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

Genotype influences muscle performance

2013-09-16
(Press-News.org) Elite endurance athletes commonly have mutations that result in the loss of the protein α-actinin-3, which is a major component of fast-twitch muscle fibers. Loss of α-actinin-3 is associated with reduced power, increased endurance capacity, and enhanced response to endurance training. In this issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, Kathryn North and colleagues at the Murdoch Children's Research Institute report that the loss of α-actinin-3 in fast-twitch muscle fibers, results in compensation by α-actinin-2. The presence of α-actinin-2 in fast-twitch muscle contributed to reprogramming these muscles through increased calcineurin signaling. This study provides insight into how mutations in the gene encoding α-actinin-3 promote skeletal muscle adaptations that are advantageous to elite endurance athletes

INFORMATION:

TITLE: ACTN3 genotype influences muscle performance through the regulation of calcineurin signaling

AUTHOR CONTACT: Kathryn North
Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Parkville, UNK, AUS
Phone: 61-3-8341-6226; Fax: 61-3-9348-1391; E-mail: kathryn.north@mcri.edu.au

View this article at: http://www.jci.org/articles/view/67691?key=56ae65251668e68f1365

END



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Arachnophobic entomologists: When 2 more legs make a big difference

2013-09-16
For some entomologists, an apparent paradox exists: Despite choosing a career working with insects, they exhibit negative feelings toward spiders which range from mild disgust to extreme arachnophobia. An article in the next issue of American Entomologist features the results of a survey involving 41 arachnophobic entomologists who were asked questions about their fear of spiders. Although most entomologists had low scores (indicating mild disgust or mild fear), they still claimed to react differently to spiders than to insects. On the other end of the spectrum, some ...

Chronic inflammation linked to less likelihood of healthy aging

2013-09-16
Chronic exposure to high levels of interleukin-6 was associated with a significantly lower likelihood of healthy aging, according to a study in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). Interleukin-6 is marker of inflammation, and chronic inflammation has been linked to a variety of age-related diseases, such as diabetes, heart disease and cognitive decline. Diet, chronic disease, smoking and other factors can cause inflammation. However, studies on chronic inflammation have generally looked at inflammation at only one point in time. Researchers analyzed data on ...

Cognitive enhancers do not help mild cognitive impairment

2013-09-16
Cognitive enhancers did not improve cognition and were associated with increased harm in people with mild cognitive impairment, according to a study published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). Mild cognitive impairment is a condition characterized by memory complaints without substantial limitations in everyday activity. With an increasing proportion of people aged 65 years and older and the growing number of those with mild cognitive impairment, health care professionals, patients and informal caregivers are seeking ways to delay the progression of cognitive ...

Prescription drug expenses in Canada are a health-care barrier

2013-09-16
High drug expenses in Canada are a substantial barrier for people to access prescription drugs outside of hospital, states an analysis in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). Canada lacks a national pharmacare program, with drug costs borne by patients and a mix of private and publicly funded drug plans. Most insurance plans require copayments by patients, which can present a barrier to accessing needed drugs. Although provincial governments cover most or all drug costs for seniors and people on social assistance, the "working poor" do not have the same benefits, ...

Cognitive enhancers don't improve cognition, function in people with mild cognitive impairment

2013-09-16
TORONTO, Sept. 16, 2013—Cognitive enhancers—drugs taken to enhance concentration, memory, alertness and moods—do not improve cognition or function in people with mild cognitive impairment in the long term, according to a new study by researchers at St. Michael's Hospital. In fact, patients on these medications experienced significantly more nausea, diarrhea, vomiting and headaches, according to the study published today in the Canadian Medical Association Journal. "Our findings do not support the use of cognitive enhancers for mild cognitive impairment," wrote Dr. ...

iPad app teaches students key skill for success in math, science, engineering

2013-09-16
Engineers at the University of California, San Diego, have developed an iPad app that helps students learn spatial visualization, an essential skill for doing well in science, math and engineering. They have been testing the app during a high school summer program at the Jacobs School of Engineering at UC San Diego, as well as on undergraduate students at the school. Researchers are set to conduct more testing at UC San Diego and in local high schools this coming year. Their goal is to make the app publicly available by next summer. "As an engineer I visualize things ...

