The Aurora A kinase may contribute to polycystic kidney disease (PKD) by inactivating a key calcium channel in kidney cells, according to a study in the June 13 issue of The Journal of Cell Biology (www.jcb.org). Aurora A is an oncogene best known as a regulator of mitotic progression. But the kinase has important functions during interphase as well, when it can promote cilia disassembly and can be activated by elevated calcium levels. Because both calcium signaling and cilia are defective in PKD, researchers from the Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia wondered whether ...

A new study indicates high rates of injection drug use in urban Canadian Aboriginal youth, particularly in women, and points to the need for culturally specific prevention programs, states an article in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) (pre-embargo link only) http://www.cmaj.ca/embargo/cmaj101257.pdf Aboriginal leadership is alarmed at the levels of substance abuse in their young people, especially injection drug use, which is associated with HIV and hepatitis C virus infections. Injection drug use accounts for 70%󈞼% of all hepatitis C virus and almost ...

Administrative information can be useful for surveillance and understanding of alcohol-related harm in young people, states an article in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) (pre-embargo link only) http://www.cmaj.ca/embargo/cmaj110367.pdf Binge drinking and overconsumption of alcohol by young people is a growing issue in many countries. For example, in a 2009 study, almost 60% of young Canadians aged 15-24 reported having consumed alcohol in the previous month, with 22% reporting heaving drinking and 20% experiencing harm related to alcohol consumption. In Australia, ...

Accurate, safe prescribing information for children is often unavailable to doctors in Canada because pharmaceutical companies will not disclose information to Health Canada, states an editorial in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) (pre-embargo link only) http://www.cmaj.ca/embargo/cmaj110563.pdf Health professionals in Canada as well as other countries such as Japan and Australia, unlike their colleagues in the United States and Europe, do not have access to the same body of evidence regarding pediatric dosing. "As a consequence, Canadian children and youth ...

NEW YORK – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the first clinical trial in humans of a new technology: Cornell Dots, brightly glowing nanoparticles that can light up cancer cells in PET-optical imaging. A paper describing this new medical technology, "Multimodal silica nanoparticles are effective cancer-targeted probes in a model of human melanoma," will be published June 13, 2011 in the Journal of Clinical Investigation (July 2011). This is a collaboration between Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC), Cornell University, and Hybrid Silica ...

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — A new Brown University computer analysis that predicts the effect of genetic mutations on how the body splices mRNA indicates as many as a third of disease-related mutations may be linked to splicing problems — more than double the proportion previously thought. "Something like 85 percent of the mutations in the Human Gene Mutation Database are presumed to affect how proteins are coded, but what this work shows is that 22 percent of those are affecting the splicing process," said William Fairbrother, assistant professor of biology ...

A paper published online on June 13 in the Journal of Experimental Medicine (www.jem.org) identifies new gene mutations in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL)—a disease often associated with lack of response to chemotherapy and poor overall survival. CLL is the most common leukemia in the Western world, but the disease varies greatly from patient to patient with regard to prognosis, survival, and disease course. In attempt to understand the genetic basis for this heterogeneity, a group led by Riccardo Dalla-Favera at Columbia University and Gianluca Gaidano ...

National Institutes of Health researchers have identified a new pathway that sets the clock for programmed aging in normal cells. The study provides insights about the interaction between a toxic protein called progerin and telomeres, which cap the ends of chromosomes like aglets, the plastic tips that bind the ends of shoelaces. The study by researchers from the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) appears in the June 13, 2011 early online edition of the Journal of Clinical Investigation. Telomeres wear away during cell division. When they degrade sufficiently, ...

A team of researchers, led by Emmanuel Nivet, now at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, has generated data in mice that suggest that adult stem cells from immune system tissue in the smell-sensing region of the human nose (human olfactory ecto–mesenchymal stem cells [OE-MSCs]) could provide a source of cells to treat brain disorders in which nerve cells are lost or irreparably damaged. Stem cells are considered by many to be promising candidate sources of cells for the regeneration and repair of tissues damaged by various brain disorders (including traumatic ...

EDITOR'S PICK: Sniffing out a new source of stem cells A team of researchers, led by Emmanuel Nivet, now at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, has generated data in mice that suggest that adult stem cells from immune system tissue in the smell-sensing region of the human nose (human olfactory ecto–mesenchymal stem cells [OE-MSCs]) could provide a source of cells to treat brain disorders in which nerve cells are lost or irreparably damaged. Stem cells are considered by many to be promising candidate sources of cells for the regeneration and repair ...

In one of the first studies of its kind, UCLA researchers used a unique brain scan to assess the levels of amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles — the hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease — in adults with Down syndrome. Published in the June edition of the Archives of Neurology, the finding may offer an additional clinical tool to help diagnose dementia in adults with Down syndrome, a genetic disorder caused by the presence of a complete or partial extra copy of chromosome 21. Adults with this disorder develop Alzheimer's-like plaque and tangle deposits early, ...

Spring flowers are opening sooner and songbirds breeding earlier in the year, but scientists know little about how climate change is affecting phenology – the timing of key biological events – in UK mammals. Now, a new study on Northumberland's iconic Chillingham cattle published in the British Ecological Society's Journal of Animal Ecology shows climate change is altering when these animals breed, and fewer calves are surviving as a result. The team of ecologists lead by Dr Sarah Burthe of the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology were able to use the cattle to discover more ...

