High Level of Fried Food Toxins Found in Infants
Advanced Glycation End products (AGEs) are found in most heated foods and in commercial infant formulas. Also found, reducing AGEs improves adult diabetes.

‘Genetic Biopsy’ Could Help Pick Best Eggs for IVF
Analyzing genetic material in polar bodies, shed at fertilization, can yield information about gene expression in the egg without disturbing the egg itself.

Sox2 Marks Pluripotency in Most Adult Stem Cells
Sox2 appears to be the only transcription factor appearing in all stem cell stages – embryonic, fetal and adult. It may also indicate pluripotent adult stem cells.

Stem Cell Reprogramming Safer than Thought
Selecting better donor cells and using more sensitive genome-survey techniques allows identifying and reprogramming methods safer than in current use.

October 6, 2011--------News Archive

Invasive Melanoma Higher in Children Than Adults
A study of young people with melanoma, a deadly form of skin cancer, has found that some children have a higher risk of invasive disease than adults.

All Human Egg Donors Should Be Compensated
When you donate your eggs to fertility clinics for infertile parents, you are compensated. But if you donate your eggs for stem research, you are not.

Chronic Stress Short-circuits Some Parents
Moms with higher depressive responses exhibit symptoms of extreme stress with distinct types of problem parenting, from neglect and hostility to insensitivity.

October 5, 2011--------News Archive

Intensive Exposure Best for Reading Difficulties
Intensive daily training for a limited period is better for children with reading and writing difficulties than the traditional remedial tuition offered by schools.

A Shot of Cortisone Will Stop Traumatic Stress!
A single injection of cortisone can prevent PTSD in 60% who experience trauma.

Asthma Guidelines Do Not Reduce Readmissions
Hospital compliance with The Children's Asthma Care (CAC) guidelines makes little difference in a patient's return for another asthma attack.

October 4, 2011--------News Archive

How the Brain Makes Memories: Rhythmically!
The brain learns through changes in the strength of its synapses in response to stimuli. However, the stimulus must be rhythmic - timed at exact intervals.

Anesthesia Exposure Linked to Learning Disability
Research has found a link among children undergoing multiple surgeries requiring general anesthesia before age 2 and learning disabilities later in childhood.

How Vertebrates Establish Left–Right Asymmetry
Although we appear bilaterally symmetrical on the outside, our internal organs are asymmetrically positioned along a left–right axis.

October 3, 2011--------News Archive

Glucosamine-like Supplement Suppresses MS Attacks
UCI study shows promise of metabolic therapy for autoimmune diseases.

Early to Bed and Barly to Rise - Keeps Kids Lean
Bedtime found to be as important for preteens and teens as getting enough sleep.

Discovered: "Flexible" Brain DNA Changes to Suit
Finding has implications for treatment of wide range of diseases.

Mother's Love Unravels Gene Sequencing Mystery
A mother's determination solves the strange symptoms in her twins. Personalized medicine through genome sequencing is working for this family.

Genome Architecture Foretells Genome Instability
In normal cell division, DNA gets copied perfectly and distributed between daughter cells evenly. But occasional breaks during division rearrange the results.

Eight of 12 children with treatment-resistant autoimmune inflammatory bowel disease improved significantly after two years of GlcNAc therapy. No serious adverse side effects were noted.

A glucosamine-like dietary supplement suppresses the damaging autoimmune response seen in multiple sclerosis, according to a UC Irvine study.

UCI’s Dr. Michael Demetriou, Ani Grigorian and others found that oral N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc), which is similar to but more effective than the widely available glucosamine, inhibited the growth and function of abnormal T-cells that in MS incorrectly direct the immune system to attack and break down central nervous system tissue that insulates nerves.

Study results appear online in The Journal of Biological Chemistry.

Earlier this year, Demetriou and colleagues discovered that environmental and inherited risk factors associated with MS — previously poorly understood and not known to be connected — converge to affect how specific sugars are added to proteins regulating the disease.

“This sugar-based supplement corrects a genetic defect that induces cells to attack the body in MS,” said Demetriou, associate professor of neurology and microbiology & molecular genetics, “making metabolic therapy a rational approach that differs significantly from currently available treatments.”

Virtually all proteins on the surface of cells, including immune cells such as T-cells, are modified by complex sugar molecules of variable sizes and composition. Recent studies have linked changes in these sugars to T-cell hyperactivity and autoimmune disease.

In mouse models of MS-like autoimmune disease, Demetriou and his team found that GlcNAc given orally to those with leg weakness suppressed T-cell hyperactivity and autoimmune response by increasing sugar modifications to the T-cell proteins, thereby reversing the progression to paralysis.

The study comes on the heels of others showing the potential of GlcNAc in humans. One reported that eight of 12 children with treatment-resistant autoimmune inflammatory bowel disease improved significantly after two years of GlcNAc therapy. No serious adverse side effects were noted.

“Together, these findings identify metabolic therapy using dietary supplements such as GlcNAc as a possible treatment for autoimmune diseases,” said Demetriou, associate director of UCI’s Multiple Sclerosis Research Center. “Excitement about this strategy stems from the novel mechanism for affecting T-cell function and autoimmunity — the targeting of a molecular defect promoting disease — and its availability and simplicity.”

He cautioned that more human studies are required to assess the full potential of the approach. GlcNAc supplements are available over the counter and differ from commercially popular glucosamine. People who purchase GlcNAc should consult with their doctors before use.

Lindsey Araujo and Dylan Place of UCI and Nandita N. Naidu and Biswa Choudhury of UC San Diego also participated in the research, which was funded by the National Institutes of Health and the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

About the University of California, Irvine: Founded in 1965, UCI is a top-ranked university dedicated to research, scholarship and community service. Led by Chancellor Michael Drake since 2005, UCI is among the most dynamic campuses in the University of California system, with nearly 28,000 undergraduate and graduate students, 1,100 faculty and 9,000 staff. Orange County’s largest employer, UCI contributes an annual economic impact of $4.2 billion. For more UCI news, visit www.today.uci.edu.

Original article:http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-09/uoc--gss093011.php