HOUSTON - (Jan. 10, 2011) – All fat cells are not the same – a fact that has implications in the understanding and treatment of type 2 diabetes and obesity, said researchers from Baylor College of Medicine (www.bcm.edu) in a report that appears in the current issue of the Journal of Cell Biology (http://www.jcb.rupress.org/). The amount of fat in each cell and the central transcription factor, PPAR gamma (peroxisome proliferator activated receptor gamma), can vary widely, but the fat cells (adipocytes) can maintain stable levels of master switches known as steroid receptor ...

A new study found that there is a serious increased risk of side effects requiring hospitalization in people over the age of 65 who are going through latent tuberculosis infection therapy, according to a study published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) (pre-embargo link only) http://www.cmaj.ca/embargo/cmaj091824.pdf. Latent tuberculosis therapy has been shown to reduce the development of active tuberculosis (TB) disease and is used as a way to control tuberculosis in Canada and the United States. Deciding to treat a person with latent tuberculosis therapy ...

While the evidence is incomplete there is enough available to support legislation against letting people smoke in cars with children, states an article in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) (pre-embargo link only) http://www.cmaj.ca/embargo/cmaj100903.pdf. This analysis was conducted to settle the matter of risk to children when in a car with second-hand smoke. The authors also wanted to show that although smoking in cars is not 23 times more toxic in a car than in a home it can still be very harmful to children. "We hope to show that, though the relevant data ...

The use of recombinant activated factor 7 (rFVIIa) despite its potential for adverse events displays the serious shortcomings of Canada's current drug surveillance system, according to a commentary published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) (pre-embargo link only) http://www.cmaj.ca/embargo/cmaj101842.pdf. Off-label use of this therapy — a blood product — was driven by key physician opinion leaders who thought recombinant factor VIIa could be used to treat or prevent bleeding in patients without hemophilia at risk of death. This shows how promising case ...

A paper published online on January 10 in the Journal of Experimental Medicine reports that retinal ganglion cells—neurons in the eye—are rescued by immune cells that infiltrate the mouse retina after eye injury. A group led by Michal Schwartz at the Weizmann Institute detected immune cells called macrophages in the retinas of mice that sustained eye injuries a few days prior. Thanks to their expression of an anti-inflammatory protein, these macrophages dampened injury-induced inflammation and protected the retinal ganglion cells from death. Macrophage arrival also awakened ...

Spending too much leisure time in front of a TV or computer screen appears to dramatically increase the risk for heart disease and premature death from any cause, perhaps regardless of how much exercise one gets, according to a new study published in the January 18, 2011, issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Data show that compared to people who spend less than two hours each day on screen-based entertainment like watching TV, using the computer or playing video games, those who devote more than four hours to these activities are more than twice as ...

A team of scientists has created particles that closely mirror some of the key properties of red blood cells, potentially helping pave the way for the development of synthetic blood. The new discovery – outlined in a study appearing in the online Early Edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences during the week of Jan. 10, 2011 – also could lead to more effective treatments for life threatening medical conditions such as cancer. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill researchers used technology known as PRINT (Particle Replication in Non-wetting ...

TITLE: A microRNA-dependent program controls p53-independent survival and chemosensitivity in human and murine squamous cell carcinoma AUTHOR CONTACT: Leif Ellisen Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center, Boston, MA, USA Phone: (617)726-4315; Fax: (617)726-8623; E-mail: ellisen@helix.mgh.harvard.edu View this article at: http://www.jci.org/articles/view/43897?key=34ca4a64f929de6d5fea END ...

TITLE: Generation of hyaline cartilaginous tissue from mouse adult dermal fibroblast culture by defined factors AUTHOR CONTACT: Noriyuki Tsumaki Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Suita, UNK, JPN Phone: +81-6-6879-3552; Fax: +81-6-6879-3559; E-mail: ntsumaki@dbcb.med.osaka-u.ac.jp View this article at: http://www.jci.org/articles/view/44605?key=631d5aff983c237cf1dc END ...

EDITOR'S PICK Cancer cell survival is not miR-ly dependent on p53 Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is a common type of skin cancer and remains one of the most resistant to available chemotherapies. Many cancer therapeutic strategies are directed at restoring the function of the tumor suppressor gene p53, because when active, cells are more sensitive to the DNA damage induced by chemotherapy. Other proteins related to p53, including p63 and p73, have also been implicated in cancer and cell sensitivity to chemotherapy. Both p63 and p73 are overexpressed in SCC, and are thought ...

While wealthier people have chosen alternatives to urban nursing homes, the urban poor still depend on them for long-term care. A new study led by researchers at Brown University finds that option is nevertheless slipping away. Between 1999 and 2008, nursing home closures in the United States were concentrated disproportionately in poor, urban and predominantly minority neighborhoods. Overall, the United States lost 5 percent, or 96,902, of its total nursing home beds during the decade, as patients with means sought assisted living or other forms of home and community-based ...

BOSTON—A large proportion of Medicare expenditures for nursing home residents with advanced dementia, a terminal illness, is spent on aggressive treatments that may be avoidable and of limited clinical benefit, according to a new study by the Institute for Aging Research, an affiliate of Harvard Medical School, published in the online version of the Archives of Internal Medicine on Jan. 10, 2011. The study examined Medicare expenditures for 323 nursing home residents with advanced dementia in 22 facilities in the Greater Boston area as part of the Choices, Attitudes, and ...

