AScribe Medicine News Service articles from March 2006

AScribe Medicine News Service archives from March 2006

Study Finds Commitment to Marriage, Emotional Engagement Key to Wives' Happiness.
March 1, 2006... Byline: University of Virginia CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., Mar. 1 (AScribe Newswire) -- A study by University of Virginia sociologists W. Bradford Wilcox and Steven L. Nock finds that the single most important factor in women's marital happiness...

Joslin Diabetes Center Study Provides First Physiological Evidence that Insulin is Critical for Blood Vessel Formation; Study One Day May Lead to Ways to Reduce Heart Attacks in Diabetes Patients.
March 1, 2006... Byline: Joslin Diabetes Center BOSTON, March 1 (AScribe Newswire) -- For people with type 2 diabetes, the death rate from a first heart attack is two to three times the death rate of patients without the disease. Similarly, patients with...

Irregular-Heartbeat Procedure Gives Patients Long-Lasting Relief, Improves Quality of Life, Rigorous Study Shows; Catheter Ablation Returns 74 Percent of Patients to Normal Rhythm, University of Michigan and Italian Researchers Find.
March 1, 2006... Byline: University of Michigan Health System ANN ARBOR, Mich., March 1 (AScribe Newswire) -- People who have endured the symptoms and risks of an irregular heartbeat for years can get long-lasting relief from a procedure that takes less...

Lower Cost, Portable Surgical Robots Could Be Smooth Operators.
March 2, 2006... Byline: Purdue University WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind., March 2 (AScribe Newswire) -- A mechanical engineer at Purdue University is teaming up with medical doctors in research aimed at developing less expensive, portable and versatile surgical...

A Protein Fragment Called 12.5 kDa Cystatin May Generate First Simple Test for Multiple Sclerosis.
March 3, 2006... Byline: Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions BALTIMORE, March 3 (AScribe Newswire) -- Johns Hopkins scientists report the discovery of a protein found only in cerebrospinal fluid that they say might be useful in identifying a subgroup of...

Newly Discovered Killer Cell Fights Cancer.
March 3, 2006... Byline: Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions BALTIMORE, March 3 (AScribe Newswire) -- A mouse immune cell that plays dual roles as both assassin and messenger, normally the job of two separate cells, has been discovered by an international...

New Genetic Discovery Explains 74 Percent of Cases of Age-Related Macular Degeneration; Significant Advance for Understanding Leading Cause of Blindness in Elderly.
March 5, 2006... Byline: Columbia University Medical Center NEW YORK, March 5 (AScribe Newswire) -- A new study, led by researchers at Columbia University Medical Center, pinpoints the role that two genes - Factor H and Factor B - play in the development of...

Emergency Departments Score Poorly in Child-Saving Drills, Hopkins Study Finds; Results Probably Apply Nationwide.
March 5, 2006... Byline: Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions BALTIMORE, March 6 (AScribe Newswire) -- A mock-drill study conducted in a third of North Carolina's hospital emergency departments (EDs) revealed that nearly all failed to properly stabilize...

Sarah Lawrence College Genetic Counseling Students Help Hurricane Katrina Families Reunite Through DNA Identity Testing.
March 6, 2006... Byline: Halstead Communications YONKERS, N.Y., March 6 (AScribe Newswire) -- A delegation of students from Sarah Lawrence's graduate program in human genetics will be traveling to Baton Rouge for a week in March to volunteer at the Family...

Leadership Named for $500 Million Fundraising Effort to Aid Dental Education; National Campaign for Dental Education to Help Raise Awareness, Increase Donations.
March 7, 2006... Byline: American Dental Association CHICAGO, March 7 (AScribe Newswire) -- Arthur A. Dugoni, DDS, dean, Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry, University of the Pacific and president of the American Dental Association Foundation Board of...

Gliadel Wafer Demonstrates Long-Term Survival Benefit for Patients With High-Grade Malignant Gliomas.
March 8, 2006... Byline: Edelman Public Relations MINNEAPOLIS, March 8 (AScribe Newswire) -- MGI Pharma, Inc. (Nasdaq: MOGN) today announced the publication of long-term (56 month) follow-up data showing that Gliadel(r) Wafer provides a durable long-term...

