Scientists have discovered that mice that lack a gene called Snf2l have brains that are 35 percent larger than normal. The research could lead to new approaches to stimulate brain regeneration and may provide important insight into developmental disorders such as autism and Rett syndrome.
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Most Topular Stories
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Mice with big brains provide insight into brain regeneration and developmental disorders
ScienceDaily: Human Biology News15 May 2012 | 8:41 am -
Delivery system for gene therapy may help treat arthritis
ScienceDaily: Immune System News15 May 2012 | 6:04 amA DNA-covered submicroscopic bead used to deliver genes or drugs directly into cells to treat disease appears to have therapeutic value just by showing up, researchers report. -
Genetic mutation causing rare form of spinal muscular atrophy identified
ScienceDaily: Bone and Spine News10 May 2012 | 10:35 amScientists have confirmed that mutations of a gene are responsible for some cases of a rare, inherited disease that causes progressive muscle degeneration and weakness: spinal muscular atrophy with lower extremity predominance, also known as SMA-LED. -
New look at prolonged radiation exposure: At low dose-rate, radiation poses little risk to DNA, study suggests
ScienceDaily: Human Biology News15 May 2012 | 5:12 pmA new study suggests that the guidelines governments use to determine when to evacuate people following a nuclear accident may be too conservative. -
Positive versus negative pressure breathing: how frogs and mammals do it differently
physiology « WordPress.com Tag Feed30 Apr 2012 | 2:41 amBreathing is all about creating a difference in air pressure between the lungs and the environment. Air will then flow down its pressure gradient because gases (like air) always move from areas of high pressure to areas of lower pressure. Both frogs and mammals take advantage of this in different ways to move air into their lungs. Frogs and mammals create this pressure gradient in different ways. Frogs actively create a higher pressure in their mouths (positive pressure breathing) whereas mammals use their diaphragm to create a low pressure within their lungs (negative pressure…
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ScienceDaily: Human Biology News
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New look at prolonged radiation exposure: At low dose-rate, radiation poses little risk to DNA, study suggests
15 May 2012 | 5:12 pmA new study suggests that the guidelines governments use to determine when to evacuate people following a nuclear accident may be too conservative. -
Ultrasensitive biosensor promising for medical diagnostics
15 May 2012 | 9:47 amResearchers have created an ultrasensitive biosensor that could open up new opportunities for early detection of cancer and "personalized medicine" tailored to the specific biochemistry of individual patients. -
Mice with big brains provide insight into brain regeneration and developmental disorders
15 May 2012 | 8:41 amScientists have discovered that mice that lack a gene called Snf2l have brains that are 35 percent larger than normal. The research could lead to new approaches to stimulate brain regeneration and may provide important insight into developmental disorders such as autism and Rett syndrome. -
Delivery system for gene therapy may help treat arthritis
15 May 2012 | 6:04 amA DNA-covered submicroscopic bead used to deliver genes or drugs directly into cells to treat disease appears to have therapeutic value just by showing up, researchers report. -
Scientists discover clues to muscle stem cell functions
15 May 2012 | 6:03 amScientists have identified how skeletal muscle stem cells respond to muscle injury and may be stimulated to improve muscle repair in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, a severe inherited disease of muscle that causes weakness, disability and, ultimately, heart and respiratory failure.