A SCUBA expedition in Australia and New Zealand to find the rare embryos of an unusual shark cousin enabled American and British researchers to confirm new developmental similarities between fish and mammals. Elephant fish, a relative of sharks, utilize the same genetic process for forming skeletal gill covers that lizards and mammals use to form fingers and toes, researchers at the University of Chicago and the University of Cambridge found. The precise timing of when and where that gene is expressed during embryonic development produces dramatic anatomical differences ...

The search for a universal flu vaccine has received a boost from a surprising source: the 2009 H1N1 pandemic flu strain. Several patients infected with the 2009 H1N1 strain developed antibodies that are protective against a variety of flu strains, scientists from Emory University School of Medicine and the University of Chicago have found. The results were published online Monday in the Journal of Experimental Medicine. "Our data shows that infection with the 2009 pandemic influenza strain could induce broadly protective antibodies that are only rarely seen after seasonal ...

Nursing home closures eliminated about 5 percent of available beds between 1998 and 2008, with closures concentrated in minority and poor communities, according to a report posted online today that will be published in the May 9 print issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. "Regulatory oversight, reinforced by market forces and an increased focus on transparency and public reporting, is designed to eliminate poorly performing nursing homes," the authors write as background information in the article. "A small fraction of U.S. nursing ...

Converting hospital intensive care units (ICUs) to private rooms is associated with a reduction in the rate at which patients acquire infections, according to a report in the January 10 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. "Health care associated infections occur in about 30 percent of patients in intensive care units (ICUs) and are associated with substantial morbidity and mortality," the authors write as background information in the article. "In ICU patients, these infections are associated with an increased length of stay of ...

More than half of the recommendations in current practice guidelines for infectious disease specialists are based on opinions from experts rather than on evidence from clinical trials, according to a report in the January 10 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. "During the past half century, a deluge of publications addressing nearly every aspect of patient care has both enhanced clinical decision making and encumbered it owing to the tremendous volume of new information," the authors write as background information in the article. ...

A computer decision model suggests that for patients with a history of bleeding within the brain, the risk of recurrence associated with statin treatment may outweigh the benefit of the drug in preventing cardiovascular disease, according to a report posted online today that will appear in the May print issue of Archives of Neurology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. The benefits of statins for reducing the risk of heart disease and stroke are well established, but more widespread use of statin therapy remains controversial, according to background information in the ...

Most anti-epileptic drugs are associated with an increased risk of non-traumatic fracture in individuals 50 years of age and older, according to a report in the January issue of Archives of Neurology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. Anti-epileptic drugs are considered a secondary risk factor for osteoporosis, according to background information in the article, because epilepsy is highly prevalent in older adults, a population already at risk for osteoporosis. Additionally, anti-epileptic drugs are associated with greater bone density reduction in post-menopausal women ...

An estimated 6.5 percent of Americans age 40 and older have the eye disease age-related macular degeneration, a lower rate than was reported 15 years ago, according to a report in the January issue of Archives of Ophthalmology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. "Despite new medical and surgical interventions, age-related macular degeneration (AMD) remains an important cause of loss of vision in the United States," the authors write as background information in the article. The last nationally representative estimates of prevalence of AMD were based on the 1988-1994 Third ...

An implant that releases the medication dexamethasone within the eye appears safe and effective for the treatment of some types of uveitis (swelling and inflammation in the eye's middle layer), according to a report posted online today that will appear in the May print issue of Archives of Ophthalmology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. "Uveitis refers to a group of intraocular inflammatory diseases that cause 10 percent to 15 percent of blindness in the developed world," the authors write as background information in the article. "Despite advances in immunosuppressive ...

Bottle rockets can cause significant eye injuries in children, often leading to permanent loss of vision, according to a report posted online today that will appear in the May print issue of Archives of Ophthalmology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. Of the estimated 9,200 emergency department admissions resulting from fireworks-related injuries each year, about 1,400 cases involve the eyes, according to background information in the article. A disproportionate number of these injuries are caused by bottle rockets. Bottle rockets are about half the size of a normal ...

Although the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic infected an estimated 60 million people and hospitalized more than 250,000 in the United States, it also brought one significant benefit—clues about how to make a vaccine that could protect against multiple strains of influenza. In the Jan. 10, 2011, issue of the Journal of Experimental Medicine, researchers from the University of Chicago and Emory University report that people who were infected with pandemic H1N1 and recovered had an extraordinary immune response, producing antibodies that are protective against a variety of ...

All secondary school students should be required to be trained in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and receive an overview of automated external defibrillators (AEDs), according to an American Heart Association science advisory. The advisory, published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association, calls for state legislatures to mandate that CPR and AED training be required for graduation, and to provide funding and other support to ensure the educational standard is met. Last school year, 36 states had a law or curriculum standard encouraging CPR training ...

If you smoke around your children, they could have high blood pressure or be headed in an unhealthy direction before learning their ABC's, according to research reported in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association. The study is the first to show that breathing tobacco smoke increases the blood pressure of children as young as 4 or 5 years old. "The prevention of adult diseases like stroke or heart attack begins during childhood," said Giacomo D. Simonetti, M.D., first author of the study at the University of Heidelberg in Germany and currently assistant ...