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News - week 17 - 2008
High anxiety?
Right now, about half of all people who take medicine for an anxiety disorder don't get
much help from it. And doctors have no definitive way to predict who will, and who won't,
benefit from each antianxiety prescription they write. But in a recently published study
and a new clinical trial, scientists are working to bring more certainty to anxiety
treatment, by probing the connection between brain activity, genetics and medication.
http://www2.med.umich.edu/prmc/media/newsroom/details.cfm?ID=172
Work hassles hamper sleep
Common hassles at work are more likely than long hours, night shifts or job insecurity to
follow workers home and interfere with their sleep. That's the conclusion of a University
of Michigan study presented April 17 at the annual meeting of the Population Association
of America. The study analyzes two nationally representative surveys of approximately
2,300 U.S. adults that monitored the same workers for up to a decade. Over that time,
roughly half the respondents said they had trouble sleeping. "Together, work and
sleep take up about two-thirds of every weekday," said U-M sociologist Sarah Burgard.
"But until now, very little research has focused on the connections between work and
sleep for the average U.S. worker."
http://www.ns.umich.edu/htdocs/releases/story.php?id=6482
Are your children’s Rx meds
FDA-approved?
Many parents are under the assumption that any medicine prescribed by a health care
provider for their child is safe and approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for
use in children. But are they right? Some parents may be surprised to learn that less than
one-third of prescription medicines available for kids have formal FDA approval for use in
children. In fact, 83 percent of parents believe that the last medication prescribed for
their child was FDA-approved, according to a report released today by the University of
Michigan C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health. The
majority of parents polled also feel that their child’s doctor is responsible for
telling them if prescribed medicines are not FDA-approved for use in children.
http://www2.med.umich.edu/prmc/media/newsroom/details.cfm?ID=157
UA Scientist Shares in Discovery of
Microbe Filaments’ Power
Researchers from The University of Arizona and Columbia University have discovered that
tiny filaments on bacteria can bundle together and pull with forces far stronger than
experts had previously thought possible.The team of researchers, including Magdalene
“Maggie” So, a member of the BIO5 Institute and the department of immunobiology
in the UA College of Medicine, studied Type IV pili – or filaments – on the
surface of Neisseria gonorrhoeae, the bacterium that causes the infectious disease
gonorrhea. The research results help them understand the role that Type IV pili play in
initiating a variety of infectious diseases – including tuberculosis – and how
retracting pili allow bacteria to crawl and to exchange genes with each other.
http://uanews.org/node/19373
Major discovery in the treatment of
aortic valve stenosis
A team of scientists from the Université de Montréal and the Montreal Heart Institute
Research Centre, led by Dr. Jean-Claude Tardif, has completed an important study that show
how a new type of medication can lead to an improvement in the aortic valve narrowing.
Study results have been published online in the British Journal of Pharmacology.
http://nouvelles.umontreal.ca/index.php?
option=com_content&task=view&id=1298&Itemid=206
Fox Chase researchers discover a
method for clamping down on a cancer-promoting enzyme
Taking a cue from the Croc Hunter, researchers at Fox Chase Cancer Center have now
identified a molecule capable of taping shut the "jaws" of PAK1 before the
enzyme becomes active. The molecule, IPA-3, was shown to be highly specific for PAK1
inhibition in cell cultures studies. Previously, PAK1 activity has been linked with breast
cancer and to pathways related to the ras oncogene, which is thought to cause up to 30
percent of all cancers.
