RedScrubs
The Resource for Medical Professionals

In a study that could have significant consequences for neural tissue transplantation strategies, researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies report that inactivating a specific gene in adult neural stem cells makes nerve cells emerging from those precursors form connections in the wrong part of the adult brain. The nice part of this story is that it emerged from a systems genetics approach, and it continues efforts to apply genetic analysis to find chromosomal regions harboring genes that may play a critical role in neurogenesis.

Also known as Hansen’s disease, leprosy is being diagnosed at a rate of 150 new cases each year and 3,000 people are currently being treated for leprosy. Although researchers are not sure of the mode of transmission, they do know that it is a slow, chronic disease that attacks the peripheral nervous system and motor skills which often lead to disability and disfigurement. The increased prevalence of leprosy is being blamed on changes in immigration relocation from the tropics and third world countries where there are poor living conditions.

A link between the immune system and the self-cleaning system by which biological cells rid themselves of obsolete or toxic parts may one day yield new weapons in the fight against tuberculosis and other deadly infectious diseases.

A review of research into how cells and proteins repair fractured bones published in the November 2008 issue of The Journal of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons demonstrates that understanding the biology behind this healing process may lead to improved and less invasive treatments for fractures.

Scientists at the American Academy of Sleep Medicine have linked insomnia to a neurochemical abnormality in the brain. The study, which is the first one to link a specific neurochemical abnormality with insomnia, found that gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), the most common inhibitory transmitter in the brain, is reduced by nearly 30% in people who have been suffering from primary insomnia for more than six months. The study limitation included few participants, but the participants ranged in age from 25-55 and consisted of both male and female subjects. A matched control group was included and subjects were adjusted for age, body mass index and gender. According to the study summary, many of the drugs used to treat sleep disorders act as benzodiazepine receptor antagonists, which increase activity at the GABA neurons. The full study may be reviewed in the current issue of the journal Sleep.

Sometimes it’s hard to tell friends from foes, biologically speaking. Naturally produced in the body, urokinase plasminogen activator and plasminogen interact to break up blood clots and recruit clean-up cells to clear away debris related to inflammation. In fact, urokinase manufactured as a drug effectively clears clogged arteries by generating clot-busting plasmin from blood-derived plasminogen.

Coming up with new and effective antibiotics is a challenge. Recently, chemistry researchers have found a novel signaling molecule that could be a key that will open up hundreds of new antibiotics unlocking them from the DNA of the Streptomyces family of bacteria. Early results also suggest that this approach could switch on novel antibiotic production pathways in up to 50% of the Streptomyces bacterial strain.

There is new hope for women around the world, with the launch of an early detection test for ovarian cancer. The test, developed in Melbourne by HealthLinx scientists in collaboration with ARL Pathology, is called the OvPlex™ Panel and works by identifying whether five biomarkers (proteins) are present in a blood sample. Two Victorian women have become the first test recipients

According to a recent study, phototherapy did not decrease Neurodevelopmental impairments or deaths in infants weighing less than 1,000g. Although the aggressive treatment using phototherapy was effective in reducing Neurodevelopmental impairments in infants weighing only 501-751 g, death rates tended to be higher. Phototherapy is often used to decrease bilirubin levels. High levels of bilirubin can lead to hearing loss. Other treatment strategies, such as the use of tin mesoporphyrin, might be the safest and most effective strategy to address the postnatal rise in serum bilirubin levels in these tiny infants.