Daily non-political popular news in brief.

Study suggests we remember the bad times better than the good

08-28-2007 · EurekAlert!

Do you remember exactly where you were when you learned of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks? Your answer is probably yes, and researchers are beginning to understand why we remember events that carry negative emotional weight.

Keywords: study, suggests, remember, bad, times, good, suggest, time

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Painkillers may threaten power of vaccines
11-28-2006 · EurekAlert!
With flu-shot season in full swing and widespread anticipation of the HPV vaccine to prevent cervical cancer, a new University of Rochester study suggests that using common painkillers around the time of vaccination might not be a good idea.
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Advance in understanding of blood pressure gene could lead to new treatments
02-04-2007 · EurekAlert!
Research by scientists at UCL (University College London) has clearly demonstrated for the first time the structure and function of a gene crucial to the regulation of blood pressure. The discovery could be important in the search for new treatments for illnesses such as heart disease, the UK's biggest killer. In a paper published online today in Nature Medicine, the team, led by Professor Patrick Vallance and Dr James Leiper, UCL Department of Medicine, reveal the role of the human gene dimethylarginine dimethylaminohydrolase (DDAH), showing that loss of DDAH activity disrupts nitric oxide (NO) production. NO is critical in the regulation of blood pressure, nervous system functions and the immune system. The role of DDAH is to break down modified amino acids (Asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) and monomethyl arginine (L-NMMA)) that are produced by the body and have been shown to inhibit NO synthase. These molecules accumulate in various disease states including diabetes, renal failure and pulmonary and systemic hypertension, and their concentration in plasma (the fluid component of blood) is strongly predicative of cardiovascular disease and death. In a healthy human body, the majority of ADMA is eliminated through active metabolism by DDAH. Scientists have hypothesised that if DDAH function is impaired, NO production is reduced, and that this could be an important feature of increased cardiovascular risk. To examine this pathway in more detail, the researchers deleted the DDAH gene in mice. These mice went on to develop hypertension, or high blood pressure. They also designed specific inhibitors (small molecules) which bind to the active site of human DDAH. These small molecule inhibitors also induced hypertension in mice, confirming the importance of DDAH in the regulation of blood pressure. Dr Leiper, UCL Medicine, said: “These genetic and chemical approaches to disrupt DDAH showed remarkably consistent results, and provide compelling evidence that loss of DDAH function increases the concentration of ADMA and thereby disrupts vascular NO signalling. “There has been considerable scientific interest in this pathway and the role of ADMA as a novel risk factor, but so far there's been little evidence to support the idea that it's a cause of disease, rather than just a marker. Genes and their pathways are crucial to our understanding of cardiovascular disease and a better understanding of DDAH-1 could lead to important new treatments. “It could help us to establish if genetic variation predisposes certain people to these diseases, or whether environmental factors exert some of their effects through modulation of DDAH activity. “Our research also shows that this pathway could be harnessed therapeutically to limit production of NO in certain situations where too much nitric oxide is a bad thing; for example, hypotension and septic shock. These are some of the biggest problems in intensive care medicine and there is a huge unmet need for drug treatments.” The study, which was carried out at UCL's Rayne Institute, was funded by grants from the British Heart Foundation, the Wellcome Trust and the Medical Research Council. Professor Jeremy Pearson, Associate Medical Director of the British Heart Foundation, said: "The unexpected finding in the 1980s that a simple gas, nitric oxide (NO), is made by cells in the blood vessel wall and is a powerful control of blood vessel relaxation led to the award of the Nobel Prize in 1998 to its discoverers. "More recently, there has been increasing evidence that impairment of NO production is likely to be an important factor in the development of heart and circulatory disease, but the mechanisms responsible are not fully understood. "This study suggests for the first time that the loss of the activity of the enzyme DDAH-1 leads to reduced NO production and may cause heart and circulatory disease. These findings are likely to be important in the search for new ways to optimise the health of our blood vessels." ### Notes for Editors 1. For more information, please contact Ruth Metcalfe in the UCL Media Relations Office on tel: +44 (0)20 7679 9739, mobile: +44 (0)7990 675 947, out of hours: +44 (0)7917 271 364, e-mail: r.metcalfe@ucl.ac.uk2. 