June 16, 2008 Science Current Events

Rheumatoid arthritis is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease
The risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) for people with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has been found to be comparable to the risk of CVD in people with type 2 diabetes.

Surgeons complete the first Lap-Band weight-loss surgery in Texas using single incision as entry point
UT Southwestern Medical Center surgeons have completed the first single-incision Lap-Band weight-loss surgery in Texas.

Ebb and flow of the sea drives world's big extinction events
If you are curious about Earth's periodic mass extinction events such as the sudden demise of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago, you might consider crashing asteroids and sky-darkening super volcanoes as culprits.

Scientists confirm that parts of earliest genetic material may have come from the stars
Scientists have confirmed for the first time that an important component of early genetic material which has been found in meteorite fragments is extraterrestrial in origin, in a paper published on 15 June 2008.

Secret ingredient: nanoparticles aid bone growth
In the first study of its kind, bioengineers and bioscientists at Rice University and Radboud University in Nijmegen, Netherlands, have shown they can grow denser bone tissue by sprinkling stick-like nanoparticles throughout the porous material used to pattern the bone.

Weight gain in children has no association with sugar-sweetened beverage consumption
An analysis of 12 recent studies indicate that there is virtually no link between the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages and weight gain in children and teens. The meta-analysis is published in the June issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Ancient mineral shows early Earth climate tough on continents
A new analysis of ancient minerals called zircons suggests that a harsh climate may have scoured and possibly even destroyed the surface of the Earth's earliest continents.

NASA data helps pinpoint impacted populations in disaster aftermath
When two catastrophic natural disasters struck within days of each other in May 2008, disaster relief, humanitarian aid, and health officials, as well as members of the news media tapped into a unique set of NASA data products describing the location of the exposed populations.

Salmonella: Trickier than we imagined
Salmonella is serving up a surprise not only for tomato lovers around the country but also for scientists who study the rod-shaped bacterium that causes misery for millions of people.

EuroDYNA takes lid off the genome
European researchers have made significant progress unravelling how genes are governed and why this sometimes goes wrong in disease.

Abatacept and infliximab improve clinical response over time in methotrexate-refractory RA patients
New data presented today at EULAR 2008, the Annual Congress of the European League Against Rheumatism in Paris, France, show that over half of rheumatoid arthritis patients resistant to methotrexate monotherapy improved when either abatacept or infliximab were added to their methotrexate treatment regimen, with positive results sustained up to one year later.

Wealth of genomic hotspots discovered in embryonic stem cells
In a paper published in Cell on June 13, 2008, Singapore scientists at the Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS) and the National University of Singapore (NUS) unveil an atlas that showing the location of "genomic hotspots" of essential protein "switches" (transcription factors) that are critical for maintaining the embryonic stem (ES) cell state.

Precision blood pressure measurement to improve heart health
A University of Queensland researcher is trialling new, cutting-edge technology for measuring blood pressure and the health of the heart.

Novel DNA microarray chip predicts functional impairment and remission in rheumatoid arthritis
A new DNA microarray chip can predict severe disability and remission in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), as presented today at EULAR 2008, the Annual Congress of the European League Against Rheumatism in Paris, France. The chip (called the 'ARTchip') has yielded two clinical-genetic models of RA outcomes, to assist physicians in anticipating likely disease progression and prognosis and thereby guide decisions on the best course of treatment for individual patients.

Estrogen therapy helps or hurts the brain depending on reproductive status
Estrogen therapy may limit stroke damage if started close to, but not long after reproductive cycles are over, according to a new animal study. The results were presented Sunday, June 15, at The Endocrine Society's 90th Annual Meeting in San Francisco.

Specific location of the TRAF1/C5 gene associated with multiple autoimmune diseases
The TRAF1/C5 locus on chromosome 9 has been revealed to play a role in multiple autoimmune diseases including type 1 diabetes and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).

Current screening test for prediabetes in children misses the diagnosis too often
Obese children, who are at increased risk for prediabetes and type 2 diabetes, may not be getting the most appropriate test to screen for these conditions, a new Canadian study found.

