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| News From The Journal Of Clinical Investigation: Feb. 6, 2012 |
IMMUNOLOGY: How a stomach-colonizing bacterium protects against asthma The bacterium Helicobacter pylori can be found colonizing the stomach lining of almost half the world's population. Although persistent infection with Helicobacter pylori increases an individual's risk of developing stomach cancer, it also decreases their risk of developing asthma. A team of researchers led by Anne Muller, at the University of Zürich, Switzerland, has now identified a cellular mechanism by which persistent infection with Helicobacter pylori protects mice from developing allergic asthma... |
| Potential Biomarker Identified For Osteoarthritis |
Henry Ford Hospital researchers have identified for the first time two molecules that hold promise as a biomarker for measuring cartilage damage associated with osteoarthritis. Researchers say the concentration of two molecules called non-coding RNAs in blood were associated with mild cartilage damage in 30 patients who were one year removed from reconstruction surgery to repair an anterior cruciate ligament, or ACL, injury... |
| Genetic Variant Increases Risk Of Common Type Stroke |
A genetic variant that increases the risk of a common type of stroke has been identified by scientists in a study published online in Nature Genetics. This is one of the few genetic variants to date to be associated with risk of stroke and the discovery opens up new possibilities for treatment. Stroke is the second leading cause of death worldwide (more than one in 10 of all deaths, and over six million deaths annually), and also in developed countries is a major cause of chronic disability. As the world's populations age the impact of stroke on wellbeing is likely to increase further... |
| Faster, More Efficient Protein Labeling Developed By Chemists |
North Carolina State University researchers have created specially engineered mammalian cells to provide a new "chemical handle" which will enable researchers to label proteins of interest more efficiently, without disrupting the normal function of the proteins themselves or the cells in which they are found. Protein labeling is used by researchers in a variety of fields to help them understand how these important molecules affect the normal functioning of cells... |
| Key To Immune Cell's 'internal Guidance' System Discovered |
University of British Columbia researchers have discovered the molecular pathway that enables receptors inside immune cells to find, and flag, fragments of pathogens trying to invade a host. The discovery of the role played by the molecule CD74 could help immunologists investigate treatments that offer better immune responses against cancers, viruses and bacteria, and lead to more efficient vaccines. The findings are published in this week's edition of Nature Immunology... |
| More Accurate Diagnosis Of Genetic Mutations Expected Using New Virtual Tool |
DNA sequencing to detect genetic mutations can aid in the diagnosis and selection of treatment for cancer. Current methods of testing DNA samples, Sanger sequencing and pyrosequencing, occasionally produce complex results that can be difficult or impossible to interpret. Scientists at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine have developed a free software program, Pyromaker, that can more accurately identify such complex genetic mutations... |
| Preventing Obesity Through Positive Parenting During Early Childhood |
Programs that support parents during their child's early years hold promise for obesity prevention, according to a new study in the online issue of Pediatrics. Today, one out of five American children is obese. Young children who are overweight are five times more likely than their peers of normal weight to be obese by adolescence. Obese children and adolescents, especially low-income and minority youth, are at increased risk for a range of medical, social and academic problems... |
| Smoking Speeds Up Male Cognitive Decline |
A male regular smoker has a higher risk of rapid cognitive decline, compared to his counterparts who do not smoke, researchers from University College London, England, reported in Archives of General Psychiatry. The authors add that the evidence has been mounting regarding the link between smoking and dementia in elderly individuals - smoking has been found to push up the total number of patients with dementia around the world. Séverine Sabia, Ph.D., and team set out to determine what impact smoking might have on men during their transition from middle age to old age... |
| How Autoreactive T Cells Slip Through The Cracks |
Immune cells capable of attacking healthy organs "see" their targets differently than do protective immune cells that attack viruses, according to work published online this week in the Journal of Experimental Medicine. During development, T lymphocytes are screened for their ability to recognize normal tissue. Such autoreactive cells are typically purged, but some slip by these safeguards and may contribute to autoimmune disease... |
| Based On CE Analysis Of Oral Medications, ACP Recommends Metformin To Treat Type 2 Diabetes |
The American College of Physicians (ACP) recommends that clinicians add metformin as the initial drug treatment for most patients with type 2 diabetes when lifestyle modifications such as diet, exercise, and weight loss have failed to adequately improve high blood sugar. ACP also recommends that clinicians add a second drug to metformin when treatment with metformin and lifestyle changes fail to control blood sugar levels. Citing insufficient evidence, ACP does not recommend one class of drug over another as a second medication... |
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