Neurology :: Test for Devic’s syndrome – neuromyelitis optica
The Mayo Clinic has developed the first test for neuromyelitis optica or NMO, a blinding, paralyzing disease often misdiagnosed as multiple sclerosis.
Health
Depression :: Gene linked to Depression
A mutant gene that starves the brain of serotonin, a mood-regulating chemical messenger, has been discovered and found to be 10 times more prevalent in depressed patients than in control subjects, report researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI). Patients with the mutation failed to respond well to the most commonly prescribed class of antidepressant medications, which work via serotonin, suggesting that the mutation may underlie a treatment-resistant subtype of the illness.
Dementia :: Blood pressure and cholesterol control helps dementia
Keeping blood pressure and cholesterol low may help some dementia patients more than Alzheimer’s drugs, Michigan researchers found.
Breast cancer :: Genes can determine risk of breast cancer
A woman’s risk of developing breast cancer is due in part to a group of very small variations in genes which code for a cell’s estrogen receptors, according to a collaborative study by scientists at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Celera Diagnostics, SAIC-Frederick Inc., Applied Biosystems, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. The study appears in the December 15, 2004, issue of Cancer Research.
Ayurveda :: Heavy metals found in ayurvedic medicines
About one in five Ayurvedic herbal medicine products sold in the Boston area contains toxic levels of lead, mercury or arsenic, researchers report in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Alzheimer’s disease :: Smelling test detects Alzheimer’s risk
People who have mild memory problems but who can correctly identify the source of certain smells are probably not in the first stages of Alzheimer’s disease, suggesting that smell tests could offer a new technique for early diagnosis, researchers reported.
Vitamin E :: Vitamin E decreases risk of Lou Gehrig’s Disease
Regular users of vitamin E were at decreased risk for death from Lou Gehrig’s disease, also called amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), compared with nonusers. Given that vitamin E is an antioxidant, the new findings support the hypothesis that oxidants play a key role in the development of ALS. Moreover, the results are consistent with earlier findings showing that increased brain levels of vitamin E seem to delay the onset of ALS in lab animals.
Diabetes :: New Diabetes Vaccine – clinical trials
The new diabetes vaccine involves injecting a protein which stops the body from destroying insulin-producing cells. Currently those with Type 1 diabetes need daily injections of synthetic insulin because the pancreas stops producing its own.
Breast cancer :: Test for breast cancer recurrence and chemotherapy
A new test can predict both the risk of breast cancer recurrence and may identify women who will benefit most from chemotherapy, according to research supported by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health, and performed in collaboration with the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP) and Genomic Health Inc. These results suggest that almost half of 43,000 U.S. women diagnosed with estrogen-dependent, lymph-node negative breast cancer every year are at low risk for recurrence and may not need to go through the discomfort and side effects of chemotherapy.
Cataract :: Lead exposure increases risk of cataract
Cataract, a clouding of the lens resulting in a partial loss of vision, is very common in older people. Results from a new study show that lifetime lead exposure may increase the risk of developing cataracts. Researchers found that men with high levels of lead in the tibia, the larger of the two leg bones below the knee, had a 2.5-fold increased risk for cataract, the leading cause of blindness and visual impairment.