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NIH Ethics Requirements Complicate Research Of Some Embryonic Stem Cells

March 17, 2010 Health News No Comments

Although restrictions on federal funding for human embryonic stem cell research have been lifted under the Obama administration, some researchers are finding the new ethical requirements burdensome, the Washington Post reports. Under the George W. Bush administration, only 21 stem-cell “lines” were permitted to receive federal research funding. President Obama relaxed the restrictions but allowed the National Institutes of Health to issue ethics guidelines…

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Research Identifies New Mechanism Regulating Embryonic Development

March 10, 2010 Health News No Comments

A Princeton University-led research team has discovered that protein competition over an important enzyme provides a mechanism to integrate different signals that direct early embryonic development. The work suggests that these signals are combined long before they interact with the organism’s DNA, as was previously believed, and also may inform new therapeutic strategies to fight cancer. The fought-over enzyme, known as the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), is found in all complex organisms, ranging from yeast to humans…

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Model May Offer Better Understanding Of Embryonic Development

March 10, 2010 Health News No Comments

A mathematical model developed at Purdue University can predict complex signaling patterns that could help scientists determine how stem cells in an embryo later become specific tissues, knowledge that could be used to understand and treat developmental disorders and some diseases. During embryonic development, proteins attach to cell receptors and start a cascade of reactions. Understanding those reactions is difficult, however, because feedback signals go back out to the proteins or other molecules along the cascade, constantly changing the reaction pattern…

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Stanford Scientists First To Identify Wide Variety Of Genetic Splicing In Embryonic Stem Cells

March 2, 2010 Health News No Comments

Like homing in to an elusive radio frequency in a busy city, human embryonic stem cells must sort through a seemingly endless number of options to settle on the specific genetic message, or station, that instructs them to become more-specialized cells in the body (Easy Listening, maybe, for skin cells, and Techno for neurons?). Now researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have shown that this tuning process is accomplished in part by restricting the number of messages, called transcripts, produced from each gene…

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Unpacking Condensins’ Function In Embryonic Stem Cells

February 23, 2010 Health News No Comments

Regulatory proteins common to all eukaryotic cells can have additional, unique functions in embryonic stem (ES) cells, according to a study in the February 22 issue of the Journal of Cell Biology. If cancer progenitor cells – which function similarly to stem cells – are shown to rely on these regulatory proteins in the same way, it may be possible to target them therapeutically without harming healthy neighboring cells…

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Cases Of Some Genetic Diseases Appear To Decline As Prenatal Testing, Embryonic Screenings Increase

February 18, 2010 Health News No Comments

As prenatal and embryonic genetic testing has become more widespread in the U.S., the number of infants with certain inheritable diseases — such as cystic fibrosis, Tay-Sachs and familial dysautonomia — has declined, according to an Associated Press review of research and interviews with genetics experts, the AP/Seattle Times reports. According to the AP/Times, prenatal genetic testing brings up “hot-button issues,” including abortion, embryo disposal and “worries about eugenics…

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Lack Of Diversity In Embryonic Stem Cell Lines Revealed By U-M Study

December 18, 2009 Health News No Comments

The most widely used human embryonic stem cell lines lack genetic diversity, a finding that raises social justice questions that must be addressed to ensure that all sectors of society benefit from stem cell advances, according to a University of Michigan research team. In the first published study of its kind, the U-M team analyzed 47 embryonic stem cell lines, including most of the lines commonly used by stem cell researchers. The scientists determined the genetic ancestry of each line and found that most were derived from donors of northern and western European ancestry…

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Marking Of Tissue-Specific Crucial In Embryonic Stem Cells To Ensure Proper Function

December 17, 2009 Health News No Comments

Tissue-specific genes, thought to be dormant or not marked for activation in embryonic stem cells, are indeed marked by transcription factors, with proper marking potentially crucial for the function of tissues derived from stem cells. The finding in the study by researchers at the Broad Stem Cell Research Center involves a class of genes whose properties previously were thought to be unimportant for stem cell function. Most research has instead focused on genes that regulate a pluripotency network and genes that regulate differentiation of embryonic stem cells into other cell lineages…

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Tendons Shape Bones During Embryonic Development

December 16, 2009 Health News No Comments

In all vertebrates, including humans, bones, muscles and tendons work together to give the skeleton its characteristic balance of stability and movement. Now, new research uncovers a previously unrecognized interaction between tendons, which connect muscles to bones, and the developing embryonic skeleton. This study, published by Cell Press in the December 15th issue of the journal Developmental Cell, demonstrates that tendons drive the development of specific bone features that are needed for a strong skeletal system…

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StemCells, Inc. Welcomes Approval Of First Embryonic Stem Cell Lines Under New NIH Guidelines