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physiology « WordPress.com Tag Feed
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Positive versus negative pressure breathing: how frogs and mammals do it differently
30 Apr 2012 | 2:41 amBreathing is all about creating a difference in air pressure between the lungs and the environment. Air will then flow down its pressure gradient because gases (like air) always move from areas of high pressure to areas of lower pressure. Both frogs and mammals take advantage of this in different ways to move air into their lungs. Frogs and mammals create this pressure gradient in different ways. Frogs actively create a higher pressure in their mouths (positive pressure breathing) whereas mammals use their diaphragm to create a low pressure within their lungs (negative pressure… -
Obese Mice and Gut Pathology
30 Apr 2012 | 2:02 amInteresting research has been undertaken by French researchers on gut micorflora and obesity. Gut Organisms Could Be Clue in Controlling Obesity Risk http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/04/120423162223.htm “To determine whether altering one’s bacterial profile can change obesity risk, researchers from the French Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA) transferred the intestinal bacteria of obesity-prone or obesity-resistant rats into the intestinal tracts of germ-free mice recipients… As hypothesized, mice that received intestinal bacteria from obesity-prone animals… -
Interactive Physiology 10-System Suite [CD-ROM]
29 Apr 2012 | 1:35 pmPublisher: Benjamin-Cummings Publishing Company, Subs οf Addison Wesley Longman, Inc Product Description: The Interactive Physiology 10-System Suite (IP-10) significantly enriches teaching and learning environments by providing an audio/ visual presentation of complex topics. For use as both a teaching tool in the classroom and a study tool for students, IP-10 features full-color animations and video, both with sound, that thoroughly demonstrate difficult physiology concepts, many of which occur at the cellular and molecular level. Extensive interactive games and Gradable Quizzes reinforce… -
We are lazy
27 Apr 2012 | 5:08 pmAn issue with health today is our convenience of attaining what we need (mostly in developed countries, where as developing or non developed countries are the complete opposite other than both having health issues). Our poor health does not hinder our ability to go about our day and survive. If we want something, we just hop in the car or take the bus or take a short walk to go get it. The thing we want is most likely just another thing that we don’t need or will just make our lives even easier anyway. I’m not specifically talking about obesity or people who are overweight. I… -
To be healthy
27 Apr 2012 | 4:57 pmI think a lot of people have the will to keep themselves healthy and know they need to, but are just lazy and may not even know what it really means to be healthy. We don’t live physiologically the way we’re designed to. Our bodies aren’t mean’t to be sitting all the time and enduring long hours of activity that don’t also provide stimuli for our bodies physically. Compare how our ancestors lived compared to how we live today. Our ancestors kept themselves health without even thinking about it, in fact they didn’t have a choice because otherwise they would…
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CasesBlog - Medical and Health Blog
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Best of Medical Blogs - weekly review and blog carnival
15 May 2012 | 10:59 amThe “Best of Medical Blogs - BMB weekly review and blog carnival” is a weekly summary of the best posts from medical blogs. Feel free to send your suggestions to my email at clinicalcases@gmail.com. Best of Medical Blogs (BMB) is published every Tuesday, just like the old Grand Rounds. A Medical Educator Joins Social Media: One Year Later Dr. Djuricich, Program Director in Medicine-Pediatrics at the Indiana University, shares what he has learned in one short year: If physicians and other health care professionals are not becoming involved in social media, they are missing out on… -
What is the minimal webmaster competence for running a medical blog?
14 May 2012 | 11:59 pm"What is the minimal webmaster competence for running a medical blog?", asked a relatively new blogger recently. My suggestions are listed below. Keep it simple, and free If your blog content is great and compelling, you don't need much HTML, CSS, etc. knowledge. Knowing HTML doesn't hurt, of course, but it's not essential. Keep it simple, and free. Many doctors are wrongly advised to spend time and money on custom installations of WordPress, hosting, and social media consultatants when all they need is a free Google/Blogger blog with a custom domain name. "Blogging is teaching, whether… -
Depression affects up to 9% of U.S. population - how to do effective screening?
