A new clue in the mystery of ALS, frontotemporal dementia

A special focus on rogue proteins may hold future promise in stopping the progression of nerve cell destruction in people who have amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) or frontotemporal dementia. ALS, a rare but devastating disorder that’s also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, attacks the body’s nerve cells, resulting in progressive muscle weakness as the neurons degenerate over time. There is […]

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Risks, benefits of long-term drug therapy for osteoporosis reviewed

(HealthDay)—Long-term osteoporosis drug therapy (ODT) reduces fracture risk in women but may increase risk for rare adverse events, and research gaps surround use of long-term drug therapies for osteoporotic fracture prevention, according to a review and position paper published online April 23 in the Annals of Internal Medicine. Howard A. Fink, M.D., M.P.H., from the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, […]

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National handwashing campaign reduces incidence of Staphylococcus aureus infection in Australia’s hospitals

Since its implementation in 2009, the National Australian Hand Hygiene Initiative (NHHI) has seen significant, sustained improvements in hand hygiene compliance among Australian healthcare workers, and reduced risks of potentially fatal healthcare-associated Staphylococcus aureus infection, according to new research being presented at this year’s European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) in Amsterdam, Netherlands (13-16 April), and published […]

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Prevalence of extragenital STDs high in men who have sex with men

(HealthDay)—Extragenital (rectal and pharyngeal) chlamydia and gonorrhea are prevalent among men who have sex with men (MSM), according to research published in the April 12 issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Michelle L. Johnson Jones, M.P.H., from the CDC in Atlanta, and colleagues examined the prevalence of extragenital sexually transmitted diseases […]

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Loss of a DNA repair system creates a unique vulnerability in many cancer types

Cancer cells adapt to potentially fatal mutations and other molecular malfunctions by adjusting one or more other genes’ activity, in the process becoming dependent on those genes for their survival and growth. The resulting genetic dependencies may provide targets for developing new precision-guided drugs or other cancer treatment strategies. Reporting in Nature, researchers led by members of the Cancer Dependency […]

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Elucidation of functional mechanism of ‘love hormone,’ oxytocin, at molecular level

Oxytocin is essential in activities of the social brain such as trust and love and in maternal bonding behaviors. It is produced in the brain and secreted into the circulation. Here, by analyzing maternal behaviors of RAGE gene-manipulated mice, oxytocin was found to be transported back to the brain, crossing the blood-brain barrier (BBB), an extremely effective barrier, by binding […]

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