Japanese Researchers Use Nanotechnology to Produce Artificial Palladium

Recently, Japanese researchers have used nanotechnology to develop a process that resembles something out of a 16th Century alchemy textbook. Although not producing gold, as was the aim of the alchemists, the researchers have discovered a technique which allows otherwise inert elements to be combined to form new intermediate alloy-elements. So far, an alloy of palladium has been created by mixing rhodium and silver together.

Prof. Hiroshi Kitagawa and his team used nanotechnology to combine silver and rhodium to produce an alloy with similar properties to palladium, which is located between silver and rhodium on the periodic table. These two metals usually would not mix, as silver has 47 electrons and rhodium has 45 electrons, and so are stable elements unable to react with each other under normal conditions. The research team overcame this hurdle by mixing silver and rhodium in solution which was then turned into a mist and mixed with heated alcohol. This process produced particles of the new alloy that are around 10 nanometres in diameter.

The new alloy has properties similar to the rare metal palladium. Part of the platinum group of metals, palladium should not to be confused with the rare earth minerals (also known as rare earth metals), a collection of seventeen elements in the periodic table, namely yttrium, scandium, and the fifteen lanthanides. Although the platinum group of metals are distinct from the rare earth metals, they are still hard to come by due to their global concentration and distribution.

The properties of palladium and other platinum group metals account for their widespread uses in electronics, medicine, manufacturing, hydrogen purification, chemical applications and groundwater treatment.

Although the new alloy will be difficult to produce commercially, Prof. Kitagawa intends to use the production method to develop other alloys for use as alternative rare metals. Prof. Kitagawa has begun joint the research project with auto manufactures to further his research. The alloy was produced by researchers at Kyoto University, Japan.

So what is the point of this all? If this happens, dreams and hopes of the alchemists to be realized, the wealth would be very easy to be achieved by everyone. Just imagine that.

Via AsiaNewsNet.net

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Neurochip with Ability to Synchronize with Brain Cell

The scientists from the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Calgary have proved that it is possible to cultivate a network of brain cells that reconnect on a silicon chip - or the brain on a microchip - have found a new technology to monitor brain cells activity at a resolution never achieved before.

This new technology from the lab of Naweed Syed is developed in collaboration with the National Research Council Canada (NRC), the new silicon chips are also simpler to use that will help future understanding of how brain cells work under normal conditions and permit drug discoveries for a variety of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. This phenomenal discovery has been published online this month in the journal, Biomedical Devices.

This new neurochips are also automated, meaning that anyone can learn to place individual brain cells on them. Previously, it took years of training to learn how to record ion channel activity from brain cells, and it was only possible to monitor one or two cells simultaneously. Nowadays, larger networks of cells can be placed on a chip and observed in minute detail, allowing the analysis of several brain cells networking and performing automatic, large-scale drug screening for various brain dysfunctions.

The new technology has the potential to help scientists in a variety of fields and on a variety of research projects. Gerald Zamponi, professor and head of the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, and member of the Hotchkiss Brain Institute, says, “This technology can likely be scaled up such that it will become a novel tool for medium throughput drug screening, in addition to its usefulness for basic biomedical research”.

“This technical breakthrough means we can track subtle changes in brain activity at the level of ion channels and synaptic potentials, which are also the most suitable target sites for drug development in neurodegenerative diseases and neuropsychological disorders,” says Syed, professor and head of the Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy, advisor to the Vice President Research on Biomedical Engineering Initiative of the U of C and also a member of the Hotchkiss Brain Institute.

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Shenzhou 7 Manned Mission to Carry Three Taikonauts

This week China to launch its most ambitious space mission program, Shenzhou 7, which is a sign of rising confidence as Beijing cements its status as a space power and potential future competitor to the United States.

On Thursday, the Shenzhou 7 mission will be launched to carry a full complement of three astronauts, sometimes called "taikonauts" from the Chinese word for outer space, one of whom will perform China's first space walk, or EVA for "extra-vehicular activity." This is China's third manned mission. The purpose of this ambitious program is to assist China to master docking techniques that needed for the construction of a space station, likely to be achieved initially by joining one Shenzhou orbiter to another.

