Daily non-political popular news in brief.

Eye-opening research provides important diagnostic tool for major childhood killer

11-06-2006 · EurekAlert!

The eye can provide a very reliable way of diagnosing cerebral malaria, researchers in Malawi have shown. By looking at the changes to the retina, doctors are able to determine whether an unconscious child is suffering from this severe form of malaria or another, unrelated illness, leading to the most appropriate treatment.

Keywords: eye-opening, research, provides, important, diagnostic, tool, major, childhood, killer, eye, opening, provide

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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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The eyes have it
01-29-2008 · EurekAlert!
Using the radiocarbon dating method and special proteins in the lens of the eye, researchers at the University of Copenhagen and Aarhus can now establish, with relatively high precision, when a person was born. This provides a useful tool for forensic scientists who can use it to establish the date of birth of an unidentified body and could also have further consequences for health science research. The findings are published in the online, open-access journal PLoS ONE on Jan. 30.
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New vaccine may provide broader protection against cervical cancer
06-28-2007 · EurekAlert!
Just under 150 Perth women have contributed to major international research at the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research that has proved that the new Cervarix vaccine provides broader protection against cervical cancer.
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Brown biologists assemble fly mtDNA for landmark genome project
11-07-2007 · EurekAlert!
As part of a major new international genome sequencing project, Brown biologists assembled the complete mitochondrial DNA sequences of seven different species of fruit fly. Their work, published in Nature, provides scientists with an exciting new tool to understand the genetic differences within a species as well as the evolutionary relationships among different species.
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Exercise when young may reduce risk of fractures later in life
11-30-2006 · EurekAlert!
Running and jumping during childhood is more than child's play, it provides lifelong benefits for future bone health and appears to reduce the risk of fractures later in life according to a Journal of Bone and Mineral Research study by Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) researchers.
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Risk for stroke, death not higher for sickle cell children with early complications
01-29-2007 · UT Southwestern Medical Center
Children with sickle cell disease who experienced major complications such as pain and lung disease early in life are at no greater risk for stroke or death during later childhood, new research from UT Southwestern Medical Center shows.
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RAND study finds religiosity can be an important tool in preventing the spread of HIV-AIDS
04-03-2007 · EurekAlert!
HIV-positive people who say religion is an important part of their lives are likely to have fewer sexual partners and engage in high-risk sexual behavior less frequently than other people with the virus that causes AIDS, according to a study issued today by the RAND Corp. As a result, people with HIV who have stronger religious ties are less likely to spread the virus, according to the study by the nonprofit research organization.
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Grafts against cancer
02-01-2007 · EurekAlert!
A research team led by Université de Montréal Professor Claude Perreault published this week in the Public Library of Science Medicine (PLoS Medicine) a major discovery in Genomics. This discovery provides a sure way of identifying cells that will cause "graft-versus-host disease" (GVHD). This will generate a fundamental impact on the treatment of blood cancers (leukemias and lymphomes) by means of peripheral blood T-cell grafts.
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Strain has major effect on high-temp superconductors
02-15-2007 · EurekAlert!
Just a little mechanical strain can cause a large drop in the maximum current carried by high-temperature superconductors, according to novel measurements carried out by NIST. The effect adds a new dimension to designing superconducting systems and it also provides a new tool that will help scientists probe the fundamental mechanism behind why these materials carry current with no resistance.
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NRL sensor to measure natural airglow in the upper atmosphere
11-06-2006 · EurekAlert!
The second of five Special Sensor Ultraviolet Limb Imager remote sensing instruments, developed by the Naval Research Laboratory, was launched on Nov. 4, 2006 on board the DMSP F-17 satellite. SSULI is the first operational instrument of its kind and provides a new technique for remote sensing of the ionosphere and thermosphere from space. SSULI's measurements will provide scientific data supporting military and civil systems and will assist in predicting atmospheric drag effects on satellites and re-entry vehicles.
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