14 May 2012 | 8:00 amFrom American Family Physician: Depression affects up to 9% of U.S. population. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends screening in adolescents and adults but it does not recommend screening for depression in children 7-11 years of age, or screening for suicide risk in the general population. The Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ)-2 and PHQ-9 are commonly used and validated screening tools. The PHQ-2 has a 97% sensitivity and 67% specificity in adults. The PHQ-2 inquires about the frequency of depressed mood and anhedonia over the past 2 weeks, scoring each as 0 ("not at… -
Top articles in medicine in May 2012
12 May 2012 | 8:00 amHere are my suggestions for some of the top articles in medicine in May 2012 so far: Is Geriatric Medicine Terminally Ill? asks Annals of Internal Medicine http://goo.gl/J4jMU Low vitamin D (below 50 nmol/L (20 ng/mL) increases risk for clinical disease among older adults http://goo.gl/tBXS4 Senior physicians keep working, putting off the R-word - 20% of U.S. physicians are older than 65 http://goo.gl/Dxgip Many young doctors worried about future of medicine - amednews http://goo.gl/r61lW "One of the greatest risks of social media is ignoring social media" says chief integrity officer of… -
Healthcare social media - top articles
11 May 2012 | 8:00 amHere are my suggestions for some of the top articles related to healthcare social media in the past 2 weeks: Healthcare social media is a moral obligation Healthcare social media is a 'moral obligation', says Farris Timimi, M.D., medical director for the Mayo Clinic Center for Social Media. Social media needs to be grown and nurtured for patients. "Our patients are there. Our moral obligation is to meet them where they're at and give them the information they need so they can seek recovery," Timimi said. "You've got to be ready for it. You build it for the patients; not for yourself. "This is…
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Journal of Applied Physiology current issue
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Sex differences in hemodynamic and sympathetic neural firing patterns during orthostatic challenge in humans
15 May 2012 | 8:31 amRecent evidence suggests that young men and women may have different strategies for regulating arterial blood pressure, and the purpose of the present study was to determine if sex differences exist in diastolic arterial pressure (DAP) and muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA) relations during simulated orthostatic stress. We hypothesized that young men would demonstrate stronger DAP-MSNA coherence and a greater percentage of "consecutive integrated bursts" during orthostatic stress. Fourteen men and 14 women (age 23 ± 1 yr) were examined at rest and during progressive lower body… -
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Hemoglobin mass response to simulated hypoxia "blinded" by noisy measurement?
15 May 2012 | 8:31 am
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Cardiovascular / Cardiology News From Medical News Today
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Large Population Study Fomds Palpitations Predictive Of Future Atrial Fibrillation
16 May 2012 | 3:00 amA large cohort study has found that the strongest risk factors for atrial fibrillation in both men and women were a history of palpitations and hypertension. While hypertension is a well known risk factor for AF, the investigators note that "the impact of self-reported palpitations on later occurrence of AF has not been documented earlier"... -
Automated External Defibrillators Rarely Close To Locations Of Public Cardiac Arrests
15 May 2012 | 2:00 amMore than 75 percent of cardiac arrest victims are stricken too far away from an automated external defibrillator for the lifesaving device to be obtained quickly enough to offer the best chance at saving their lives, according to new research from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania that was presented at the annual meeting of Society for Academic Emergency Medicine... -
Bystanders Less Likely To Offer CPR And Defibrillation To Black Cardiac Arrest Victims
15 May 2012 | 2:00 amBlack cardiac arrest victims who are stricken outside hospitals are less likely to receive bystander CPR and defibrillation on the scene than white patients, according to research presented by a research team from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania at the annual meeting of Society for Academic Emergency Medicine... -
Hospitals Performing Expensive Heart Procedures Are More Costly For All Patients
14 May 2012 | 2:00 amHospitals that perform expensive, invasive cardiovascular procedures on a disproportionate number of patients are more costly for all heart failure patients, including those treated with noninvasive methods, according to a new Yale study... -
Psoriasis Linked To Increased Risk Of Cardiovascular Disease By Mechanistic Discovery
14 May 2012 | 2:00 amThe link between psoriasis and cardiovascular events has been observed for years, however the mechanics were unknown. For the first time, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine researchers have discovered preclinical evidence demonstrating that the inflammatory skin disease leads to cardiovascular disease...