http://www.fccc.edu/news/2008/jeffrey-peterson-04-08-08.html
Vitamin D and breast cancer risk
High blood levels of vitamin D protect post-menopausal women from breast cancer. This
connection has been confirmed by research of the German Cancer Research Center. It also
shows that a particular gene variant of the vitamin D receptor is associated with an
elevated breast cancer risk if the tumor has receptors for the female sex hormone
estrogen. German Cancer Aid, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-04/haog-vda041808.php
Breast cancers behave differently
before and after the age of 70
Researchers in Belgium have discovered that increasing age affects the way breast cancer
behaves. As women approach the age of 70, they become less likely to be diagnosed with
aggressive tumors that have spread to the lymph nodes. But after 70, the cancer is
increasingly likely to spread, particularly if the tumors are small. The research was
presented on Friday at the 6th European Breast Cancer Conference in Berlin.
http://www.ecco-org.eu/News/Press-room/
Press-release/page.aspx/439?xf_itemId=275&xf_catId=27
Acupuncture relieves hot flushes in
breast cancer patients taking tamoxifen
Acupuncture provides effective relief from hot flushes in women who are being treated with
the anti-oestrogen tamoxifen following surgery for breast cancer, according to new
research presented today (Friday) at the 6th European Breast Cancer Conference (EBCC-6) in
Berlin. Mrs Jill Hervik, a physiotherapist and acupuncturist at the Vestfold Central
Hospital (Tønsberg, Norway), told a news briefing that breast cancer patients who
received traditional Chinese acupuncture had a 50% reduction in hot flushes, both during
the day and the night, and that this effect continued after the acupuncture ceased.
http://www.ecco-org.eu/News/Press-room/
Press-release/page.aspx/439?xf_itemId=268&xf_catId=27
Penn researchers find potential in
yeast for selecting Lou Gehrig's disease drugs
Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine are developing a novel
approach to screen for drugs to combat neurodegenerative diseases such as amyotrophic
lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease, using yeast cells.
http://www.uphs.upenn.edu/news/News_Releases/apr08/yeast-model-als.html
Drug compound leads to death of
ovarian cancer cells resistant to chemotherapy
In a discovery that may be useful for maintaining remission in chemo-resistant ovarian
cancer, Yale scientists report that pre-clinical studies have shown the drug compound
NV-128 can induce the death of ovarian cancer cells by halting the activation of a protein
pathway called mTOR.
http://www.yale.edu/opa/newsr/08-04-16-01.all.html
Ovarian Cancer Stem Cells
Identified, Characterized and Cloned, Leading to More Effective Treatment
Researchers at Yale School of Medicine have identified, characterized and cloned ovarian
cancer stem cells and have shown that these stem cells may be the source of ovarian
cancer’s recurrence and its resistance to chemotherapy. “These results bring us
closer to more effective and targeted treatment for epithelial ovarian cancer, one of the
most lethal forms of cancer,” said Gil Mor, M.D., associate professor in the
Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences at Yale School of
Medicine.
http://www.yale.edu/opa/newsr/08-04-16-02.all.html
Researchers uncover details about
how dietary restriction slows down aging
University of Washington scientists have uncovered details about the mechanisms through
which dietary restriction slows the aging process. Working in yeast cells, the researchers
have linked ribosomes, the protein-making factories in living cells, and Gcn4, a
specialized protein that aids in the expression of genetic information, to the pathways
related to dietary response and aging. The study appears in the April 18 issue of the
journal Cell.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-04/uow-rud041708.php
Researchers discover critical
detail of cellular defense against genetic mistakes
Researchers are closing in on a completed diagram of how human cells protect themselves
against constant genetic mistakes that contribute to most diseases, according to a study
to be published in the April 18 edition of the journal Cell.
http://www.urmc.rochester.edu/pr/news/story.cfm?id=1960
Chlorine Triggers Protective Nerve
Receptor
Inhaling chlorine triggers a nerve receptor that protects healthy people by inducing
sneezing, coughing, and irritation, but can cause major problems for people with asthma
and other respiratory problems, Yale School of Medicine researchers report today in the
Journal of Clinical Investigation.