Joint distraction promotes structural repair in patients with severe knee osteoarthritis
oint distraction (the use of a surgical frame around a degenerated joint to strengthen and promote repair) promotes cartilage repair in severe end stage osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee, as demonstrated for the first time by data presented today at EULAR 2008, the Annual Congress of the European League Against Rheumatism in Paris, France.

Drug commonly used for alcoholism curbs urges of pathological gamblers
A drug commonly used to treat alcohol addiction has a similar effect on pathological gamblers - it curbs the urge to gamble and participate in gambling-related behavior, according to a new research at the University of Minnesota.

1 in 10 adults has a non-earlobe piercing
One in ten adults in England have had a piercing somewhere other than their ear lobe, with a quarter experiencing complications, and one in 100 piercings resulting in a hospital admission, according to a study published on bmj.com today.

Radical reform is needed to stop the 'inhumane' practice of transplant tourism
The UK government must bring in presumed consent to organ donation or allow a controlled donor compensation programme for unrelated live donors, in order to bring the "inhumane" practice of transplant tourism from the UK to an end, claims a doctor in this week's BMJ.

30 percent RA patients refractory to anti-TNFs achieve disease remission with tocilizumab plus metho
Tocilizumab plus methotrexate showed significant clinical improvements in efficacy and safety in patients with moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis (RA), who had not adequately responded to anti-tumour necrosis factor (anti-TNF) therapy.

Oily fish can protect against RA, but smoking and psychosocial stress increase its risk
New data presented today at EULAR 2008, the Annual Congress of the European League Against Rheumatism in Paris, France, show that intake of oily fish is associated with a reduced risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis (RA), whereas psychosocial work stress and smoking can increase the risk of developing the condition.

Hunger hormone increases during stress, may have antidepressant effect
New research at UT Southwestern Medical Center may explain why some people who are stressed or depressed overeat.

CV risk management should be mandatory in RA and other types of inflammatory rheumatic disease
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA), ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and psoriatic arthritis (PsA) patients should undergo compulsory cardiovascular (CV) risk management and existing CV risk calculators should be adapted to the increased CV risk in inflammatory rheumatic disease patients.

How Montezuma gets his revenge
Every year, about 500 million people worldwide are infected with the parasite that causes dysentery, a global medical burden that among infectious diseases is second only to malaria.

Emory study of syphilis bacteria yields valuable diagnostic tool
Variations in a gene within the family of bacteria that causes syphilis may hold clinical, epidemiological and evolutionary significance, researchers at Emory University in Atlanta have found.

Rheumatoid arthritis factors equal to cardiovascular factors in risk of severe cardiovascular events
Certain cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) disease factors have a similar effect on an RA patient's risk of experiencing myocardial infarction (MI) or stroke.

Less hype and more research needed into new 'superbug,' say experts
Recent tabloid hype over the "newly emerging superbug", Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, is misplaced, say experts in this week's issue of the BMJ.

New molecular insight into amboebic dysentery
In the June 15th issue of G&D, Dr. Sinisa Urban (Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine) and colleagues reveal a potential role for the rhomboid enzyme, EhROM1, in the pathogenesis of the enteric protozoan parasite, E. histolytica.

Novel model of osteosarcoma
In the June 15th issue of G&D, Dr. Stuart Orkin (HHMI, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Children's Hospital Boston) and colleagues present a new mouse model of osteosarcoma.

1 patient's account of becoming a live kidney donor
Annabel Ferriman, an editor at the BMJ, gives a frank first person account of her journey through the "protracted" and sometimes "frustrating" process of becoming a live kidney donor to her friend, Ray, who had been suffering from polycystic kidney disease for eight years.

Some patients may not need insulin for long-term control of type 2 diabetes
Some patients with type 2 diabetes can control their disease for years yet avoid insulin injections by using multiple classes of oral diabetic medications, a new study found.

Early life infections increase the risk of rheumatoid arthritis and juvenile idiopathic arthritis
Infections during the first year of life are a marker of increased risk of developing specific types of arthritis later in life.