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MedPage Today Cardiovascular
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Cut in Pollution Saw Drop in CV Risk Biomarkers (CME/CE)
15 May 2012 | 5:45 pm(MedPage Today) -- Beijing's ban on emissions that cause air pollution during the 2008 Olympics was tied to a reduction in biomarkers for cardiovascular risk in healthy young patients, researchers found. -
Ischemia-Guided Stenting Beats Meds Alone (CME/CE, with video)
15 May 2012 | 5:16 pmPARIS (MedPage Today) -- For patients with proven ischemia, stenting substantially cuts the revascularization rate compared with optimal medical therapy alone, preliminary trial results showed. -
Palpitations May Predict Future Afib (CME/CE)
15 May 2012 | 1:51 pm(MedPage Today) -- People who report having palpitations appear to have an increased risk of being diagnosed with atrial fibrillation in the future, a Norwegian study showed. -
NIH Unveils Alzheimer's Prevention Trial
15 May 2012 | 12:25 pmBETHESDA, Md. (MedPage Today) -- Federal officials released an Alzheimer's prevention plan Tuesday and announced two large-scale clinical trials, including the first-ever prevention trial for the progressive brain disease. -
HIV Linked to Risk of Sudden Cardiac Death (CME/CE)
15 May 2012 | 11:36 am(MedPage Today) -- People with HIV have more than four times the risk of sudden cardiac death than the general population, researchers reported.
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Bones / Orthopedics News From Medical News Today
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Clinical Guidance Remains Non-Specific For Drugs To Reduce Bone Cancer Damage
16 May 2012 | 3:00 amBone cancer-related fractures and pain can be reduced by drug treatment, but no one drug is superior, according to a review published in The Cochrane Library. Researchers undertook a systematic review of the current evidence on bisphosphonate drugs, which are used to prevent bone damage in multiple myeloma... -
Scientist Grows Bone From Human Embryonic Stem Cells
16 May 2012 | 2:00 amDr. Darja Marolt, an Investigator at The New York Stem Cell Foundation (NYSCF) Laboratory, is lead author on a study showing that human embryonic stem cells can be used to grow bone tissue grafts for use in research and potential therapeutic application. Dr. Marolt conducted this research as a post-doctoral NYSCF - Druckenmiller Fellow at Columbia University in the laboratory of Dr... -
NEJM's Study On Biphosphonates For Osteoporosis - A Response From ASBMR
11 May 2012 | 3:00 amThe Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced that physicians should reassess patients with osteoporosis who are being treated with a class of drugs called bisphosphonates after three to five years of therapy to determine whether they should continue treatment... -
Scientists Measure Communication Between Stem Cell-Derived Motor Neurons And Muscle Cells
8 May 2012 | 2:00 amIn an effort to identify the underlying causes of neurological disorders that impair motor functions such as walking and breathing, UCLA researchers have developed a novel system to measure the communication between stem cell-derived motor neurons and muscle cells in a Petri dish... -
Longer Lasting Hip Implants
7 May 2012 | 3:00 amHip replacement is one of the most frequent operations carried out in Germany. Each year, doctors implant some 200,000 artificial hip joints. Often the artificial hips need to be replaced just ten years later. In the future, a new implant currently being developed using high technology materials could help prevent premature revision surgeries...