After successfully hosting the Olympics, China's communist leaders face few of the public doubts or budgetary pressures constraining such missions elsewhere. That has allowed them to fuse political will and scientific gusto in a step-by-step process that could one day see Chinese taikonauts landing on the moon.

The space mission launches from the Jiuquan launch site in northwestern China. The lead taikonaut, Zhai Zhigang, is expected to carry out the 40-minute spacewalk that China will broadcast live. According to an expert on the Chinese space program at the U.S. Naval War College in Rhode Island, Joan Johnson-Freese, the Shenzhou 7 program is an incremental but important step forward.

Chinese space missions are methodically moving forward in a "very deliberate, graduated" manner. China is accumulating the building blocks of a comprehensive ambitious mission program, demonstrating "caution but confidence" as it gains on the United States and other space powers.

Next aims are believed to include an unmanned lunar landing around 2012, an ambitious mission program to return samples in 2015, and possibly a manned lunar mission by 2017, three years ahead of the United States target date for returning to the moon.

First, Chinese researchers and scientists need to put the final touches on the new generation Long March 5 rocket capable of launching 25-ton components for a space station or future lunar missions. Once that ambitious mission has completed, the next progress will come rapidly.

All along, China has relied heavily on homegrown technology, partly out of necessity. China has trouble obtaining such technology abroad due to U.S. and European bans and is not a participant in the International Space Station.

However, from the beginning, China has focused squarely on high-payoff areas where it can match or exceed the achievements of others. That garners new capabilities while maximizing the political impact, something observers sometimes call "techno-nationalism." The first manned Shenzhou mission in 2003 saw China join the United States and former Soviet Union as the only nations capable of launching taikonauts into space.

The China’s Shenzhou ships closely resemble Russia's three-module Soyuz capsule, but have been completely enlarged and re-engineered. China's team of 14 taikonauts are trained at Chinese facilities. According to veteran chief designer Qi Faren, China's systems have designed carefully for safety and reliability. Qi, 75, said in an interview published in Monday's Beijing News, "What we're proud of is that, although we're not the best, it's our own and its very Chinese."

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Singapore is Very Vulnerable from Tsunamis

An expert on coastal areas warned Friday said although Singapore is one of Asia's wealthiest cities, but it is not totally immune from a tsunami and should prepare for the possibility.

Professor Wong Poh Poh of the National University of Singapore geography department said that the island-state Singapore can be hit by a tsunami generated from three locations and the waves could seriously damage key coastal infrastructure without being too high.

Mr. Wong was speaking at a news conference to launch a report, by the aid and development organisation World Vision, on the impact of climate change on poor people. Wong said, to cause damage, waves hitting Singapore need not be as huge as the ones that destroyed Indonesia's Aceh in December 2004, killing 168,000 people. Aceh was devastated by a wave about 10 meters (33 feet) high.

Wong said that to devastate Singapore, there is no need 10-meter waves. The problem with Singapore is it has a lot of infrastructure on the coast. All needed to destroy Singapore is a very low wave to just come in and hit certain areas.

Wong said, "Changi Airport will be very risky." He added, the man-made island of Jurong which houses a sprawling petrochemical complex is also vulnerable, and urged the government to commission a study on tsunamis.

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Interleukin-8 Predicts Toxic Shock Survival

According to a study led by researchers at the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, a simple measure of an immune system protein called interleukin-8 (IL-8) can predict survival in children with septic shock.

Each year, about 4,000 children in the U.S. die from septic shock, an infection-related condition. IL-8 is secreted into the blood as part of the body's immune system response against infection. Previous research showed that high blood levels of IL-8 are associated with more severe cases of septic shock in children and an increased risk of death.

Researchers found an IL-8 blood level at or below 220 pg/ml (picograms per milliliter) is 95% accurate in predicting which children with septic shock can survive through conventional antibiotics and therapies for at least 28 days following admission to hospital. Moreover, measuring IL-8 levels would enable researchers to screen lower-risk patients out of interventional clinical trials of experimental therapies for septic shock.

