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Diabetes :: Enzyme may hold key to new treatment of diabetic kidney disease

Northwestern University researchers have found an enzyme, called “ACE2,” may hold the potential to treat diabetic kidney disease, the most common form of kidney disease.The researchers have found low levels of the ACE2 enzyme in kidneys of diabetic mice. When ACE2 was further decreased with an inhibitor drug, kidney disease worsened. Studies are now needed using compounds that increase the level of ACE2 in the kidneys of diabetic mice to see if it reverses or prevents kidney disease.

Psychology :: Spillover effect – Why we end up spending more when we think we’re saving

Ever go to a store intending to buy one item, only to leave with a cartful? Or walked out of a store after feeling you had been overcharged for something you needed? A groundbreaking new paper in the December issue of the Journal of Consumer Research is the first to comprehensively outline “spillover effect” ? that is, the tendency for consumers to spend more on a shopping trip when something they were planning to buy is deeply discounted. Similarly, an unanticipated price increase, or a decrease in quality, on a planned purchase causes overall spending to go down.

Health :: Research shows brain injury may occur within one millisecond after head hits car windshield

Center neurologist shows that brain injury may occur within one millisecond after a human head is thrust into a windshield in a car accident. This happens before any overall motion of the head following impact with the windshield and is a new concept to consider for doctors interested in traumatic brain injury.

Health :: Happy people are healthier, Carnegie Mellon psychologist says

Happiness and other positive emotions play an even more important role in health than previously thought, according to a study published in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine by Carnegie Mellon University psychology Professor Sheldon Cohen.

Health :: Researchers develop novel method for treatment of sickle cell disease

Virginia Commonwealth University researchers have developed a unique anti-sickling agent that may one day be effective in treating sickle cell disease, a painful and debilitating genetic blood disorder that affects approximately 80,000 Americans.

Health :: Two nerve cells in direct contact

For the first time, scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Neurobiology in Martinsried near Munich have been able to show how two nerve cells communicate with each other from different hemispheres in the visual center. This astoundingly simple circuit diagram could at a later date provide a model for algorithms to be deployed in technical systems (Nature Neuroscience, Oct. 10, 2006).

Health :: Antioxidants – New kid on the block for pain relief?

Antioxidant-based pain killers may one day become a viable alternative to addictive medications such as morphine. Researchers found that synthetic antioxidants practically eradicated pain-like behavior in nearly three-quarters of mice with inflamed hind paws.

Contraception :: Male contraception: One door opens, another closes

Researchers have announced a breakthrough on a non-hormonal compound known as Adjudin. When injected as an attachment to a modified hormone that seeks out the testes, a low dose is a safe and effective contraceptive in rats. However, another promising drug, miglustat, has failed to make the leap from mice to men.

Surgery :: Most Canadian med school grads lack basic surgical skills

Many medical school graduates in Canada have not received adequate training in basic surgical skills, such as suturing and tube placements, says a new study published recently in the Canadian Journal of Surgery.

Chlamydia :: Common ancestry of bacterium and plants could be key to an effective new treatment for Chlamydia

Rutgers researchers have discovered that the Chlamydia bacterium, which causes a sexually transmitted disease (STD), shares an evolutionary heritage with plants. That shared evolutionary heritage, which is not found in most other bacteria, points to a prime target for development of an effective cure for Chlamydia infections.