http://www.yale.edu/opa/newsr/08-04-08-03.all.html
Yale Scientists Show that a
microRNA Can Reduce Lung Cancer Growth
A small RNA molecule, known as let-7 microRNA (miRNA), substantially reduced cancer growth
in multiple mouse models of lung cancer, according to work by researchers at Yale
University and Asuragen, Inc., published in the journal Cell Cycle.
http://www.yale.edu/opa/newsr/08-03-20-02.all.html
National Jewish Medical and
Research Center Evaluating Treatment To Prevent Allergic Reactions to Food
Researchers at National Jewish Medical and Research Center are conducting trials to
evaluate a method to prevent allergic reactions to food. They are feeding peanut- and
egg-allergic people increasing doses of an investigational protein extract from the foods
to see if they can induce the participants’ immune systems to tolerate the food.
“We hope these trials will lead to the development of the first active, preventive
treatment for food allergies,” said pediatric allergist David Fleischer, MD,
principal investigator for the National Jewish studies. “If successful, it would
offer great hope for allergic patients and their families, whose lives are haunted by a
daily fear of food.”
http://www.nationaljewish.org/news/2008/food-immunotherapy-.aspx
Scientists obtain anti-cancer
medicines from the elecampe, a wild plant growing in the Mediterranean
Researchers from the Department of Organic Chemistry of the University of Granada state
that the plant can also be used for antimigraine drugs. Another wild plant growing in the
Bolivian Andes, the "Baccharis latifolia," has also been used to this end.
http://prensa.ugr.es/prensa/research/verNota/prensa.php?nota=517
Overuse of codeine, oxycodone and
barbiturates increases risk of chronic migraine
People who overuse barbiturates and opioids, such as codeine, butalbital, and oxycodone,
to treat migraine are at an increased risk of developing chronic migraine, according to
research that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology 60th Anniversary
Annual Meeting in Chicago, April 12–19, 2008. People with chronic migraine have
headaches on 15 or more days a month.
http://www.aan.com/globals/axon/assets/3971.pdf
Vitamin E May Help Alzheimer’s
Patients Live Longer
People with Alzheimer's disease who take vitamin E appear to live longer than those who
don't take vitamin E, according to research that will be presented at the American Academy
of Neurology 60th Anniversary Annual Meeting in Chicago, April 12–19, 2008. For the
study, researchers followed 847 people with Alzheimer's disease for an average of five
years. About two-thirds of the group took 1,000 international units of vitamin E twice a
day along with an Alzheimer’s drug (a cholinesterase inhibitor). Less than 10 percent
of the group took vitamin E alone and approximately 15 percent did not take vitamin E. The
study found people who took vitamin E, with or without a cholinesterase inhibitor, were 26
percent less likely to die than people who didn't take vitamin E.
http://www.aan.com/globals/axon/assets/3978.pdf
Alzheimer’s Starts Earlier for
Heavy Drinkers, Smokers
Heavy drinkers and heavy smokers develop Alzheimer’s disease years earlier than
people with Alzheimer’s who do not drink or smoke heavily, according to research that
will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology 60th Anniversary Annual Meeting in
Chicago, April 12–19, 2008. “These results are significant because it’s
possible that if we can reduce or eliminate heavy smoking and drinking, we could
substantially delay the onset of Alzheimer’s disease for people and reduce the number
of people who have Alzheimer’s at any point in time,” said study author Ranjan
Duara, MD, of the Wien Center for Alzheimer’s Disease at Mount Sinai Medical Center
in Miami Beach, FL, and Fellow of the American Academy of Neurology.
http://www.aan.com/globals/axon/assets/3980.pdf
Chemical Exposure May Increase Risk
of ALS
Preliminary results show that a common environmental chemical may increase the risk of
developing amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease,
according to research that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology 60th
Anniversary Annual Meeting in Chicago, April 12–19, 2008.
The study was based on the Cancer Prevention Study II of the American Cancer Society. Over
one million people were asked to report their exposure to 12 types of chemicals. The
participants were followed for 15 years, and the number of people who died during that
time of ALS was tracked. A total of 617 men and 539 women died from ALS during the study.
