http://www.nih.gov/news/ News Releases from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) en-us 60 http://www.nih.gov/images/nih50.gif http://www.nih.gov/news/ 50 50 http://www.nih.gov/news/health/jul2009/nimh-01.htm A trio of genome-wide studies -- collectively the largest to date -- have pinpointed a vast array of genetic variation that cumulatively may account for at least one third of the genetic risk for schizophrenia. One of the studies traced schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, in part, to the same chromosomal neighborhoods. Wed, 01 Jul 09 15:45:00 EDT 18109@http://www.nih.gov/news/health/jul2009/nimh-01.htm http://www.nih.gov/news/health/jul2009/nci-01.htm A new imaging technique can monitor, in living mice, the HER2 protein found in above-normal amounts in many cases of breast cancer as well as some ovarian, prostate and lung cancers. This new approach, once validated in mice and pending further experiments, could provide a real-time noninvasive method for identifying tumors in humans who express HER2 and who would be candidates for targeted therapy directed against this protein. It may also provide real-time information that will help clinicians optimize treatment for individual patients. The study, published in the July 2009 issue of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine, was conducted by researchers at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, both parts of the National Institutes of Health. Wed, 01 Jul 09 12:05:00 EDT 18009@http://www.nih.gov/news/health/jul2009/nci-01.htm http://www.nih.gov/news/health/jun2009/niaid-29.htm The influenza virus that wreaked worldwide havoc in 1918-1919 founded a viral dynasty that persists to this day, according to scientists from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health. In an article published online on June 29 by the New England Journal of Medicine, authors Anthony S. Fauci, M.D., Jeffery K. Taubenberger, M.D., Ph.D., and David M. Morens, M.D., argue that we have lived in an influenza pandemic era since 1918, and they describe how the novel 2009 H1N1 virus now circling the globe is yet another manifestation of this enduring viral family. Tue, 30 Jun 2009 09:10:00 EDT 17909@http://www.nih.gov/news/health/jun2009/niaid-29.htm http://www.nih.gov/news/health/jun2009/niams-29.htm Scientists have discovered gene expression differences that could lead to better ways to classify, predict outcome, and treat juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). Eventually such findings could enable doctors to target more aggressive treatment to children at risk of more severe arthritis, while those likely to have milder disease could be spared the stronger treatments that carry a greater risk of side effects. The researchers were supported by the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), a part of the National Institutes of Health. Mon, 29 Jun 2009 12:01:00 EDT 17809@http://www.nih.gov/news/health/jun2009/niams-29.htm http://www.nih.gov/news/health/jun2009/nichd-29.htm Specific variations or mutations in a particular can gene raise a man's risk of familial, or inherited, testicular germ-cell cancer, the most common form of this disease, according to new research by scientists at the National Institutes of Health. This is only the second gene to be identified that affects the risk of familial testicular cancer, and the first gene in a key biochemical pathway. The study appeared online June 23, 2009, in Cancer Research. Mon, 29 Jun 2009 09:30:00 EDT 17709@http://www.nih.gov/news/health/jun2009/nichd-29.htm http://www.nih.gov/news/health/jun2009/nci-28.htm A team of researchers has demonstrated that a new method for detecting and quantifying protein biomarkers in body fluids may ultimately make it possible to screen multiple biomarkers in hundreds of patient samples, thus ensuring that only the strongest biomarker candidates will advance down the development pipeline. The researchers have developed a method with the potential to increase accuracy in detecting real cancer biomarkers that is highly reproducible across laboratories and a variety of instruments so that cancer can be caught in its earliest stages. Mon, 29 Jun 2009 09:15:00 EDT 17609@http://www.nih.gov/news/health/jun2009/nci-28.htm http://www.nih.gov/news/health/jun2009/niddk-26.htm Gregory G. Germino, M.D., a world-renowned expert in inherited kidney disease, has been appointed as deputy director of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), part of the National Institutes of Health, NIDDK Director Griffin P. Rodgers, M.D., has announced. Fri, 26 Jun 2009 14:00:00 EDT 17509@http://www.nih.gov/news/health/jun2009/niddk-26.htm http://www.nih.gov/news/health/jun2009/nci-25.htm Researchers have discovered a key to the function of a specific protein that helps control the levels of other critical proteins within cells, including a protein that suppresses the spread of cancer. The new information about the mechanism of action of the protein, called gp78, may enable researchers to explore new types of therapies to prevent the spread of cancer. The study, by researchers at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health, was published in the June 26, 2009, issue of Molecular Cell. Thu, 25 Jun 2009 12:05:00 EDT 17409@http://www.nih.gov/news/health/jun2009/nci-25.htm http://www.nih.gov/news/health/jun2009/nia-23.htm Women who suffer from migraine headaches in middle age accompanied by neurological aura (visual disturbances, dizziness or numbness that can precede migraines) are