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Low Levels of Brain Chemical May Lead to Obesity, NIH Study of Rare Disorder
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8/29/2008
A brain chemical that plays a role in long term memory also appears to be involved in regulating how much people eat and their likelihood of becoming obese, according to a National Institutes of Health study of a rare genetic condition.
Common Treatment to Delay Labor Decreases Preterm Infants' Risk for Cerebral Palsy
8/29/2008
Preterm infants born to mothers receiving intravenous magnesium sulfate -- a common treatment to delay labor -- are less likely to develop cerebral palsy than are preterm infants whose mothers do not receive it, report researchers in a large National Institutes of Health research network.
NHGRI Seeks DNA Sequencing Technologies Fit for Routine Laboratory and Medical Use
8/25/2008
The National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), today awarded more than $20 million in grants to develop innovative sequencing technologies inexpensive and efficient enough to sequence a person's DNA as a routine part of biomedical research and health care.
Bacterial Pneumonia Caused Most Deaths in 1918 Influenza Pandemic
8/25/2008
The majority of deaths during the influenza pandemic of 1918-1919 were not caused by the influenza virus acting alone, report researchers from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health. Instead, most victims succumbed to bacterial pneumonia following influenza virus infection. The pneumonia was caused when bacteria that normally inhabit the nose and throat invaded the lungs along a pathway created when the virus destroyed the cells that line the bronchial tubes and lungs.
Largest Study of Its Kind Implicates Gene Abnormalities in Bipolar Disorder
8/25/2008
The largest genetic analysis of its kind to date for bipolar disorder has implicated machinery involved in the balance of sodium and calcium in brain cells. Researchers supported in part by the National Institute of Mental Health, part of the National Institutes of Health, found an association between the disorder and variation in two genes that make components of channels that manage the flow of the elements into and out of cells, including neurons.
Alternative Vaccine Strategy Shows Promise in Prostate Cancer Patients
8/16/2008
New research indicates that giving patients a continuous low dose of an immune system booster, a method known as metronomic dosing, as part of a therapeutic prostate cancer vaccine strategy is safe and produces similar immune responses and fewer side effects than the more common dosing method, which is not well tolerated by many patients. This study, led by researchers at that National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health, was published in the Aug. 15, 2008, issue of 'Clinical Cancer Research.'
Researchers Find Leishmaniasis Parasites Evade Death by Exploiting the Immune Response to Sand Fly Bites
8/15/2008
Cutaneous leishmaniasis, a disease characterized by painful skin ulcers, occurs when the parasite Leishmania major, or a related species, is transmitted to a mammalian host by the bite of an infected sand fly. In a new study from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, scientists have discovered L. major does its damage by not only evading but also by exploiting the body's wound-healing response to sand fly bites, as reported in the August 15 issue of 'Science.'
NIH Scientists Find a Novel Mechanism that Controls the Development of Autoimmunity
8/14/2008
Scientists at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have found
a mechanism in the immune systems of mice that can lead to the
development of autoimmune disease when turned off. The findings
shed light on the processes that lead to the development of autoimmunity
and could also have implications for the development of drugs to
increase the immune response in diseases such as cancer and HIV.
The study paper appears online today in the journal 'Nature.'
Molecular Switch Boosts Brain Activity Associated with Schizophrenia
8/14/2008
People with schizophrenia have an alteration in a pattern
of brain electrical activity associated with learning and memory. Now,
researchers from the National Institutes of Health and Sweden's Karolinska
Institute have identified in mouse brain tissue a molecular switch that,
when thrown, increases the strength of this electrical pattern. The researchers
found that adding the brain chemical Neuregulin-1 to the brain tissue
boosted the electrical signals that the tissue generated.
Anti-HIV 'Drug Cocktails' Equally Effective in Patients
with or without History of Injection Drug Use
8/14/2008
Highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) has been extremely
effective at slowing the progression of HIV infection to AIDS as well
as extending the lives and improving the quality of life for those with
HIV. However, some doctors have been reluctant to prescribe HAART to
HIV-infected injection drug users because of concern that they may not
fully benefit from the therapy. A new study by investigators funded by
the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes
of Health, and led by the British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS
in Canada, suggests that this is not the case: in their large, community-based
study of HIV-infected people, injection drug users and people who did
not inject drugs had equivalent survival rates seven years after initiating
HAART. These results will be published August 6 in the 'Journal of the
American Medical Association.'
