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DIAGNOSTICS: FIRST 3D IMAGES OF LIVING CELL CREATED
Using a method similar to the X-ray CT scans doctors use to see inside the body, researchers have developed a new imaging technique to create the first 3D images of a living cell. The technique could be used to produce the most detailed images yet of what goes on inside a living cell without the help of fluorescent markers or other externally added contrast agents, said researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Their discovery was reported in the online edition of Nature Methods. Researchers said one key advantage is that the technique can be used to study live cells without any preparation, unlike other 3D imaging techniques, for which samples must be fixed with chemicals, frozen, stained with dyes, or otherwise processed to provide information.

OBESITY: EATING JUNK WHILE BREASTFEEDING MAY LEAD TO FAT CHILDREN
Mothers who eat junk food during pregnancy and breastfeeding may put their children at risk of overeating and of becoming obese, according to a study published in the British Journal of Nutrition. The study, conducted by the Royal Veterinary College, London, found that rats fed a diet of processed junk food such as doughnuts, muffins, biscuits, potato chips, and sweets while pregnant and lactating gave birth to offspring which over-ate, when compared to offspring of rats given a regular diet. The offspring of the rats that got the rich food also had a preference for junk foods rich in fat, sugar, and salt compared to the other rats. The researchers believe the findings have implications for humans.

SUBSTANCE ABUSE: METH EXPOSURE LEADS TO BEHAVIORAL CONSEQUENCES
New animal research at the Medical University of South Carolina suggests that young adults who use methamphetamines may be more vulnerable to age-related brain degeneration when they grow older. Researchers said the pyschostimulant puts young users who already suffer from a depletion of glial-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) at risk of developing deficits later in life that are symptomatic of Parkinson's disease. GDNF is a protein that protects and repairs dopamine in areas of the brain related to movement control . At 2.5 months of age—the equivalent of adolescence in humans—mice with GNDF that were given meth experienced more effects than mice without GDNF that were given the meth, according to the study published in The Journal of Neuroscience. At 12 months, the GDNF-depleted mice moved significantly less than genetically normal mice treated with methamphetamine.

PROSTATE CANCER: FIRST BIOMARKER PREDICTING OUTCOME DISCOVERED
Researchers have identified the first immune molecule—B7-H3—that appears to play a role in prostate cancer development as well as in predicting cancer recurrence and progression after surgery. In this study, published in Cancer Research, Mayo Clinic researchers found that nearly all normal, pre-malignant, and cancerous prostate cells have B7-H3 on their surface. Until now, there were no strongly predictive molecules for prostate cancer. The researchers believe that B7-H3 kills or paralyzes immune cells that are trying to attack the cancer. B7-H3 may prove useful as a diagnostic, prognostic, and even therapeutic tool because it is stably or increasingly displayed by tumor cells as prostate cancer develops.

MOLECULAR BIOLOGY: NEW WAY FOUND TO EVOLVE NOVEL ENZYMES
Researchers say they have found a way of creating novel enzymes—specialized molecules that accelerate chemical reactions between molecules—that for the first time doesn't require prior understanding of exactly how the enzymes work. Massachusetts General Hospital researchers used a technique called mRNA display that allows the identification and amplification of proteins that fit particular criteria of enzymes, the study in Nature said. The study also said the creation of totally new enzymes can help improve the synthesis of chemicals and pharmaceuticals, devise new tools for molecular biology research, and develop new therapies.

BEDSIDE MANNER: "PATIENT-CENTERED" APPROACH CAN BACKFIRE
Today's "patient-centered" doctor approach, which includes educating patients about their conditions and involving patients in treatment decisions, doesn't work for all patients, a new study reported. University of Iowa researchers found that some patients, especially older ones, prefer a physician with a more traditional "doctor-centered" style which seeks little patient input in treatment decisions. The study published in the Annals of Behavioral Medicine said that when these patients are matched with patient-centered doctors who want them to take a highly active role in their healthcare, they're less likely to follow treatment recommendations or feel satisfied with their care. The study found that patients are most satisfied with care and most likely to follow treatment plans—like taking medication or making diet changes—if they see a doctor whose attitudes toward patient-physician roles are in line with their own.

DIAGOSTICS: CARDIAC CTA IMAGES OFTEN FIND DISORDERS BEYOND HEART
University of Maryland School of Medicine researchers found that performing a heart-imaging test called cardiac CTA (Computed Tomography Angiogram) after coronary artery bypass surgery can reveal unsuspected and potentially significant findings beyond the heart. Of 259 patients studied who had the test after an operation, 51 had at least one unsuspected, potentially significant finding, the researchers said. According to the study, of these, 24 had a cardiac finding such as intra-cardiac thrombus and 34 patients had a non-cardiac problem such as pulmonary embolism, lung cancer, or pneumonia. Researchers said that these examinations should require physician interpreters who are trained to read the entire test and not just the coronary vessels.

HYPERTENSION: EVEN LITTLE EXERCISE DRIVES DOWN BLOOD PRESSURE
Even low levels of weekly exercise drive down blood pressure and boost overall fitness, according to a recent study in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. In the study of 106 healthy but sedentary civil servants between the ages of 40 and 60 in the U.K., both the light- and heavy-exercisers experienced a significant drop in systolic blood pressure as well as in waist and hip girth. One group of 44 people was randomly assigned to 30 minutes of brisk walking on five days a week for 12 weeks, while another group of 42 was given the same program but for only three days a week. There were no changes in any of the measures among the non-walkers.

CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE: A POT BELLY IS A CANARY IN A COALMINE
A new study shows that a bulging waistline—even if body weight still falls within a normal range—markedly increases the risk of unhealthy plaque build-up in the arteries of the heart and the rest of the body. Researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas discovered that the likelihood of calcium being found in the heart arteries of some 2,744 study participants grew in direct proportion to increases in the waist-to-hip ratio (WHR). When they divided the WHR into five groups from smallest to largest, they also found that people with the largest WHR were nearly twice as likely to have calcium deposits in their coronary arteries as those with the smallest WHR, according to the study reported in the upcoming issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

EYE DISEASE: SMOKING MAY INCREASE LONG-TERM RISKS
Current and past smokers seem to have a higher risk of developing late age-related macular degeneration—the leading cause of blindness in the Western world—than those who have never smoked, according to Australian researchers. Current smokers were found to be four times more likely to develop age-related macular degeneration and past smokers were three times as likely to have geographic atrophy, an advanced form of the disease, than those who had never smoked, according to the report in Archives of Ophthalmology. Researchers at the University of Sydney and Westmead Hospital in Sydney examined 2,454 Australians who were at least 49 years old to study the association between smoking and the 10-year incidence of AMD, as well as the possible links between smoking and other common risk factors.

MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS: DNA VACCINE POTENTIALLY BENEFICIAL
A new DNA vaccine appears safe and may produce beneficial changes in the brains and immune systems of individuals with the neurological disorder multiple sclerosis, according to Canadian researchers. In MS patients, the immune system attacks the myelin sheaths that protect nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. The DNA vaccine, BHT-3009, which encodes a full-length human myelin basic protein, was tested on 30 patients, according to the study in the Archives of Neurology. Among the results, researchers at the Montreal Neurological Institute found the protein was safe and produced beneficial antigen-specific immune changes, including a reduction in the number of cytokine-producing CD4+ T cells (a type of white blood cell) specifically targeting myelin proteins.

BREAST CANCER: DROP IN INCIDENCE LINKED TO DECREASE IN HORMONE USE
Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco found that a decline in breast cancer incidence is more likely due to the drop in postmenopausal hormone therapy use rather than in a decrease in mammography screening. In the study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, the researchers said use of hormone therapy among the study population declined by 7 percent a year between 2000 and 2002 and then by 34 percent a year between 2002 and 2003. Over the same period, breast cancer incidence rates declined annually by 5 percent. Rates of estrogen-receptor-positive breast cancer (about 75 percent of breast cancer cases) fell by 13 percent each year from 2001 to 2003. The authors said the small decline in screening mammography observed in the United States is unlikely to explain the national declines in breast cancer incidence.

SEXUAL DESIRE: TESTOSTERONE PATCH BENEFITS WOMEN
A group of researchers has found that low-dose testosterone treatment can improve sexual desire and sexual function in women with hypoactive sexual desire disorder, or HSDD, which is essentially "a deficiency of sexual fantasies" and deficiency of desire for sexual activity. The researchers, led by MacDonald Women's Hospital at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, published their study in The Journal of Sexual Medicine. They found that women with HSDD treated with a transdermal testosterone patch experienced significant improvements in the frequency of satisfying sexual activity and sexual desire, as well as a decrease in "sexual distress." Of the total of 132 participants from two trials interviewed after six months of treatment, women had an average increase in sexual activity of 4.4 times per 4 weeks.

INFECTIOUS ILLNESSES: PLAIN SOAP AS EFFECTIVE AS ANTIBACTERIAL
University of Michigan researchers say a study found that washing hands with an antibacterial soap was no more effective in preventing infectious illness than plain soap; in fact, antibacterial soaps may render some common antibiotics less effective. They also found that antibacterial soaps at formulations sold to the public do not remove any more bacteria from the hands during washing than plain soaps. What's more, the study, reported in Clinical Infectious Diseases, said that because of the way the main active ingredient—triclosan—in many antibacterial soaps reacts in the cells, it may cause some bacteria to become resistant to commonly used drugs such as amoxicillin. Triclosan is used in higher concentrations in hospitals and other clinical settings, and may be more effective at reducing illness and bacteria at higher concentrations, researchers said.

HEALTHCARE: GOOGLE AND MICROSOFT HAVE PLANS TO IMPROVE U.S. SYSTEM
Search engine leader Google and software behemoth Microsoft are looking to apply their tech prowess to the field of healthcare, with two plans to help citizens to improve health habits and medical care, The New York Times reported. The Times said a prototype of Mountain View, California-based Google's health web pages viewed by reporters included a personalized "health guide" for suggested treatments, drug interactions, and diet and exercise regimens. There were also pages for receiving reminder messages to get prescription refills or visit a doctor. Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft's plan could include online offerings as well as software to find, retrieve, and store personal health information on personal computers, the paper said. Neither company would discuss the plans in detail.

HEART RISK: FDA SAYS TWO DIABETES DRUG MAKERS AGREE TO STRONGER WARNINGS
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said drug makers Middlesex, U.K.-based GlaxoSmithKline and Osaka-based Takeda have agreed to add the agency's "boxed" or strongest warning to certain drugs approved to treat Type 2 diabetes because they carry a risk of heart failure. The upgraded warning was needed for the entire thiazolidinedione class of antidiabetic drugs, which includes GSK's Avandia, Avandaryl, and Avandamet and Takeda's Actos and Duetact, the agency said. These drugs are used in conjunction with diet and exercise, to improve blood sugar control in adults with Type 2 diabetes, the most common form of diabetes. The FDA said review of adverse event reports found cases of significant weight gain and edema—both warning signs of heart failure.

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