Tag Archives: study

Four new genetic risk factors for testicular cancer identified

The discovery of these genetic variations — chromosomal "typos," so to speak — could ultimately help researchers better understand which men are at high risk and allow for early detection or prevention of the disease. "As we continue to cast a wider net, we identify additional genetic risk factors, which point to new mechanisms for disease," said Katherine L. Nathanson, MD, associate professor in the division of Translational Medicine and Human Genetics within the department of Medicine. …

HPV-related cancers rose before vaccines hit market

The number of some cancers related to the human papillomavirus (HPV) increased throughout the U.S. before vaccines against the sexually transmitted infection were available, says to a new study. Researchers found an increase in many early-stage cancers and anal and head and neck late-stage cancers across the U.S. …

Sex supplements often contain Viagra ingredients

Herbal supplements aimed at improving men’s sexual abilities often contain the active ingredients in erectile dysfunction pills such as Viagra, according to a new study. Additionally, researchers found that some of these over-the-counter herbal remedies contained more of the ingredient than is allowed in prescription-only pharmaceuticals. “It’s pretty scary stuff,” said Neil Campbell, the lead author of the study and a researcher at Pfizer, which sells Viagra…

iPad 2 could interfere with pacemaker, study shows

A California teen discovered the magnets in iPad 2 tablets and covers are capable of interfering with cardiac rhythm devices, like pacemakers, according to the Heart Rhythm Society. The research, conducted by 14-year-old Gianna Chien of Stockton, Calif , was presented Thursday at Heart Rhythm 2013, the Society’s 34th Annual Scientific Sessions. “iPad 2s use magnets to help secure the cover to the tablet. Since people hold tablets so close to their chest, I wanted to see if these magnets could affect cardiac device performance,â€� said Chien, who initially organized the study as part of a school science fair project. …

Cancer drug prevents build-up of toxic brain protein

They say their study, published online May 10 in Human Molecular Genetics, offers a unique and exciting strategy to treat neurodegenerative diseases that feature abnormal buildup of proteins in Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), frontotemporal dementia, Huntington disease and Lewy body dementia, among others. "This drug, in very low doses, turns on the garbage disposal machinery inside neurons to clear toxic proteins from the cell. By clearing intracellular proteins, the drug prevents their accumulation in pathological inclusions called Lewy bodies and/or tangles, and also prevents amyloid secretion into the extracellular space between neurons, so proteins do not form toxic clumps or plaques in the brain," says the study’s senior investigator, neuroscientist Charbel E-H Moussa, MB, PhD. Moussa heads the laboratory of dementia and Parkinsonism at Georgetown. …

Popular diabetes drug does not improve survival rates after cancer

The study, published in the journal Diabetes Care, failed to show an improved survival rate in older breast cancer patients with diabetes taking the drug metformin, a first-line treatment for diabetes. However, the authors caution further research is necessary to validate the study’s findings. "Metformin is a drug commonly used by diabetic patients to control the amount of glucose in their blood," said the study’s lead author Dr. Iliana Lega, a research fellow at Women’s College Research Institute…

How nerve wiring self-destructs

Now, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found a way the body can remove injured axons, identifying a potential target for new drugs that could prevent the inappropriate loss of axons and maintain nerve function. "Treating axonal degeneration could potentially help a lot of patients because there are so many diseases and conditions where axons are inappropriately lost," says Aaron DiAntonio, MD, PhD, professor of developmental biology. "While this would not be a cure for any of them, the hope is that we could slow the progression of a whole range of diseases by keeping axons healthy." DiAntonio is senior author of the study that appears online May 9 in the journal Cell Reports. …

Genetic variations associated with susceptibility to bacteria linked to stomach disorders

"[H pylori] is the major cause of gastritis (80 percent) and gastroduodenal ulcer disease (15 percent-20 percent) and the only bacterial pathogen believed to cause cancer," according to background information in the article. "H pylori prevalence is as high as 90 percent in some developing countries but 10 percent of a given population is never colonized, regardless of exposure. Genetic factors are hypothesized to confer H pylori susceptibility." Julia Mayerle, M.D., of University Medicine Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany, and colleagues conducted a study to identify genetic loci associated with H pylori seroprevalence…

Potential therapeutic target for Cushing’s disease

The protein, called TR4 (testicular orphan nuclear receptor 4), is one of the human body’s 48 nuclear receptors, a class of proteins found in cells that are responsible for sensing hormones and, in response, regulating the expression of specific genes. Using a genome scan, the Salk team discovered that TR4 regulates a gene that produces adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), which is overproduced by pituitary tumors in Cushing’s disease (CD). …

Soy and tomato may be effective in preventing prostate cancer

"In our study, we used mice that were genetically engineered to develop an aggressive form of prostate cancer. Even so, half the animals that had consumed tomato and soy had no cancerous lesions in the prostate at study’s end. All mice in the control group — no soy, no tomato — developed the disease," said John Erdman, a U of I professor of food science and nutrition. From the time they were 4 to 18 weeks old, the animals were fed one of four diets: (1) 10 percent whole tomato powder; (2) 2 percent soy germ; (3) tomato powder plus soy germ; and (4) a control group that ate neither tomato nor soy. …