New Research Results Explain How Dormant Tumor Cells Become Active
in Later Years
8/14/2008
Scientists using a three-dimensional cell culture system have
identified a mechanism by which dormant, metastatic tumor cells can begin
growing again after long periods of inactivity. The new findings indicate
that the switch from dormancy to proliferative, metastatic growth may
be regulated, in part, through signaling from the surrounding microenvironment,
which leads to changes in the skeletal architecture of dormant tumor
cells. Targeting this mechanism may also provide strategies for inhibiting
the switch from dormancy to proliferation. The results of this study
by National Cancer Institute (NCI) scientists and their collaborators,
appears in the August 1, 2008, issue of
Cancer Research.
NCI is part of the National Institutes of Health.
A Long Lasting Impression: New Study Finds Persistent Brain Changes
in Response to Cocaine Depend on the Expectation of Reward
8/14/2008
Drug addiction dramatically shifts a person's attention,
priorities, and behaviors towards a focus almost entirely on seeking
out and taking drugs. Now, an animal study funded by the National Institute
on Drug Abuse, part of the National Institutes of Health, has identified
some of the specific long-term adaptations in the brain’s reward system
that may contribute to this shift. These long-lasting brain changes may
underlie the maladaptive learning that contributes to addiction and to
the propensity for relapse, even after years of abstinence from the drug.
The study was published in 'Neuron' on July 30, 2008.
Imaging Techniques Yield New Information on How HIV Infects Cells
and Provides Clues to Vaccine Design
8/14/2008
The use of advanced imaging techniques has allowed researchers
to visualize how a key part of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)
changes shape after binding to immune system cells or to infection-fighting
antibodies. Although scientists had been able to visualize individual
components of this part of the virus, called the HIV spike, the new research
characterizes, for the first time, the structure of the intact spike
on virus particles, which is a crucial piece of knowledge that may aid
the design of new vaccines or drugs to fight HIV infection. The research
was conducted by scientists at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part
of the National Institutes of Health. The results were published online
July 30, 2008, in 'Nature.'
Laboratory and Mouse Studies Show Targeted Drug Blocks the Growth
of Breast Cancer Cells that Spread to the Brain
8/14/2008
Using laboratory and mouse models of human breast cancer,
researchers have found that a small molecule capable of targeting specific
proteins on the surface of breast cancer cells can inhibit the growth
of breast cancer cells that migrate to the brain. The small molecule
used in the studies was the drug lapatinib (Tykerb), which disrupts an
important breast cancer metabolic process called the Her2/neu signaling
pathway. Lapatinib inhibits the activation of growth signaling proteins
and their signaling pathways as well as cell migration and proliferation.
Using the mouse model, the drug reduced the number of brain lesions that
resulted from the injection of human cells. The study, which appeared
online July 29, 2008, in the 'Journal of the National Cancer Institute,' was
conducted by researchers at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part
of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Older Treatment May Be More Effective in Preserving Sight for Some
Patients with Diabetes
8/14/2008
A promising new drug therapy used to treat abnormal swelling
in the eye -- a condition called diabetic macular edema -- proved less
effective than traditional laser treatments in a study funded by the
National Eye Institute (NEI), part of the National Institutes of Health
(NIH). The study, published online in July in the journal 'Ophthalmology,' demonstrates
that laser therapy is not only more effective than corticosteroids in
the long term treatment of diabetic macular edema, but also has far fewer
side effects.
Key Gaps Remain in Understanding Health Effects of Vitamin D
8/13/2008
Despite considerable progress in research to understand the health effects of vitamin D, experts convened by the NIH to review the available data found major gaps in the evidence. The data are strongest in the area of bone health among elderly men and post-menopausal women, suggesting that increased vitamin D intake can improve bone health and prevent falls. For other age groups and health issues, though, it is too early to say conclusively whether more vitamin D might be beneficial.
NIAMS Names Dr. Robert Carter as Deputy Director
8/13/2008
Robert H. Carter, M.D., former director of the Division of Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), has been selected as deputy director of the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), a part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Dr. Carter will be assuming his official responsibilities as of October 1, 2008.
Anti-HIV 'Drug Cocktails' Equally Effective in Patients with or without History of Injection Drug Use
8/7/2008
Highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) has been extremely effective at slowing the progression of HIV infection to AIDS as well as extending the lives and improving the quality of life for those with HIV. However, some doctors have been reluctant to prescribe HAART to HIV-infected injection drug users because of concern that they may not fully benefit from the therapy. A new study by investigators funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health, and led by the British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS in Canada, suggests that this is not the case: in their large, community-based study of HIV-infected people, injection drug users and people who did not inject drugs had equivalent survival rates seven years after initiating HAART. These results will be published August 6 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
NIDA Newscan #54
8/7/2008
The NIDA NewsScan #54 examines the latest findings on drug abuse among youth as well as key issues including the relationship between marijuana and the perception of pain, the role emotions play in smoking, and innovative approaches to pain management through virtual reality. The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Vitamin C Injections Slow Tumor Growth in Mice
8/5/2008
High-dose injections of vitamin C, also known as ascorbate or ascorbic acid, reduced tumor
weight and growth rate by about 50 percent in mouse models of brain, ovarian, and pancreatic cancers,
researchers from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) report in the August 5, 2008, issue of the
'Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.' The researchers traced ascorbate's anti-cancer effect
to the formation of hydrogen peroxide in the extracellular fluid surrounding the tumors. Normal cells were
unaffected.