Researchers found no significant link between ALS and exposure to most chemicals,
including pesticides and herbicides. People who reported that they had regular exposure to
formaldehyde, however, were 34 percent more likely to develop ALS than those with no
exposure to formaldehyde.
http://www.aan.com/globals/axon/assets/3973.pdf
U of M researchers identify process
that may help treat Parkinson's, spinal cord injuries
A new discovery by University of Minnesota researchers may lead to a better understanding
of how the spinal cord controls how people walk. These insights could help lead to
treatments for central nervous system maladies such as Parkinson's disease and spinal cord
injuries.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-04/uom-uom041608.php
Your belly fat could be making you
hungrier
The extra fat we carry around our middle could be making us hungrier, so we eat more,
which in turn leads to even more belly fat. Dr. Kaiping Yang and his colleagues at the
Lawson Health Research Institute affiliated with the University of Western Ontario found
abdominal fat tissue can produce a hormone that stimulates fat cell production. The
researchers hope this discovery will change in the way we think about and treat abdominal
obesity.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-04/uowo-ybf041608.php
Saliva Can Help Diagnose Heart
Attack, Study Shows
Early diagnosis of a heart attack may now be possible using only a few drops of saliva and
a new nano-bio-chip, a multi-institutional team led by researchers at The University of
Texas at Austin reported at a recent meeting of the American Association for Dental
Research. The nano-bio-chip assay could some day be used to analyze a patient's saliva on
board an ambulance, at the dentist’s office or at a neighborhood drugstore, helping
save lives and prevent damage from cardiac disease. The device is the size of a credit
card and can produce results in as little as 15 minutes.
http://www.utexas.edu/news/2008/04/16/nano_bio_chip/
How and where fat is stored
predicts disease risk better than weight
A new study in mice indicates that overeating, rather than the obesity it causes, is the
trigger for developing metabolic syndrome, a collection of heath risk factors that
increases an individual’s chances of developing insulin resistance, fatty liver,
heart disease and type 2 diabetes. How and where the body stores excess, unused calories
appears to matter most when determining a person’s risk of developing metabolic
syndrome, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center suggest. “Most people today
think that obesity itself causes metabolic syndrome,” said Dr. Roger Unger, professor
of internal medicine at UT Southwestern and senior author of the study. “We’re
ingrained to think obesity is the cause of all health problems, when in fact it is the
spillover of fat into organs other than fat cells that damages these organs, such as the
heart and the liver. Depositing fatty molecules in fat cells where they belong actually
delays that harmful spillover.”
http://www.utsouthwestern.edu/utsw/cda/dept353744/files/456459.html
Disturbed regulation of insulin
production - genome study casts new light on the origin of type 2 diabetes
Type 2 Diabetes is a chronic disease with rising prevalence rates throughout the world. In
Germany, about 8 million people are affected. These numbers could even be an
underestimation as a relatively high number of undiagnosed diabetics remains. The
newly-published meta analysis 1) on the genetics of type 2 diabetes casts new light on the
origin of this disease. With participation of scientists of the Helmholtz Zentrum
Muenchen, the international study confirms findings that the disease is at least partly
based on a misregulation of insulin producing cells.
http://www.helmholtz-muenchen.de/en/press/press/press-
releases-2008/press-releases-2008-detail/article/781/9/index.html
World-first discovery could help
treat life-threatening tumors
WA researchers investigating how blood vessel growth keeps cancers alive have made a
world-first discovery that could boost the chances of successfully treating
life-threatening tumors.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-04/ra-wdc041508.php
Einstein researchers find that
vitamin D may protect against peripheral artery disease
People with low vitamin D levels may face an increased risk for peripheral artery disease,
according to researchers at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University.
