Researchers identify a metabolite as a biomarker of diabetes risk Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is the most common form of diabetes and is associated with many complications. T2D is preventable through weight control and exercise; however, many individuals are unaware that they are at risk and do not change their lifestyle in time to avoid disease. In this issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, Robert Gerszten and colleagues at Massachusetts General Hospital identify the metabolite 2-aminoadipic acid (2-AAA) as a biomarker for T2D diabetes risk. Individuals with increased ...

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is the most common form of diabetes and is associated with many complications. T2D is preventable through weight control and exercise; however, many individuals are unaware that they are at risk and do not change their lifestyle in time to avoid disease. In this issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, Robert Gerszten and colleagues at Massachusetts General Hospital identify the metabolite 2-aminoadipic acid (2-AAA) as a biomarker for T2D diabetes risk. Individuals with increased levels of 2-AAA had a much greater risk of developing diabetes ...

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 ...

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 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 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 ...

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, ...

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. ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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, ...

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 ...

Granada - (16 September 2013) – Backed by research that demonstrates significant health benefits as well as unparalleled taste that meets consumer needs, food ingredients are taking center stage as thousands of experts from around the world converge to discuss the state of global health and nutrition at the leading international nutrition conference taking place this week in Spain. At a time when global dietary guidance recommendations call for people to increase intake of dietary fibre while decreasing consumption of sodium, there is a heightened need for great-tasting, ...

The way the stomach detects and tells our brains how full we are becomes damaged in obese people but does not return to normal once they lose weight, according to new research from the University of Adelaide. Researchers believe this could be a key reason why most people who lose weight on a diet eventually put that weight back on. In laboratory studies, University of Adelaide PhD student Stephen Kentish investigated the impact of a high-fat diet on the gut's ability to signal fullness, and whether those changes revert back to normal by losing weight. The results, ...

Philadelphia, Pa. -- Spinal injuries are present in 1 out of 9 U.S. military personnel sustaining combat injuries in Iraq or Afghanistan -- a much higher rate than in previous wars, according to a report in the Sept. 15 issue of Spine. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health. "The incidence of spine trauma in modern warfare exceeds reported rates from earlier conflicts," according to the new study, led by Dr Andrew J. Schoenfeld of William Beaumont Army Medical Center, El Paso, Texas. The sharp increase in spinal injuries ...

The difference between Noggin and basic fibroblast growth factor for the neural precursor differentiation from human embryonic stem cells has not been studied. Prof. Xuejin Chen and colleagues from Shanghai Jiao Tong University were the first to utilize 100 µg/L Noggin or 20 µg/L basic fibroblast growth factor in serum-free neural induction medium to differentiate human embryonic stem cells H14 into neural precursors using monolayer differentiation. The researchers found that Noggin has a greater effect than basic fibroblast growth factor on the induction of human embryonic ...

Cytoglobin is a temporary oxygen reservoir, which might provide a minimal, but continuous supply of intracellular oxygen during ischemic and anoxic conditions. A research team from China Medical University was the first to use a plasmid carrying green fluorescent protein as the carrier to construct recombinant plasmids expressing cytoglobin by genetic engineering methods. Then, the recombinant plasmid was transfected into SH-SY5Y cells. Xiuling Yu and colleagues found that overexpression of cytoglobin could protect SH-SY5Y cells against cobalt chloride-induced hypoxia. ...

GUELPH, ON, CANADA -- Because Wisconsin and Ontario are similar in terms of agricultural practices, types of vegetable crops produced, climate, and latitude, researchers in Ontario looked to data from Wisconsin when comparing the long-term effects of climate on vegetable crop yield. According to researchers from the University of Guelph (Ontario, Canada), the length of the growing season is similar in the two locations, so growing conditions and yields could also be similar. Michael Tesfaendrias, Mary Ruth McDonald, and Jon Warland published the results of their extensive ...

Australian researchers have identified a potentially treatable subtype of pancreatic cancer, which accounts for about 2% of new cases. This subtype expresses high levels of the HER2 gene. HER2-amplified breast and gastric cancers are currently treated with Herceptin. Pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of cause of cancer death in Western societies, with a 5-year survival rate of less than 5%. It is a molecularly diverse disease, meaning that each tumour will respond only to specific treatments that target its unique molecular make-up. A new study, published ...

SALINAS, CA -- Throughout California's fertile central coast region, fresh spinach is a high-production, high-value crop. Spinach can be finicky, requiring sufficient nitrogen fertilizer and irrigation to ensure ideal growth, and to meet industry quality standards such as its defining deep green color. These production practices -- combined with a shallow root system and the crop's intensive production cycle -- can increase the potential of detrimental nitrate leaching. Recent water quality monitoring in the region has found widespread incidences of NO3 levels that exceed ...

A gentler new chemistry promises cleaner and subsequently far safer pharmaceuticals. The ground-breaking method, developed by a chemistry research group at the University of Copenhagen, is now published in the internationally renowned journal, Chemical Communications, as "Site-selective three component reaction for dual functionalization of peptides". Knud J. Jensen, the group's leader, is convinced that the method will become pivotal in the development of new pharmaceuticals. "This method opens a new chest of tools. I believe, it will be applied to pharmaceutical research ...

Philadelphia, Pa. (September 16, 2013) – The hormone oxytocin could play a role in treating psychiatric disorders such as autism and schizophrenia, according to a review article in the September Harvard Review of Psychiatry. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health. Among other biological effects, oxytocin is "an important regulator of human social behaviors," according to the research review by Dr David Cochran of University of Massachusetts Medical School and colleagues. They discuss the preliminary but encouraging ...

This news release is available in German. Today, most information is transmitted by light – for example in optical fibres. Computer chips, however, work electronically. Somewhere between the optical data highway and the electronic chips, photons have to be converted into electrons using light-detectors. Scientists at the Vienna University of Technology have now managed to combine a graphene photodetector with a standard silicon chip. It can transform light of all important frequencies used in telecommunications into electrical signals. The scientific results have ...

A new study led by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health finds that during a decade when prescription opioid use has skyrocketed, the identification and treatment of pain has failed to improve, and the use of non-opioid analgesics has plateaued, or even declined. The study was published online September 13 in the journal Medical Care. "There is an epidemic of prescription opioid addiction and abuse in the United States," notes G. Caleb Alexander, MD, MS, associate professor of Epidemology and Medicine and co-director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Drug ...