Study shows that cell transplantation therapy may improve brain receptor function in patients
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Study shows that cell transplantation therapy may improve brain receptor function in patients who suffered from cerebral stroke
Japanese researchers have found a piece of the “missing link” about how bone marrow stromal cells restore lost neurologic function when transplanted into animals exhibiting central nervous system disorders, according to a study in the March issue of the Journal of Nuclear Medicine.
“Our study showed that cell transplantation therapy may improve brain receptor function in patients who suffered from cerebral stroke, improving their neurological symptoms,” said Satoshi Kuroda, M.D., Ph.D., who is with the department of neurosurgery at Hokkaido University School of Medicine in Sapporo, Japan. “How the transplanted bone marrow stromal cells restore the lost neurologic function is not clear,” added the co-author of “Improved Expression of c-Aminobutyric Acid Receptor in Mice With Cerebral Infarct and Transplanted Bone Marrow Stromal Cells: An Autoradiographic and Histologic Analysis.”
Rapamycin (sirolimus) may be effective in treating kidney disease
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A widely available drug may be effective in treating kidney disease, report scientists at the University of California, Santa Barbara. They describe the discovery in the online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academies of Science.
The drug is rapamycin, also called sirolimus, and is currently used as an immunosuppressant, to help prevent rejection of a new, transplanted kidney.
Underweight black women risk preterm delivery
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Being underweight - as evidence by a low body mass index (BMI)—before pregnancy raises the risk of preterm birth in black and Hispanic women to a greater extent than in white women, new research shows. Being underweight also increases the risk of vaginal inflammation in black women.
“These data suggest that there are racial differences in how nutritional status, as represented by BMI, might influence…the risk of spontaneous preterm birth,” Drs. Hyagriv N. Simhan and Lisa M. Bodnar of the University of Pittsburgh write in the American Journal of Epidemiology.
Low BMI has been tied to increased risk of early delivery across ethnic groups, the researchers note, while black women are twice as likely as whites to deliver prematurely. It is “biologically plausible” that BMI could increase preterm birth risk via effects on immunity and inflammation, they add.
Bereavement, Marital Status Affect Response to Flu Shot in Elderly
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Flu shots do not work as well in older adults who have recently experienced the death of a family member or close friend, a new study shows.
On the other hand, older adults who are happily married show stronger responses after flu shots than those who are unmarried, especially those who are widowed.
Bereavement and marriage “are the most key factors for older adults, rather than general life-events stress and social support, which have been related to immune response in previous studies of young adults,” said lead researcher Anna C. Phillips, Ph.D., of the University of Birmingham in England.
Dietary folate may lower pancreatic cancer risk
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Increased levels of dietary folate from food, but not from supplements, appears to reduce the risk of developing pancreatic cancer, according to results of a large population-based study of Swedish men and women.
Folate, also known as folic acid, is a B vitamin that is naturally found in fruits and vegetables. The US government recently mandated that manufacturers fortify grain products with folic acid, adding it to flour, rice, pasta and cornmeal.
Previous studies have suggested that folate may protect against colorectal and breast cancer, Dr. Susanna C. Larsson and colleagues note in their report, published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
Protein differences may explain drug reaction
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Differences between a cell signaling protein in humans and animals may explain the unexpected severe reaction in six young men given a new drug in a clinical trial in Britain, an expert said on Sunday.
The previously healthy men were the first humans to receive the drug, designed to treat leukemia and chronic inflammation disorders. Shortly after receiving the treatment last week, they suffered massive inflammation and excruciating pain.
Two are still critically ill, one is on organ support, and the other three are recovering.
White House wants more drug tests in students
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Student athletes, musicians and others who participate in after school activities could increasingly be subject to random drug testing under a program promoted by the Bush administration.
White House officials say drug testing is an effective way to keep students away from harmful substances like marijuana and crystal methamphetamine, and have held seminars across the country to promote the practice to local school officials.