NIDDK Resource Helps Guide Women with Diabetes through Healthy Pregnancies
8/2/2008
'For Women with Diabetes: Your Guide to Pregnancy' is an illustrated, 44-page booklet that includes information about checking and controlling blood glucose -- also called blood sugar levels, maintaining a healthy diet, staying physically active and taking tests and diabetes medications during pregnancy. The importance of planning for pregnancy and getting blood glucose levels under control before pregnancy to decrease the risk of birth defects associated with diabetes is emphasized. Logs for recording daily blood glucose and ketone levels, food intake and physical activity are included.
Scientists Develop Sensitive Salivary Sensor
8/2/2008
As published in the August issue of the journal 'Biosensors
and Bioelectronics,' a team of researchers supported by the
National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR),
part of the National Institutes of Health, report they have developed
an ultra-sensitive optical protein sensor, a first for a salivary
diagnostic test. The sensor can be integrated into a specially
designed lab-on-a-chip, or microchip assay, and preprogrammed
to bind a specific protein of interest, generating a sustained
fluorescent signal as the molecules attach. A microscope then
reads the intensity of the fluorescent light -- a measure
of the protein's cumulative concentration in the saliva sample -- and
scientists gauge whether it corresponds with levels linked to
developing disease.
New Research Results Explain How Dormant Tumor Cells Become Active in Later Years
8/2/2008
Scientists using a three-dimensional cell culture system have identified a mechanism
by which dormant, metastatic tumor cells can begin growing again
after long periods of inactivity. The new findings indicate that
the switch from dormancy to proliferative, metastatic growth may
be regulated, in part, through signaling from the surrounding microenvironment,
which leads to changes in the skeletal architecture of dormant
tumor cells. Targeting this mechanism may also provide strategies
for inhibiting the switch from dormancy to proliferation. The results
of this study by National Cancer Institute (NCI) scientists and
their collaborators, appears in the August 1, 2008, issue of Cancer
Research. NCI is part of the National Institutes of Health.
NIDDK Publishes New Resources about Urologic and Kidney Disorders
8/2/2008
The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has published several new resources to help people learn more about urologic and kidney disorders. These disorders are among the most critical health problems in the United States, affecting millions of Americans, including children and young adults. The publications address interstitial cystitis/painful bladder syndrome (IC/PBS), urinary tract infections (UTIs) in children, prostatitis, IgA nephropathy, and home hemodialysis.
Advice for Older Adults on Staying Safe in Hot Weather
8/1/2008
Hyperthermia is the name given to a variety of heat-related illnesses that can include heat stroke, heat fatigue, heat syncope (sudden dizziness after exercising in the heat), heat cramps and heat exhaustion. Older adults are particularly at risk for developing heat-related illness because the ability to adequately respond to summer heat can become less efficient with age. The National Institute on Aging (NIA), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has some advice for helping older people avoid heat problems during the summer months.
A Long Lasting Impression: New Study Finds Persistent Brain Changes in Response to Cocaine Depend on the Expectation of Reward
8/1/2008
Drug addiction dramatically shifts a person's attention, priorities, and behaviors towards a focus almost entirely on seeking out and taking drugs. Now, an animal study funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, part of the National Institutes of Health, has identified some of the specific long-term adaptations in the brain’s reward system that may contribute to this shift. These long-lasting brain changes may underlie the maladaptive learning that contributes to addiction and to the propensity for relapse, even after years of abstinence from the drug. The study was published in 'Neuron' on July 30, 2008.
Mechanism for Postpartum Depression Found in Mice
8/1/2008
Researchers have pinpointed a mechanism in the brains of mice that could explain why some human mothers become depressed following childbirth. The discovery could lead to improved treatment for postpartum depression. Supported in part by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), part of the National Institutes of Health, the study used genetically engineered mice lacking a protein critical for adapting to the sex hormone fluctuations of pregnancy and the postpartum period.
Alcohol Binges Early in Pregnancy Increase Risk of Infant Oral Clefts
8/1/2008
A new study by researchers at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), part of the National Institutes of Health, shows that pregnant women who binge drink early in their pregnancy increase the likelihood that their babies will be born with oral clefts.