Diseases
Scientists get inside look at how AIDS virus grooms its assault team
April 1, 2013 1:20 pm | News | Comments
A new study by a team of scientists defines previously unknown properties of transmitted HIV-1, the virus that causes AIDS. The viruses that successfully pass from a chronically infected person to a new individual are both remarkably resistant to a powerful initial human immune-response mechanism, and they are blanketed in a greater amount of envelope protein that helps them access and enter host cells.
Evolution in the blink of an eye
May 30, 2013 1:12 pm | News | Comments
A disease in songbirds has rapidly evolved to become more harmful to its host at least...
Wit, grit, and a supercomputer yield chemical structure of HIV capsid
May 29, 2013 5:43 pm | News | Comments
Researchers report that they have determined the precise chemical structure of the HIV...
Germ-zapping robots: Hospitals combat superbugs
April 29, 2013 10:49 pm | by Mike Stobbe, AP Medical Writer | News | Comments
They sweep. They swab. They sterilize. And still the germs persist. ...
Is artificial sweetener a potential treatment for Parkinson’s disease?
June 17, 2013 11:42 am | News | CommentsMannitol, a sugar alcohol produced by fungi, bacteria and algae, is a common component of sugar-free gum and candy. The sweetener is also used in the medical field. Now a team from Tel Aviv Univ. have found that mannitol also prevents clumps of a protein from forming in the brain—a process that is characteristic of Parkinson's disease.
A potential target to thwart antibiotic resistance
June 11, 2013 7:41 am | News | CommentsBacteria in the gut that are under attack by antibiotics have allies no one had anticipated, a team of Harvard Univ. Wyss Institute scientists has found. Gut viruses that usually commandeer the bacteria, it turns out, enable them to survive the antibiotic onslaught, most likely by handing them genes that help them withstand the drug.
$18 million to study deadly secrets of viruses
June 7, 2013 4:01 pm | News | CommentsIn an effort to sort out why some viruses such as influenza, Ebola and West Nile are so lethal, a team of U.S. researchers plans a comprehensive effort to model how humans respond to these viral pathogens. The study will be led by a Univ. of Wisconsin-Madison professor. Teams from Washington Univ. in St. Louis and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, also will play key roles in the study.
Compulsive no more
June 6, 2013 3:00 pm | by Anne Trafton, MIT News Office | News | CommentsBy activating a brain circuit that controls compulsive behavior, Massachusetts Institute of Technology neuroscientists have shown that they can block a compulsive behavior in mice—a result that could help researchers develop new treatments for diseases such as obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and Tourette’s syndrome.
Zebrafish help identify mutant gene in rare muscle disease
June 4, 2013 1:17 pm | News | CommentsZebrafish with very weak muscles helped scientists decode the elusive genetic mutation responsible for Native American myopathy, a rare, hereditary muscle disease that afflicts Native Americans in North Carolina. Scientists originally identified the gene in mutant zebrafish that exhibited severe muscle weakness. The responsible gene encodes for a muscle protein called Stac3.
Engineered stem cell advance points toward treatment for ALS
May 28, 2013 10:54 am | News | CommentsTransplantation of human stem cells in an experiment conducted at the University of Wisconsin-Madison improved survival and muscle function in rats used to model ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), a nerve disease that destroys nerve control of muscles, causing death by respiratory failure.
Cinnamon: Could it prevent Alzheimer's?
May 24, 2013 10:42 am | News | CommentsCinnamon: Can the red-brown spice with the unmistakable fragrance and variety of uses offer an important benefit? The common baking spice might hold the key to delaying the onset of—or warding off—the effects of Alzheimer's disease. That is, according to scientists at University of California, Santa Barbara.
FDA approves blood test to diagnose diabetes
May 23, 2013 5:23 pm | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsThe Food and Drug Administration said Thursday it approved a new blood test from Roche to help doctors diagnose diabetes. The Cobas Integra 800 is a blood test that measures a patient's average blood sugar level over the previous three months. In particular, the test measures an oxygen-carrying blood component known as hemoglobin.
Measles surges in U.K. years after flawed research
May 20, 2013 12:16 pm | by MARIA CHENG - AP Medical Writer - Associated Press | News | CommentsMore than a decade ago, British parents refused to give measles shots to at least a million children because of now discredited research that linked the vaccine to autism. Now, health officials are scrambling to catch up and stop a growing epidemic of the contagious disease.
X-ray method shows how frog embryos could help thwart disease
May 20, 2013 9:25 am | News | CommentsAn international team of scientists using a new X-ray method recorded the internal structure and cell movement inside a living frog embryo in greater detail than ever before. This result showcases a new method to advance biological research and the search for new treatments for genetic diseases.
A nano solution in the fight against diabetes
May 16, 2013 9:38 am | by Anne Trafton, MIT News Office | News | CommentsInjectable nanoparticles developed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology may someday eliminate the need for patients with Type 1 diabetes to constantly monitor their blood-sugar levels and inject themselves with insulin. The nanoparticles were designed to sense glucose levels in the body and respond by secreting the appropriate amount of insulin.
Huge drug cost disparities seen in health overhaul
May 13, 2013 3:11 am | by RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR - Associated Press - Associated Press | News | CommentsCancer patients could face high costs for medications under President Barack Obama's health care law, industry analysts and advocates warn. Where you live could make a huge difference in what you'll pay. To try to keep premiums low, some states are allowing insurers to charge patients a hefty share of the cost for expensive medications used to treat cancer, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, and other life-altering chronic diseases.
