Current theory on cause of kidney stones refuted

New research into the origin of kidney stone formation published in the March 1 issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation may well change the direction of the most basic level of research in that area. The study will dispel the current beliefs of where stone formation begins, said the article’s lead author, adding that the research confirmed instead a hypothesis published in 1940 by Alexander Randall, M.D.

Mutant protein linked to heart failure

A rare case of familial heart failure has shown that a loss of calcium regulation in heart cells may directly cause this hereditary form of the disease. The researchers who studied the case, from the Harvard Medical School lab of Christine Seidman, professor of medicine, and Jonathan Seidman, the Bugher Foundation professor of genetics, developed transgenic mice for their work that now offer a model for further investigation of heart failure and calcium signaling. The study, led by research fellow Joachim Schmitt and published in the Feb. 28 Science, suggests a specific protein target for future heart disease therapies.

Milk in Childhood Has Lasting Benefits on Osteoporosis

Women with low milk intake during childhood and adolescence have lower bone mass in adulthood and greater risk of fracture ? independent of their current milk or calcium intake, according to a new Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center study of milk intake during childhood and its effect on osteoporosis.