A new meta-analysis study, led by physician researchers at University Hospitals (UH) Case Medical Center and Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, and to be published in the Archives of Internal Medicine (embargoed until June 13, 4 p.m. EDT), shows that three-lead cardiac pacemakers implanted in those with heart failure fail to help up to 40 percent of patients with such devices. "These findings have significant clinical implications and impact tens of thousands of patients in the U.S.," said Ilke Sipahi, MD, Associate Director of Heart Failure and Transplantation ...

CLEVELAND – June 13, 2011 –Researchers at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine have discovered a genetic factor that can regulate obesity-induced inflammation that contributes to chronic health problems. If they learn to control levels of the factor in defense cells called macrophages, "We have a shot at a novel treatment for obesity and its complications, such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer," said Mukesh K. Jain, MD, Ellery Sedgwick Jr. Chair, director of the Case Cardiovascular Research Institute, professor of medicine at Case Western Reserve University ...

Cancer and chronic inflammation are partners in peril, with the latter increasing the likelihood that malignant tumors will develop, grow and spread. Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine say they've identified a tumor inflammation trigger that is common to most, if not all, cancers. And using existing inhibitory drugs, the scientists were able to dramatically decrease primary tumor growth in animal studies and, more importantly, halt tumor progression and metastasis. The findings appear in the June 14 issue of the journal Cancer Cell, ...

CHICAGO – Among patients who have had an ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA), type 2 diabetes was associated with an increased risk of recurrent stroke or cardiovascular events, but metabolic syndrome was not, according to a report published Online First today by Archives of Neurology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. Previous research has examined the association between cardiovascular incidents and these conditions, according to background information in the article. "Type 2 diabetes mellitus is associated with increased risks of both stroke and coronary ...

CHICAGO – In recent years, spending for glaucoma medications has increased, especially for women, persons who have only public health insurance and those with less than a high school education, according to a report published Online First by Archives of Ophthalmology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. Glaucoma is a condition marked by damage to the optic nerve, and is a leading cause of blindness. According to background information in the article, approximately 2.2 million individuals ages 40 years and older in the United States currently have primary open-angle glaucoma; ...

### (Arch Neurol. 2011;68[6]:743-752. Available pre-embargo to the media at www.jamamedia.org.) Editor's Note: This research was supported by grants from the National Institute on Aging and by funding from the Nancy and Buster Alvord Endowment. This article results from work supported by resources from the Veterans Affairs Puget Sound Health Care System. Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, financial disclosures, funding and support, etc. ...

A computer modeling study suggests that administering the drug ranibizumab is associated with reducing the magnitude of legal blindness and visual impairment caused by age-related macular degeneration in non-Hispanic white individuals, according to a report in the June issue of Archives of Ophthalmology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. "Before ranibizumab became available in 2006, neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD) was reported to be the leading cause of blindness in individuals 50 years and older in the United States and throughout many parts of the ...

CHICAGO – A shift toward more conservative medication-prescribing practices would serve patients better, according to a review article published Online First today by Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. The article is part of the journal's Less Is More series. As background, the article notes that the majority of patients under age 65 years receive at least one prescription drug annually. However, according to the authors, not every patient visit needs to result in a prescription. They point to "the recent spate of revelations of undisclosed ...

CHICAGO – Using the Screening Tool of Older Persons' potentially inappropriate Prescriptions (STOPP) criteria was associated with identification of adverse drug events in older patients, according to a report in the June issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. The article is part of the journal's Less Is More series. According to information in the article, adverse drug events (ADEs) are a significant issue in the older population, and are thought to represent an important cause of hospitalization and account for substantial health care ...

For Immediate Release – June 13, 2011 – (Toronto) – The latest survey of Ontario adults from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) shows increasing rates of daily drinking and cannabis use and high levels of psychological distress. The results of the 2009 CAMH Monitor survey, the longest running survey tracking mental health and addiction indicators among adults in Ontario, were published today. Alcohol The proportion of adults reporting daily drinking increased from 5.3% in 2002 to over 9% in 2009. The average number of drinks consumed weekly among drinkers ...

This press release is available in Arabic. DUBAI (14 June 2011)—With increased trade in livestock products offering a possible antidote to high food prices, livestock experts from the Middle East and 12 African countries are meeting this week in Dubai to develop a strategy that eliminates the need to impose devastating bans on livestock imports from the Horn of Africa, as prevention against the spread of Rift Valley fever. The strategy should expedite the flow of livestock products while increasing safety of the overall livestock trade in the region. Convened by the ...

Los Angeles, CA (JUNE 13, 2011) — Nearly everyone can recognize the stereotypical scene of construction workers catcalling women as being sexist, but both men and women tend to overlook the more subtle daily acts of sexism they encounter, according to a recent study from Psychology of Women Quarterly (published by SAGE on behalf of the Society for the Psychology of Women, Division 35 of the American Psychological Association). Things such as calling women "girls" but not calling men "boys" or referring to a collective group as "guys" are forms of subtle sexism that creep ...

RIKEN and the Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute (JASRI) have successfully produced a beam of X-ray laser light with a wavelength of 1.2 Angstroms, the shortest ever measured. This record-breaking light was created using SACLA, a cutting-edge X-ray Free Electron Laser (XFEL) facility unveiled by RIKEN in February 2011 in Harima, Japan. SACLA (SPring-8 Angstrom Compact free electron LAser) opens a window into the structure of atoms and molecules at a level of detail never seen before. The use of ultra high-intensity X-ray free electron laser light to explore ...