Medical News Observer

Keep updated with latest medical research news

Research identifies role of Oncogenes MDM2, MYCN in Retinoblastoma patients

Researchers at The Saban Research Institute of Children’s Hospital Los Angeles have identified an unsuspected and critical role of the MDM2 oncogene in promoting expression of the MYCN oncogene that is required for growth and survival of retinoblastoma cells. Their results are published in the October 17 online edition of the Nature journal Oncogene. Retinoblastoma…
New chromosomal mapping technique reveals additional genes behind Schizophrenia

UCLA scientists have made a major advance in understanding the biology of schizophrenia. Using a recently developed technology for analyzing DNA, the scientists found dozens of genes and two major biological pathways that are likely involved in the development of the disorder but had not been uncovered in previous genetic studies of schizophrenia. The work…
High Body Mass Index (BMI) might affect cognitive function

Researchers from the University of Arizona have found that having a higher body mass index, or Body Mass Index, can negatively impact cognitive functioning in older adults. “The higher your Body Mass Index (BMI), the more your inflammation goes up,” said Kyle Bourassa, lead author of the study, which is published in the journal Brain,…
Scientists Identify Potential Pancreatic Cancer Target SLC6A14

Researchers have found that a protein called SLC6A14 is overexpressed by several fold in pancreatic tumors taken from patients and in cancerous pancreatic cells lines compared with normal pancreatic tissue or normal pancreatic cells. SLC6A14 transports amino acids into cells to help with cellular metabolism. A blocker of SLC6A14, called α-methyltryptophan, induced amino acid starvation…
Machine learning to intuitively predict chemical properties of molecules

Scientists from MIPT’s Research Center for Molecular Mechanisms of Aging and Age-Related Diseases together with Inria research center, Grenoble, France have developed a software package called Knodle to determine an atom’s hybridization, bond orders and functional groups’ annotation in molecules. The program streamlines one of the stages of developing new drugs. A paper on the…
Dietary changes can impact cardiovascular risk by a quarter

Exchanging few commercially regular-consumed food items with improved fat quality reduces total and LDL cholesterol. A new double-blind randomized controlled trial published in British Journal of Nutrition suggests almost 30% reduction in cardiovascular disease risk Exchanging few regular-consumed food items with improved fat quality in the daily diet for eight weeks reduces the serum total…
Research shows sedative use in postoperative stage reduces delirium

The study, by scientists at Imperial College London and Peking University First Hospital, suggests sedating patients after they undergo an operation may reduce the risk of post-operative delirium by up to 65 per cent. The team publishes the findings in The Lancet The condition may affect up to one in three people who have a…
Research shows Weight loss can lead to strong increase in appetite

Analysis of a trial that used the drug canagliflozin found that as people lost weight, their appetite increased proportionately, leading to consumption of more calories and weight loss plateau (leveling off). The findings provide the first measurement in people of how strongly appetite counters weight loss as part of the body’s feedback control system regulating…
Neuronal transport mechanism mutations may have a role in Alzheimer’s disease pathology

Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine have confirmed that mutation-caused dysfunction in a process cells use to transport molecules within the cell plays a previously suspected but underappreciated role in promoting the heritable form of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), but also one that might be remedied with existing therapeutic enzyme inhibitors. The…
Cold medicine suppresses the spread of bladder cancer

Hokkaido University researchers have discovered that a nonsteroid anti-inflammatory drug used for treating colds suppresses the spread of bladder cancers and reduces their chemoresistance in mice, raising hopes of a future cure for advanced bladder cancers. Bladder cancer is the seventh most common cancer in males worldwide. Every year, about 20,000 people in Japan are…