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DIET: WHOLE GRAINS LOWER RISK OF CHRONIC DISEASE
Diets with high amounts of whole grains may help achieve significant weight loss and also reduce the risk of chronic diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease, according to at Penn State researchers at University Park and the College of Medicine. The researchers recruited 50 obese adults—25 male and 25 female—between ages 20 to 65 and known to have metabolic syndrome, a cluster of symptoms that increase the risk of developing cardiovascular disease and diabetes. They were randomly assigned to either a group that received instructions to have all of their grain servings from whole grains or all of their grain servings from refined grains. Over the 12-week study period, all participants received the same dietary advice on weight loss and encouragement to participate in moderate physical activity. Researchers also asked participants to consume five daily servings of fruits and vegetables, three servings of low-fat dairy products, and two servings of lean meat, fish, or poultry. The study, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, showed that waist circumference and body weight decreased significantly in both groups—between 8-11 pounds on average—but weight loss in the abdominal region was significantly greater in the whole grain group. The whole grain group experienced a 38 percent decrease in C-reactive protein levels in their blood. C-reactive protein is an inflammatory marker and a high level of it is thought to place patients at a higher risk for diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease.

ALZHEIMER’S: IMAGING SHOWS RAPID FORMATION OF A.D.-ASSOCIATED PLAQUES
The amyloid plaques found in the brains of Alzheimer’s disease patients may form much more rapidly than previously expected, according to researchers at the MassGeneral Institute for Neurodegenerative Disease. Using an advanced microscopic imaging technique to examine brain tissue in mouse models of the devastating neurological disorder, the researchers, working with colleagues from Washington University School of Medicine, found that plaques can develop in as little as a day and that Alzheimer’s-associated neuronal changes appear soon afterwards. The researchers said their findings, published in Nature, confirm the suspicion that plaques are a primary event in the brain cell changes that underlie Alzheimer’s dementia.

PARKINSON’S: HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE PILL CUTS RISK OF PD
People taking a widely used group of drugs known as calcium channel blockers to treat high blood pressure also appear to be cutting their risk of Parkinson’s disease, according to a study published in the online edition of Neurology. The study, conducted by researchers at the University Hospital Basel in Switzerland, found people who were currently long-term users of calcium channel blockers to treat high blood pressure lowered their risk of Parkinson’s disease by 23 percent compared to people who didn’t take the drugs. There was no such effect among people taking ACE inhibitors, AT II antagonists, and beta blockers. The researchers said more work is needed to determine why calcium channel blockers appear to protect against Parkinson’s disease, whether this is indeed a causal association, and why the other high blood pressure medications do not offer a reduced risk.

CYSTIC FIBROSIS: EXPERIMENTAL DRUG EFFECTIVE IN MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY WORKS ON CF
An experimental drug that has proven effective in treating muscular dystrophy also works for cystic fibrosis, according to researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. The new study is the latest on a compound called PTC124, which helps to rescue faulty proteins that lead to illnesses. The researchers said the drug holds promise in treating more than 2,400 genetic diseases caused by a certain class of DNA mutation, including cystic fibrosis, an inherited chronic disease that affects the lungs and digestive system of about 30,000 children and adults in the United States. In the UAB tests performed on mice, PTC124 restored to normal function up to 29 percent of the cases of abnormal cystic-fibrosis protein. The study, published in the online version of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found what the researchers called “strong pre-clinical evidence” that PTC124 is capable of suppressing “nonsense mutations” that cause cystic fibrosis, and warrants clinical trials with CF patients with these types of mutations. A gene that carries a nonsense mutation produces a shortened or faulty protein that degrades in the body. The absence of that protein is what leads to disease. An estimated one-third of gene defects responsible for human disease are thought to come from nonsense mutations. In the case of CF, the absence of a certain protein leads to an imbalance of salt and water in the linings of the lungs and other membranes.

RESEARCH: TRANSPARENT ZEBRA FISH MAKE BIOLOGY CLEARER
Researchers at Children’s Hospital Boston have created a zebrafish that is transparent throughout its life, a development that allows them to watch cancer spread and bone marrow engraft. Zebrafish are genetically similar to humans and are good models for human biology and disease. The new fish allows scientists to directly view its internal organs, and observe processes such as tumor metastasis and blood production after bone-marrow transplant in a living organism. The fish, described in the journal Cell Stem Cell, will provide a new view of the development of cancer and other fast-changing processes that traverse the body. Drugs and genes could be tested in the living fish, with direct observation of results, the researchers said. The fish’s brain, heart, and digestive tract are also visible, allowing researchers to study genetic defects of these organs from early embryonic development through adulthood. The hope is this tool will provide insight into how mutated genes cause diseases ranging from Alzheimer’s disease to inflammatory bowel disease.