The scientists reported their findings at the American Heart Association's
Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology Annual Conference 2008.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-04/aeco-erf041508.php
Variants of vitamin D receptor
linked to increased risk of breast cancer
Genetic variations in the body's receptor for vitamin D could increase the risk of breast
cancer in post-menopausal women, according to a study published today in the open access
journal Breast Cancer Research.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-04/bc-vov041508.php
New technologies offer more
accurate means of diagnosis and monitoring cancer
Irregular molecules in the lining of the mouth, the saliva, the fallopian tube or the
bladder can identify early stage cancer, according to research presented today at the 2008
Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research, April 12-16. Scientists
who hope to apply basic knowledge to medical practice are developing tests that diagnose,
predict or monitor cancer risks without invasive tissue sampling.
http://www.aacr.org/home/about-us/news.aspx?d=1007
Combining liver cancer treatments
doubles survival rates, UVA researchers find
By combining the use of stents and photodynamic therapy, also called SpyGlass, physicians
at the University of Virginia have been able to significantly increase survival rates for
patients suffering from advanced cholangiocarcinoma, cancer of the liver bile duct.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-04/uovh-clc041508.php
A potential sugar fix for tumors
Researchers at the Duke School of Medicine apparently have solved the riddle of why cancer
cells like sugar so much, and it may be a mechanism that could lead to better cancer
treatments. Jonathan Coloff, a graduate student in Assistant Professor Jeffrey
Rathmell’s laboratory in the Duke Department of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology, has
found that the tumor cells use glucose sugar as a way to avoid programmed cell death. They
make use of a protein called Akt, which promotes glucose metabolism, which in turn
regulates a family of proteins critical for cell survival, the researchers shared during
an April 15 presentation at the American Association of Cancer Research Annual Meeting in
San Diego. In normal cells, growth factors regulate metabolism and cell survival. Removing
these factors leads to loss of glucose uptake and metabolism and cell death. Cancer cells,
however, maintain glucose metabolism and resist cell death, even when deprived of growth
factors. To study how Akt might affect these processes, Coloff and colleagues introduced a
cancer-causing form of Akt called myrAkt, into cells that depend on growth factor to
survive. The mutant form of Akt allowed cells to maintain glucose usage and survive even
when no growth factors were present, allowing them to bypass a normal safeguard used by
cells to prevent cancer development. The death of normal cells after growth factors are
removed is partly accomplished by two proteins called Mcl-1 and Puma. But the
cancer-causing version of Akt prevents these two proteins from accomplishing their tasks,
allowing the cell to survive when it shouldn’t. Once glucose was withdrawn from the
environment, however, Akt was no longer able to maintain regulation of the key targeted
proteins Mcl-1 and Puma, and the cells died. “Akt’s dependence on glucose to
provide an anti-cell-death signal could be a sign of metabolic addiction to glucose in
cancer cells, and could give us a new avenue for a metabolic treatment of cancer,”
said Dr. Rathmell.
http://www.dukemednews.org/news/article.php?id=10300
Exercise May Lead to Faster
Prostate Tumor Growth
Prostate tumors grew more quickly in mice who exercised than in those who did not, leading
to speculation that exercise may increase blood flow to tumors, according to a new study
by researchers in the Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center (DCCC) and the Duke Prostate
Center. "Our study showed that exercise led to significantly greater tumor growth
than a more sedentary lifestyle did, in this mouse model," said Lee Jones, Ph.D., a
researcher in the DCCC and senior investigator on this study. "Our thought is that we
may, in the future, be able to use this finding to design better drug delivery models to
more effectively treat prostate cancer patients, and those with other types of cancer as
well."
