LOS ANGELES (May 9, 2012) – Scientists have confirmed that mutations of a gene are responsible for some cases of a rare, inherited disease that causes progressive muscle degeneration and weakness: spinal muscular atrophy with lower extremity predominance, also known as SMA-LED. "Typical spinal muscular atrophies begin in infancy or early childhood and are fatal, involving all motor neurons, but SMA-LED predominantly affects nerve cells controlling muscles of the legs. It is not fatal and the prognosis is good, although patients usually are moderately disabled and require ...

With high UV levels continuing in Queensland this autumn, young people are at risk of suffering the worst skin damage they will receive during their lifetime, research from Queensland University of Technology (QUT) has found. Researcher Professor Michael Kimlin from QUT's AusSun Research Lab said the study found UV exposure during a person's first 18 years of life was the most critical for cancer-causing skin damage and skin aging. Professor Kimlin said while people aged over 50 had the slowest rate of skin degradation, results indicated that damage still occurred even ...

Highlights Children with a particular kidney immune disorder that is unresponsive to standard treatments do not benefit from the immune drug rituximab. Additional studies are needed to fully understand the disease and to develop effective therapies for hard-to-treat cases. Washington, DC (May 10, 2012) — The drug rituximab, an antibody that targets the immune system and is often used to treat immune disorders such as lymphoma and arthritis, has recently emerged as a potential treatment for a childhood kidney disorder known as idiopathic nephrotic syndrome (INS). While ...

Researchers at the Hofstra North Shore-LIJ School of Medicine and Feinstein Institute for Medical Research conducted a retrospective analysis which found that morbid obesity impedes kidney donation. In fact, in the analysis of 104 potential living kidney donors, 23 (22 percent) donors were classified as morbidly obese, only three (13 percent) of whom were able to successfully lose weight and donate their kidney. This data will be presented at the National Kidney Foundation (NKF) 2012 Spring Clinical Meetings, to be held from May 9-13 in Washington, DC. Morbidly obese ...

People don't always do as their neighbors do, and the same is true of neighboring chimpanzees. That's according to a report published online on May 10 in the Cell Press journal Current Biology featuring observations of wild chimps as they used hammers to crack nuts. "In humans, cultural differences are an essential part of what distinguishes neighboring groups that live in very similar environments," said Lydia Luncz of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany. "For the first time, a very similar situation has been found in wild chimpanzees ...

Social jetlag—a syndrome related to the mismatch between the body's internal clock and the realities of our daily schedules—does more than make us sleepy. It is also contributing to the growing tide of obesity, according to a large-scale epidemiological study reported online on May 10 in Current Biology, a Cell Press publication. "We have identified a syndrome in modern society that has not been recognized until recently," said Till Roenneberg of the University of Munich. "It concerns an increasing discrepancy between the daily timing of the physiological clock and the ...

Heart attack patients in North Carolina who were rushed directly to hospitals equipped to do percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) received treatment significantly faster than patients first taken to hospitals unequipped to perform PCI and then later transferred for treatment, according to research reported at the American Heart Association's Quality of Care and Outcomes Research 2012 Scientific Sessions. The study focused on the most serious form of heart attack, ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). A STEMI typically involves complete blockage of the blood ...

Dr. Dale Hall, Oklahoma City podiatrist, is happy to be able to offer new patient services on his practice's website. He hopes the information for new patients makes it easier for patients to find the Oklahoma City, OK podiatrist and schedule appointments. Dr. Hall's website features downloadable new patient forms that can be printed and filled out prior to coming in for the first appointment. This is designed to save time and expedite the process of coming in for a patient's first appointment. Instead of spending a large amount of time filling out forms, new patients ...

WASHINGTON—A vast city built by the ancient Maya and discovered nearly a century ago is finally starting to yield its secrets. Excavating for the first time in the sprawling complex of Xultún in Guatemala’s Petén region, archaeologists have uncovered a structure that contains what appears to be a work space for the town’s scribe, its walls adorned with unique paintings — one depicting a lineup of men in black uniforms — and hundreds of scrawled numbers. Many are calculations relating to the Maya calendar. One wall of the structure, thought to be a house, is covered with ...

Carl J. Taylor & Co., a Texas executive search firm based in Dallas, is receiving an increase in inquiries from employers who are unable to find the people they need for middle and senior level executive positions. According to Carl Taylor, President of the firm, the inquiries are coming from a wide variety of businesses. "We have had a number of contacts from some very small companies," said Taylor. "Some of these smaller organizations are start-ups or relatively new companies, but many of them have been in business for several years." Taylor ...

Patients receiving telemonitoring along with high blood pressure management support from a pharmacist were more likely to lower their blood pressure than those not receiving extra support, according to research presented at the American Heart Association's Quality of Care and Outcomes Research Scientific Sessions 2012. "Patients with high blood pressure visit physicians an average of four times each year, yet blood pressure is controlled in only about half of U.S. patients," said Karen Margolis, M.D., M.P.H., the study's lead author and director of clinical research of ...

Acute ischemic stroke patients taking the blood thinner warfarin can be treated safely with the clot-busting drug tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), according to research presented at the American Heart Association's Quality of Care and Outcomes Research Scientific Sessions 2012. "Although it's the only drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat acute ischemic stroke, tPA is underused among patients on home warfarin therapy mainly because of the fear that it will cause bleeding," said Ying Xian, M.D., Ph.D., the study's lead author and a research fellow ...

Cincinnati, OH, May 10, 2012 – In 2009, children with public insurance were three times more likely and children with no insurance were eleven time more likely not to have a primary care physician, compared with children with private insurance. Without a primary care physician, the Emergency Department (ED) often becomes the primary point of contact for treatments and diagnoses. A new study scheduled for publication in The Journal of Pediatrics reports that children with private, public, and no insurance may receive differing levels of treatment in EDs. Rebekah Mannix, ...

