http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. A study appearing in the Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry demonstrates that grapes are able to reduce heart failure associated with chronic high blood pressure (hypertension) by increasing the activity of several genes responsible for antioxidant defense in the heart tissue. Grapes are a known natural source of antioxidants and other polyphenols, which researchers believe to be responsible for the beneficial effects observed with grape consumption. This study, funded by a grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and conducted at the University of Michigan Health System, uncovered a novel way that grapes exert beneficial effects in the heart: influencing gene activities and metabolic pathways that improve the levels of glutathione, the most abundant cellular antioxidant in the heart. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-uncovers-mechanism-grapes-heart-failure.html Cardiology Thu, 02 May 2013 11:41:23 EST news286713616 A massive study analyzing gene expression data from 22 tumor types has identified multiple metabolic expression changes associated with cancer. The analysis, conducted by researchers at Columbia University Medical Center, also identified hundreds of potential drug targets that could cut off a tumor's fuel supply or interfere with its ability to synthesize essential building blocks. The study was published today in the online edition of Nature Biotechnology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-hundreds-potential-drug-starve-cancer.html Cancer Sun, 21 Apr 2013 13:00:01 EST news285764870 Adenosine-5'-triphosphate (ATP) is the main energy source for all forms of work inside our cells. Scientists from the University of Helsinki, Finland, have found that even a short-term shortage of ATP supply can be fatal for cancer cells because activation of a mitochondria-addressed cell death pathway. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-cancer-cell-metabolism.html Cancer Mon, 15 Apr 2013 15:00:04 EST news285240873 L-carnitine significantly improves cardiac health in patients after a heart attack, say a multicenter team of investigators in a study published today in Mayo Clinic Proceedings. Their findings, based on analysis of key controlled trials, associate L-carnitine with significant reduction in death from all causes and a highly significant reduction in ventricular arrhythmias and anginal attacks following a heart attack, compared with placebo or control. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-l-carnitine-significantly-patient-outcomes-heart.html Cardiology Fri, 12 Apr 2013 12:42:36 EST news284989259 (Medical Xpress)—A daily dose of fish oil may be good for a healthier heart in overweight, middle-aged men, according to researchers at The University of Western Australia. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-fish-oil-heart-middle-aged-overweight.html Health Tue, 09 Apr 2013 07:14:35 EST news284710458 A widely prescribed type 2 diabetes drug slows down the ageing process by mimicking the effects of dieting, according to a study published today using worms to investigate how the drug works. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-reveals-diabetes-drug-ageing-worms.html Medical research Thu, 28 Mar 2013 12:41:48 EST news283693300 Building on earlier pioneering work by researchers at the University of California, San Diego, an international consortium of university researchers has produced the most comprehensive virtual reconstruction of human metabolism to date. Scientists could use the model, known as Recon 2, to identify causes of and new treatments for diseases like cancer, diabetes and even psychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders. Each person's metabolism, which represents the conversion of food sources into energy and the assembly of molecules, is determined by genetics, environment and nutrition. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-international-consortium-google-human-metabolism.html Medical research Sun, 03 Mar 2013 13:00:28 EST news281521208 (Medical Xpress)—As people age, or as a result of poor nutrition, heart valves can become damaged by the accumulation of calcium deposits within the tissue. This calcification causes a thickening and hardening of the tissue to the point that it limits normal blood flow. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-discovery-spurred-unique-fate.html Cardiology Thu, 21 Feb 2013 06:37:48 EST news280651061 Findings from a study suggest that certain variations in vitamin D metabolism genes may modify the association of low serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations with health outcomes such as hip fracture, heart attack, cancer, and death, according to a study appearing in the November 14 issue of JAMA. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-genetic-variation-associations-vitamin-d.html Health Tue, 13 Nov 2012 16:00:05 EST news272044257 Researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center have identified metabolic signatures that may pave the way for personalized therapy in glioma, a type of tumor that starts in the brain. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-metabolic-aggressive-brain-tumors.html Cancer Fri, 09 Nov 2012 13:15:53 EST news271689336 A laboratory study led by UNC medical oncologist Stergios Moschos, MD, demonstrates how a new targeted drug, Elesclomol, blocks oxidative phosphorylation, which appears to play essential role in melanoma that has not been well-understood. Elesclomol (Synta Pharmaceuticals, Lexington, MA) was previously shown to have clinical benefit only in patients with normal serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), a laboratory test routinely used to assess activity of disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-reveals-molecular-melanoma-treatment.html Cancer Fri, 17 Aug 2012 23:17:06 EST news264464196 Researchers have used computational analysis to identify a new Achilles heel for the treatment of drug-resistant breast cancer. The results, which are published in Molecular Systems Biology, reveal that the disruption of glucose metabolism is an effective therapeutic strategy for the treatment of tumours that have acquired resistance to front-line cancer drugs such as Lapatinib. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-analysis-drugs-drug-resistant-breast-cancer.html Medications Tue, 31 Jul 2012 12:54:27 EST news262958057 Scientists from VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland in collaboration with the University of Eastern Finland have recently discovered a serum biochemical signature which predicts progression to Alzheimer's disease months or even years before the first symptoms of the disease occur. The goal of the new collaboration between VTT and GE Healthcare is to validate this biomarker in a large patient cohort as well as to discover novel biomarker candidates. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-biomarkers-alzheimer-disease.html Alzheimer's disease & dementia Tue, 26 Jun 2012 09:33:44 EST news259922003 Brown seems to be the color of choice when it comes to the types of fat cells in our bodies. Brown fat expends energy, while its counterpart, white fat stores it. The danger in white fat cells, along with the increased risk for diabetes and heart disease it poses, seems especially linked to visceral fat. Visceral fat is the build-up of fat around the organs in the belly. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-candidate-pathway-visceral-obesity.html Medical research Sun, 06 May 2012 13:30:02 EST news255508881 Researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have shown that advanced pancreatic cancers in mice can't survive without continued expression of a mutant oncogene that "rewires" key metabolic pathways to fuel the cancer cells. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-advanced-pancreatic-tumors-oncogene.html Cancer Thu, 26 Apr 2012 14:33:37 EST news254669548 A genetic mutation that drives the initiation of pancreatic cancer also manipulates metabolic pathways to support tumor growth and progression, scientists report in the journal Cell. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-mutant-kras-pancreatic-cancer-maintenance.html Cancer Thu, 26 Apr 2012 12:47:05 EST news254663199 Epigenetics is the new hip science. Time Magazine's front cover and article, 'Why your DNA isn't your Destiny' from January 2010 explains why. Its more explicit subtitle provided the hook - 'The new science of epigenetics reveals how the choices you make can change your genes - and those of your kids'. Who wouldn't be interested in this? http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-epigenetics-epidemiology-hip-hype.html Genetics Thu, 15 Mar 2012 05:17:12 EST news251007329 Epidemiologists have long warned that, in addition to causing obesity, eating too much fat and sugar puts a person at greater risk for colon cancer. Now, researchers at Temple University have established a link that may explain why. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-high-fat-diets-colon-cancer.html Cancer Wed, 07 Mar 2012 10:43:03 EST news250339368 Mitochondria -- subunits inside cells that produce energy -- have long been thought to play a role in Alzheimer's disease. Now Mayo Clinic researchers using genetic mouse models have discovered that mitochondria in the brain are dysfunctional early in the disease. The findings appear in the journal PLoS ONE. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-mitochondrial-dysfunction-early-alzheimer-memory.html Alzheimer's disease & dementia Wed, 29 Feb 2012 18:40:01 EST news249762272 A research team led by UT Southwestern Medical Center scientists has identified an atypical metabolic pathway unique to some tumors, possibly providing a future target for drugs that could reduce or halt the spread of cancer. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-tumor-specific-pathway.html Cancer Tue, 22 Nov 2011 10:04:08 EST news241178637 New research reveals that patients with epilepsy who were treated for extended periods with older generation antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) may be at increased risk for developing atherosclerosis, a common disorder known as hardening of the arteries. According to the findings now available in Epilepsia, the journal of the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE), the vascular risk is significantly associated with the duration of AED monotherapy. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-vascular-linked-long-term-antiepileptic-drug.html Cardiology Tue, 15 Nov 2011 04:10:03 EST news240551375 In what is so far the largest investigation of its kind, researchers uncovered a wide range of new insights about common diseases and how they are affected by differences between two persons' genes. The results from this study could lead to highly targeted, individualized therapies. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-genetic-basis-human-metabolic-individuality.html Genetics Wed, 26 Oct 2011 13:42:56 EST news238855367 Researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center today announce findings published in the October 20 issue of Nature that show for the first time the inhibition of both microRNA-33a and microRNA-33b (miR-33a/b) with chemically modified anti-miR oligonucleotides markedly suppress triglyceride levels and cause a sustained increase in high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) "good" cholesterol. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-therapeutic-decrease-triglycerides-good-cholesterol.html Medical research Thu, 20 Oct 2011 13:14:41 EST news238335273 A study made by IDIBELL researchers shows that glucose metabolism inhibition with 2-deoxyglucose (2-DG) induces cell death in a type of childhood sarcoma: alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma. The results have been published in the journal Cancer Research. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-treatment-aggressive-childhood-cancer.html Cancer Wed, 14 Sep 2011 11:08:27 EST news235217285 The metabolic state of glioma stem cells, which give rise to deadly glioblastomas, is significantly different from that of the brain cancer cells to which they give birth, a factor which helps those stem cells avoid treatment and cause recurrence later. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-metabolic-state-brain-cancer-stem.html Cancer Tue, 06 Sep 2011 16:43:16 EST news234546183 A new study has revealed in unprecedented detail how parasites use different nutrients needed for growth, providing University of Melbourne researchers with unique drug targets against Leishmania, a tropical parasite that infects 12 million people worldwide and causes 500,000 deaths annually. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-parasites-key-drug.html Medical research Thu, 04 Aug 2011 11:00:16 EST news231670336 A new research report appearing online in the FASEB Journal shows that what someone drinks after exercise plays a critical role in maximizing the effects of exercise. Specifically, the report shows that protein drinks after aerobic activity increases the training effect after six weeks, when compared to carbohydrate drinks. Additionally, this study suggests that this effect can be seen using as little as 20 grams of protein. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-protein-aging-muscles.html Health Wed, 25 May 2011 16:15:59 EST news225558943 Researchers have linked a variant in the vitamin D receptor gene (VDR) with the onset of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in Caucasian men. The study population consisted of participants in the Veterans Administration Normative Aging Study, a multidisciplinary study of aging that began in 1963. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-gene-variant-linked-copd-men.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Mon, 16 May 2011 03:32:39 EST news224735516