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ScienceDaily: Bone and Spine News
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Surgeons restore some hand function to quadriplegic patient
15 May 2012 | 9:45 amSurgeons have restored some hand function in a quadriplegic patient with a spinal cord injury at the C7 vertebra, the lowest bone in the neck. Instead of operating on the spine itself, the surgeons rerouted working nerves in the upper arms. These nerves still “talk” to the brain because they attach to the spine above the injury. -
Bone grown from human embryonic stem cells
14 May 2012 | 3:16 pmHuman embryonic stem cells can now be used to grow bone tissue grafts for use in research and potential therapeutic application. The study is the first example of using bone cell progenitors derived from human embryonic stem cells to grow compact bone tissue in quantities large enough to repair centimeter-sized defects. -
Genetic mutation causing rare form of spinal muscular atrophy identified
10 May 2012 | 10:35 amScientists have confirmed that mutations of a gene are responsible for some cases of a rare, inherited disease that causes progressive muscle degeneration and weakness: spinal muscular atrophy with lower extremity predominance, also known as SMA-LED. -
Gene-modified stem cell transplant protects patients from toxic side effects of chemotherapy, study suggests
9 May 2012 | 2:42 pmFor the first time, scientists have transplanted brain cancer patients' own gene-modified blood stem cells in order to protect their bone marrow against the toxic side effects of chemotherapy. Initial results of the ongoing, small clinical trial of three patients with glioblastoma showed that two patients survived longer than predicted if they had not been given the transplants, and a third patient remains alive with no disease progression almost three years after treatment. -
Medical research using dogs as models
9 May 2012 | 11:36 amDogs are among the best animals when it comes to providing models for better medical treatments in humans.
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Immune System / Vaccines News From Medical News Today
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News From The Journal Of Clinical Investigation: May 15, 2012
16 May 2012 | 3:00 amDEVELOPMENT Hope for new treatment options for the rare disease Beare-Stevenson syndrome Beare-Stevenson cutis gyrata syndrome is an extremely rare genetic disease that causes serious physical problems affecting the skin and skull... -
Potential To Treat Arthritis Using Delivery System For Gene Therapy
16 May 2012 | 3:00 amA DNA-covered submicroscopic bead used to deliver genes or drugs directly into cells to treat disease appears to have therapeutic value just by showing up, researchers report. Within a few hours of injecting empty-handed DNA nanoparticles, Georgia Health Sciences University researchers were surprised to see increased expression of an enzyme that calms the immune response... -
During An Injection, Look Away If You Want To Avoid Pain
16 May 2012 | 2:00 amHealth professionals commonly say, "Don't look and it won't hurt" before administering an injection, but is there any scientific basis for the advice? A group of German investigators has found that, in fact, your past experience with needle pricks, along with information you receive before an injection, shape your pain experience. Their research is published in the May issue of Pain®... -
Controlling Inflammation: Novel Drug Candidates Offer New Route
16 May 2012 | 2:00 amPursuing a relatively untapped route for regulating the immune system, an international team of researchers has designed and conducted initial tests on molecules that have the potential to treat diseases involving inflammation, such as asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, stroke and sepsis... -
Medical Device Controls Acute Inflammation, May Prevent Sepsis
15 May 2012 | 4:00 amThe body's natural inflammatory response is an essential reaction to injury and infection. When acute inflammation escalates out of control, such as in sepsis, it causes nearly 10% of deaths in the U.S. and more than $17 billion in healthcare costs each year...
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ScienceDaily: Immune System News
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Delivery system for gene therapy may help treat arthritis
15 May 2012 | 6:04 amA DNA-covered submicroscopic bead used to deliver genes or drugs directly into cells to treat disease appears to have therapeutic value just by showing up, researchers report. -
Novel approach to stimulate immune cells
11 May 2012 | 4:50 pmResearchers have uncovered a new way to stimulate activity of immune cell opiate receptors, leading to efficient tumor cell clearance. The researchers have been able to take a new pharmacological approach to activate the immune cells to prevent cancer growth through stimulation of the opiate receptors found on immune cells. -
'Switch' to boost anti-viral response to fight infectious diseases
11 May 2012 | 9:41 amScientists have for the first time, identified the molecular 'switch' that directly triggers the body's first line of defense against pathogens, more accurately known as the body's "innate immunity." -
Maternal gluten sensitivity linked to schizophrenia risk in children
11 May 2012 | 9:12 amBabies born to women with sensitivity to gluten appear to be at increased risk of developing schizophrenia and other psychiatric disorders later in life, according to new findings from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden and Johns Hopkins University, United States. -
Advanced genetic screening method may speed vaccine development
9 May 2012 | 12:59 pmVaccines remain the best line of defense against deadly pathogens and now medical researchers are using clever functional screening methods to attempt to speed new vaccines into production that are both safer and more potent.
