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    Category Health/Medical

    Reversing Tissue Damage caused by Heart Attacks?

    July 25, 2017, Categories  Health/Medical, Biology/Biotechnology

    ‘The adipokine leptin modulates adventitial pericyte functions by autocrine and paracrine signalling’ by Paolo Madeddu et al in Scientific Reports

    ‘The adipokine leptin modulates adventitial pericyte functions by autocrine and paracrine signalling’ by Paolo Madeddu et al in Scientific Reports

    A new discovery by University of Bristol scientists helps to explain how cells which surround blood vessels, pericytes, stimulate new blood vessels to grow with the hormone ‘leptin’ playing a key role. Leptin is produced by fat cells which helps to regulate energy balance in the body by inhibiting the appetite. This study, described in Scientific Reports, may have important implications for the treatment of heart attacks and also for cancer, the two main killers in the UK.

    The growth of new blood vessels, ‘angiogenesis’, is an important process occurring both in health and disease...

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    Nanoparticles Loaded with Component of Common Spice Kill Cancer cells

    July 25, 2017, Categories  Health/Medical, Biology/Biotechnology

    Nanoparticle delivery of curcumin induces cellular hypoxia and ROS-mediated apoptosis via modulation of Bcl-2/Bax in human neuroblastoma, Nanoscale (2017). DOI: 10.1039/C7NR02770B

    Attaching curcumin, a component of the common spice turmeric, to nanoparticles can be used to target and destroy treatment-resistant neuroblastoma tumor cells, according to a new study published in Nanoscale. The study, conducted in partnership by researchers at Nemours Children’s Hospital and the University of Central Florida, demonstrates a potentially novel treatment for neuroblastoma, the most common cancer in infants.

    “High-risk neuroblastoma can be resistant to traditional therapy, and survival can be poor...

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    High-Fat Diet in Pregnancy can cause Mental Health Problems in Offspring

    July 24, 2017, Categories  Health/Medical, Biology/Biotechnology

    Figure 8. (A) The location of area 10 of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) was determined using figures from Paxinos Stereotaxic Atlas (39). DAPI staining was used to differentiate the layers of the cortex, numbered 1–6. (B) Representative images of the differences seen in 5-HT fiber innervation of medial area 10 of the PFC between the four diet groups. (C) Exposure to a postweaning high-fat diet (HFD) decreased mean intensity of 5-HT immunoreactive signal in layer 1 of medial area 10 in the PFC (F1,16 = 7.662, p = 0.014). (D) 5-HT immunoreactivity in the same region was further affected by an interaction between gender and postweaning diet (F1,16 = 7.497, p = 0.015), with mean intensity decreased in postweaning HFD males compared to control males (F1,16 = 13.895, p = 0.002). Data shown as mean ± SEM. # denotes a postweaning diet effect, p < 0.05. Scale bars are 400 µm. Sample sizes for the 5-HT immunohistochemisty are as follows: CTR/CTR n = 6 (n = 2 males; n = 4 females), CTR/HFD n = 6 (n = 3 males; n = 3 females), HFD/CTR n = 6 (n = 3 males; n = 3 females), and HFD/HFD n = 6 (n = 3 males; n = 3 females).

    (A) The location of area 10 of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) was determined using figures from Paxinos Stereotaxic Atlas (39). DAPI staining was used to differentiate the layers of the cortex, numbered 1–6. (B) Representative images of the differences seen in 5-HT fiber innervation of medial area 10 of the PFC between the four diet groups. (C) Exposure to a postweaning high-fat diet (HFD) decreased mean intensity of 5-HT immunoreactive signal in layer 1 of medial area 10 in the PFC (F1,16 = 7.662, p = 0.014). (D) 5-HT immunoreactivity in the same region was further affected by an interaction between gender and postweaning diet (F1,16 = 7.497, p = 0.015), with mean intensity decreased in postweaning HFD males compared to control males (F1,16 = 13.895, p = 0.002). Data shown as mean ± SEM...

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    Laser Rx Reduces Eye Floaters

    July 22, 2017, Categories  Health/Medical, Biology/Biotechnology

    Subjective vs Objective Grading of Floater Resolution at 6 Months Using a 5-Level Qualitative Scale

    Subjective vs Objective Grading of Floater Resolution at 6 Months Using a 5-Level Qualitative Scale

    Patients reported improvement in symptoms of eye floaters after treatment with a laser, according to a study published by JAMA Ophthalmology. Floaters become more prevalent with age and although most patients grow accustomed to them, many find them bothersome, and they can worsen visual quality. Three management options exist for floaters: patient education and observation; surgery; and the laser procedure, YAG vitreolysis, of which there are limited published studies on its effectiveness for treating floaters.

    Chirag P. Shah, M.D., M.P.H., and Jeffrey S. Heier, M.D...

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