Categories
Cardiovascular
Diagnostics
Endocrinology
Health Insurance
Medical Devices
Mental Health
Nutrition
Oncology
Public Health
Sexual Health
Popular Articles
Stretch Mark Cream

Discovery May Revolutionize Therapy In Muscular Dystrophy And Other Skeletal Muscle Disorders
Researchers at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School are a step closer to treating, and perhaps preventing, muscle damage caused by disease and aging. In their study, published in the June issue of Journal of Biological Chemistry, the scientists have linked the newly discovered protein MG53 to a pathway that repairs human muscle tissue along with the proteins caveolin-3 (Cav3) and dysferlin. Prior to this study, the underlying interactions that inhibited membrane repair in muscle tissue were unknown. Linking these proteins creates a mechanism that allows damaged membranes to be repaired, which may transform treatment for patients who suffer from severe complications of diseases such as muscular dystrophy, as well as cardiovascular disorders and conditions related to advancing age.
generic viagra online
Opinion Pieces Examine Recent Public Opinion Polls On Abortion
Two newspapers recently published opinion pieces on abortion-related public opinion polls. Summaries appear below.~ Steven Kull, Baltimore Sun: Although "many Americans feel morally conflicted about" abortion, it is a "common error to believe that the American electorate is deeply divided about how the government should deal with" the procedure, Kull -- director of WorldPublicOpinion.org and the Program on International Policy Attitudes at the University of Maryland -- writes in a Sun opinion piece. He adds that "there is substantial consensus that the government should not criminalize abortion." According to Kull, a new CNN poll found that 68% of respondents believe Roe v. Wade should not be overturned, and a recent WorldPublicOpinion.org poll found that when asked, "Do you think the government should be involved in trying to discourage abortion or do you think the government should leave these matters to the individual," 69% said that the matter should be left to the individual. Kull adds that "of the 29% who said that the government should be involved in trying to discourage abortions, a remarkably low 8% favored using criminal enforcement methods." According to Kull, other polls have found if "given a middle option -- somewhere between strict prohibition and government permission -- a significant number will choose it." Kull writes that "once the moral question is differentiated from the question of how the government should act, it does appear that there is substantial consensus that abortion should not be criminalized." He concludes, "Once the option of criminal enforcement is taken off the table, constructive options are more likely to emerge and can be an effective focus for the energies freed up from the incessant debates about abortion" (Kull, Baltimore Sun, 5/22).~ Cheryl Wetzstein, Washington Times: "It"s rather ironic that as the most pro-choice government in U.S. history settles into its seats," a Gallup poll "finds that most Americans are pro-life," columnist Wetzstein writes in a Times opinion piece. She adds, "Some observers have tried to pooh-pooh this result, but it doesn"t surprise me for two reasons." Wetzstein writes that her "experience with youth, both personally and professionally, is that they often recoil at abortion," adding, "So I find a pro-life trend in youth to be quite plausible." She continues, "Second, I think some aging baby boomers are changing their views," adding, "People generally become more conservative and self-reflective with age. Legacies matter. Hindsight is 20/20. Regrets appear." Wetzstein concludes, "My suspicion is that in more than a few cases, baby boomers who were willing to have abortions are not at ease with the idea of losing their grandchildren," adding, "It may be that in the autumn of life, being "pro-life" has a whole new meaning" (Wetzstein, Washington Times, 5/26). Drugshop to buy zoloft online and other pills.
News of the day
Obama Health Reform Proposals And Alliances Scrutinized
Various news outlets examined the state of the administration"s health reform push.
Oncology

In Prostate Cancer, Gene Activity Reveals Dynamic Stroma Microenvironment

As stroma - the supportive framework of the prostate gland- react to prostate cancer, changes in the expression of genes occur that induce the formation of new structures such as blood vessels, nerves and parts of nerves, said researchers at Baylor College of Medicine in a report that appears in the current issue of the journal Clinical Cancer Research. In this study, using special techniques and gene chips that allowed them to sample the entire genome, the researchers found changes in 1,141 genes. They were either upregulated - meaning that there was more of the protein with which they were associated than expected - or downregulated, which meant the opposite, said Dr. Michael Ittmann, professor of pathology at BCM and a senior author of the report. These gene changes may explain why men with reactive stroma face a more aggressive disease, said Ittmann and Dr. Gustavo Ayala, professor in the departments of pathology and urology at BCM and another senior author. "Often in prostate cancer, you don"t see much change in the stromal cells," said Ittmann. "However, in this subgroup of patients (in which the stroma become visibly reactive), you see a histologically recognizable change in the appearance of the stroma. Dr. Ayala has shown previously that this correlates with a bad prognosis. We know the stroma are doing something to promote bad behavior in cancer cells." "These findings are very important as this is the first step in discovering pathways and mechanisms in the tumor microenvironment that could be targeted as a novel therapeutic approach to treat prostate cancer by treating the cancer microenvironment niche", said Dr. David Rowley, professor of molecular and cellular biology and urology at BCM, and another author. Dr. Chad Creighton, an assistant professor in the Dan L. Duncan Cancer Center at BCM, searched the scientific literature to determine the biological processes with which the genes with changes had been linked in prior studies. "We found that the top terms linked to the genes were related to neurogenesis (the growth of neurons or nerve cells)," said Ittmann. "This independently supported Dr. Ayala"s previous finding that prostate cancer prompts the growth of new nerve cells, which is linked to poor prognosis." Other genes were linked to axongenesis, which refers to new axons, the slender projection that conducts nerve impulses away from the body of a nerve cell. That finding was exciting because it confirmed the neurogenesis findings from a new direction, said Ittmann and Ayala. "We also found many changes in the DNA damage pathway genes," Ittmann said. These genes reduce the negative effects of DNA changes on cells - either by correcting the DNA or prompting cell death. "This implies that there may be different kinds of DNA damaging stimuli going on in the stroma as well as cancer cells," said Ittmann. "DNA damage could be related to mutations in the stroma." The researchers also found changes in growth factor pathways, including those for fibroblast growth factor and transforming growth factor beta as well as pathways linked to the growth and maintenance of stem cells, said Ittmann. While many of the gene changes they found may have no role in prostate cancer, the report lays the groundwork for determining which players and processes may have a role, he said. "One question is what are the pathways turning on some of these genes in response to signals from the cancer cells," he said. "This description is the start," said Ittmann. "Now we can work on the mechanisms." "We know that of all men who get prostate cancer, only about 10 percent would die of it," he said. "Of those who have disease localized to the prostate gland, only 5 percent would die from the disease. How do we differentiate those who really need treatment from those who might not? Can we identify the biomarkers that differentiate those? There is probably more than one marker and some may be stromal-based." Notes: Others who took part in this work include Olga Dakhova, Mustafa Ozen, Chad J. Creighton, and Rile Li., all of BCM. Dakova, Ozen and Ittmann are also affiliated with the Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Funding for this work came from the National Cancer Institute TMEN (Tumor Microenvironment Network), the Baylor Prostate Cancer SPORE, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Merit Review Program. the Diana Helis Henry Medical Research Foundation, the Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center and the Dan L. Duncan Cancer Center at Baylor College of Medicine. http://clincancerres.aacrjournals.org/ Glenna Picton Baylor College of Medicine


Add your comment:
Name:
Site address: http://
Your message:
Enter today\\\\'s date, 2 digits
(spam protection):

© Copyright 2009