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Researchers at the Cardiac & Vascular Institute at NYU Langone Medical Center have identified a hidden culprit in the battle against women’s heart disease. Plaque disruption, a rupture or ulceration of cholesterol plaque in a coronary artery, has been discovered as the mechanism behind myocardial infarction (heart attack) in some women without significant coronary artery disease (CAD) – that is, open rather than closed arteries on an angiogram. The study is published in the September 27th issue of the journal Circulation.

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A team of researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and the University of Washington has conducted the first comprehensive assessment of every gene in the genome of advanced, lethal prostate cancer. Until now, the genetic composition of such tumors had been poorly defined.

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A shorter course of radiation treatment that delivers higher doses of radiation per day in fewer days (hypofractionation) is as effective in decreasing intermediate to high-risk prostate cancer from returning as conventional radiation therapy at five years after treatment, according to a randomized trial presented at the plenary session, October 3, 2011, at the 53rdAnnual Meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO).

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Men with localized prostate cancer treated with a newer technology, intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT), have more than a quarter (26 percent) fewer late bowel and rectal side effects and a statistically improved lower dose of radiation to the bladder and rectum, compared to those who undergo 3D-CRT, according to a randomized study presented at the plenary session October 3, 2011, at the 53rd Annual Meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO).

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Rectal cancer patients who use a new combination of the chemotherapy, Capecitabine, together with five weeks of radiation (50 Gy) before surgery have an 88 percent chance of surviving the cancer three years after treatment, according to randomized trial presented at the plenary session, October 3, 2011, at the 53rd Annual Meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO).

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Prostate cancer survivors and their partners experience improved sexual satisfaction and function after couples counseling, according to research at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. The article, published in the September issue of Cancer, a journal of the American Cancer Society, revealed both Internet-based sexual counseling and traditional sex therapy are equally effective in improving sexual outcomes. Couples on a waiting list for counseling did not improve.

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Findings of a recent study conducted by Newswise indicate that as many as 70% of media professionals have profiles on the popular social networking site LinkedIn. Further investigation reveals that their attitudes toward LinkedIn, and social networking in general, remain somewhat ambivalent. An informative report on the study provides a sampling of survey responses, and an assessment of perceptions about the value of social networking from a professional media perspective.

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Scientists at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine found a way to rapidly produce pure populations of cells that grow into the protective myelin coating on nerves in mice. Their process opens a door to research and potential treatments for multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy and other demyelinating diseases afflicting millions of people worldwide.

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In seeking to better understand how teosinte gave rise to corn, a scientific team has pinpointed one of the key genetic changes that paved the way for corn’s domestication.

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Effects of a particularly devastating human kidney disease may be blunted by making a certain cellular protein receptor much less receptive, according to new research by scientists from North Carolina State University and French universities and hospitals.

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Treatment with the calcium-sensitizing drug levosimendan may be effective in improving muscle function in patients with respiratory muscle weakness, which often accompanies chronic diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and congestive heart failure, according to researchers in the Netherlands, who studied the effects of the drug on healthy volunteers. The drug, which is normally prescribed in patients with acute heart failure,increases the sensitivity of muscle tissue to calcium, improving the muscle’sability to contract.

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A new computational approach has predicted numerous human proteins that the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) requires to replicate itself.

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In an early preclinical study in mice, UCLA researchers demonstrated that an over-the-counter dietary supplement may help inhibit development of insulin resistance and glucose intolerance, conditions that are involved in the development of Type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome.

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Immediately after transplantation, patients should minimize or avoid using certain anti-rejection drugs.

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1) Spouses are often influenced by their partner’s eating choices; 2) U.S. obesity epidemic contributes to its poor international ranking in longevity; 3) Rise in U.S. mental illness compounded by decline in those seeking care.

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A team of researchers says it has discovered why so many people undergoing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), especially in newer high-strength machines, get vertigo, or the dizzy sensation of free-falling, while inside or when coming out of the tunnel-like machine.

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In a study of complication rates following prostate biopsy among Medicare beneficiaries, Johns Hopkins researchers have found a significant rise in serious complications requiring hospitalization. The researchers found that this common outpatient procedure, used to diagnose prostate cancer, was associated with a 6.9 percent rate of hospitalization within 30 days of biopsy compared to a 2.9 percent hospitalization rate among a control group of men who did not have a prostate biopsy. The study, which will be published in the November 2011 issue of The Journal of Urology, was posted early online.

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Birds may have a more highly developed sense of smell than researchers previously thought, contend scholars who have found that penguins may use smell to determine where their homes are and to determine if they are related to a potential mate.

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North American investigators led by neuroscientists at Mayo Clinic in Florida have found a genetic abnormality they say is the most common cause of two different but related familial forms of neurodegenerative disease — frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.

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UCLA scientists discovered that a key signaling pathway plays an important role in frontotemporal dementia and may offer a potential target for treatment of the devastating brain disorder, which accounts for one in four cases of early-onset dementia.

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A team led by scientists from Johns Hopkins and the National Institutes of Health has discovered a new genetic mutation for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and a related disease called frontotemporal dementia (FTD) that appears to account for more than a third of all inherited cases of these diseases. The researchers show in a new study published online on September 21 in Neuron that this mutation, found within a gene called C9ORF72, is about twice as common as all the other mutations discovered thus far for the disease combined.