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Lymphology/Lymphedema News From Medical News Today
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Exhaustion Renders Immune Cells Less Effective In Cancer Treatment
11 May 2012 | 2:00 amRather than stimulating immune cells to more effectively battle cancerous tumors, treatment with the protein interleukin-12 (IL-12) has the opposite effect, driving these intracellular fighters to exhaustion, a Mayo Clinic study has found. The findings appear in the Journal of Clinical Investigation... -
Dissection Necessary For Breast Cancer Patients With Positive Ultrasound Guided Axillary Node Biopsy
7 May 2012 | 2:00 amContrary to a trend in treatment, breast cancer patients with suspicious lymph nodes should have an ultrasound-guided axillary node biopsy, and if that biopsy is positive these patients should undergo an axillary dissection, a new study shows... -
Survivors Of Breast Cancer Suffer Treatment-Related Side Effects Long After Completing Care
11 Apr 2012 | 4:00 amMore than 60 percent of breast cancer survivors report at least one treatment-related complication even six years after their diagnosis, according to a new study led by a researcher from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania... -
Link Between New Signaling Pathway And Breast Cancer Metastasis
4 Apr 2012 | 2:00 amLymph nodes help to fight off infections by producing immune cells and filtering foreign materials from the body, such as bacteria or cancer cells. Thus, one of the first places that cancer cells are found when they leave the primary tumor is in the lymph nodes... -
Genetic Basis Of Tropical Foot And Leg Lymphedema Identified
30 Mar 2012 | 2:00 amFarmers in the highlands of southern Ethiopia scratch out a subsistence living from the region's volcanic red clay. The soil supports the farms, but fine-grained, volcanic rock particles in the dirt threaten the farmers and their families...
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ScienceDaily: Nervous System News
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Surgeons restore some hand function to quadriplegic patient
15 May 2012 | 9:45 amSurgeons have restored some hand function in a quadriplegic patient with a spinal cord injury at the C7 vertebra, the lowest bone in the neck. Instead of operating on the spine itself, the surgeons rerouted working nerves in the upper arms. These nerves still “talk” to the brain because they attach to the spine above the injury. -
Powerful function of single protein that controls neurotransmission discovered
13 May 2012 | 1:45 pmScientists have discovered that the single protein -- alpha 2 delta -- exerts a spigot-like function, controlling the volume of neurotransmitters and other chemicals that flow between the synapses of brain neurons. The study shows how brain cells talk to each other through these signals, relaying thoughts, feelings and action, and this powerful molecule plays a crucial role in regulating effective communication. -
Mild traumatic brain injury may contribute to brain network dysfunction
11 May 2012 | 11:22 amEven mild head injuries can cause significant abnormalities in brain function that last for several days, which may explain the neurological symptoms experienced by some individuals who have experienced a head injury associated with sports, accidents or combat, according to a new study. -
Neurodegeneration 'switched off' in mice
10 May 2012 | 1:14 pmResearchers have identified a major pathway leading to brain cell death in mice with neurodegenerative disease. They were able to block the pathway, preventing brain cell death and increasing survival in the mice. -
Novel RNA transport mechanism: Ribonucleoprotein granules exit the nucleus via a budding mechanism
10 May 2012 | 11:28 amThe movement of genetic materials, such as RNA and ribosomes, from the nucleus to the cytoplasm is a critical component in a cell's ability to make the proteins necessary for essential biological functions. Until now, it was believed the nuclear pore complex was the sole pathway between the cell nucleus and cytoplasm for these materials. New evidence reveals a novel budding mechanism, similar to the process used by some viruses, capable of exporting large ribonucleoprotein particles from the nucleus to the cytoplasm.
