It is likely that the protein is also highly significant for other inflammatory diseases.
The research results have been published in the American journal Gastroenterology.
Excessive alcohol intake and gall stones are known risk factors for acute pancreatitis. However, as yet no explanation has been found for what actually happens in the body in cases of acute pancreatitis.
Current research shows that calcium-sensitive proteins found in the body, for example calcineurin, promote inflammation, but it is not known exactly how.
Henrik Thorlacius and Maria Gomez at the University's Department of Clinical Sciences in Malmö have investigated this in more detail. The focus is on a family of proteins linked to calcineurin, called NFAT, the role of which in acute pancreatitis has not previously been studied.
"The protein has an unexpectedly major role in the development of inflammation in the pancreas. Now there is a clear target for the development of drugs and treatments", says Henrik Thorlacius, Professor of Surgery at Lund University and a doctor at Skåne University Hospital.
Health & Wellness
© AFP
Earlier this week Yosemite authorities closed down all tent cabins in part of Curry Village, a popular lodging area in Yosemite Valley, the tourist hub at the center of the scenic park visited by millions of people every year.
The National Park Service (NPS) has written to some 2,900 parties who stayed in the Boystown area tent lodgings between June 10 and August 24, alerting them to keep an eye out for symptoms of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS).
The disease can take up to six weeks to incubate after exposure to the virus, usually through contact with the urine, droppings or saliva of infected rodents, primarily deer mice.
A protein known as galectin-3 can identify people at higher risk of heart failure, according to new research supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), part of the National Institutes of Health. This research is based on work from the NHLBI's Framingham Heart Study, which began in 1948 and has been the leading source of research findings about heart disease risk factors.
Heart failure occurs when the heart cannot fill with enough blood and/or pump enough blood to meet the body's needs. Galactin-3 has recently been associated with cardiac fibrosis, a condition in which scar tissue replaces heart muscle, and cardiac fibrosis plays an important role in the development of heart failure.
Heart failure carries enormous risk for death or a lifetime of disability and often there are few warning signs of impending heart failure. Measuring levels of galectin-3 in the blood may offer a way to identify high-risk individuals who could benefit from treatments to prevent debilitating heart failure and death. Early identification of predisposed individuals would allow treatment to begin long before heart failure develops and could help people at high risk for heart failure to live longer, more active lives.
Heart failure occurs when the heart cannot fill with enough blood and/or pump enough blood to meet the body's needs. Galactin-3 has recently been associated with cardiac fibrosis, a condition in which scar tissue replaces heart muscle, and cardiac fibrosis plays an important role in the development of heart failure.
Heart failure carries enormous risk for death or a lifetime of disability and often there are few warning signs of impending heart failure. Measuring levels of galectin-3 in the blood may offer a way to identify high-risk individuals who could benefit from treatments to prevent debilitating heart failure and death. Early identification of predisposed individuals would allow treatment to begin long before heart failure develops and could help people at high risk for heart failure to live longer, more active lives.
Chronic stress, prompted by major life stressors and type A personality traits, is linked to a high risk of stroke, finds research published online in the Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery and Psychiatry.
Chronic stress, manifested as physical and/or mental symptoms in response to stressors lasting longer than 6 months has been linked to a heightened risk of heart disease. But its impact on the risk of stroke has not been clear.
The research team base their findings on150 adults, with an average age of 54, who had been admitted to one stroke unit, and 300 randomly selected healthy people of a similar age who lived in the same neighbourhood.
Levels of chronic stress were assessed using the combined quantitative scores of four validated scales, looking at major life events; symptoms, such as anxiety and depression; general wellbeing; and behaviour patterns indicative of type A personality (ERCTA scale).
Chronic stress, manifested as physical and/or mental symptoms in response to stressors lasting longer than 6 months has been linked to a heightened risk of heart disease. But its impact on the risk of stroke has not been clear.
The research team base their findings on150 adults, with an average age of 54, who had been admitted to one stroke unit, and 300 randomly selected healthy people of a similar age who lived in the same neighbourhood.
Levels of chronic stress were assessed using the combined quantitative scores of four validated scales, looking at major life events; symptoms, such as anxiety and depression; general wellbeing; and behaviour patterns indicative of type A personality (ERCTA scale).
Standard head movements made while exposed to one of the three electromagnetic fields produced by a heavy duty MRI scanner seem to temporarily lower concentration and visuospatial awareness, shows an experimental study published online in Occupational and Environmental Medicine.
The effects were particularly noticeable in tasks requiring high levels of working memory, which may have implications for surgeons and other healthcare staff working within the vicinity of an MRI scanner, the research indicates.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) uses strong magnetic fields and radio waves to take very detailed pictures of the brain and spine. Three types of electromagnetic fields are required to create an image: static; switched gradient; and radiofrequency.
The static magnetic field is always present, even when no imaging is taking place.
Thirty one volunteers made standard head movements within the static magnetic field of a higher field 7 Tesla MRI scanner at exposure levels of zero (sham), 0.5 (medium), and 1 (high)Tesla, in a random order, one week apart.
The effects were particularly noticeable in tasks requiring high levels of working memory, which may have implications for surgeons and other healthcare staff working within the vicinity of an MRI scanner, the research indicates.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) uses strong magnetic fields and radio waves to take very detailed pictures of the brain and spine. Three types of electromagnetic fields are required to create an image: static; switched gradient; and radiofrequency.
The static magnetic field is always present, even when no imaging is taking place.
Thirty one volunteers made standard head movements within the static magnetic field of a higher field 7 Tesla MRI scanner at exposure levels of zero (sham), 0.5 (medium), and 1 (high)Tesla, in a random order, one week apart.
