Working with human colorectal cancer cells, a University of Minnesota team, led by cancer biologists Zigang Dong and Ann Bode, has found the potential culprit among a network of enzymes that relay signals inside cells to regulate such functions as cell growth, cancer development and programmed cell death.
One way regular brushing may help keep gums firm and pink is, paradoxically, by tearing open cells, researchers have found.
When quizzed about their knowledge in diagnosing tuberculosis and deciding on the best treatment, medical residents in Baltimore and Philadelphia get almost half the answers wrong, according to a survey by TB disease experts at Johns Hopkins and elsewhere.
Can a genetic signature identify the origin of a human stem cell line? Scientists report that a widely available method for comprehensive genetic analysis can help distinguish the type of human embryo that stem cells come from.
Asthma affects 300 million people worldwide and, according to World Health Organization, it killed 255 000 people in 2005. Asthma attacks are caused by an acute inflammatory reaction in the airways, a reaction that is largely due to actions of LTC4 synthase (an enzyme which catalyzes a synthesis process). For this reason asthma medicines often aim to block the downstream effects of LTC4 synthase.
The National Institutes of Health has provided $11.5 million in support to the Indiana University School of Medicine for the only institutional grant looking at the cause and treatment of heart failure in children.
Clinical information technology systems ? especially those known in the health care industry as computerized provider order entry (CPOE) systems ? promise to improve health outcomes, reduce medical errors and increase cost efficiency, but hospitals adopting them must plan for ?immense? workflow issues and a host of other unanticipated consequences that come with them or face potentially crippling problems, concluded a study led by researchers at Oregon Health & Science University.
The use of an evidence-based sedation protocol for endoscopic procedures improves the quality of practice and reduces the incidence of sedation-related adverse events, according to an “AGA Institute Review of Endoscopic Sedation” published in the August issue of Gastroenterology, the official journal of the American Gastroenterological Association Institute.
Long-term use of histamine2 receptor antagonists (H2A), one class of drugs that blocks stomach acid, may be associated with cognitive impairment in older African-American adults.
The most appropriate system for organ allocation for liver transplants is a subject of continuing debate. In the U.S. the Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD) was introduced in 2002 as a way of prioritizing those with the highest risk of mortality and since that time waiting list mortality and waiting times have decreased with no negative impact on post-transplant survival.