Lead author Dr. Hector Wong, a physician and researcher of critical care medicine at Cincinnati Children's, said in a hospital news release, "Using IL-8 as a biomarker to screen low-risk septic shock patients from clinical trials of experimental or potentially high-risk therapies is an effective strategy to improve the risk-to-benefit ratio of a given intervention." Moreover, he added, "Excluding patients who respond to standard care would enable investigators to focus clinical trial enrollment on patients least likely to respond well to conventional methods and find the most effective new therapies."

Currently, Wong plans to develop a point-of-care test that can be used to detect IL-8 in septic shock patients.

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Hygiene Hypothesis Maybe Tied to Bowel Disease

A study considers children who grow up in a spick-and-span home may have a higher risk of developing inflammatory bowel disease.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) refers to a group of conditions marked by chronic inflammation in the intestines, leading to symptoms like abdominal pain and diarrhea. It has thought that the conditions arise from an immune system overreaction that injures the body's own intestinal tissue.

The researchers, in the new study that published in the American Journal of Gastroenterology, looked at whether the so-called "hygiene hypothesis" might be involved in young people's risk of developing IBD. In addition, the hygiene hypothesis was first advanced in the late 1980s. It has become an explanation for the rise in allergic diseases in developed nations.

According to the theory, when children are exposed to few bacteria, viruses and other microorganisms early in life, their immune system development is affected in a way that raises the risk of abnormal immune reactions. For example, studies have found that young children who spend time in daycare, where they are likely to be exposed to microorganisms and other viruses, are less likely to develop allergies than their peers who spend little time around other children early in life.

Currently, Dr. Eran Israeli and colleagues looked at the relationship between IBD risk and certain markers of how "hygienic" a child's upbringing was, including how many siblings a child had, his or her spot in the family birth order, and whether the family lived in an urban or rural area, which is considered generally less hygienic than an urban one.

Interestingly, the researchers found that among the nearly 400,000 Israeli teenagers included in the study, 768 persons or 0.2% had been diagnosed with IBD. Those with one sibling were between two and three times more likely to have IBD than teens with five or more siblings. In addition, similarly, teenagers who lived in an urban setting were 38% more likely to suffer from IBD than their rural counterparts were.

However, the findings do not prove that the hygiene hypothesis is at work in IBD, according to Israeli, of Hadassah Medical Center-Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Moreover, the study looked only at "surrogate markers" of childhood hygiene and showed an association between those markers and IBD.

Nevertheless, if the extra-clean surroundings of modern life do indeed contribute to IBD development in certain susceptible individuals, what are the implications? Israeli said, "It would of course be impractical to suggest living in a less 'hygienic' environment or changing living conditions in order to afford possible protection (from) future development of IBD."

However, Israeli added, it might be possible to lower IBD risk in people who are at higher-than-normal risk, such as those with family members with the disease, by exposing them to harmless microbes to help regulate their immune responses.

Meanwhile, researchers have already begun studying whether exposure to harmless parasitic worms might assist treat Crohn's or colitis. Israeli noted that the studies have not yet investigated such tactics for preventing IBD in healthy, high-risk people.

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Various Advanced Approaches Help Better Therapies of Alzheimer's Disease

Various approaches in treating Alzheimer's disease could one-day lead to better therapies for the mind-robbing condition.

A trio of studies that were presented at the Alzheimer's Association 2008 International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease in Chicago pointed progress made on three different treatment fronts.

The first study involves a drug called Dimebon, which is an antihistamine, with positive results being reported from tests in Russia. Data from the Russian trials indicated that Dimebon might have value in treating Alzheimer's. In a controlled study, this buttressed American research reported earlier this year that showed improvements in Alzheimer's patients given Dimebon, which is believed to prevent the death of brain cells.

Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles, have studied 183 people who had mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease. Mental function remained stable in those taking the drug, while it declined in those given a placebo. Mental function also stabilized in people who were first given a placebo after they began taking Dimebon.

The second trial used the body's immune system to prevent the mental deterioration suffered by people with Alzheimer's disease. The immune attack is aimed at the deposits of beta-amyloid protein that accumulate in the brains of patients. According to Nixon, the idea has been around for almost a decade now. The initial notion was to use the vaccine approach to prevent amyloid deposition, injecting amyloid so the body would attack the deposits. Now, the researchers are entering phase two, which is injecting the antibody itself.

