http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. Some 16 per cent of European adults suffer from hearing loss that is severe enough to adversely affect their daily life. Hearing loss impacts on one's ability to communicate - to hear, process sound, and respond - which can make life frustrating. Untreated hearing loss can discourage social interaction, leading to depression, anxiety and isolation from the rest of the world. Sufferers also tend to express greater dissatisfaction with friendships, family life, health and finances. Depression is common in older adults who have trouble hearing. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-tackling-loss.html Other Wed, 27 Feb 2013 08:51:37 EST news281177484 Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine say overexpression of a protein called alpha-synuclein appears to disrupt vital recycling processes in neurons, starting with the terminal extensions of neurons and working its way back to the cells' center, with the potential consequence of progressive degeneration and eventual cell death. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-excess-protein-linked-parkinson-disease.html Parkinson's & Movement disorders Thu, 07 Feb 2013 14:52:55 EST news279471152 (Medical Xpress)—For several years, neurologists at UCLA have been building a case that a link exists between pesticides and Parkinson's disease. To date, paraquat, maneb and ziram—common chemicals sprayed in California's Central Valley and elsewhere—have been tied to increases in the disease, not only among farmworkers but in individuals who simply lived or worked near fields and likely inhaled drifting particles. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-pesticides-parkinson-uncover-proof-link.html Parkinson's & Movement disorders Fri, 04 Jan 2013 06:45:05 EST news276504277 Researchers at the University of Cincinnati (UC) and Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center have found a new genetic mutation responsible for deafness and hearing loss associated with Usher syndrome type 1. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-deafness-genetic-mutation.html Genetics Sun, 30 Sep 2012 13:00:01 EST news268207118 Tafamidis meglumine (trade name: Vyndaqel) was approved in November 2011 for the treatment of transthyretin amyloidosis in adults. This rare disorder ("orphan disease") is caused by a defective gene and is associated with progressive nerve damage (neurological degeneration) that tafamidis is supposed to delay. According to § 35a SGB (Social Code Book) V, an added benefit is regarded as proven if a drug for a rare disease - known as an orphan drug - has been approved. The German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) has assessed tafamidis at the request of the Federal Joint Committee (G-BA). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-tafamidis-denotes-proven-added-benefit.html Medications Mon, 17 Sep 2012 10:34:43 EST news267096867 Scientists at UCLA have identified a new compound that could treat certain types of genetic disorders in muscles. It is a big first step in what they hope will lead to human clinical trials for Duchenne muscular dystrophy. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-compound-duchenne-md-inherited-diseases.html Genetics Wed, 27 Jun 2012 16:03:16 EST news260031774 Mayo Clinic and University of Oregon researchers have confirmed that a genetic factor called a repeating trinucleotide is a strong predictor of an individual's risk of developing the eye condition Fuchs' dystrophy. The findings were being presented today at the annual conference of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology in Orlando, Fla. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-genetic-predictor-fuchs-corneal-dystrophy.html Ophthalmology Mon, 07 May 2012 16:00:25 EST news255611458 The University of Michigan's second human embryonic stem cell line has just been placed on the U.S. National Institutes of Health's registry, making the cells available for federally-funded research. It is the second of the stem cell lines derived at U-M to be placed on the registry. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-embryonic-stem-cell-line-aid.html Pediatrics Wed, 25 Apr 2012 14:39:49 EST news254583552 A collaborative study by scientists at Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) and the Montreal Neurological Institute of McGill University, and published March 20 in the online, open access journal PLoS Biology, has discovered that mutations in the same gene that encodes part of the vital machinery of the mitochondrion can cause neurodegenerative disorders in both fruit flies and humans. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-collaboration-rapidly-gene-discovery-human.html Genetics Tue, 20 Mar 2012 17:00:09 EST news251481050 In a paper published in the October 2011 issue of Experimental Biology and Medicine, a team of researchers at Columbia University Medical Center led by Stephen Tsang, MD, Ph.D have achieved temporary functional preservation of photoreceptors in a mouse model for retinitis pigmentosa (RP) using novel bipartite gene therapy. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-cell-specific-mechanism-based-gene-therapy-approach.html Medical research Fri, 30 Sep 2011 15:48:17 EST news236616485 The ability to produce neuroprotectors, proteins that protect the human brain against neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson's and ALS, is the holy grail of brain research. A technology developed at Tel Aviv University does just that, and it's now out of the lab and in hospitals to begin clinical trials with patients suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-bone-marrow-brain.html Medical research Tue, 20 Sep 2011 04:25:07 EST news235711494