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Steroids help reverse rapid bone loss tied to rib fractures
Feb. 5, 2013 New research in animals triggered by a combination of serendipity and counterintuitive thinking could point the way to treating fractures caused by rapid bone loss in people, including patients with metastatic cancers. A series of studies at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine found that steroid drugs, known for inducing bone loss with prolonged use, actually help suppress a molecule that’s key to the rapid bone loss process.
Scientists identify culprit in obesity-associated high blood pressure
Jan. 31, 2013 Researchers have described a key mechanism responsible for the brain’s regulation of obesity-associated disease. Obesity and its related conditions such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and stroke are among the most challenging of today’s healthcare concerns
Link found between insulin sensitivity, cells’ powerhouses: Mice with mitochondrial mutation live longer, have less fat
Jan. 28, 2013 If findings of a new study in mice are any indication, it might be possible to fine-tune cellular powerhouses called mitochondria, tweaking one aspect to increase insulin sensitivity, reduce body and fat mass, and even extend life. Exploiting this target could one day lead to novel treatments for type 2 diabetes — an endocrine system disease that affects 8 percent of the U.S.
Could the timing of when you eat, be just as important as what you eat?
Jan. 29, 2013 Most weight-loss plans center around a balance between caloric intake and energy expenditure. However, new research has shed light on a new factor that is necessary to shed pounds: timing.
Linchpin of skin response to UVA light discovered
Jan. 21, 2013 Researchers have strengthened their understanding of how skin cells called melanocytes sense ultraviolet light and act to protect themselves with melanin. In a new study, they report experiments showing that an ion channel well-known elsewhere in the body for its chemical sensitivity, plays a central role in this process
One form of neuron turned into another in brain
Jan. 20, 2013 A new finding by Harvard stem cell biologists turns one of the basics of neurobiology on its head — demonstrating that it is possible to turn one type of already differentiated neuron into another within the brain
Light exposure during pregnancy key to normal eye development
Jan. 16, 2013 New research in Nature concludes the eye — which depends on light to see — also needs light to develop normally during pregnancy. Scientists say the unexpected finding offers a new basic understanding of fetal eye development and ocular diseases caused by vascular disorders — in particular one called retinopathy of prematurity that can blind premature infants.
Choline supplementation during pregnancy presents a new approach to schizophrenia prevention
Jan. 15, 2013 Choline, an essential nutrient similar to the B vitamin and found in foods such as liver, muscle meats, fish, nuts and eggs, when given as a dietary supplement in the last two trimesters of pregnancy and in early infancy, is showing a lower rate of physiological schizophrenic risk factors in infants 33 days old
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