Researchers at Eli Lilly & Co. have reported on 52 people with mild to moderate Alzheimer's. Some of them were given weekly injections of a monoclonal antibody that binds to beta amyloid, while others were injected with a placebo.

According to the researchers, detailed measurements have showed an increased level of beta amyloid in both blood and cerebrospinal fluid after 12 weeks in those getting the antibody, an indication that the beta amyloid in the brain might be starting to dissolve. New researches and studies of the therapy are planned.

Nixon viewed the results with "tempered optimism." He stated that one interesting finding was the response to the therapy was greatest in people who did not have a known genetic marker for Alzheimer's risk. "What is the significance of this? Why do carriers not respond?" Nixon asked. Moreover, he stated that the answer might help explain Alzheimer's disease better.

Meanwhile, a team at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City reported a third study using a broad spectrum of antibodies. The treatment method was originally developed by Baxter International to treat autoimmune conditions. It was given to 24 people with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease in a set of trials extending as long as 18 months. According to the researchers, statistically significant increases in mental function were seen in those getting the treatment. A large-scale, 18-month follow-up trial will be done.

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Cannabinoid Receptor Might Help Suppress Colorectal Cancer

According to U.S. researchers, a cannabinoid receptor lying on the surface of cells may help suppress colorectal cancer. When the receptor is turned-off, tumor growth is switched-on.

Cannabinoids are compounds, which are related to the tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) found in the cannabis plant. In addition, it has already known that the receptor, CB1, plays a role in relieving pain and nausea, elevating mood and stimulating appetite by serving as a docking station for the cannabinoid group of signaling molecules.

The study suggests that CB1 may offer a new path for cancer prevention or treatment. According to Dr. Raymond Dubois, provost and executive vice president of the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, said in a university news release, he and his team have found that CB1 expression is lost in most colorectal cancers. Moreover, he added, when that happens, a cancer-promoting protein is free to inhibit cell death.

In their study of human colorectal tumor specimens, the researchers also found that the drug decitabine could restore CB1 expression. For information, the researchers found that mice that are prone to developing intestinal tumors and also have functioning CB1 receptors developed fewer and smaller tumors when treated with a drug that mimics a cannabinoid receptor ligand. Ligands are molecules that function by binding to specific receptors.

According to DuBois, potential application of cannabinoids as anti-tumor drugs is an exciting prospect, because cannabinoid agonists (synthetic molecules that mimic the action of natural molecules) are being evaluated now to treat the side effects of radiation therapy and chemotherapy. He added that turning CB1 back on and than treating with a cannabinoid agonist could provide a new approach to colorectal cancer treatment or prevention.

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New Method to Identify Protein Structures Related to Alzheimer Disease

Recently, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have developed a new method of identifying protein structures related to Alzheimer's disease.

The research team confirms its computer-based technique able to help in the development of medicines that could prevent the formation of such structures.

Alzheimer's disease is characterized by two kinds of proteins (tau and amyloid) that accumulate in the brain. For information, the MIT team focused on tau. Most proteins have similar structures. According to Dr. Collin M. Stultz, an associate professor of biomedical engineering, researchers can measure the lengths of individual molecules, and the average will be a good description of any one.

However, Stultz said that tau molecules are all over the place, they are so diverse that it is difficult to get one measurement that describes all of the possible structures. This makes it a challenge to detect specific tau structures associated with Alzheimer's.

The MIT team developed a method called Energy-minima Mapping and Weighting (EMW) and "generated lots and lots of structures for both normal tau and a mutant form" associated with an increased risk for Alzheimer's disease.

According to Stultz, further analysis revealed that one structure was more common in the mutant form of tau and therefore likely to play a role in the development of Alzheimer's. That structure could become a target for new drug development.

The study looked at one mutant form of tau associated with Alzheimer's, but there are several others. Stultz said he hopes to use EMW to create "a list of all types of suspect conformations for known tau mutants. Then, from that list, we can design drugs for each."

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Research Found: Obesity Worsens Asthma

New research found that obese people who have asthma are nearly five times more likely to be hospitalized for the problem and to have worse control of the disease and lower quality of life than those with asthma who are normal weight.