Stephen W. Stewart, founder of The Stewart Law Firm announces that the firm is proud to be a sponsor of the 9th Annual Hole in Juan Charity Golf Tournament benefitting The Settlement Home for Children. The event, presented by Juan Mesa, owner and operator of Austin's Juan in a Million restaurant, will take place on May 26, 2012 at Onion Creek Country Club. Just like Juan in a Million, The Settlement Home for Children is an icon as it relates to public service in central Texas. Located on 10 acres in north Austin, The Settlement Home for Children's campus provides a tranquil ...

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — It appears that the brittle star, the humble, five-limbed dragnet of the seabed, moves very similarly to us. In a series of first-time experiments, Brown University evolutionary biologist Henry Astley discovered that brittle stars, despite having no brain, move in a very coordinated fashion, choosing a central arm to chart direction and then designating other limbs to propel it along. Yet when the brittle star wants to change direction, it designates a new front, meaning that it chooses a new center arm and two other limbs to move. ...

MapleOnlineCasino is increasing its large game collection this month by a lucky number 7. Introduced into the assortment are five Flash Casino games and two new games available on the download casino. With new, fun themes and a variety of innovative features, Maple Casino continues to add an entertaining mix for players to choose from. Around the World - This thrill seeking adventure game is a video slot available in Flash. Set sail and explore the globe in this 20 line slot, uncovering golden riches and dodging shipwrecks along the way. Added features include 5 reels, ...

MrSportsbook's Facebook promotional campaign has paid out GBP3,526 to fans of the site after a weekly accumulator bet won. The Facebook campaign asked visitors to the site to like the MrSportsbook Facebook Page and a promotional post that featured the week's accumulator bet. Each week MrSportsbook chooses an accumulator bet taken from the top four European Leagues using a Bet365 Euro Soccer Bonus with the winnings split between those who have liked the Page and the Post. This week the 10-fold GBP5 accumulator bet paid out at 440/1. Free to enter the promotion was ...

A recently evolved pattern of gene activity in the language and decision-making centers of the human brain is missing in a disorder associated with autism and learning disabilities, a new study by Yale University researchers shows. "This is the cost of being human," said Nenad Sestan, associate professor of neurobiology, researcher at Yale's Kavli Institute for Neuroscience, and senior author of the paper. "The same evolutionary mechanisms that may have gifted our species with amazing cognitive abilities have also made us more susceptible to psychiatric disorders such ...

May 11, 2012 – Melanoma is the most deadly form of skin cancer, estimated by the National Cancer Institute to afflict more than 70,000 people in the United States annually and the incidence rate continues to rise. In a study published online in Genome Research (www.genome.org), researchers have identified a previously unknown non-coding RNA that plays an important role in the biology of melanoma, a finding that could lead to a new target for therapy. Most skin cancers are nonmelanomas, arising from cells other than melanocytes (the melanin-producing cells that are responsible ...

On June 11, 2012, Citizens is set to try the case of Gulf View Village Condo Association v. Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, pending in Pasco County, Florida. The case relates to a 2009 claim for damages due to settlement at a property occupied primarily by retirees and their families. This case illustrates the lengths Citizens believes it can go to delay and stall paying on its legal obligations. Although Citizens was told as early as November 2009 that there was sinkhole activity at the property in one building and as early as August 2010 in its other 4, Citizens ...

The starry mist streaking across this image obtained by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope is the central part of the dwarf galaxy known as NGC 2366. The most obvious feature in this galaxy is a large nebula visible in the upper-right part of the image, an object listed just a few entries prior in the New General Catalogue as NGC 2363. A nearby yellowish swirl is not in fact part of the nebula. It is a spiral galaxy much further away, whose light is shining right through NGC 2366. This is possible because galaxies are not solid objects. While we see the stars because ...

Six years ago, the American Trucking Associations (ATA) advised the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) that using speed limiters --electronic devices that limit the top speed of commercial vehicles -- would help prevent commercial trucking accidents and make roads safer for motorists. Now, according to ATA CEO Bill Graves, a recent study published by the FMCSA proves that these devices are an answer to saving lives of many commercial truck drivers. "This study confirms what ATA has been ...

National measures to curb speeding on local roads and interstate highways have proved to be largely ineffective. In fact, the federal government repealed the national speed limit in 1995, prompting some states to raise their limit as high as 85 mph. Despite all the technology to increase automobile safety and measures to make roads safer, speeding contributes to around one third of the 10,000 traffic fatalities each year, according to AutoGuide.com. A 1998 study estimated the annual economic cost associated with deaths, injuries and damage from speeding was $27.7 billion. The ...

African Americans have more severe complications from systemic sclerosis, also known as scleroderma, than Caucasians. Findings published today in, Arthritis & Rheumatism, a journal of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR), show that compared with Caucasians, African-American patients were more likely to have antibodies that increased frequency and severity of pulmonary fibrosis, which is associated with decreased survival. According to the ACR there are 49,000 adult American diagnosed with systemic sclerosis—an autoimmune disease where collagen build-ups in the ...

More than a 150 years ago, before Neptune was ever sighted in the night sky, French mathematician Urbain Le Verrier predicted the planet's existence based on small deviations in the motion of Uranus. In a paper published today in the journal Science online, a group of researchers led by Dr. David Nesvorny of Southwest Research Institute has inferred another unseen planet, this time orbiting a distant star, marking the first success of this technique outside the solar system. Using a laborious computational method to assess the effects of gravity, known as gravitational ...