Fruit flies that grow obese after eating a diet loaded with fat could lead the way to the core elements of obesity, according to researchers who report their findings in the November issue of Cell Metabolism, a Cell Press publication. The findings also get at obesity's origins. The demonstration that flies do become obese on a high-fat diet (HFD), much as humans do, indicates that the ability to become obese goes way, way back, the researchers say. "The capacity for obesity is evolutionarily ancient," said Sean Oldham of the Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute. ...

Researchers have identified a hormone produced and secreted by the liver as a previously unknown cause of insulin resistance. The findings, in the November issue of Cell Metabolism, a Cell Press publication, suggest a new target for the treatment of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes, the researchers say. "The current study sheds light on a previously underexplored function of the liver; the liver participates in the pathogenesis of insulin resistance through hormone secretion," said Hirofumi Misu of Kanazawa University Graduate School of Medical Science in Japan. ...

In adults with seasonal influenza A virus infection, the combination of the drugs oseltamivir (tamiflu) and zanamivir (relenza) is less effective than oseltamivir monotherapy and not significantly more effective than zanamivir monotherapy. This key finding comes from a randomized, placebo-controlled trial— in adults presenting with influenza symptoms at general practices throughout France during the seasonal influenza epidemic in 2008-2009— carried out by Catherine Leport from the University of Paris, France, and colleagues, and reported in this week's PLoS Medicine. In ...

In this week's PLoS Medicine Magazine, Trisha Greenhalgh and Jill Russell from the Queen Mary University of London discuss the relative merits of "scientific" and "social practice" approaches to evaluation and argue that eHealth evaluation is in need of a paradigm shift. They critique the previous PLoS Medicine series on evaluating eHealth, published in late 2009. INFORMATION:Funding: The ideas in this paper were developed during an independent evaluation of the UK Summary Care Record programme, funded by a research grant from the UK National Institute of Health Research ...

David Henry discusses a recent research article in PLoS Medicine that suggests that relationships between doctors and drug companies are still too close. The research, by Geoffrey Spurling and colleagues, examined the relationship between exposure to promotional material from pharmaceutical companies and the quality, quantity, and cost of prescribing. David Henry's offers his Perspective in this week's PLoS Medicine Magazine. INFORMATION: Funding: The author received no specific funding for this article Competing Interests: The author has declared that no competing ...

BOSTON—The system for hospice admissions for patients with advanced dementia, which is a terminal illness, should be guided by patient and family preference for comfort, not estimated life expectancy, says a new study published in the Nov. 3 Journal of the American Medical Association by the Institute for Aging Research at Hebrew SeniorLife, an affiliate of Harvard Medical School. Currently, patients requesting hospice services must be certified by their physician to have six months or less to live, and must sign a statement choosing comfort care services in lieu of curative ...

In a study examining the factors that play a role in an older adult's transition to disability, intervening illnesses and injuries that led to hospitalization or activity restriction were associated with worsening functional ability, especially among those who were physically frail, according to a study in the November 3 issue of JAMA, a theme issue on aging. Thomas M. Gill, M.D., of the Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Conn., presented the findings of the study at a JAMA media briefing at the National Press Club. Among older persons, disability in essential ...

Use of a fall prevention tool kit, which included a fall risk assessment, patient-specific prevention plan, an educational handout and a poster for over the patient's hospital bed reduced the number of older patients with falls in hospitals, according to a study in the November 3 issue of JAMA, a theme issue on aging. Patricia C. Dykes, R.N., D.N.Sc., of Partners HealthCare System, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, presented the findings of the study at a JAMA media briefing at the National Press Club. "Falls are a public health problem ...

In a review of comprehensive primary care programs for older adults with multiple chronic conditions, authors identified three models that appear to have the greatest potential for improving quality of care and life for these patients, while reducing or not increasing the costs of their health care, according to an article in the November 3 issue of JAMA, a theme issue on aging. Chad Boult, M.D., M.P.H., M.B.A., of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, presented the findings of the study at a JAMA media briefing at the National Press Club. "Older ...

Patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease (AD) who received supplementation with the omega-3 fatty acid docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), believed to possibly reduce the risk of AD, did not experience a reduction in the rate of cognitive and functional decline, compared to patients who received placebo, according to a study in the November 3 issue of JAMA, a theme issue on aging. Joseph F. Quinn, M.D., of Oregon Health and Science University and the Portland VA Medical Center, Portland, Ore., presented the findings of the study at a JAMA media briefing at the National ...

VIDEO: Researchers show that obesity-induced heart disease can be prevented by reducing the activity of TOR, a nutrient-sensing protein that regulates molecular circuits involved in growth, metabolism and lifespan. Click here for more information. LA JOLLA, Calif., November 2, 2010 – It's no secret that obesity is hard on the heart. More than 30 percent of Americans are obese, and many of them are also at increased risk for cancer, diabetes and heart disease. However, there ...

Survival for colorectal cancer patients with MUTYH-associated polyposis was statistically significantly better than for patients with colorectal cancer from the general population, according to a recent study published online November 2 in The Journal of the National Cancer Institute. People who inherit a mutation in the MUTYH gene have nearly a 100% risk for developing colon cancer at some point in their lifetimes. But it is unknown whether specific histological and molecular genetic features of cancer associated with this genotype influence tumor behavior and survival. ...