Researchers reported its findings in the September issue of The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, found other differences associated with obesity. Obese patients with asthma were 2.8 times more likely to have day-to-day problems with quality of life associated with their disease. They were 2.7 times more likely to have poor asthma control, too.

Researchers from Kaiser Permanente, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School have evaluated 1,113 adults with asthma, all members of Kaiser, in Oregon, Colorado or Washington.

They asked the patients about their height, weight, smoking habits, asthma treatment, other illness, and their quality of life associated with asthma, as well as their asthma control and any hospitalizations related to the condition. They also computed their body-mass index (BMI).

According to Dr. Michael Schatz, chief of the department of allergy at Kaiser Permanente, San Diego, and a clinical professor of medicine at the University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine, even accounting for all of those factors, there was a dramatic difference for obese asthmatics versus non-obese asthmatics. Moreover, he added, the most severe was a nearly five times greater risk for being hospitalized for asthma in the prior year. For information, obesity was defined as having a BMI of 30 or above.

According to Schatz, in previous research, obesity has been associated with having more intense asthma. In addition, Schatz added, for those who had asthma and were overweight but not obese, with a BMI of 25 to 29, the findings were not as clear. While the results for the overweight but not obese were not significantly different than for those of normal weight. Schatz said, "We probably could have used more numbers," explaining that the numbers of overweight but not obese persons may have been too small to tease out a difference. Moreover, he added, "I wouldn't want to conclude that being overweight [with asthma] is the same as normal weight in terms of risks."

According to Dr. Christopher Cooper, a professor of medicine and physiology at the David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, the study adds to the base of knowledge about asthma and weight. Moreover, he added, the study relied on large numbers overall, and the statistics are sound. One limitation is the lack of an intervention, such as following obese asthmatics that lose weight to see if their condition improves.

Exactly why obesity seems to make asthma worse is not discovered. Schatz and his colleagues speculated that obese people may have a lower self-image and not adhere to measures to make their asthma better, may not be as adherent to medication, or other factors.

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Methadone: New Treatment for Leukemia

According to results of a study, methadone, a drug used to treat people addicted to heroin and other opioid drugs, holds promise as a new treatment for leukemia, especially treatment-resistant leukemia.

Researchers at the University of Ulm in Germany report in a paper published in the journal Cancer Research, laboratory result tests show that methadone kills leukemia cells without harming healthy blood cells. Methadone was even effective in killing leukemia cells resistant to killing by radiation and chemotherapy.

According to Dr. Claudia Friesen, the study chief of the research, leukemia cells express opioid receptors, to which methadone binds. The researchers found that methadone kills leukemia cells efficiently. In addition, these results provide the foundation for new strategies using methadone as an additional anticancer drug in leukemia therapy, especially when conventional therapies are less effective.

Friesen predicts that methadone will have similar effects in other cancers that express opioid receptors. In her lab, the researchers have found that methadone also can kill solid tumors. Moreover, Friesen and her team are studying methadone alone and in combination with other chemotherapy drugs in animal models of cancer.

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The No-Exercise Drug is Called AICAR

Recently, scientists have reported that there is such a drug could help us gain some of the advantages of physical activity without working up a sweat.

Sedentary mice that took the drug for four weeks burned more calories and had less fat than untreated mice. Moreover, when tested on a treadmill, they could run about 44 percent farther and 23 percent longer than untreated mice. In addition, how well those results might translate to people is an open question. However, researchers belief such a drug might help treat diabetes, obesity, and people with medical conditions that keep them from exercising, will be found someday.

Ron Evans, of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, Calif., and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute reports the work with colleagues in a paper published online by the journal Cell. According to Evans, an author of the study, he and his colleagues have exercised in a pill. Moreover, he said, "With no exercise, you can take a drug and chemically mimic it."

The no-exercise drug is called AICAR. Previous experiments suggest that it might protect against gaining weight on a high-fat diet that might make it useful for treating obesity. Nevertheless, it would have to be taken for a long time, so its safety in people would have to be assured.

Evans and his colleagues have also reported that in mice that did exercise training, a second drug made their workout much more effective at boosting endurance. After a month of taking that drug and exercising, mice could run 68 percent longer and 70 percent farther than other mice that exercised but did not get the drug.

