Canakinumab allows discontinuation of corticosteroids in patients with SJIA

Madrid, Spain, 13 June 2013: Data presented today at EULAR 2013, the Annual Congress of the European League Against Rheumatism, demonstrate that indicators of depression are stronger predictors of work disability in early arthritis than disease activity or response to therapy. The study showed that in a multivariable analysis none of the arthritis activity measures or cardiovascular, metabolic or pulmonary diseases investigated were associated with early retirement, yet a single depression statement "having little pleasure or interest in doing things most of the days ...

MIAMI – June 13, 2013 – The commercial value of spiny lobster (Panulirus argus) in the Caribbean reaches $1 billion annually, thus making it one of the most valuable fisheries in the region. In a new study of this iconic species, Ph.D. candidate Andrew Kough and Dr. Claire Paris of the Biophysical Interactions Lab at the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science, in collaboration with Dr. Mark Butler from Old Dominion University, studied the larval dispersal of this species in the Caribbean. The goal of the study was to describe the sources, ...

Pro-market policies for developing countries have long been based on the belief that increasing average income is key to improving public health and societal well-being. But new research on India published in the journal Social Science and Medicine shows that literacy - a non-income good - has a greater impact on public health in India. While the researchers, based at Cambridge's Department of Sociology, accept it is broadly true that "wealthier is healthier" across the roughly 500 districts in India's 'major states', accounting for 95% of the total population, they ...

Scientists at Aalto University, Finland and Utrecht University, the Netherlands have created single atom contacts between gold and graphene nanoribbons. In their article published in Nature Communications, the research team demonstrates how to make electrical contacts with single chemical bonds to graphene nanoribbons. Graphene is a single layer of carbon atoms arranged in a honeycomb lattice. It is anticipated to be a revolutionising material for future electronics. Graphene transistors functioning at room temperature require working at the size scale of less than ...

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Striking the likes of Chicago Bulls' Derrick Rose, L.A. Lakers' Kobe Bryant and Detroit Tigers' Victor Martinez, tears in the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) are one of the most rampant and serious knee injuries among athletes. Now, researchers from the University of Michigan Health System have identified a new drug target that may prevent one of the most dreaded consequences of an ACL tear –the weakening or loss of muscle tissue (muscle atrophy) that can be a career-killer in sports and ultimately develop into osteoarthritis. A hormone called myostatin ...

DETROIT – A specific MicroRNA, a short set of RNA (ribonuclease) sequences, naturally packaged into minute (50 nanometers) lipid containers called exosomes, are released by stem cells after a stroke and contribute to better neurological recovery according to a new animal study by Henry Ford Hospital researchers. The important role of a specific microRNA transferred from stem cells to brain cells via the exosomes to enhance functional recovery after a stroke was shown in lab rats. This study provides fundamental new insight into how stem cells affect injured tissue and ...

Researchers from North Carolina State University have developed a method for creating "nano-volcanoes" by shining various colors of light through a nanoscale "crystal ball" made of a synthetic polymer. These nano-volcanoes can store precise amounts of other materials and hold promise for new drug-delivery technologies. The researchers create the nano-volcanoes by placing spherical, transparent polymer nanoparticles directly onto the flat surface of a thin film. They then shine ultraviolet light through the transparent sphere, which scatters the light and creates a pattern ...

A colloid is a substance spread out evenly inside another substance. Everyday examples include milk, styrofoam, hair sprays, paints, shaving foam, gels and even dust, mud and fog. One of the most interesting properties of colloids is their ability to self-assemble – to aggregate spontaneously into well-defined structures, driven by nothing but local interactions between the colloid's particles. Self-assembly has been of major interest in industry, since controlling it would open up a whole host of new technologies, such as smart drug-delivery patches or novel paints that ...

The University of Exeter recently contributed to a major international project to sequence the genome of Emiliania huxleyi, the microscopic plankton species whose chalky skeletons form the iconic white cliffs of Dover. The results of the project are published this week in the journal Nature. Emiliania huxleyi is one of the most abundant marine phytoplankton species and is a key player in the process of CO2 exchange between the atmosphere and the ocean. In some marine systems 20% of the total carbon is fixed by E. huxleyi. This microscopic alga has influenced the global ...

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — A new University of Florida study suggests a promising brain-imaging technique has the potential to improve diagnoses for the millions of people with movement disorders such as Parkinson's disease. Utilizing the diffusion tensor imaging technique, as it is known, could allow clinicians to assess people earlier, leading to improved treatment interventions and therapies for patients. The three-year study looked at 72 patients, each with a clinically defined movement disorder diagnosis. Using a technique called diffusion tensor imaging, the researchers ...