December 11, 2009 Health News No Comments

StemCells, Inc. (NASDAQ: STEM) announced that it welcomes the approval yesterday by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) of the first 13 human embryonic stem cell (hESC) lines for use in NIH-funded research under the NIH Guidelines for Human Stem Cell Research adopted in July 2009. The guidelines implement President Obama’s executive order of March 9, 2009 permitting the federal government, through the NIH, to support and conduct responsible, scientifically worthy human stem cell research, including human embryonic stem cell research…

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The Use Of Anticoagulants Improves Biochemical Control Of Localized Prostate Cancer Treated With Radiotherapy

March 22, 2010

UroToday.com – The coagulation system is implicated in cancer proliferation, angiogenesis, host immunologic defense, and metastasis. Patients with cancer are more likely to develop thromboembolism. In the journal Cancer, Dr. Kevin Choe and colleagues report on a cohort of patients receiving radiotherapy (XRT) for prostate cancer (CaP) of which 37% also received some form of anticoagulation. From 1988 to 2005, 662 men treated with XRT for localized CaP at the University of Chicago and who had at least 2 years follow-up were selected for analysis…

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X-Rays Often Inaccurate In The Diagnosis Of Hip And Pelvic Fractures

March 22, 2010

Radiographs (standard X-rays) are often inconclusive in the detection of hip and pelvic fractures in the emergency department, according to a study in the April issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology. “The diagnosis of traumatic fracture most often begins and ends with X-rays of the hip, pelvis, or both,” said Charles Spritzer, MD, lead author of the study. “In some cases though, the exclusion of a traumatic fracture is difficult,” said Spritzer…

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Practice Patterns In The Diagnosis Of Pulmonary Embolism Vary, Study Suggests

March 22, 2010

The imaging tests used in the diagnosis of possible pulmonary embolism (PE) vary by physician specialty and geographic region, which suggests that some of this imaging may be inappropriate, according to a study in the April issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology. PE, the formation of a blood clot in the lung, is the third-leading cardiovascular cause of death. As such, it requires prompt diagnosis and treatment. The most common imaging tests used in the diagnosis of PE include computed tomography (CT) angiography and ventilation-perfusion scintigraphy (VQ scanning)…

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Women With Radial Scars Should Undergo A Surgical Excision To Rule Out An Underlying Malignancy

March 22, 2010

Any patient with a breast lesion classified as a radial scar classified at percutaneous biopsy should undergo a surgical excision to rule out an underlying malignancy, according to a study published in the April issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology. “Radial scars are complex breast lesions that are classified as benign,” said Anna Linda, MD, lead author of the study. “However up to 40 percent of them are associated with an underlying malignancy,” said Linda…

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Some Antiabortion Democrats Conflicted Over Support For Health Reform

March 22, 2010

As House Democratic leaders prepare for a Sunday vote on health reform legislation, they continue to target votes from a group of antiabortion-rights Democrats who supported the House reform bill (HR 3962) in November 2009 but oppose the abortion language in the Senate reform legislation (HR 3590), the Washington Post reports. To move health reform, Democrats aim to have the House approve the Senate bill, along with a budget reconciliation bill that includes a series of changes to appease various lawmakers, according to the Post (Montgomery/Kane, Washington Post, 3/19)…

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Ky. Republicans File Petition For State House To Consider Ultrasound Bill

March 22, 2010

Republicans in the Kentucky House are petitioning for the full chamber to vote on an antiabortion-rights bill (SB 38) that a House committee rejected in a 7-7 vote last month, the Lexington Herald-Leader reports. The bill would require abortion providers to perform an ultrasound and show the image to the pregnant woman before performing an abortion. The GOP-controlled state Senate has approved similar ultrasound bills for the past several years, but the Democrat-controlled House has thwarted a floor vote each time. Twenty-five Republicans have signed Rep…

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HPV Vaccination Rates Lowest In Poorer States, Study Finds

March 22, 2010

Access to the human papillomavirus vaccine is lowest in states with the lowest income levels, where cervical cancer death rates are highest and girls and women stand to benefit most from vaccination, according to a study in the Lancet, USA Today reports (Szabo, USA Today, 3/18). The study focused on Gardasil, which was the only HPV vaccine on the market at the time of the study. The vaccine helps block four of the most common HPV strains — two types that cause 70% of cervical cancer cases and two other types that cause 90% of genital warts cases…

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Videos Discuss Health Reform Abortion Debate, Maternal Health Efforts

March 22, 2010

The following summarizes selected women’s health-related videos.  Maddow Tracks Reform Developments: MSNBC host Rachel Maddow on Thursday discussed Rep. Bart Stupak’s (D-Mich.) continued opposition to the Senate health reform bill’s abortion language, despite support for the bill from Catholic nuns and some antiabortion-right lawmakers…

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