Daily non-political popular news in brief.

New MUHC study adds more evidence to clear measles mumps rubella vaccine as a risk factor for autism

10-17-2006 · EurekAlert!

A new MUHC study provides conclusive evidence that the Measles Mumps Rubella vaccine is not associated with the development of autism spectrum disorders. The study, published in the scientific journal Pediatrics, reveals fundamental errors in previous molecular studies that falsely implicated the MMR vaccine as a risk factor for autism.

Keywords: muhc, study, adds, evidence, clear, measles, mumps, rubella, vaccine, risk, factor, autism, add, measle, mump

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No link between MMR jab and autism spectrum disorders
02-04-2008 · EurekAlert!
There is no evidence for a link between the MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) jab and autism, finds research published ahead of print in the Archives of Disease in Childhood .
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MUHC-led research identifies risk-factor genes for type 2 diabetes
02-19-2007 · EurekAlert!
A new study led by researchers at the McGill University Health Centre has identified four genes that increase the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. This form of diabetes is the most common worldwide and affects nearly 2 million Canadians. In recent years, the prevalence of Type 2 diabetes has increased rapidly. This genetic discovery may help stem this rise.
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Largest-ever search for autism genes reveals new clues
02-18-2007 · EurekAlert!
The largest search for autism genes to date has implicated components of the brain's glutamate chemical messenger system and a previously overlooked site on chromosome 11. Based on 1,168 families with at least two affected members, the genome scan adds to evidence that tiny, rare variations in genes may heighten risk for autism spectrum disorders.
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Trichloroethylene is a risk factor for parkinsonism
01-07-2008 · EurekAlert!
A new study found strong evidence that trichloroethylene is a risk factor for parkinsonism, a group of nervous disorders with symptoms similar to Parkinson's disease.
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Autism risk higher in people with gene variant
01-10-2008 · EurekAlert!
This study strengthens evidence that a gene, CNTNAP2, is involved in autism, and suggests that the link is strongest when a variation in the gene is inherited from moms, rather than dads. The gene encodes a protein that's known to mediate interactions between brain cells and that appears to enable a crucial aspect of brain-cell development. A gene variant that altered either of these activities could have significant impact.
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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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Injection drug use the most important risk factor for HIV and HCV infections among Quebec prisoners
07-30-2007 · EurekAlert!
In this issue of CMAJ, 2 research groups report on the prevalence of HIV and hepatitis C virus infections in different inmate populations: people in provincial prisons in Quebec, and adult and young offenders admitted to remand facilities (jails, detention centers and youth centers) in Ontario. The Ontario study is highlighted below; the Quebec study appears in a separate release posted on EurekAlert! today.
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Both alcohol dependence and conduct disorder contribute to having a high number of sex partners
11-26-2007 · EurekAlert!
High-risk sexual behaviors can lead to unwanted pregnancies, infection and reproductive problems. A new study has linked the clinical diagnoses of alcohol dependence and conduct disorder in young adults to having 10 or more sexual partners. Although both disorders contribute to high-risk sexual behavior, alcohol dependence is the greater risk factor.
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U-M team identifies gene that regulates blood-forming fetal stem cells
07-26-2007 · EurekAlert!
In the rancorous public debate over federal research funding, stem cells are generally assigned to one of two categories: embryonic or adult. But that's a false dichotomy and an oversimplification. A new University of Michigan study adds to mounting evidence that stem cells in the developing fetus are distinct from both embryonic and adult stem cells.
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Loma Prieta fault not so weak?
12-19-2007 · EurekAlert!
A new study adds to evidence that the fault responsible for the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake is not as unusually weak as had been thought.
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