National Institutes of Health Feed

From GPNWiki

Barrier in Mosquito Midgut Protects Invading Pathogens

Scientists studying the Anopheles gambiae mosquito ? the main vector of malaria ? have found that when the mosquito takes a blood meal, that act triggers two enzymes to form a network of crisscrossing proteins around the ingested blood. The formation of this protein barrier, the researchers found, is part of the normal digestive process that allows so-called "healthy" or commensal gut bacteria to grow without activating mosquito immune responses. But there is a downside: The barrier also prevents the mosquito's immune defense system from clearing any disease-causing agents that may have slipped into the blood meal, such as the Plasmodium malaria parasite, which in turn can be passed on to humans. [?]

Hereditary Condition Causing Limb Weakness Traced to Gene for Rare Disorder

A gene that causes a fatal childhood brain disorder can also cause adults to develop peripheral neuropathy, a condition resulting in weakness and decreased sensation in the hands and limbs, according to a study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health and other institutions. The study is the first to show that different mutations in the same gene cause the two seemingly unrelated disorders. [?]

Dr. Francis S. Collins Receives Albany Medical Center Prize

NIH Director Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D. has been named a recipient of the Albany Medical Center Prize in Medicine and Biomedical Research for his leading role in mapping the human genome. While accepting the honor, Dr. Collins declined his portion of the $500,000 prize in order to comply with government ethics rules. [?]

Panel Questions "VBAC Bans," Advocates Expanded Delivery Options for Women

An independent panel convened this week by the National Institutes of Health confronted a troubling fact that pregnant women currently have limited access to clinicians and facilities able and willing to offer a trial of labor after previous cesarean delivery because of so-called VBAC bans. Many, even those at low risk for complications in a trial of labor, are not offered this option. The panel affirmed that a trial of labor is a reasonable option for many women with a prior cesarean delivery. They also urged that current VBAC guidelines be revisited, malpractice concerns be addressed, and additional research undertaken to better understand the medical and non-medical factors that influence decision making for women with previous cesarean deliveries. [?]

Vaccinating Children against Flu Helps Protect Wider Community

Results of a clinical trial conducted in a largely self-contained religious community during the 2008-09 influenza season show that immunizing children against seasonal influenza can significantly protect unvaccinated community members against influenza as well. The study was conducted to determine if immunized children could act as a barrier to limit the spread of influenza to the wider, unvaccinated community, a concept known as herd immunity. [?]

New Approach to Immune Cell Analysis Seen as First Step to Better Distinguish Health and Disease

Investigators have developed a new mathematical approach to analyze molecular data derived from complex mixtures of immune cells. This approach, when combined with well-established techniques, readily identifies changes in small samples of human whole blood, and has the potential to distinguish between health and disease states. [?]

Food Allergy-Related Disorder Linked to Master Allergy Gene

Scientists have identified a region of a human chromosome that is associated with eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE), a recently recognized allergic disease. People with EoE frequently have difficulty eating or may be allergic to one or more foods. This study further suggests that a suspected so-called master allergy gene may play a role in the development of this rare but debilitating disorder. [?]

Scientists Find New Form of Prion Disease that Damages Brain Arteries

National Institutes of Health (NIH) scientists investigating how prion diseases destroy the brain have observed a new form of the disease in mice that does not cause the sponge-like brain deterioration typically seen in prion diseases. Instead, it resembles a form of human Alzheimer's disease, cerebral amyloid angiopathy, that damages brain arteries. [?]

Statement from Paul A. Sieving, M.D., Ph.D., Director of the National Eye Institute, National Institutes of Health, during World Glaucoma Week, March 7-13, 2010

Glaucoma is one of the world's leading causes of vision loss and blindness. Vision organizations around the globe highlight this disease as a research and public health priority during World Glaucoma Week. The National Eye Institute (NEI), part of the National Institutes of Health, takes this opportunity to reaffirm its commitment to supporting research that will identify risk factors for the condition and develop treatments to preserve the sense of sight. [?]

Leading Toxicologists Highlight Advances to Safeguard Public Health

The government's leading toxicologists and environmental health scientists will share their latest scientific accomplishments, offer continuing education courses, discuss funding and training opportunities, receive input on future research priorities, and more, at the Society of Toxicology (SOT) annual meeting. Staff from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), one of the National Institutes of Health, and the National Toxicology Program (NTP) will speak at more than 30 different sessions and present more than 60 posters on topics ranging from improving toxicity testing to translational research. [?]

Statement of Anthony S. Fauci, M.D. Director, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, on National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, March 10, 2010

A new study has found the addition of long-acting beta-agonist therapy to be the most effective of three step-up, or supplemental, treatments for children whose asthma is not well controlled on low doses of inhaled corticosteroids alone. The study was designed to provide needed evidence for selecting step-up care for such children and was supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), part of the National Institutes of Health. [?]

Childhood Asthma Treatment: Not One-Size-Fits-All

A new study has found the addition of long-acting beta-agonist therapy to be the most effective of three step-up, or supplemental, treatments for children whose asthma is not well controlled on low doses of inhaled corticosteroids alone. The study was designed to provide needed evidence for selecting step-up care for such children and was supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), part of the National Institutes of Health. [?]

Independent Consensus Panel to Release Vaginal Birth After Cesarean (VBAC) Findings on Wednesday, March 10

Vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC) is the delivery of a baby through the vagina after a previous cesarean delivery. For most of the 20th century, clinicians believed that once a woman had undergone a cesarean, all of her future pregnancies required delivery by that procedure as well. In the 1980s, vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC) also began to be considered a viable option for these women. Since 1996, however, VBAC rates in the United States have consistently declined, while cesarean delivery rates have been steadily rising. What accounts for these changing practice patterns? [?]

Funds Boost Research into Causes, Interventions for Age-Related Cognitive Decline

The Research Partnership in Cognitive Aging, a public-private effort to promote the study of brain function with age, will award up to $28 million over five years to 17 research grants to examine the neural and behavioral profiles of healthy cognitive aging and explore interventions that may prevent, reduce or reverse cognitive decline in older people. [?]

Statement from NIDDK Director Griffin P. Rodgers for World Kidney Day and National Kidney Month

The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), part of the National Institutes of Health, is pleased to recognize World Kidney Day, March 11, during National Kidney Month, to focus attention on a common, serious and treatable problem that too often is diagnosed too late. [?]