PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Research finds retinal vessel leakage during high altitude exposure

2013-06-05
(Press-News.org) "Exposure to high altitude can cause acute mountain sickness (AMS) and, in severe cases, cerebral or pulmonary edema. Capillary leakage has been hypothesized to play a role in the pathogenesis of AMS, although the mechanism of altitude-related illnesses remains largely unknown," writes Gabriel Willmann, M.D., of the University of Tubingen, Germany, and colleagues. "Vessel leakage in the retinal periphery has not been investigated. Our objective was to assess retinal vessel integrity at high altitude using fluorescein angiography."

As reported in a Researcher Letter, the study included 14 healthy, unacclimatized volunteers (7 male and 7 female participants, average age, 35 years) who were studied at baseline (1,119 feet), after ascent to 14,957 feet within 24 hours, and more than 14 days after return by fluorescein angiography. Photographs were independently graded in random order by 4 ophthalmologists for presence and location of leakage.

Retinal abnormalities were not noted at baseline in any of the participants. At high altitude, marked bilateral leakage of peripheral retinal vessels was observed in 7 of 14 participants (50 percent). All findings completely reversed after descent. "Retinal capillary leakage should be considered a part of the spectrum of high-altitude retinopathy," the authors write.

INFORMATION:

(JAMA. 2013;309[21]:2210-2212. Available pre-embargo to the media at http://media.jamanetwork.com)

END



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

'Lizard King' fossil shows giant reptiles coexisted with mammals during globally warm past

2013-06-05
Some 40 million years before rock and roll singer Jim Morrison's lyrics earned him the moniker "the Lizard King," an actual king lizard roamed the hot tropical forests of Southeast Asia, competing with mammals for food and other resources. A team of U.S. paleontologists, led by Jason Head of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, describes fossils of the giant lizard from Myanmar this week in the scientific journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B. Their analysis shows that it is one of the biggest known lizards ever to have lived on land. Fittingly, it's been named ...

Tools for better understanding breast cancer stem cells

2013-06-05
A joint project between the Griffith University and the UQ Centre for clinical Research (UQCCR) has characterised an in vitro model that allows further studies on the breast cancer biology. These studies include the confirmation that primary tissue obtained from patients with breast cancer behaves similarly to those derived from long-term cultured cell lines. Griffith University's Associate Professor Alejandro Lopez said the team was working towards making breast cancer stem cells the target of specific cancer therapies, to improve current treatment outcomes. "We ...

Alzheimer's disease drugs linked to reduced risk of heart attacks

2013-06-05
Drugs that are used for treating Alzheimer's disease in its early stages are linked to a reduced risk of heart attacks and death, according to a large study of over 7,000 people with Alzheimer's disease in Sweden. The research, which is published online today (Wednesday) in the European Heart Journal [1], looked at cholinesterase inhibitors (ChEIs), such as donepezil, rivastigmine and galantamine, which are used for treating mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease [2]. Side-effects of ChEIs include a beneficial effect on the vagus nerve, which controls the rate at which ...

Helicopter takes to the skies with the power of thought

2013-06-05
A remote controlled helicopter has been flown through a series of hoops around a college gymnasium in Minnesota. It sounds like your everyday student project; however, there is one caveat…the helicopter was controlled using just the power of thought. The experiments have been performed by researchers hoping to develop future robots that can help restore the autonomy of paralysed victims or those suffering from neurodegenerative disorders. Their study has been published today, 4 June 2013, in IOP Publishing's Journal of Neural Engineering and is accompanied by a video ...

Personality is the result of nurture, not nature, suggests study on birds

2013-06-05
Researchers at the University of Exeter and the University of Hamburg investigated how personality is transferred between generations. They found that foster parents have a greater influence on the personalities of fostered offspring than the genes inherited from birth parents. Dr Nick Royle from the University of Exeter said: "This is one of the first experiments to show that behaviour can be non-genetically transmitted from parents to offspring. Our study shows that in zebra finches, personality traits can be transmitted from one generation to another through behaviour ...

Research teams find genetic variant that could improve warfarin dosing in African-Americans

2013-06-05
In the first genome-wide association study to focus on warfarin dose requirement in African-Americans, a multi-institutional team of researchers has identified a common genetic variation that can help physicians estimate the correct dose of the widely used blood-thinning drug warfarin. The discovery, reported online first in The Lancet, suggests that people of African ancestry who carry this variant—more than 40 percent of the patients enrolled in this study—need significantly less warfarin to obtain optimal benefits compared to those who lack this variant. "Adding ...