Researchers have studied both drugs for other uses. The no-exercise drug is in advanced human testing to see if it can prevent a complication of heart bypass surgery. In addition, Evans noted the drugs might prove irresistible for professional athletes who seek an illegal edge. He said his team has developed detection tests for use by the World Anti-Doping Agency. Moreover, Evans said he has no financial interest in either drug or the test.

According to the researchers, Resveratrol, a substance being studied for anti-aging effects, has also been reported to enable mice to run farther before exhaustion without exercise training. Nevertheless, the drugs in the new study appear to act more specifically on a process in muscles that boosts endurance.

According to Evans, it still takes more than just altered muscles to turn a sedentary mouse into a distance runner. Moreover, he added, “honestly, I just don't know how that happens. Whether it would happen in a person, I do not know. I think it's a small miracle it happened at all." In fact, Evans said that when the experiment with sedentary mice was suggested by an outside scientist who was reviewing the lab's research, "I didn't think it was going to work."

Experts who study muscle agreed that a drug like AICAR might prove useful someday in treating diabetes and obesity. In addition, according to the experts, people who cannot exercise because of a medical condition like heart failure or joint pain might also benefit from such a drug. According to Laurie Goodyear of the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston, many drug companies are working on such drugs in diabetes because in animals, AICAR stimulates muscles to eliminate sugar from the blood.

However, Eric Hoffman of the Children's National Medical Center in Washington, D.C., noted that AICAR mimics only aerobic exercise, not the strength training that might be more useful to bedridden people or the elderly, for example. He also cautioned that it is not precisely clear whether the new mouse results can be reproduced in people.

Goodyear said exercise has such widespread advantages in the body that she doubts any one-pill will ever be able to supply all of them. She said that for the majority of people, it would be better to do physical activity than to take a pill.

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Biomarkers to Track Early Detection of Alzheimer Disease

Recently, scientists claimed to be succeeded in the hunt for biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease.

A biomarker is something that can be measured; it is an indicator of what is going on inside the body. Biomarker will assist in early detection, in testing new therapies and, once doctors have better drugs for Alzheimer's, with earlier intervention in the disease process.

Dr. Gary Kennedy, director of geriatric psychiatry at Montefiore Medical Center in New York City explained that if we are going to have any kind of medication that alters or modifies the disease, if it is really going to change it rather than treat symptoms, then we need biomarkers that are sensitive to the illness before a person becomes impaired. According to Kennedy, in Alzheimer's, we need two things: We need to figure out who's sick and who's not and, secondly, biomarkers should be treatment-sensitive, meaning if patients have got the right treatment, we can watch the biomarker go down, like blood sugar and insulin.

A study has found that differences in levels of CD-69, which is a protein involved in white blood cell production and growth. The study was being presented at the International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease (ICAD) in Chicago. Moreover, the study has allowed researchers to distinguish between people with Alzheimer's, people with Parkinson's-related dementia and those who were cognitively normal.

The researchers at the University of Leipzig in Germany were made the study based on a theory that Alzheimer's occurs when neurons get a false signal to divide. The more popular theory holds that a build-up of amyloid plaque (made up mostly of beta amyloid protein) in the brain causes Alzheimer's.

On the other hand, Kennedy said that the alternative theory about Alzheimer's is that the cells replication process gets triggered pathologically, and then the cells are programmed to die, and that is what is killing the nerve cells, not the amyloid. However, researchers still have a long way to go. It is one thing to distinguish the sick group from the healthy group and another to see if we can predict from the healthy group who gets the disease.

A second study, from researchers at Washington University in St. Louis, confirmed previous findings: that the more amyloid there is in the brain (as measured by PET scans), the less beta amyloid 42 there is in cerebrospinal fluid. Beta amyloid 42 is an extra-"sticky" type of amyloid protein that accumulates and forms plaques. The theory is that measurements of beta amyloid 42 in spinal fluid could serve as a marker for Alzheimer's disease.

On the other hand, another study found that individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), often considered a transitional stage between normal cognitive functioning and Alzheimer's, had elevated levels of beta-secretase (BACE1) activity in the brain when compared to both healthy people and people with Alzheimer's. The study was made by a team in Ireland and in Germany

Finally yet importantly, a fourth study showed that a certain radioactive compound or tracer, 18F-AV-45, may have potential in the diagnosis and early detection of Alzheimer's when used with PET scans. Trials of the substance, conducted by Philadelphia-based Avid Radiopharmaceuticals Inc., are ongoing.

