The December 2006 issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association contains articles and research studies you may find of interest. Below is a summary of some of this month’s articles.
Mayo Clinic researchers have discovered a protein interaction that may explain how the deadly Huntington’s disease affects the brain. The findings, published in and featured on the cover of the current issue of Human Molecular Genetics, show how the mutated Huntington’s protein interacts with another protein to cause dramatic accumulation of cholesterol in the brain.
A protein called NMNAT protects against nerve cell degeneration in fruit flies and mice. The finding begs the question if a drug might be developed that could stimulate extra protein production and thus neuronal protection — both in injured cells and in those degenerating because of disease.
Anthrax, when inhaled, is nearly always fatal, in part because the bacteria have a very effective way of stealing iron from human cells to reproduce. This involves two molecules, siderophores, that compete with the body’s own iron-transport molecules. UC Berkeley researchers have now found that humans produce a protein that sidelines one of these siderophores, but not the other. A drug that blocks the second siderophore should be able to stop anthrax in its tracks.
Scientists at Duke University Medical Center have visualized in a living animal how cells use a critical biological process to dice and splice genetic material to create unique and varied proteins.
The first human study using gene transfer to treat erectile dysfunction (ED) shows promising results and suggests the potential for using the technology to treat overactive bladder, irritable bowel syndrome and asthma, according to the researchers.
Northwestern University is launching an experimental program for young women who may be at risk to lose their ovarian function and fertility following treatment for cancer. In the program, a woman’s ovary is removed and frozen for possible future use. The long-term goal is to be able to extract and mature eggs from cryopreserved (frozen) ovarian tissues to initiate pregnancies once cancer treatment has been completed. Thus far, pregnancies resulting from this research are in mice.
Results from a brain-imaging study conducted at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory in collaboration with Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York indicate that levels of a brain protein proposed as a diagnostic marker for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are not positively correlated with the disease.
Perestane?, an innovative biocidal product created and developed by Solvay, has been proven to be an effective disinfectant against Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and Clostridium difficile. These so-called ?superbugs? may cause fatal diseases, and the treatment of patients with most current antibiotics is ineffective. Researchers from the University of Leeds and Leeds General Infirmary (United Kingdom) have recently demonstrated that disinfectants commonly used in hospitals fail to eradicate Clostridium difficile from the premises, and may even promote spore formation.
A cadre of world-renowned scientists working in the most promising areas of cancer research have come together to work as a team at one institution ? Memorial Health ? to accelerate findings for the prevention and treatment of cancer.