http://www.dukemednews.org/news/article.php?id=10276
Two New Therapies Show Promise for
Cancer Patients
Clinical trial data and cutting-edge testing give key insights in the fight against basal
cell carcinoma and pancreatic cancer. San Diego and Phoenix—April 15,
2008—Clinical researchers at Scottsdale Healthcare and TGen today announced the
results of two clinical trials that show promise for patients battling cancer. The Phase I
clinical trial findings, presented at the this weeks Annual Meeting of the American
Association for Cancer Research by Daniel Von Hoff, MD, FACG, focused on basal cell
carcinoma (BCC) and pancreatic cancer. The Arizona trials were conducted at TGen's
Clinical Research Service (TCRS) at Scottsdale Healthcare, a strategic alliance between
TGen and Scottsdale Healthcare’s Clinical Research Institute. Basal Cell Carcinoma In
the first trial, a novel molecule, GDC-0449, shrinks tumors in basal cell carcinoma (BCC)
while having limited side effects, including a loss of sense of taste, and a small amount
of hair loss and weight loss, suggesting a viable new treatment option. GDC-0449 works by
blocking a pathway — a series of chemical reactions within a cell— known as
Hedgehog, containing two genes (PTCH and SMO) that lead to a known tumor-promoting gene
called GLI1. Alterations in any of these genes have been shown to lead to basal cell
carcinoma and other diseases. GDC-0449 is a chemical synthetic designed to replicate the
properties of cyclopamine, a chemical found in nature.
http://www.tgen.org/news/index.cfm?pageid=57&newsid=1146
Mental stress reduces blood flow to
the heart in patients with gene variation
University of Florida researchers induced stress in 148 patients with coronary artery
disease by asking them to speak in public. Those with a particular gene variation were
three times more likely to experience dangerous decreases in blood flow to the heart
during stress.
http://news.ufl.edu/2008/04/15/gene-stress/
UF researchers identify key target
for cancer therapies
New therapies must target a key protein interaction to destroy aggressive cancer
cells’ protective force field, University of Florida scientists reported this week at
the American Association for Cancer Research’s annual meeting in San Diego. The
barrier deflects damage from radiation or chemotherapy, making some cancer cells difficult
to destroy, but researchers from UF and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
may have discovered why. Their study revealed that mutations in the tumor-suppressing p53
protein lead to overabundance of a second protein called focal adhesion kinase, or FAK,
which makes the cells less vulnerable to attack.
http://news.ufl.edu/2008/04/17/fak-cancer/
Possible link between baby swimming
and breathing problems in children
Children with mothers who have allergies or asthma have an increased risk of wheezing in
the chest if they take part in baby swimming before 6 months of age. This is shown in a
new study using data from the Norwegian Mother and Child Study (MoBa) at the Norwegian
Institute of Public Health (NIPH). The results come from a study of 30 000 participants
from MoBa. Approximately 25 percent of these children took part in baby swimming from 0-6
months of age.
http://www.fhi.no/eway/default.aspx?pid=238&trg=Area_5954
UAB study shows investigational
drug may treat biliary cancers
Laboratory studies by University of Alabama at Birmingham researchers have shown that the
investigational drug triphendiol causes cell death in pancreatic and bile duct cancer cell
lines, slows tumor growth and sensitizes tumors to chemotherapy treatments.
http://main.uab.edu/Sites/MediaRelations/articles/43465/
USC study finds evidence of
gender-related differences in development of colon cancer
A new study by researchers at the University of Southern California has found evidence
that supports gender-related differences in the development and survival of metastatic
colon cancer.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-04/uosc-usf041408.php
Calorie restricted diet prevents
pancreatic inflammation and cancer
Prevention of weight gain with a restricted calorie diet sharply reduced the development
of pancreatic lesions that lead to cancer in pre-clinical research reported today by
researchers from the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Texas M. D.