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New Medicine Shows Promise in Cystic Fibrosis

Israeli researchers to report a new kind of cystic fibrosis medicine, which is designed to bypass a genetic defect to treat the disease, has showed promising results in mid-stage clinical trials.

The new medicine that known as PTC124, is being developed by PTC Therapeutics. The medicine is a privately owned biotechnology company in South Plainfield, New Jersey.

Cystic fibrosis is a disease in which the body produces a thicker-than-normal mucus that clogs the lungs and other organs. The disease is caused by mutations in the cystic fibrosis transmembrane-conductance regulator (CFTR) gene.

According to Eitan Kerem and colleagues of Hadassah Hebrew University Hospital, Jerusalem, in their report in an online edition of the Lancet journal, PTC124 can bypass the defect in patients' protein-making machinery and improve the functioning of cell membranes.

Eitan Kerem and colleagues studied the medicine in a Phase II trial involving 23 patients with cystic fibrosis and discovered convincing changes in cell membrane function, coupled with modest but statistically significant improvements in lung function. In addition, Stephen Hyde and associates at the UK Cystic Fibrosis Gene Therapy Consortium in Oxford commented that the positive findings figure out further larger-scale trials were warranted.

PTC124, which is given by mouth, is one of a number of experimental medicines in development to correct CFTR defects. Vertex Pharmaceuticals also has a compound called VX-770 in Phase II tests. Recently, Cystic fibrosis affects about 70,000 children and adults worldwide, according to the U.S. Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

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Brain Electrical Stimulation Increase Memory in Alzheimer's

The brain electrical stimulation may improve recognition and memory in elderly people who suffer from Alzheimer's disease.

According to Dr. Alberto Priori from the University of Milan, he and his colleagues’ preliminary data on Alzheimer's disease patients are promising as they observed beneficial effects after a single session of transcranial direct current stimulation, suggesting that chronic daily application might induce even greater improvement.

Priori and colleagues’ studies encourage broader research programs using different stimulation protocols and longer clinical follow-up to clarify the effect this therapy might have on patients' daily functional activities.

Priori and colleagues investigated whether electrical stimulation applied over an area at the side of the brain called the temporoparietal cortex could improve recognition memory in 10 patients with Alzheimer's disease. Moreover, the treatment has significantly improved word recognition memory accuracy, whereas sham treatment had no impact on memory. In fact, the results were similar after correcting memory performance for guessing.

The electrical stimulation-induced improvement in the word recognition test observed in patients with Alzheimer's disease is comparable to the 16 percent improvement induced by long-term treatment with cholinesterase inhibitors (drugs currently used to treat early memory problems in patients with dementia).

Priori and colleagues are assessing possible long-lasting effects of (electrical stimulation) in Alzheimer's disease patients using repeated session protocols in a larger sample with longer clinical follow-up. In addition, they certainly sure that the best results, especially in Alzheimer's disease patients, could be obtained by combining transcranial direct current stimulation with cognitive rehabilitation.

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Specialty Centers to Analyses More Cancer Lymph Nodes

According to a U.S. study, patients with pancreatic or stomach cancer may have more lymph nodes examined for the spread of cancer if they are treated at hospitals or at designated comprehensive cancer centers that do a high number of cancer surgeries.

According to background information in the study, if too few lymph nodes are examined for cancer cells, a patient's cancer may be incorrectly classified, altering prognosis, treatment decisions and eligibility for clinical trials. Current guidelines for pancreatic and stomach patients recommend examination of at least 15 regional lymph nodes.

The researchers examined National Cancer Data Base records of 1,130 pancreatic cancer patients and 3,088 stomach cancer patients. Of the pancreatic cancer patients, 19 percent had surgery at NCCN-NCI hospitals, 43.3 percent at other academic hospitals, and 37.7 percent at community hospitals.

