Scientists have discovered that a protein that controls weight and appetite may also help prevent Alzheimer’s disease (AD).
Patients with higher leptin levels had a significantly lower risk of developing the debilitating disorder, according to a study found in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Tumors can not only spread through the body by sending out tiny cells called seeds, but they can re-seed themselves, researchers said in a report on Thursday that may help explain why tumors grow back even after they are removed.
They said their findings, published in the journal Cell, may also help lead to the development of new drugs to stop the process of cancer spread, or metastasis.
While an alkaline diet may help lower blood pressure, a new protein has been discovered that can help prevent hypertension.
Researchers from the University of Iowa indicated that the protein channel ASIC2 helps trigger sensors in blood vessels to keep blood pressure in check. When ASIC2 is not present in the body, the brain never receives the message that hypertension is occurring.
Study head Dr. Frank Abboud indicates that blood pressure can rise in an instant when something is making an individual frustrated or angry, and the sensors alert the brain to calm the nerve system down immediately. Read the rest of this entry »
Scientists have found a way to disarm a protein thought to play a key role in leukaemia and other cancers. The breakthrough raises hopes of a new type of therapy that could treat cancer and other diseases. Previous attempts to neutralise the protein had failed, leading experts to conclude it was effectively “undruggable”.
The study, carried out by the US Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, features in the journal Nature. The protein is one of the body’s transcription factors, which turn genes on or off and set in motion genetic cascades that control how cells grow and develop. They also help fuel the growth of tumours. The transcription factor targeted in the latest study is a protein called Notch. Read the rest of this entry »
According to a new study, vegetable consumption may be linked to lower blood pressure due to the presence of a specific amino acid.
The compound in question is glutamic acid, and according to the work conducted at the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University in Chicago, boosting its intake may contribute to better health of the circulatory system.
The researchers analyzed data from the International Study on Macro/Micronutrients and Blood Pressure which involved 4,680 people aged between 40-59 in rural and urban populations in China, Japan, the UK and the U.S. Read the rest of this entry »
A drug used to treat cancer can stop contractions and may prevent premature labour, researchers say.
The Newcastle University team tested the drug Trichostatin A on tissue taken from 36 women undergoing a caesarean.
The researchers said the therapy worked by increasing the levels of a protein that controls muscle relaxation.
One expert said with rates of premature births rising – there are 50,000 a year in the UK – a new treatment was badly needed. Read the rest of this entry »
