duke university medical center Archives

Flaxseed-Rich Diet Blocks Prostate Cancer Growth, Development in Mice

A diet rich in flaxseed seems to reduce the size, aggressiveness and severity of tumors in mice that have been genetically engineered to develop prostate cancer, according to new research from Duke University Medical Center. And in 3 percent of the mice, the flaxseed diet kept them from getting the disease at all. “The amount of flaxseed given to each mouse was 5 percent of its total food intake, which would be a very difficult amount for humans to eat,” said a lead researcher. “[B]ut it does signal that we are on the right track and need to continue research in this area.”

Antidepressant Shows Promise in Treating Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Irritable Bowel Syndrome, or IBS, is a common condition, and a costly one. The gastrointestinal disorder accounts for 12 percent of primary care visits and costs our health care system $8 billion annually. Now a pilot study has found that paroxetine, a drug in the most common class of antidepressants, is effective and safe for treating IBS symptoms.

Genetic Variant Protects People Against Malaria

An international team of scientists has discovered a novel genetic trait that protects its carriers against the deadliest forms of malaria, while people without the trait are more likely to succumb to its fatal consequences. This trait — a mutation or “polymorphism” in the NOS2 gene — controls the production of nitric oxide, a small chemical that can kill parasites and prevent malaria disease.

Exercise, even without weight loss, helps cholesterol

For the first time, researchers have demonstrated that exercise — without accompanying weight loss — has a positive impact on improving cholesterol levels. Further, they report that it is the amount of activity, and not necessarily any changes in fitness or intensity of exercise, that is important for cholesterol improvement. In the process of their studies, the researchers also demonstrated that the standard lipid panels used by doctors to measure the so-called “bad” LDL and “good” HDL forms of cholesterol do not necessarily provide the most accurate information in determining one’s risk of developing heart disease.

Math rivals ultrasound for predicting birth weight

Many low birth-weight babies face serious health problems, but there are also risks of injury during delivery for large infants — and their moms. A new study confirms that a mathematical equation using standard health data obtained from every woman during pregnancy can predict birth weight within eight percent of actual birth weight, which is just as accurate as ultrasound.

Another job discovered for a master metabolic off-switch

Researchers have discovered that an important cellular “off-switch” that desensitizes receptors on the cell surface also regulates a second deactivation mechanism that had not been suspected before. Their finding that the off-switch, known as beta-arrestin, operates in two distinct ways may hint at a broader set of regulatory roles for the molecule.

Mild Injury May Render Brain Cells Vulnerable to Immune Attack

A seemingly mild “insult” to the brain could sensitize neurons to attack by immune system proteins that are otherwise protective, researchers have found. The finding could explain why sufferers of Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases significantly worsen following such insults. The scientists believe that drugs to selectively inhibit the immune proteins could reduce the rate of neural damage in a wide range of neurodegenerative diseases. Such drugs could also protect other organs against damage from autoimmune diseases such as lupus and rheumatoid arthritis, in which the immune system attacks body tissues.

Researchers Discover ‘Doorways’ Into Brain Cells

Come on in, we saved a place for you Brain cell membranes have established “doorways” that accept or reject molecules trying to pass into the cell, researchers have founbd. The discovery fundamentally changes how researchers think about the behavior of neurons. It had been long believed that surface molecules such as receptors are enveloped right where they rest in the fatty membrane, to be drawn into the cell’s interior.

Researchers Elucidate Machinery of Major Anti-Cancer Drug Target

Researchers have detailed the functioning of an enzyme that is a central component of a signaling pathway important for about 30 percent of cancers. The findings about how the enzyme, called farnesyl transferase (FTase), works could help improve the FTase-inhibiting drugs that pharmaceutical companies are now testing to fight a broad spectrum of cancers.