Daily non-political popular news in brief.

Class of PCB's causes developmental abnormalities in rat pups

04-23-2007 · EurekAlert!

Scientists have determined that a specific class of PCB causes significant developmental abnormalities in rat pups whose mothers were exposed to the toxicant in their food during pregnancy and during the early weeks when the pups were nursing.

Keywords: class, pcb, causes, developmental, abnormalities, rat, pups, cause, abnormality, pup

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Mental illness and drug addiction may co-occur due to disturbance in part of the brain
12-02-2007 · EurekAlert!
Why do mental illness and drug addiction so often go together? New research reveals that this type of dual diagnosis may stem from a common cause: developmental changes in the amygdala, a walnut-shaped part of the brain linked to fear, anxiety and other emotions. A full report on why these "co-morbid" disorders may develop appears in the December Behavioral Neuroscience, published by the American Psychological Association.
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Winemaking waste proves effective against disease-causing bacteria in early studies
01-02-2008 · EurekAlert!
A class of chemicals in red wine grapes may significantly reduce the ability of bacteria to cause cavities, according to a study published recently in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.
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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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'NO' allergic reaction linked to hayfever
04-02-2007 · EurekAlert!
Hayfever is a major irritation for up to 20 percent of the population in most economically developed countries. Pollen is the cause of this allergic reaction but what causes it and why? Scientists at the University of the West of England have found evidence that nitric oxide (NO) and nitrite is released by pollen grains, and they suggest that this could be what triggers the allergic response in the nose.
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Researchers find ways to reduce side effects in the treatment of damaging protein plaques
04-24-2007 · EurekAlert!
Researchers in the International Institute of Nano and Molecular Medicine at the University of Missouri-Columbia are studying the possible use of carboranes, which are clusters of boron and carbon atoms, to prevent the side effects of cyclooxygenase inhibitors, a class of drugs under investigation for the treatment of one cause of plaque build-up.
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Salmonid hatcheries cause 'stunning' loss of reproduction
10-04-2007 · EurekAlert!
The rearing of steelhead trout in hatcheries causes a dramatic and unexpectedly fast drop in their ability to reproduce in the wild, a new Oregon State University study shows, and raises serious questions about the wisdom of historic hatchery practices.
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Extracts of catfish caught in polluted waters cause breast cancer cells to multiply
11-07-2007 · EurekAlert!
Exposing estrogen-sensitive breast cancer cells to extracts of fish caught in areas with heavy sewer and industrial waste causes the cells to multiply, according to a University of Pittsburgh study. The study, which tested extracts from fish caught in the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers near Pittsburgh, suggests that fish contain substances that mimic the actions of estrogen, the female hormone, and that chemicals that mimic estrogen may be making their way into the region's waterways.
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Use of diabetes medication by older adults linked with increased risk of heart problems, death
12-11-2007 · EurekAlert!
Older patients treated with the diabetes medications known as thiazolidinediones (which include rosiglitazone) had a significantly increased risk of heart attack, congestive heart failure and death, compared with the use of other hypoglycemic drugs, according to a study in the Dec. 12 issue of JAMA. The authors suggest that these results provide further evidence that this class of medication may cause more harm than good.
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Disrupted genetic regulation causes common disturbance in metabolism of fat
02-05-2008 · EurekAlert!
The disease familial combined hyperlipidemia is a common cause of disturbed metabolism of fat and early heart attacks. Swedish scientists have now developed a pioneering method and can show for the first time what genes are regulated by the gene USF1, which is known to cause the disease.
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Brainstem abnormality link to SIDS stronger than previously indicated
10-31-2006 · EurekAlert!
Preliminary research suggests that brainstem abnormalities involving certain serotonin pathways in the brain may play a more important role in SIDS than previously thought, according to an article in the Nov. 1 issue of JAMA.
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