Of the stomach cancer patients, 11.6 percent had surgery at a hospital designated as a National Cancer Institute (NCI) comprehensive cancer center or as part of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN-NCI hospitals), 34 percent had surgery at other academic hospitals (affiliated with a medical school but not designated as NCCN-NCI facilities), and 54.4 percent had surgery at community hospitals.

Overall, according to the study, 16.4 percent of pancreatic cancer patients and 23.2 percent of stomach cancer patients had at least 15 lymph nodes evaluated. Patients at high-volume or NCCN-NCI hospitals were more likely to have at least 15 lymph nodes examined compared with patients at community or low-volume hospitals.

The researchers wrote that nodal status is a powerful forecaster of outcome, and every reasonable attempt should be made to assess the optimal number of lymph nodes to accurately stage disease in patients with pancreatic and gastric (stomach) cancer. In addition, differences in nodal evaluation may contribute to improved long-term outcomes at NCCN-NCI centers and high-volume hospitals for patients with pancreatic and gastric cancer.

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Two Genes to Prevent HIV Infection

Recently, a new study, scientists have isolated two genes that may prevent people from contracting HIV or at least slow the rate at which they develop AIDS.

The genes were isolated by comparing the genetic profiles of people in their first year of HIV infection with those who managed to resist infection despite repeated exposure to the virus. Then, the "good" versions of the two genes were present in 12.2 percent of those who resisted infection compared with only 2.7 of patients in primary HIV infection.

Nevertheless, researchers are not positively sure how this protection works. One of the genes codes for a receptor on the surface of the immune system's natural killer cells that destruct infected cells in the body. In addition, the other codes for a protein that binds the first gene and dampens the natural killer cell activity.

The most likely argumentation is that HIV prevents the protein that dampens the killer cell activity from being expressed, allowing the killer cells to destruct cells infected with HIV. Since this can happen in short time after the initial infection, people carrying those genes may be able to more efficiently eliminate infected cells and lower their chances of developing AIDS.

However, according to Nicole Bernard, co-author of the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre in Montreal, more research is needed to determine the exact mechanism behind the protection that researchers have observed. Moreover, he added, in the future, researchers’ findings could be used to somehow 'boost' the innate immune system and thus fight the virus as soon as it enters the body.

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South Africa to Ban Aids Vitamin Trials

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Embryonic Stem Cell Research Proposal Advances

On the November ballot, supporters of a ballot measure that would loosen Michigan's restrictions on embryonic stem cell research took a big step toward placing it.

The Stem Cell Research Ballot Question Committee stated it turned in more than 570,000 voter signatures backing the measure. More than 380,000 of the voters have to be ruled valid for the proposal to reach voters.

Stem cells are rare cells in tissues that give rise to most other cells. Many scientists say embryonic stem cell research holds the medical potential and versatility; critics are upset that stem cells are harvested from adults or umbilical cords. In addition, embryonic stem cell research holds the potential to help treat or cure diseases such as Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, cancer, sickle cell anemia and diabetes.

According to Owen, the campaign chairperson, this research has a high chance of curing many diseases and saving many lives. However, opponents raise ethical concerns because the research involves the use and destruction of human embryos. In addition, the Michigan Catholic Conference and Right to Life of Michigan oppose the proposal, an opposition group called Michigan Citizens Against Unrestricted Science and Experimentation is forming.

According to ballot proposal supporters, changing Michigan's law would help broaden the type of available stem cell lines, opening up new avenues for potential cures and eventually drawing more research money to the state. Moreover, the supporters have countered that their opponents are the ones misrepresenting the issues. Supporters are trying to make the ballot because their efforts to change state law have failed in the Legislature. Yet, the supporters of the proposal to amend the constitution say it protects and strengthens Michigan's ban on human cloning.

On the other hand, opponents say the proposal does not explicitly put a ban on human cloning in the state constitution. Therefore cloning could be allowed if state law is ever changed to permit it.

The proposal would change Michigan law to permit research on donated embryos created during fertility treatments that otherwise would be discarded. It is now a state felony to use new embryonic stem cells for research.

Some embryonic stem cell research is permitted in Michigan. However, the state's laws related to the research are among the nations most restrictive, allowing only the use of stem cell lines from Illinois, California or other states with less restrictive laws. Those lines sometimes are patented by other researchers.

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