Anderson Cancer Center at the American Association for Cancer Research annual meeting.
http://www.mdanderson.org/departments/newsroom/
How smoking encourages infection
Smokers are often more prone to bacterial infections and inflammatory diseases than the
rest of us, thanks to hundreds of toxic components in their cigarettes
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-04/bc-hse041108.php
UCI study finds effective colon
cancer prevention treatment
Using a combination of a targeted cancer-fighting agent called DFMO and a low dose of an
anti-inflammatory drug, UC Irvine researchers have reduced the risk of reoccurring
colorectal polyps, an early sign of colon cancer, by as much as 95 percent with fewer
toxic side effects.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-04/uoc--usf041008.php
Jefferson Scientists’
Discovery May Help Explain Smoking-Pancreatic Cancer Link
If lung cancer and heart disease aren’t bad enough, cigarette smokers are also at
higher risk for developing, among other things, pancreatic cancer. Now, researchers at the
Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson in Philadelphia have preliminary evidence indicating one
possible reason why. Data being presented April 13, 2008 during the Annual Meeting of the
American Association for Cancer Research shows that they have found that nicotine in
cigarettes increases the production of a protein that is known to promote cancer cell
survival, invasion and spread.
http://www.jeffersonhospital.org/news/2007/article16100.html
Mayo-led study finds smoking
related to subset of colorectal cancers
Smoking puts older women at significant risk for loss of DNA repair proteins that are
critical for defending against development of some colorectal cancers, according to
research from a team led by Mayo Clinic scientists.
http://www.mayoclinic.org/news2008-rst/4758.html
Vitamin D and calcium influence
cell death in the colon, researchers find
Researchers at Emory University are learning how vitamins and minerals in the diet can
stimulate or prevent the appearance of colon cancer. Emory investigators will present
their findings on biological markers that could influence colon cancer risk in three
abstracts at the American Association for Cancer Research meeting in San Diego.
http://www.whsc.emory.edu/press_releases2.cfm?announcement_id_seq=13784
Kids with autism may have gene that
causes muscle weakness
Some kids with autism may have a genetic defect that affects the muscles, according to
research that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology 60th Anniversary
Annual Meeting in Chicago, April 12–19, 2008. The study looked at 37 children with
autism spectrum disorders who were evaluated for mitochondrial disease, which causes
muscle weakness and prevents a child from being able to participate in physical activities
and sports. Mitochondrial disease occurs when genetic mutations affect the mitochondria,
or the part of the cell that releases energy. A total of 24 of the children, or 65
percent, had defects in the process by which cells produce and synthesize energy in the
muscles, or oxidative phosphorylation defects in the skeletal muscles. “Most children
with autism spectrum disorders do not have recognizable abnormalities when you look at
genetic tests, imaging, and metabolic tests,” said study author John Shoffner, MD,
owner of Medical Neurogenetics, LLC in Atlanta, GA, and member of the American Academy of
Neurology. “But a subset of these children does have significant defects in this
area. Identifying this defect is important for understanding how genes that produce autism
spectrum disorders impact the function of the mitochondria.”
http://www.aan.com/press/index.cfm?fuseaction=release.view&release=588
EU ban on sale of non-child
resistant and novelty cigarette lighters valid until 11 May 2009
Today the European Commission adopted a
Decision prolonging the validity of Decision 2006/502/EC until 11 May 2009, requiring
Member States to ensure that only child-resistant lighters are placed on the market, and
banning the placing on the market of novelty lighters. Misuse of cigarette lighters in
play by young children causes a significant number of serious fire accidents. It is
estimated that between 1,500 and 1,900
injuries and 34 to 40 fatalities per year in the EU are due to fire-related accidents
caused by children playing with lighters. Child-resistance mechanisms (making it difficult
or impossible for kids to operate lighters) help prevent such accidents. The
child-resistance requirement of the Decision applies to roughly 98% of all lighters sold
in the EU each year, including all disposable, plastic lighters and low-cost metal
lighters. "Novelty lighters" resemble objects that are especially appealing to
children (for instance toys, mobile phones, food, cars, etc.) and therefore present a high
risk of misuse.
http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/safety/prod_legis/prod_legislation_lighters_en.htm
Ditta
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