A team led by researchers at the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), part of the National Institutes of Health, has captured the most comprehensive snapshot to date of DNA regions that regulate genes in human pancreatic islet cells, a subset of which produces insulin. The study highlights the importance of genome regulatory sequences in human health and disease, particularly type 2 diabetes, which affects more than 20 million people in the United States and 200 million people worldwide. The findings appear Nov. 3 in Cell Metabolism. "This study applies ...

The nature-nurture debate is a "giant step" closer to being resolved after scientists studying bees documented how environmental inputs can modify our genetic hardware. The researchers uncovered extensive molecular differences in the brains of worker bees and queen bees which develop along very different paths when put on different diets The research was led by Professor Ryszard Maleszka of The Australian National University's College of Medicine, Biology and Environment, working with colleagues from the German Cancer Institute in Heidelberg, Germany and will be published ...

Immune cells known as microglia, long thought to be activated in the brain only when fighting infection or injury, are constantly active and likely play a central role in one of the most basic, central phenomena in the brain – the creation and elimination of synapses. The findings, publishing next week in the online, open access journal PLoS Biology, catapult the humble microglia cell from its well-recognized duty of protecting the brain to direct involvement in creating the cellular networks at the core of brain behavior. Its apparent role as an architect of synapses – ...

Scientists, in collaboration with researchers at the universities of Southampton and Calgary, used finger ratios from fossilised skeletal remains of early apes and extinct hominins, as indicators of the levels of exposure species had to prenatal androgens – a group of hormones that is important in the development of masculine characteristics such as aggression and promiscuity. It is thought that androgens, such as testosterone, affect finger length during development in the womb. High levels of the hormones increase the length of the fourth finger in comparison to the ...

Doctors have known for some time that children born after fertility treatments such as in vitro fertilisation (IVF) or intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) are at increased risk of cerebral palsy. However, it was not known whether this risk was due to the treatment itself, the higher frequency of preterm or multiple births, or a mechanism associated with couples' underlying infertility. Now, new research published online in Europe's leading reproductive medicine journal Human Reproduction [1] today (Wednesday 3 November) indicates that underlying infertility is not ...

At a global scale, the sickle cell gene is most commonly found in areas with historically high levels of malaria, adding geographical support to the hypothesis that the gene, whilst potentially deadly, avoids disappearing through natural selection by providing protection against malaria. In a study funded by the Wellcome Trust, geographers, biologists and statisticians at the University of Oxford, together with colleagues from the KEMRI-Wellcome Trust Programme in Kenya, have produced the first detailed global map showing the distribution of the sickle cell gene. The ...

INDIANAPOLIS – A model program developed at Indiana University to provide care to low-income older adults in their homes has earned recognition for its effective approach and cost-saving benefits in a leading national medical journal. A paper published in the Nov. 3 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association praises a team approach developed by researchers from Indiana University and the Regenstrief Institute as one of three models with the greatest potential to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the complex primary health care of older adults. "Health-care ...

Black raspberries are highly effective in preventing colorectal tumors in two mouse models of the disease, according to a University of Illinois at Chicago study. The findings are published in the November issue of Cancer Prevention Research. Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer and the second leading cause of cancer-related death in both men and women in the U.S., according to the National Cancer Institute. Building on previous research that found black raspberries have antioxidant, anti-cancer, anti-neurodegenerative and anti-inflammatory properties, ...

A new study analysing how complex, highly-evolved societies are organised in nature has found that it is workers that play a pivotal role in creating well-ordered societies where conflict is minimised. For when it comes to determining who reproduces in ants, University of Leicester biologists have found the humble worker is queenmaker – it is they who choose their queen. This information is key to understanding the evolution of complex interdependent societies - over 100 millions years old - that have evolved mechanisms ensuring stable cohabitation and conflict resolution. What ...

A study by Yale School of Medicine researchers reveals that the illnesses and injuries that can restrict the activity of older adults or land them in the hospital are linked to worsening functional ability, especially among those who are physically frail. The report appears in JAMA's November 3 theme issue on aging. Thomas M. Gill, M.D., the Humana Foundation Professor of internal medicine (geriatrics), investigative medicine and epidemiology and public health at Yale, will present the findings at a JAMA media briefing at the National Press Club November 2 at 10 a.m. ...

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have discovered that a multi-tasking protein called FoxO1 has another important but previously unknown function: It directly interacts with macrophages, promoting an inflammatory response that can lead to insulin resistance and diabetes. Contrarily, it also generates a negative feedback loop that can limit damage from excessive inflammation. The findings by Jerrold M. Olefsky, MD, Associate Dean for Scientific Affairs and professor of Medicine, and colleagues are published in the November 2 issue ...

Brain damage continues to develop and evolve for months after a traumatic brain injury (TBI), revealing a potential target for treatments to improve brain trauma, new research led by the University of Melbourne, Australia has found. The study funded by the Victorian Neurotrauma Initiative is published in the latest issue of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine (JNM). Around 400,000 Australians have a disability related to traumatic brain injury with cognitive, psychiatric and epileptic problems the most common symptoms. The major cause of TBI is motor vehicle accidents. ...

While the risk remains low the authors are surprised at the results and say "a critical evaluation of the obstetrical care system in the Netherlands is urgently required." Despite the high level of medical care in the Netherlands, the perinatal mortality rate (death of fetus or new born baby) is one of the highest in Europe, says the study. The management of childbirth delivery in the Netherlands is divided into two independent systems – midwife-led care for low risk pregnancies and obstetrician-led care for high-risk pregnancies. This differs to all other obstetric ...