DNA VACCINES: TATTOOING IMPROVES RESPONSE
Tattooing is a more effective way of delivering DNA vaccines than intramuscular injection, according to an article published in the online open access journal Genetic Vaccines and Therapy. Researchers at the Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum (German Cancer Research Center), Heidelberg, Germany, used a coat protein from the human papillomavirus (HPV, the cause of cervical cancer) as a model DNA vaccine antigen, and compared delivery by tattooing the skin of mice with standard intramuscular injection with, and without, the molecular adjuvants that are often given to boost immune response. The tattoo method gave a stronger humoral (antibody) response and cellular response than intramuscular injection, even when adjuvants were included in the latter. Three doses of DNA vaccine given by tattooing produced at least 16 times higher antibody levels than three intramuscular injections with adjuvant. The adjuvants enhanced the effect of intramuscular injection, but not of tattooing. Tattooing is an invasive procedure done with a solid vibrating needle, causing a wound and sufficient inflammation to “prime” the immune system. It also covers a bigger area of the skin than an injection, so the DNA vaccine can enter more cells. These effects may account for the stronger immune response arising from introducing a DNA vaccine into the body by tattooing.

PROTEOMICS: INTERNATIONAL EFFORT UNDER WAY TO CREATE “PROTEINPEDIA”
A researcher at the Johns Hopkins Institute of Genetic Medicine has led an effort to compile to date the largest free resource of experimental information about human proteins. Reporting in Nature Biotechnology, the research team describes how all researchers around the world can access this data and speed its own research. The group said it has created a repository that incorporates easy-to-use web forms so that all researchers can contribute and share data. Like the online encyclopedia Wikipedia, Human Proteinpedia allows any researcher to contribute and edit their data as their research progresses. The Human Proteinpedia contains information on when and where specific proteins are expressed or not, including in cells and tissues from diseases such as cancers; how the proteins are modified; and which other proteins they interact with. The repository includes only experimental data and doesn’t include computer-generated predictions, which may not turn out to be real. The current version of Human Proteinpedia compiles data provided by more than 71 laboratories from all over the world and contains entries for more than 15,230 human proteins.

ALZHEIMER’S: VITAMIN E OR C DOES NOT REDUCE RISK OF DEMENTIA
Contrary to previous research, older adults who use over-the-counter vitamin E or C supplements do not have a reduced risk of developing dementia or Alzheimer’s disease, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. Researchers at the University of Washington School of Pharmacy, who tracked patients using vitamin E and/or vitamin C supplements over a follow-up period of more than five years, also found that the combined use of vitamins E and C, which was previously thought to offer even greater protection against the diseases, also did not reduce the risk of developing dementia or Alzheimer’s. The exact cause of Alzheimer’s disease is not entirely known. One theory is that a high level of free radicals in the brain may contribute. Some vitamins, such as vitamin E, have the ability to neutralize free radicals.

MARIJUANA: CANNABIS USE INDICATED AS POSSIBLE RISK FACTOR FOR GUM DISEASE IN YOUNG PEOPLE
Young people who are heavy smokers of cannabis may be putting themselves at significant risk for periodontal disease, according to researchers from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Dentistry. The study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, is believed to be the first to explore whether or not smoking a substance other than tobacco—may be a risk factor for gum disease. After controlling for tobacco smoking, gender, socioeconomic status, and infrequent trips to the dentist by one-third of the participants, the study reported a “strong association between cannabis use and periodontitis experience by age 32.” Study participants who reported the highest use of cannabis were 1.6 times more likely to have at least one gum site with mild periodontal disease compared to those who had never smoked cannabis. This group’s risk of having at least one site with more severe gum disease was estimated to be more than three times higher than the group who never used the substance.

SEPSIS: BLACKS HAVE TWICE THE RISK AS WHITES OF POTENTIALLY FATAL BLOOD INFECTIONS
Blacks have almost double the rate of severe sepsis—an overwhelming infection of the bloodstream accompanied by acute organ dysfunction—as whites, according to researchers at the University of Pittsburgh and Genentech. Hispanics, by contrast, have a lower incidence of severe sepsis than whites. The researchers found that, independent of differences in poverty and geography, being black remained independently associated with higher severe sepsis incidence. The findings, which appear in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, also found that blacks die more frequently of severe sepsis than either whites or Hispanics. One factor that clearly differed among groups was the type of hospital facilities in which patients received care. Blacks were more likely to be treated at hospitals with poorer outcomes for severe sepsis than whites. The researchers said if a black and white patient with the same clinical characteristics were treated at the same hospital, they would have identical case-survival rates.

NSAIDS: TAKING MORE THAN ONE ANTI-INFLAMMATORY DRUG MAY LEAD TO COMPLICATIONS
Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDs, are used to treat arthritis, which affects one-third of all adults. While it is well recognized that taking multiple NSAIDs can lead to gastrointestinal problems, it is not known whether there is a relationship between patients taking more than one NSAID and their health-related quality of life. A new study published in the Arthritis Care & Research found that taking two NSAIDs was associated with lower scores on a health-related quality of life assessment. Researchers at the Durham VA Medical Center and Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, found that 26 percent of participants in their 138-patient study reported taking at least two NSAIDs (prescription, over-the-counter, or both) during the previous month. Dual use was found to be associated with worse scores on tests of health-related quality of life. It may be that patients taking two NSAIDs sought pain relief due to inadequate clinical pain management, underscoring the need for healthcare professionals to be more aware of the importance of assessing and managing pain. Another possibility is that dual use could be an indicator for higher levels of pain. The researchers said future work should seek to determine why people use dual NSAIDs, but that adequate pain management may have the potential to reduce dual use.