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is one of the most common brain disorders, with an estimated 35 million people affected worldwide. In the last decade, research has advanced our understanding of how AD affects the brain. However, diagnosis continues to rely primarily on neuropsychological tests which can only detect the disease after clinical symptoms begin.
In a supplement to the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, investigators report on the development of imaging-based biomarkers that will have an impact on diagnosis before the disease process is set in motion.
"There is an urgent need for the development of reliable diagnostic biomarkers that can detect AD pathology at an incipient phase," says Guest Editor Dr. Pravat Mandal, Adjunct Associate Professor of the Department of Radiology, Johns Hopkins Medicine, Baltimore, MD and Additional Professor, National Brain Research Center, India. "This special issue focuses on the latest strides made in identifying diagnostic biomarkers using state-of-the-art imaging modalities."
The issue looks at the application of various magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technologies for diagnosing AD and monitoring the progression of the disease. For example, Brian T. Gold and colleagues report on the use of diffusion tension imaging (DTI) to identify changes in the white matter of patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (MCI), an early symptom of AD. Charles D. Smith and colleagues describe MRI-based detection of key structural alterations in cognitively normal subjects that can serve as a predictor of memory impairment.
In a supplement to the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, investigators report on the development of imaging-based biomarkers that will have an impact on diagnosis before the disease process is set in motion.
"There is an urgent need for the development of reliable diagnostic biomarkers that can detect AD pathology at an incipient phase," says Guest Editor Dr. Pravat Mandal, Adjunct Associate Professor of the Department of Radiology, Johns Hopkins Medicine, Baltimore, MD and Additional Professor, National Brain Research Center, India. "This special issue focuses on the latest strides made in identifying diagnostic biomarkers using state-of-the-art imaging modalities."
The issue looks at the application of various magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technologies for diagnosing AD and monitoring the progression of the disease. For example, Brian T. Gold and colleagues report on the use of diffusion tension imaging (DTI) to identify changes in the white matter of patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (MCI), an early symptom of AD. Charles D. Smith and colleagues describe MRI-based detection of key structural alterations in cognitively normal subjects that can serve as a predictor of memory impairment.
© ITG
Linda De Vooght transmits Sodalis bacteria onto a special culture medium.
Linda De Vooght transmits Sodalis bacteria onto a special culture medium.
Sleeping sickness is caused by trypanosomes, parasites being transmitted by the bite of a tsetse fly.
The World Health Organization estimates the yearly death toll at between 10,000 and 20,000 people. On top of that, the parasite also infects cattle, causing considerable economic loss. Many small African farmers depend on their cattle.
Without treatment, an infection is irrevocably fatal. Unfortunately, many poor people present at the hospital only in a late stadium. At that time the Trypanosoma parasites have lodged themselves in the brain, behind the notorious blood-brain barrier that keeps most drugs out. Arsenic compounds can pass the barrier and kill the parasite, but they also kill five per cent of the patients. New drugs are not in the pipeline.
Researchers have identified a way in which men can develop prostate cancer after contracting trichomoniasis, a curable but often overlooked sexually transmitted disease.
Previous studies have teased out a casual, epidemiological correlation between the two diseases, but this latest study suggests a more tangible biological mechanism.
John Alderete, a professor at Washington State University's School of Molecular Biosciences, says the trichomoniasis parasite activates a suite of proteins, the last of which makes sure the proteins stay active.
"It's like switching a light switch on," he says. "Then, if you don't control the brightness of that light, you can go blind. That's the problem."
Alderete and colleagues at WSU and Washington University in St. Louis report their findings in the recent PLoS Pathogens.
Caused by a protozoan parasite, trichomoniasis is often referred to as the most common curable sexually transmitted infection. However, most infected people have no symptoms, so it often goes untreated.
Previous studies have teased out a casual, epidemiological correlation between the two diseases, but this latest study suggests a more tangible biological mechanism.
John Alderete, a professor at Washington State University's School of Molecular Biosciences, says the trichomoniasis parasite activates a suite of proteins, the last of which makes sure the proteins stay active.
"It's like switching a light switch on," he says. "Then, if you don't control the brightness of that light, you can go blind. That's the problem."
Alderete and colleagues at WSU and Washington University in St. Louis report their findings in the recent PLoS Pathogens.
Caused by a protozoan parasite, trichomoniasis is often referred to as the most common curable sexually transmitted infection. However, most infected people have no symptoms, so it often goes untreated.
The report, which examined over 200 studies - utilising data from the 76 strongest - found that higher welfare meant lower levels of fat, including saturated fat, higher levels of Omega-3, and higher levels of antioxidants.
Comment: Perhaps they found lower levels of saturated fat, but this fat was undoubtedly far more nutrition-dense.
Some of the most significant differences were found in beef, where pasture-reared cattle were found to have up to 430% higher levels of Omega-3 and 335-700% higher levels of antioxidants than non-grassfed.
The report also looked at lamb, pigs, eggs, chicken and milk with similar results across the board.
Read the full report here.
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Researchers studied 293 women in their 30s and 40s, taking blood samples over several years to measure their levels of anti-mullerian hormone, or AMH, which is produced by the ovaries. They found that the amount of year-to-year change in AMH levels provided a good predictor of when the women experienced menopause.
Currently, the only way to estimate when a woman will enter menopause is by using her age - the average age that menopause occurs is 51, but women can also experience the change in their 40s or late 50s, according to the National Institutes of Health.
The new study showed that AMH levels explained nearly 82 percent of the variability between women.
Additionally, the researchers found that the women whose AMH levels changed the most reached menopause two years earlier on average, compared with women whose levels changed the least.
"AMH levels have added another indicator," of the age menopause will begin, said study author Ellen Freeman, a research professor at the University of Pennsylvania. This is helpful because age "is not a wonderfully accurate predictor, it's just an available predictor," she said.