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Researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College and GHESKIO (Groupe Haitien d'Etude du Sarcome de Kaposi et des Infections Opportunistes) have shown that early treatment of HIV not only saves lives but is also cost-effective. Results are published in today's edition of PLoS Medicine.

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In a study that included more than 600,000 individuals born in Sweden between 1973-1979, those born preterm (less than 37 weeks gestation) had a higher risk of death during early childhood and young adulthood than persons born at term, according to a study in the September 21 issue of JAMA.

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The development of prediction models that included variables such as pretreatment sexual function, patient characteristics and treatment factors appear to be effective at predicting erectile function 2 years after prostatectomy, external radiotherapy, or brachytherapy for prostate cancer, according to a study in the September 21 issue of JAMA.

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Children and teens with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) who were receiving some benefit from treatment with medication had a significantly greater reduction in OCD symptoms with the addition of cognitive behavior therapy, according to a study in the September 21 issue of JAMA.

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Among patients with acute coronary syndromes undergoing a procedure such as angioplasty, those who received platelet function tests before receiving antithrombotic therapy to determine appropriate clopidogrel dosing and who had high residual platelet reactivity (platelets resistant to antithrombotic therapy) were at an increased risk of an ischemic event at short- and long-term follow-up of up to 2 years, according to a study in the September 21 issue of JAMA.

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An analysis of nearly 30 studies including more than 300,000 patients finds that depression is associated with a significantly increased risk of developing stroke and dying from stroke, according to an article in the September 21 issue of JAMA.

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Physicians are now better able to predict a man’s recovery of sexual function after prostate cancer treatment, making a conversation between doctor and patient an important part of pre-treatment planning, a Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center-led research team suggests.

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Beta-blocker drugs, commonly used to treat high blood pressure, may also play a major role in slowing the progression of certain serious cancers, based on a new study.

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Materials scientists at the University of Washington have built a novel transistor that uses protons, creating a key piece for devices that can communicate directly with living things. The study is published online this week in the interdisciplinary journal Nature Communications.

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Obese teenagers who don’t get the proper amount of sleep may have disruptions in insulin secretion and blood sugar levels, say researchers. Optimal sleep duration may lower these teens' risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

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1) Differences could explain the higher rates of prostate cancer and mortality. 2) Understanding differences could lead to specialized treatment.

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1) Results based on lower-cost MRI screenings for high-risk, uninsured or under-insured women. 2) MRI screenings found more cancer cases in high-risk women than mammography. 3) Underserved women can benefit from follow-up with the help of a breast navigation team.

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1) Pre-cancerous cells that consume sugar more common in this population. 2) Prediabetes or gestational diabetes could speed development of cancer cells.

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1) Race should be considered when recommending vitamin D supplementation. 2) Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to multiple diseases.

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The uncontrolled re-entry of NASA’s Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) is now expected to occur this Friday, September 23 - plus or minus a day.

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Seriously injured patients cared for at hospitals serving larger numbers of minorities are significantly more likely to die than those treated at hospitals serving mostly whites — regardless of the race of the patient, new Johns Hopkins research suggests.

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A regulatory bias against taking oral anti-cancer medications with food places patients at risk for an overdose and forces them to flush away costly medicines, argues an authority on cancer-drug dosing. It could be safer, more effective and cost-efficient if the cancer drugs that are better absorbed with food were studied and, when appropriate, prescribed to be taken with food.

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People with diabetes appear to be at a significantly increased risk of developing dementia, according to a study published in the September 20, 2011, print issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

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1) Deaths from acute leukemia higher in blacks and Hispanics. 2) Racial disparity is greater in ALL than AML. 3) Reason unknown but researchers suspect socioeconomic factors.

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1) African ancestry linked to increased rates of high-risk disease. 2) Variants may be found in patients of any ethnic makeup.

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1) Fear, anxiety and isolation were all linked with aggressive breast cancer. 2) Higher levels of psychosocial stress were reported in blacks and Hispanics.

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1) Overall incidence of breast cancer is higher among white women. 2) 4 percent of women developed cancer in the opposite breast. 3) Physicians should carefully watch the opposite breast for signs of disease.

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1) Few women underwent ovarian or colorectal screening. 2) One-third of the participants met the criteria for depression. 3) Depression linked to ovarian, but not colorectal screening noncompliance.

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• Mammography rates among immigrant women in the U.S. increased from 60.2 percent in 2000 to 65.5 percent in 2008. • Immigrant women remain less likely than native-born U.S. women to be screened. • Increasing immigrant women’s access to insurance coverage may diminish disparity.

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Tumors have an arsenal of tricks to help them sidestep the immune system. A study published on September 19 in the Journal of Experimental Medicine reveals a new trick—the ability to keep tumor-fighting T cells out by disabling a T cell–attracting protein within the tumor core.

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Gulf War Illness (GWI)—the chronic health condition that affects about one in four military veterans of the 1991 Gulf War—appears to be the result of several factors, which differed in importance depending upon the locations where veterans served during the war, according to a Baylor University study.

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The planet’s deep oceans at times may absorb enough heat to flatten the rate of global warming for periods of as long as a decade even in the midst of longer-term warming, according to a new analysis led by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR).

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With an eye toward understanding DNA replication, Cornell researchers have learned how a helicase enzyme works to actually unzip the two strands of DNA.

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A small group of veterans with spinal cord injuries who underwent a four-day scuba- diving certification saw significant improvement in muscle movement, increased sensitivity to light touch and pinprick on the legs, and large reductions in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, according to Johns Hopkins researchers.