more likely to have damage to brain tissue in the cerebellum later in life, according to a study by researchers at the National Institute on Aging (NIA) of the National Institutes of Health, the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences and the Icelandic Heart Association in Reykjavik. Researchers noted that many people have these types of "silent" brain lesions, but their effect on physical and cognitive function in older people is not well studied. Tue, 23 Jun 2009 16:05:00 EDT 17309@http://www.nih.gov/news/health/jun2009/nia-23.htm http://www.nih.gov/news/health/jun2009/nci-23.htm A new alliance between the United States National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health, and the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Chile, aims to accelerate progress against cancer in Hispanic populations in the United States and Latin America. Tue, 23 Jun 2009 15:15:00 EDT 17209@http://www.nih.gov/news/health/jun2009/nci-23.htm http://www.nih.gov/news/health/jun2009/niaid-23.htm The importance of National HIV Testing Day becomes clear when one recognizes that an estimated one-fifth of all Americans infected with HIV do not know they are infected. Among Americans who have been tested for the virus, more than one-third of those who learned they are infected became aware of their status less than a year before being diagnosed with AIDS -- long after the optimal time to begin antiretroviral therapy. Tue, 23 Jun 2009 14:05:00 EDT 17109@http://www.nih.gov/news/health/jun2009/niaid-23.htm http://www.nih.gov/news/health/jun2009/nhgri-23.htm The Human Microbiome Project has awarded more than $42 million to expand its exploration of how the trillions of microscopic organisms that live in or on our bodies affect our health, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced today. Tue, 23 Jun 2009 09:15:00 EDT 17009@http://www.nih.gov/news/health/jun2009/nhgri-23.htm http://www.nih.gov/news/health/jun2009/nichd-19.htm Women and young girls who experience delays in diagnosing a premature, menopause-like condition face increased risk of low bone density, according to new research by scientists at the National Institutes of Health. A delay in diagnosing the condition, called primary ovarian insufficiency, may make women more susceptible to osteoporosis and fractures later in life, the researchers concluded. Fri, 19 Jun 2009 09:10:00 EDT 16909@http://www.nih.gov/news/health/jun2009/nichd-19.htm http://www.nih.gov/news/health/jun2009/nida-18.htm A study suggests that school-based prevention programs begun in elementary school can significantly reduce problem behaviors in students. Fifth graders who previously participated in a comprehensive interactive school prevention program for one to four years were about half as likely to engage in substance abuse, violent behavior, or sexual activity as those who did not take part in the program. The study, supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), a component of the National Institutes of Health, will appear in the August 2009 print issue of the American Journal of Public Health. The online version of the article is viewable today. Thu, 18 Jun 2009 16:10:00 EDT 16809@http://www.nih.gov/news/health/jun2009/nida-18.htm http://www.nih.gov/news/health/jun2009/nimh-16.htm Stressful life events are strongly associated with a person’s risk for major depression, but a certain gene variation long thought to increase risk in conjunction with stressful life events actually may have no effect, according to researchers funded by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), part of the National Institutes of Health. The study, published in the June 17, 2009, issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, challenges a widely accepted approach to studying risk factors for depression. Tue, 16 Jun 2009 16:00:00 EDT 16709@http://www.nih.gov/news/health/jun2009/nimh-16.htm http://www.nih.gov/news/health/jun2009/niaaa-15.htm Alcohol-related deaths among U.S. college students rose from 1,440 deaths in 1998 to 1,825 in 2005, along with increases in heavy drinking and drunk driving, according to an article in the July supplement of the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs. The special issue describes the results of a broad array of research-based programs to reduce and prevent alcohol-related problems at campuses across the country. These studies resulted from the Rapid Response to College Drinking Problems Initiative, a grant program supported by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), part of the National Institutes of Health. Mon, 15 Jun 2009 11:25:00 EDT 16609@http://www.nih.gov/news/health/jun2009/niaaa-15.htm http://www.nih.gov/news/health/jun2009/nci-14.htm A new approach to stimulating immune cells enhances their anticancer activity, resulting in a powerful anti-tumor response in mice, according to a study by researchers at the National Cancer Institute, a part of the National Institutes of Health. This work represents an important advance in the development of immunotherapy for cancer and appears online June 14, 2009 in Nature Medicine. Mon, 15 Jun 2009 8:55:00 EDT 16509@http://www.nih.gov/news/health/jun2009/nci-14.htm http://www.nih.gov/news/health/jun2009/nichd-11.htm Scientists at the National Institutes of Health have gained a major insight into how the rogue protein responsible for mad cow disease and related neurological illnesses destroys healthy brain tissue. Thu, 11 Jun 2009 12:01:00 EDT 16409@http://www.nih.gov/news/health/jun2009/nichd-11.htm