Light-Based Device Probes for Early Cancer Signs.
March 9, 2006... Byline: Duke University DURHAM, N.C., March 9 (AScribe Newswire) -- A novel device that could use light to harmlessly and almost instantly probe for early signs of cancer has been developed by researchers at Duke's Pratt School of...

Joslin Researchers Reveal Mechanisms Behind Class of Oral Agents Used to Treat Type 2 Diabetes.
March 9, 2006... Byline: Joslin Diabetes Center BOSTON, March 9 (AScribe Newswire) -- Thiazolidinediones (TZD's) are drugs commonly prescribed to patients with type 2 diabetes, the most common form of diabetes. Current U.S. Food and Drug...

Protein Regulates Quiescent Blood Stem Cells That Are Linked to Enhanced Recovery From Radiation and Chemotherapy.
March 13, 2006... Byline: Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center NEW YORK, March 13 (AScribe Newswire) -- Scientists have uncovered new information about what orchestrates the complex balance between blood stem cells and mature blood cells, a relationship...

UC Berkeley Haas School of Business Professor Teck Ho Finds Trust Among Strangers Gains When Stakes Grow Higher.
March 15, 2006... Byline: Haas School of Business, UC Berkeley BERKELEY, Calif., March 15 (AScribe Newswire) -- After buying a 120-year-old pipe on eBay from a seller in China, UC Berkeley Haas School of Business Professor Teck Ho became intrigued by the...

Evolution in Action: Why Some Viruses Jump Species.
March 15, 2006... Byline: Howard Hughes Medical Institute CHEVY CHASE, Md., March 15 (AScribe Newswire) -- Researchers studying strains of a lethal canine virus and a related human virus have determined why the canine virus was able to spread so quickly from...

Bird Flu Symposium Is April 15 in Davis, Calif.; Public and Media Welcome.
March 16, 2006... Byline: University of California, Davis DAVIS, Calif., March 16 (AScribe Newswire) -- University of California, Davis experts on avian influenza will headline a daylong symposium April 15 on the threat of a global epidemic, with particular...

Scientists Discover That Widely Available Drug Also Helps Fight Kidney Disease.
March 20, 2006... Byline: University of California, Santa Barbara SANTA BARBARA, Calif., March 20 (AScribe Newswire) -- A widely available drug may be effective in treating kidney disease, report scientists at the University of California, Santa Barbara....

UC Santa Barbara's Neuroscience Research Institute Awarded $1.25-Million Grant by W.M. Keck Foundation for Innovative Biomedical Research Initiative.
March 21, 2006... Byline: University of California, Santa Barbara SANTA BARBARA, Calif., March 21 (AScribe Newswire) -- The W. M. Keck Foundation's Medical Research Program has awarded UC Santa Barbara $1.25-million to support a pioneering multidisciplinary...

Purdue University Findings Reveal Possible Alzheimer's Link to Brain Organ.
March 21, 2006... Byline: Purdue University WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind., March 21 (AScribe Newswire) -- Researchers have discovered that an organ in the brain called the choroid plexus apparently plays a critical role in preventing the accumulation of a protein...

University of Central Florida, Scripps Sign Pact to Foster Research Cooperation; Medical School Vote Expected Thursday.
March 21, 2006... Byline: University of Central Florida ORLANDO, Fla., March 21 (AScribe Newswire) -- Just days before the Florida Board of Governors is scheduled to decide whether to create a college of medicine at the University of Central Florida, UCF...

American Skin Association Announces 2006 Research Scholar Award Winners; Research Seeks Treatment, Cures for Skin Disorders Affecting 80 Million Americans and Costing $37 Billion Annually.
March 23, 2006... Byline: Edelman Public Relations NEW YORK, March 23 (AScribe Newswire) -- The American Skin Association (ASA) announced today that it has granted its 2006 Research Scholar Awards to four promising investigators conducting research in the...