Automated telephone calls improve blood pressure control

2013-09-16
PASADENA, Calif., September 16, 2013 — Patients who received automated telephone calls inviting them to get their blood pressure checked at a walk-in clinic were more likely to have controlled hypertension than patients who did not receive calls, according to a Kaiser Permanente study published today in the Journal of Clinical Hypertension. The researchers studied 64,773 adult members of Kaiser Permanente Southern California with uncontrolled hypertension, commonly referred to as high blood pressure. Roughly half of these Kaiser Permanente members received automated phone ...

Studying dating abuse in the Internet age

2013-09-16
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Non-physical abuse by a dating partner such as threats, controlling behavior and harassing text messages can have a serious effect on a teenager's health and well-being, finds new research led by a Michigan State University scholar. The study, which appears in the research journal BMC Public Health, is one of the first to examine the effects of both physical and non-physical dating abuse that is relevant to today's highly connected adolescents. While physical and sexual violence significantly affected the health and behavior of adolescents aged ...

Driven to clean: Nesting instinct among pregnant women has an evolutionary backstory

2013-09-16
HAMILTON, ON -- The overwhelming urge that drives many pregnant women to clean, organize and get life in order -- otherwise known as nesting -- is not irrational, but an adaptive behaviour stemming from humans' evolutionary past. Researchers from McMaster University suggest that these behaviours -- characterized by unusual bursts of energy and a compulsion to organize the household -- are a result of a mechanism to protect and prepare for the unborn baby. Women also become more selective about the company they keep, preferring to spend time only with people they trust, ...

Birds appear to lack important anti-inflammatory protein

2013-09-16
Bethesda, Md. (Sept. 16, 2013)—From bird flu to the West Nile virus, bird diseases can have a vast impact on humans. Thus, understanding bird immune systems can help people in a variety of ways, including protecting ourselves from disease and protecting our interests in birds as food animals. An important element in the immune system of many animals' immune systems—including mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and most animals with a backbone—is a protein called tristetraprolin, or TTP. TTP plays an anti-inflammatory role, largely through keeping another protein, called tumor ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

First new treatment for asthma attacks in 50 years

Certain HRT tablets linked to increased heart disease and blood clot risk

Talking therapy and rehabilitation probably improve long covid symptoms, but effects modest

Ban medical research with links to the fossil fuel industry, say experts

Different menopausal hormone treatments pose different risks

Novel CAR T cell therapy obe-cel demonstrates high response rates in adult patients with advanced B-cell ALL

Clinical trial at Emory University reveals twice-yearly injection to be 96% effective in HIV prevention

Discovering the traits of extinct birds

Are health care disparities tied to worse outcomes for kids with MS?

For those with CTE, family history of mental illness tied to aggression in middle age

The sound of traffic increases stress and anxiety

Global food yields have grown steadily during last six decades

Children who grow up with pets or on farms may develop allergies at lower rates because their gut microbiome develops with more anaerobic commensals, per fecal analysis in small cohort study

North American Early Paleoindians almost 13,000 years ago used the bones of canids, felids, and hares to create needles in modern-day Wyoming, potentially to make the tailored fur garments which enabl

Higher levels of democracy and lower levels of corruption are associated with more doctors, independent of healthcare spending, per cross-sectional study of 134 countries

In major materials breakthrough, UVA team solves a nearly 200-year-old challenge in polymers

Wyoming research shows early North Americans made needles from fur-bearers

Preclinical tests show mRNA-based treatments effective for blinding condition

Velcro DNA helps build nanorobotic Meccano

Oceans emit sulfur and cool the climate more than previously thought

Nanorobot hand made of DNA grabs viruses for diagnostics and blocks cell entry

Rare, mysterious brain malformations in children linked to protein misfolding, study finds

Newly designed nanomaterial shows promise as antimicrobial agent

Scientists glue two proteins together, driving cancer cells to self-destruct

Intervention improves the healthcare response to domestic violence in low- and middle-income countries

State-wide center for quantum science: Karlsruhe Institute of Technology joins IQST as a new partner

Cellular traffic congestion in chronic diseases suggests new therapeutic targets

Cervical cancer mortality among US women younger than age 25

Fossil dung reveals clues to dinosaur success story

New research points way to more reliable brain studies

[Press-News.org] Genotype influences muscle performance