'Disruption of methylarginine metabolism impairs vascular homeostasis' is published in the February issue of the journal Nature Medicine. Advance online publication is embargoed to 18.00 GMT (13.00 US Eastern) Sunday 4 February 2007. Journalists can obtain copies of the paper by contacting the UCL Media Relations Office.3. The study was funded by the British Heart Foundation, the Wellcome Trust and the Medical Research Council. About UCL Founded in 1826, UCL was the first English university established after Oxford and Cambridge, the first to admit students regardless of race, class, religion or gender, and the first to provide systematic teaching of law, architecture and medicine. In the government's most recent Research Assessment Exercise, 59 UCL departments achieved top ratings of 5* and 5, indicating research quality of international excellence. UCL is the fourth-ranked UK university in the 2006 league table of the top 500 world universities produced by the Shanghai Jiao Tong University. UCL alumni include Mahatma Gandhi (Laws 1889, Indian political and spiritual leader); Jonathan Dimbleby (Philosophy 1969, writer and television presenter); Junichiro Koizumi (Economics 1969, Prime Minister of Japan); Lord Woolf (Laws 1954, Lord Chief Justice of England & Wales); Alexander Graham Bell (Phonetics 1860s, inventor of the telephone), and members of the band Coldplay.
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Statin therapy associated with regression of coronary atherosclerosis with key lipid level changes
02-06-2007 · EurekAlert!
An analysis of data from four clinical trials suggests that statin therapy is associated with regression of coronary atherosclerosis when low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C or "bad" cholesterol) is substantially reduced and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C or "good" cholesterol) is increased, but it remains to be determined whether this degree of atherosclerosis regression will translate to meaningful reductions in cardiovascular events, according to a study published in the Feb. 7 issue of JAMA.
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Toxoplasma infection increases risk of schizophrenia, study suggests
01-16-2008 · EurekAlert!
Findings from what is believed to be the largest comparison of blood samples collected from healthy individuals and people with schizophrenia suggest that infection with the common Toxoplasma gondii parasite, carried by cats and farm animals, may increase the risk of schizophrenia.
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Government dietary guidelines, unintended consequences and public policy
01-30-2008 · EurekAlert!
In the years following the government promotion of a low-fat diet, obesity in America has reached almost epidemic levels. What role did the federal guidelines play? In a study published in the March 2008 issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, Paul R Marantz, Elizabeth Bird, Michael H. Alderman, of Albert Einstein College of Medicine, suggest that the government issued these recommendations based on limited scientific data and assumed that no harm would result, but the evidence now suggests otherwise.
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New study suggests special cocoa may lead to sustained improvement in blood vessel function
03-06-2007 · EurekAlert!
A new study published in the Journal of Cardiovascular Pharmacology found that regular consumption of a special Mars, Inc., cocoa containing cocoa flavanols may have a sustained benefit on blood vessel health. This is the first study to suggest the cardiovascular benefits of flavanol-rich cocoa could be long-term.
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Study suggests estrogen deficiency can lead to obesity-induced high blood pressure after menopause
08-08-2007 · EurekAlert!
At menopause, women lose hormone protection against heart and kidney diseases, and are likely to become obese. A research team has tested the idea that estrogen deficiency in aged females may trigger the development of high blood pressure and obesity. The results of their study, using an animal model, suggest that estrogen depletion can have these effects.
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Why bad things can happen to the heart when 'good' cholesterol goes bad
08-22-2007 · EurekAlert!
It's yet another example of how a good thing can go bad: Researchers have found evidence in laboratory studies that "good" cholesterol, renowned for its ability to protect against heart disease, can undergo detrimental changes in protein composition that make it "bad" for the heart. The study could lead to new lab tests and treatments for heart disease, they say. It will be presented in August at the American Chemical Society national meeting in Boston.
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Marijuana withdrawal as bad as withdrawal from cigarettes
01-24-2008 · EurekAlert!
Research by a group of scientists studying the effects of heavy marijuana use suggests that withdrawal from the use of marijuana is similar to what is experienced by people when they quit smoking cigarettes. Abstinence from each of these drugs appears to cause several common symptoms, such as irritability, anger and trouble sleeping -- based on self reporting in a recent study of 12 heavy users of both marijuana and cigarettes.
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Countries share good times using gps and the Internet
01-19-2007 · EurekAlert!
International time coordination is improving thanks to a low-cost system relying on Global Positioning System (GPS) satellites and the Internet, which enables much faster time comparisons and gives small countries the opportunity to easily evaluate their measurements in relation to others and to world standards.
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