Potential flu pandemic lurks
May 10, 2013 10:36 am | by Anne Trafton, MIT News Office | News | CommentsIn the summer of 1968, a new strain of influenza appeared in Hong Kong. This strain, known as H3N2, spread around the globe and eventually killed an estimated 1 million people. A new study from Massachusetts Institute of Technology reveals that there are many strains of H3N2 circulating in birds and pigs that are genetically similar to the 1968 strain and have the potential to generate a pandemic if they leap to humans.
Surgeon: Stonewall Jackson death likely pneumonia
May 10, 2013 12:22 am | by BRETT ZONGKER - Associated Press - Associated Press | News | CommentsHistorians and doctors have debated for decades what medical complications caused the death of legendary Confederate fighter Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson, felled by friendly fire from his troops during the Civil War. Shot three times while returning from scouting enemy lines in the Virginia wilderness, Jackson was badly wounded in the left arm by one of the large bullets the night of May 2, 1863.
Biomaterial shows promise for Type 1 diabetes treatment
May 8, 2013 3:13 pm | News | CommentsResearchers have made a significant first step with newly engineered biomaterials for cell transplantation that could help lead to a possible cure for Type 1 diabetes, which affects about 3 million Americans. Georgia Institute of Technology engineers and Emory University clinicians have successfully engrafted insulin-producing cells into a diabetic mouse model, reversing diabetic symptoms in the animal in as little as 10 days.
Injectable nanonetwork controls blood sugar in diabetics
May 3, 2013 11:11 am | News | CommentsIn a promising development for diabetes treatment, researchers have developed a network of nanoscale particles that can be injected into the body and release insulin when blood-sugar levels rise, maintaining normal blood sugar levels for more than a week in animal-based laboratory tests.
A text message a day keeps the asthma attack away
May 2, 2013 8:01 am | News | CommentsSimply sending children with asthma a text message each day asking about their symptoms and providing knowledge about their condition can lead to improved health outcomes. In a study, pediatric patients who were asked questions about their symptoms and provided information about asthma via SMS text messages showed improved pulmonary function and a better understanding of their condition within four months.
Experts unclear how China bird flu infects humans
April 18, 2013 11:38 am | by GILLIAN WONG - Associated Press - Associated Press | News | CommentsAlmost three weeks after China reported finding a new strain of bird flu in humans, experts are still stumped by how people are becoming infected when many appear to have had no recent contact with live fowl and the virus isn't supposed to pass from person to person.
A new case in China adds unknowns to bird flu
April 15, 2013 11:59 am | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsA new case of bird flu in China's capital, a 4-year-old boy who displayed no symptoms, is adding to the unknowns about the latest outbreak that has caused 63 confirmed cases and 14 deaths, health officials said Monday. The boy, who tested positive for the H7N9 virus, is considered a carrier of the strain and has been placed under observation to see if he develops symptoms, health authorities said.
Antibody evolution could guide HIV vaccine development
April 6, 2013 3:25 pm | News | CommentsObserving the evolution of a particular type of antibody in an infected HIV-1 patient has provided insights that will enable vaccination strategies that mimic the actual antibody development within the body. Spearheaded by Duke University, the multi-institution study included analysis from Los Alamos National Laboratory and used high-energy X-rays from the Advanced Photon Source at Argonne National Laboratory.
New world strategy aims to eradicate polio by 2018
April 2, 2013 5:44 pm | by LAURAN NEERGAARD - AP Medical Writer - Associated Press | News | CommentsA new global plan aims to end most cases of polio by late next year, and essentially eradicate the paralyzing disease by 2018 — if authorities can raise the $5.5 billion needed to do the work, health officials said Tuesday. Part of the challenge will be increasing security for vaccine workers who have come under attack in two of the hardest-hit countries. And the plan calls for changing how much of the world protects against polio, phasing out the long-used oral vaccine in favor of a pricier but safer shot version.
Team finds protein that increases inflammation, and agents that block it
April 1, 2013 12:23 pm | News | CommentsPneumonia and other infections sometimes provoke an inflammatory response from the body that is more detrimental than the disease-causing bacteria. Scientists at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine discovered a new biological pathway of innate immunity that ramps up inflammation and then identified agents that can block it, leading to increased survival and improved lung function in animal models of pneumonia.
FDA approves first-of-its-kind diabetes drug from J&J
March 29, 2013 3:38 pm | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsThe Food and Drug Administration on Friday approved a first-of-its-kind diabetes drug from Johnson & Johnson that uses a new method to lower blood sugar—flushing it out in patients' urine. The agency cleared J&J's Invokana tablets for adults with Type 2 diabetes, which affects an estimated 26 million Americans. The once-a-day medication works by blocking the kidneys from reabsorbing sugar, which occurs at higher levels in patients with diabetes than in healthy patients.
New technique detecting sugar-coated proteins could identify diseases earlier
March 28, 2013 7:58 am | News | CommentsScientists from the University of Bath have developed a new technique that could be used in blood tests to detect a range of age-related conditions such as diabetes, dementia, and Alzheimer's. In the process of aging, proteins in the body react with sugars in a process called glycation. This damages the protein's function which in some diseases can trigger complications such as inflammation and premature aging.
FDA approves new multiple sclerosis capsules
March 27, 2013 5:11 pm | by MATTHEW PERRONE - AP Health Writer - Associated Press | News | CommentsThe Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday it approved a new drug from Biogen Idec to control multiple sclerosis in adults with hard-to-treat forms of the disease. The twice-a-day capsules, called Tecfidera, offer a new option for multiple sclerosis, a debilitating disease in which the body attacks its own nervous system.