Infused Spleen Cells Found Not to Impact Islet Recovery and Reversal of Type 1 Diabetes in Mice, Joslin Diabetes Center Study Shows.
March 23, 2006... Byline: Joslin Diabetes Center BOSTON, March 23 (AScribe Newswire) -- Researchers from Joslin Diabetes Center have published in the March 24, 2006, issue of the journal Science a significant study about islet cell recovery and reversal of...

Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary Physicians Find Examination of Larynx Essential in Management of Thyroid Cancer.
March 27, 2006... Byline: Massachusetts Eye & Ear Infirmary BOSTON, March 27 (AScribe Newswire) -- Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary (MEEI) Department of Otolaryngology physician Greg Randolph, M.D., FACS, in collaboration with MEEI research fellow Dipti...

Nanotechnology & the Life Sciences 28th Annual Symposium to Be Hosted by Burnham Institute for Medical Research, April 13-14 at Hilton La Jolla Torrey Pines in San Diego, Calif.: Registration and Call for Abstracts.
March 27, 2006... Byline: The Burnham Institute LA JOLLA, Calif., March 27 (AScribe Newswire) -- Transferring the techniques and expertise of nanotechnology from industry to biology is one of today's most stimulating scientific fields. Building nanodevices...

Melanoma Vaccine Strategy Shows Promise in Laboratory Experiments; Approach Might Benefit a Third of Melanoma Patients.
March 27, 2006... Byline: The Wistar Institute PHILADELPHIA, March 27 (AScribe Newswire) -- A novel approach to creating a vaccine to treat melanoma has demonstrated promising effectiveness in a new laboratory study led by researchers at The Wistar...

Researchers Find Better Prostate Cancer Indicators; Identifying Alterations in DNA Methylation May Also Be Useful in Determining Cancer Progression.
March 27, 2006... Byline: Mayo Clinic ROCHESTER, Minn., March 27 (AScribe Newswire) -- Researchers at Mayo Clinic have narrowed the search for effective prostate cancer biomarkers (genetic variations that point to a specific disease or condition),...

'Bad' Enzymes May Wear White Hats After Stroke.
March 27, 2006... Byline: Howard Hughes Medical Institute CHEVY CHASE, Md., March 27 (AScribe Newswire) -- Enzymes that can harm the brain immediately after a stroke may actually be beneficial days later, according to new research. Insights from the study...

Precautions, Vaccinations Needed to Stem Horse Diseases.
March 27, 2006... Byline: Purdue University WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind., March 27 (AScribe Newswire) -- Spring means vaccinations for horses against a number of potentially life-threatening diseases, one of which causes neurological damage and is often mistaken...

Picking Apart How Neurons Learn; Targeted Mutations in Mice Uncover Two Key Molecular Events Linked to Learning.
March 29, 2006... Byline: Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions BALTIMORE, March 29 (AScribe Newswire) -- Johns Hopkins researchers have used mouse mutants to define critical steps involved in learning basic motor skills. The study focuses on the behavior of...

HIV Accessory Protein Disables Host Immunity Via Receptor-Protein Intermediary; Findings Point to Possible Novel Ways to Fight AIDS, Immune Disorders, Sepsis.
March 30, 2006... Byline: University of Pennsylvania Health System PHILADELPHIA, March 30 (AScribe Newswire) -- Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine discovered that an HIV-1 accessory protein called Vpr destroys the host cell's...

3-D Ultrasound Device Poised to Advance Minimally Invasive Surgery.
March 30, 2006... Byline: Duke University DURHAM, N.C., March 30 (AScribe Newswire) -- Three-dimensional ultrasound probes built by researchers at Duke's Pratt School of Engineering have imaged the beating hearts of dogs. The engineers said their...

University of Georgia Veterinarian Helps Diagnose Bird Flu in Afghanistan.
March 31, 2006... Byline: University of Georgia ATHENS, Ga., March 31 (AScribe Newswire) -- Just back from Afghanistan, where she helped diagnose that country's first case of bird flu, University of Georgia veterinarian Corrie Brown has a new perspective on...