http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. Four proteins involved in translation, the final step of general protein production, are associated with poor prognosis in hormone-receptor-positive breast cancer when they are dysregulated, researchers reported at the AACR Annual Meeting 2012. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-pi3kmtor-pathway-proteins-tied-poor.html Cancer Sun, 01 Apr 2012 12:32:10 EST news252502306 (Medical Xpress) -- Most cases of autism are not caused by a single genetic mutation. However, several disorders with autism-like symptoms, including the rare Fragile X syndrome, can be traced to a specific mutation. Several years ago, MIT neuroscientist Mark Bear discovered that this mutation leads to overproduction of proteins found in brain synapses -- the connections between neurons that allow them to communicate with each other. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-neuroscientists-rare-autism-related-disorders-opposing.html Neuroscience Thu, 24 Nov 2011 06:20:24 EST news241337999 New research in The FASEB Journal suggests that rats fed homobrassinolide, found in the mustard plant, produced an anabolic effect, and increased appetite and muscle mass, as well as the number and size of muscle fibers. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-weights-mustard-muscles.html Medical research Thu, 29 Sep 2011 11:00:01 EST news236511133 Physical activity requires strong, healthy muscles. Fortunately, when people exercise on a regular basis, their muscles experience a continuous cycle of muscle breakdown (during exercise) and compensatory remodeling and growth (especially with weightlifting). Athletes have long experimented with methods to augment these physiologic responses to enhance muscle growth. One such ergogenic aid that has gained recent popularity is the use of high-quality, high-protein beverages during and after exercise, with dairy-based drinks enriched with whey proteins often taking front stage. Many studies have documented a beneficial effect of their consumption. Of particular interest is the effect of the essential amino acid leucine contained in these products. Two papers, published in the September 2011 issue of The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, report the results of 2 independent studies conducted to understand better how amino acids influence protein synthesis in recreational athletes. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-muscle-building-effect-protein-beverages-athletes.html Other Thu, 18 Aug 2011 13:38:21 EST news232893488 Usher syndrome is the most common form of combined congenital deaf-blindness in humans and affects 1 in 6,000 of the population. It is a recessive inherited disease that is both clinically and genetically heterogeneous. In the most severe cases, patients are born deaf and begin to suffer from a degeneration of the retina in puberty, ultimately resulting in complete blindness. These patients experience major problems in their day-to-day life. While hearing loss can be compensated for with hearing aids and cochlea implants, it has not proven possible to develop a treatment for the associated sight loss to date. Researchers at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) in Germany have now developed a new treatment approach to this disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-07-treatment-approach-human-usher-syndrome.html Genetics Fri, 01 Jul 2011 07:18:28 EST news228723456 Scientists and educators alike have long known that cramming is not an effective way to remember things. With their latest findings, researchers at the RIKEN Brain Science Institute in Japan, studying eye movement response in trained mice, have elucidated the neurological mechanism explaining why this is so. Published in the Journal of Neuroscience, their results suggest that protein synthesis in the cerebellum plays a key role in memory consolidation, shedding light on the fundamental neurological processes governing how we remember. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-a-better-way-to-remember.html Neuroscience Fri, 17 Jun 2011 14:31:27 EST news227539869 Many gene therapy strategies designed to deliver a normal copy of a gene to cells carrying a disease-causing genetic mutation rely on a modified virus to transfer the gene product into affected tissues. One technology platform that is well suited for in vivo delivery of genes is based on adeno-associated viruses (AAV). As these novel therapies move closer to commercialization, so do the methods for large-scale production and efficient delivery of AAV vectors, which are documented in a series of articles published online ahead of print in Human Gene Therapy, a peer-reviewed journal published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-gene-therapy-success-ability-advance.html Genetics Wed, 18 May 2011 13:09:59 EST news224942990