Sexual selection in the sea

2013-06-05
Biologists have uncovered new insights into how the male sexual behaviour of the peculiar southern bottletail squid is primed to produce the greatest number of offspring. Recent studies published in the journals Biology Letters and Behavioral Ecology, have revealed the female squid ingest the ejaculates of their mates, a trait never before associated with any species of cephalopod – a group including squid, octopus, cuttlefish and nautilus. The studies, led by PhD student Benjamin Wegener and Dr Bob Wong from Monash University's School of Biological Sciences, in collaboration ...

Jury still out on bariatric surgery for patients with moderate obesity and diabetes

2013-06-05
Bariatric surgery such as gastric bypass is associated with better short-term control of abnormal blood sugar and more weight loss than conventional nonsurgical therapy in diabetic patients who are moderately obese, but there is not enough evidence to more widely recommend the procedure, according to a new RAND Corporation study. A review of more than 30 studies found that diabetic people with moderate obesity lost more weight and had better glucose control over two years if they were treated with bariatric surgery rather than non-surgical alternatives like dieting and ...

Little telescope discovers metal-poor cousin of famous planet

2013-06-05
A scientific team led by University of Louisville doctoral student Karen Collins has discovered a hot Saturn-like planet in another solar system 700 light-years away. Collins announced the discovery of exoplanet KELT-6b Tuesday, June 4, during the American Astronomical Society's national meeting in Indianapolis. Astronomers caught sight of the planet when it passed in front of, or "transited," its host star—and they've since discovered that the planet resembles one of the most famous and well-studied transiting planets, HD 209458b. The discovery was made using inexpensive ...

Neuronal regeneration and the 2-part design of nerves

2013-06-05
ANN ARBOR—Researchers at the University of Michigan have evidence that a single gene controls both halves of nerve cells, and their research demonstrates the need to consider that design in the development of new treatments for regeneration of nerve cells. A paper published online in PLOS Biology by U-M Life Sciences Institute faculty member Bing Ye and colleagues shows that manipulating genes of the fruit fly Drosophila to promote the growth of one part of the neuron simultaneously stunts the growth of the other part. Understanding this bimodal nature of neurons ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Cheese may really be giving you nightmares, scientists find

Study reveals most common medical emergencies in schools

Breathable yet protective: Next-gen medical textiles with micro/nano networks

Frequency-engineered MXene supercapacitors enable efficient pulse charging in TENG–SC hybrid systems

Developed an AI-based classification system for facial pigmented lesions

Achieving 20% efficiency in halogen-free organic solar cells via isomeric additive-mediated sequential processing

New book Terraglossia reclaims language, Country and culture

The most effective diabetes drugs don't reach enough patients yet

Breast cancer risk in younger women may be influenced by hormone therapy

Strategies for staying smoke-free after rehab

Commentary questions the potential benefit of levothyroxine treatment of mild hypothyroidism during pregnancy

Study projects over 14 million preventable deaths by 2030 if USAID defunding continues

New study reveals 33% gap in transplant access for UK’s poorest children

Dysregulated epigenetic memory in early embryos offers new clues to the inheritance of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)

IVF and IUI pregnancy rates remain stable across Europe, despite an increasing uptake of single embryo transfer

It takes a village: Chimpanzee babies do better when their moms have social connections

From lab to market: how renewable polymers could transform medicine

Striking increase in obesity observed among youth between 2011 and 2023

No evidence that medications trigger microscopic colitis in older adults

NYUAD researchers find link between brain growth and mental health disorders

Aging-related inflammation is not universal across human populations, new study finds

University of Oregon to create national children’s mental health center with $11 million federal grant

Rare achievement: UTA undergrad publishes research

Fact or fiction? The ADHD info dilemma

Genetic ancestry linked to risk of severe dengue

Genomes reveal the Norwegian lemming as one of the youngest mammal species

Early birds get the burn: Monash study finds early bedtimes associated with more physical activity

Groundbreaking analysis provides day-by-day insight into prehistoric plankton’s capacity for change

Southern Ocean saltier, hotter and losing ice fast as decades-long trend unexpectedly reverses

Human fishing reshaped Caribbean reef food webs, 7000-year old exposed fossilized reefs reveal

[Press-News.org] Research finds retinal vessel leakage during high altitude exposure