to make to make a lethal combination. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-h1n1-pandemic-flu-lungs-opportunities.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Mon, 19 Sep 2011 18:07:26 EST news235674431 A new research report published in The FASEB Journal will help ophthalmologists and scientists better understand a rare genetic disease that causes increased susceptibility to blue light, night blindness, and decreased vision called Enhanced S-Cone Syndrome or Goldman-Favre Syndrome. In the report, scientists found that the expression of genes responsible for the healthy renewal of rods and cones in the retina was reduced and that this problem originates in the photoreceptors themselves rather than in the adjacent retinal pigment epithelial layer as once thought. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-scientists-unravel-rare-genetic-disease.html Medical research Wed, 31 Aug 2011 11:40:56 EST news234009584 (Medical Xpress) -- Mutations to a gene called p53 have been linked to half of all cancers, leading to tumor growth and the spread of cancerous cells. Now, a Cornell-led study identifies for the first time the mechanisms by which p53 controls cell movement and invasion into other areas of the body. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-gene-role-early-cancer.html Cancer Wed, 24 Aug 2011 08:46:51 EST news233394379 Researchers at UCLA have identified a new stem cell that participates in the repair of the large airways of the lungs, which play a vital role in protecting the body from infectious agents and toxins in the environment. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-airway-stem-cell.html Medical research Mon, 27 Jun 2011 16:26:18 EST news228410186 Disorders of the eye are excellent targets for gene therapy because the ocular environment is readily accessible, relatively easy to monitor, and sequestered from the rest of the body. A series of articles available online ahead of print in Human Gene Therapy, a peer-reviewed journal published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., highlight several exciting developments in ocular gene therapy. The articles are available free online at www.liebertpub.com/hum http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-latest-advances-gene-therapy-ocular.html Genetics Mon, 09 May 2011 15:53:56 EST news224175194