Parkinson’s drug link to gambling probed-newspaper
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Medical researchers are investigating suspicions that drugs prescribed to treat Parkinson’s disease could turn patients into compulsive gamblers, the Washington Post reported on Sunday.
Scientists at the Food and Drug Administration have found a strong association between pathological gambling and the drugs, which boost the level of dopamine in the brain, according to the newspaper.
Antibody may reduce or eliminate tumors
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San Diego State University researcher Roger Sabbadini has brought scientists one step closer to finding a cure for cancer with the creation of an antibody that hinders the growth of tumors by preventing blood vessel formation.
As published in the March 14 issue of Cancer Cell, a leading oncology journal, Sabbadini and his research team have created an antibody, Sphingomab, that can be used as a drug to reduce the size of tumors in experimental animal models of human cancer. The antibody works as a molecular sponge by soaking up sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P), a molecule that has been proven to stimulate the growth of new blood vessels. S1P has been identified as a mediator of tumor cell proliferation and protector of tumor cells from chemotherapy drugs. By neutralizing S1P, the Sphingomab antibody inhibits the new blood vessel formation that tumors require to thrive, a process called ‘tumor angiogenesis.’
Parents win high court battle to keep their baby alive
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The parents of an 18-month-old boy with a terminal muscle-wasting disease, won a High Court legal battle to stop doctors turning off the ventilator keeping him alive.
The ruling comes despite the belief of doctors that his life is so intolerable that he should be allowed to die.
The boy was born with spinal muscular atrophy, an incurable and degenerative muscle wasting disease that eventually causes total paralysis.
Tobacco giants gain $4.1 billion from Hollywood films with smoking
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The 390,000 new teen smokers recruited each year by U.S. movies are worth $4.1 billion in lifetime sales revenue to the tobacco industry, UCSF researchers report in the April 2006 issue of Pediatrics.
Combining health data with business figures from Philip Morris USA and RJ Reynolds, UCSF’s Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education, supported by the National Cancer Institute, also calculates that Hollywood movies with smoking generate $894 million per year in lifetime tobacco profits. (Sales revenue and profits are net present value).
Regular exercise closes the fitness gap between young and old
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According to new research the older we get the harder we have to work to keep fit.
Seniors it seems may have to work harder than young people to perform the same physical activity, but regular exercise may close that age gap.
Researchers found in a study comparing sedentary adults in their 60s and 70s with those in their 20s and 30s, that older men and women had to use much more oxygen to walk at the same speed as their younger counterparts.
US reports two more deaths after abortion pill
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Two additional deaths have been reported after women took the abortion pill known as RU-486 or Mifeprex, U.S. regulators said on Friday.
The Food and Drug Administration said it has not been able to determine the cause of the newly reported deaths. Four previously reported fatalities were linked to a bacterial infection that developed after the women took the abortion pill, which is sold by privately held Danco Laboratories.
Serb kids from bird flu area hospitalized for checks
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Three Serb children from a bird flu-affected area were taken to hospital after developing fever and flu-like symptoms, Serbia’s chief epidemiologist said on Friday.
A teenager put into isolation on Thursday after developing fever was also moved to hospital. All four come from a southwestern area close to the Bosnian border, where there was a suspected case of the deadly H5N1 strain in a cockerel.
“Three children were admitted to hospital today displaying symptoms of respiratory infection,” Predrag Kon told Reuters.
Parents susceptible to suicide after child’s death
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Parents of a sick child who dies at home are at increased risk of committing suicide, according to a report in the British Medical Journal. Access to the child’s potent pain medication after the death may provide an easy avenue for self-harm.
Dr. Dawn E. Davies, from the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada, describes two cases that illustrate the potential risks for parents.
The first case was an infant born with a tumor of the face who was treated at home with morphine to control pain and with a sedative for symptoms of respiratory distress. He died the day before his first birthday.