VACCINES: NEW HOSPITAL STANDARDS NEEDED FOR PEDIATRIC FLU SHOTS
A study published in the journal Pediatrics finds that many children hospitalized for influenza have had a recent, previous hospitalization that would have provided an easy, convenient opportunity to receive a hospital-based influenza vaccination. The researchers from Seattle Children’s Hospital and the University of Washington School of Medicine argue that evaluating and establishing industry standards for flu vaccines for hospitalized children could help prevent additional hospitalizations and complications from influenza. The researchers found that 23 percent of children hospitalized with influenza and another complicating illness and 16 percent of those hospitalized with influenza alone had a previous hospitalization during the most recent flu-vaccine season. This suggests that reaching those children at highest risk for influenza complications and reducing rates of pediatric hospitalization for influenza may be aided by providing in-hospital vaccinations when children are hospitalized during flu vaccine season.

PARKINSON’S: RESEARCH SUGGESTS SEROTONIN AS TREATMENT
For most people with Parkinson’s disease, the only relief from the tremors, rigidity, and impaired movement associated with the progressive loss of their motor skills is a drug called L-DOPA. But as the disease progresses, L-DOPA can cause prominent side effects that counteract its effectiveness. Now, researchers at Rockefeller University and colleagues in Sweden provide evidence that serotonin, a well-studied neurotransmitter involved in regulating mood, appetite, sexuality, and sleep, also plays a crucial role in Parkinson’s disease. Using a mouse model of the disease, the researchers showed that side effects associated with repeated L-DOPA treatment can be blocked by manipulating a specific serotonin receptor. The finding, reported this week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Early Edition online, points to the serotonin 1B receptor as a new target for developing treatments for this disorder, which is the second most common neurodegenerative disease after Alzheimer’s.

HCV: COMPOUND IN GRAPEFRUIT MAY COMBAT VIRUS
A compound that naturally occurs in grapefruit and other citrus fruits may be able to block the secretion of hepatitis C virus, or HCV, from infected cells, a process required to maintain chronic infection. Researchers from the Massachusetts General Hospital Center for Engineering in Medicine report that HCV is bound to very low-density lipoprotein (vLDL, a so-called “bad” cholesterol) when it is secreted from liver cells and that the viral secretion required to pass infection to other cells may be blocked by the common flavonoid naringenin. Grapefruit’s bitter taste is caused the presence of the flavonoid naringin, which is metabolized into naringenin, an antioxidant previously reported to help lower cholesterol levels. If the results of this study extend to human patients, a combination of naringenin and antiviral medication might allow patients to clear the virus from their livers. The report, published in the online edition of the journal Hepatology, suggests that lipid-lowering drugs, as well as supplements, such as naringenin, may be combined with traditional antiviral therapies to reduce or even eliminate HCV from infected patients.

MEDICAL ERRORS: STRATEGY HELPS CUT MISTAKES IN OBSTETRICAL CARE
Researchers at Yale School of Medicine said they have implemented patient safety enhancements to dramatically reduce errors and improve the staff’s own perception of the safety climate in obstetrical care. Preliminary results from their research were presented at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine’s annual meeting in Dallas, Texas. An estimated 44,000 to 98,000 Americans die in hospitals each year as a result of errors. About half of medical errors are linked to communication errors and system failures. The researchers said obstetrics has lagged behind other specialties in attempts to improve safety because perinatal adverse events are both relatively uncommon and usually unexpected, occurring in previously healthy patients who are anticipating good outcomes. They designed and implemented clinical patient safety interventions at Yale-New Haven Hospital. These included communication training, standardizing interpretation of fetal monitoring, and creating a novel staff role—the patient safety nurse. In tracking and analyzing 14 markers for adverse outcomes, the team found that the rate of adverse events decreased by about 60 percent over 2.5 years, while the staff’s own perception of the overall safety climate increased by 30 percent, according to a survey given by a third party.

OBESITY: BONE MINERAL CONTENT INCREASES IN TEENS DURING WEIGHT LOSS
Obese teenagers who succeeded in losing weight in a year-long medically supervised weight-control program also saw their bone mineral content increase over that period, according to researchers from The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. The findings, reported in the journal Obesity, were reassuring because adolescence is a critical period for bone health in later life. In adults, obesity is associated with increased bone mineral density, and voluntary weight loss is associated with a decrease in bone mineral density. The findings in this study show that bone mineral content continues to increase in this adolescent population despite weight loss.