pdninquiry

One of the greatest mysteries for most of the twentieth century was the fate of the Romanov family, the last Russian monarchy. Following the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II, he and his wife, Alexandra, and their five children were eventually exiled to the city of Yekaterinburg. The family, along with four loyal members of their staff, was held captive by members of the Ural Soviet. According to historical reports, in the early morning hours of July 17, 1918 the entire family along with four loyal members of their staff was executed by a firing squad. After a failed attempt to dispose of the remains in an abandoned mine shaft, the bodies were transported to an open field only a few kilometers from the mine shaft. Nine members of the group were buried in one mass grave while two of the children were buried in a separate grave. With the official discovery of the larger mass grave in 1991, and subsequent DNA testing to confirm the identities of the Tsar, the Tsarina, and three of their daughters – doubt persisted that these remains were in fact those of the Romanov family. In the summer of 2007, a group of amateur archeologists discovered a collection of remains from the second grave approximately 70 meters from the larger grave. We report forensic DNA testing on the remains discovered in 2007 using mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), autosomal STR, and Y- STR testing. Combined with additional DNA testing of material from the 1991 grave, we have virtually irrefutable evidence that the two individuals recovered from the 2007 grave are the two missing children of the Romanov family: the Tsarevich Alexei and one of his sisters.

Source: PLoS ONE

In a collaborative study with the World Health Organization and seven other laboratories, researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have compiled a list of 93 common mutations of the AIDS virus associated with drug resistance that will be used to track future resistance trends throughout the world.

The researchers analyzed data from about 15,220 patients across the globe to develop an updated and accurate list of the most common, resistance-related mutations of the virus. The list will be published March 6 in the online journal PLoS-One.

“The epidemic is changing, especially as new drugs are being developed,” said Robert Shafer, MD, associate professor of infectious diseases and geographic medicine at Stanford and the senior author of the paper. “To effectively track the spread of drug resistance, particularly transmitted drug resistance, you need a sensitive and specific list that’s considered standard and is adopted by all the surveillance studies.”

The list is important, he said, as it helps countries gauge the effectiveness of their HIV medication programs. But assembling such a list can be a challenge, particularly with a virus that has so many resistance-related variants. On the one hand, if the list is too liberally defined, then HIV drug funders and providers may believe resistance is more widespread than is actually the case.

“That will cause problems in countries. They may be concerned about whether their drugs will work,” Shafer said.

On the other hand, if the list is too restrictive, there is a risk of underestimating the actual extent of resistance, he said.

“So there is a real challenge to using the right number of mutations,” Shafer said.

In 2007, Shafer and his colleagues published a similar list of 80 HIV mutations that has since served as the basis for global AIDS surveillance work. However, with the scale-up of antiretroviral drug programs in the last two years and the introduction of new medications, resistance patterns have changed. So there was a need for a newly updated reference, he said.

The data used in the study was derived from a publicly available, searchable database that Shafer and his colleagues began at Stanford in 1998. Known as the Stanford HIV RT and Protease Sequence Database, it includes information on the two key proteins targeted by HIV drugs: reverse transcriptase and protease. More recently, the researchers have begun gathering resistance data on integrase inhibitors, the latest class of antiretroviral drugs to be introduced. However, this data was not included in the study, as these drugs are not yet in wide use, particularly in developing countries.

To compile the latest list, the researchers added data from other laboratories in Europe, Canada and the United States to include more than 15,000 sequences from untreated individuals, double the number available in 2007. To ensure geographic diversity, information was included for eight different subtypes of the virus, as these vary from one region of the world to another.

The researchers scoured the data to ensure they included only those mutations that were clearly recognized as causing or contributing to resistance. They excluded polymorphisms, or variants of the virus that can arise naturally, as well as drug-related mutations that occur rarely.

The result was that 16 new mutations were added to the 2007 list, while three were dropped. Shafer said it was reassuring to find minimal changes were needed.

“It shows the first list was quite good,” he said.

Shafer’s Stanford colleagues in the study are Mark Kiuchi, Tommy Liu, Soo-Yon Rhee and Jonathan Schapiro, MD. The research was funded by the National Institutes of Health.

Source: News Medical

To see a list of HIV Mutations: http://hivdb.stanford.edu/cgi-bin/AgMutPrev.cgi

Twelve teams of Indiana scientists have been awarded the first grants from the Indiana Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute, awards meant to foster collaborative efforts to develop new medical treatments and services.

The teams, each of which received a CTSI Collaboration in Biomedical/Translational Research Pilot Program Grant of up to $75,000, include researchers from Indiana and Purdue universities and the University of Notre Dame.

The grants are meant to help Indiana scientists conduct early-stage research projects that will lead to grant awards from external sources, such as the National Institutes of Health. In order to foster collaboration, the program required each grant proposal include participation from scientists from two or more of the sponsoring academic campuses: Purdue, IU Bloomington, IUPUI, IU School of Medicine and Notre Dame.

“These awards will help more than two-dozen scientists across Indiana do the difficult, early-stage work necessary to show that their research can produce scientific discoveries that will benefit patients,” said Anantha Shekhar, M.D., Ph.D.

More than 100 research proposals were submitted in competition for the awards, which demonstrates the strength of the research efforts at Indiana’s universities, said Dr. Shekhar.

The Indiana CTSI is a statewide collaboration of researchers and health care specialists in academia, business and government created to transform scientific discoveries into new medical treatments and services. The CTSI was formed in 2008 with a $25 million grant from the National Institutes of Health.

The projects selected include research into various aspects of cancer treatment, biomedical imaging, panic disorder, brain functions, Alzheimer disease, infectious diseases, pain and schizophrenia.

Source: Medical News Today

Data presented today at the Diabetes UK Annual Conference reveal that Testosterone Deficiency Syndrome (TDS) is found in over 50% of men with Type 2 diabetes, more than double the rate in the non-diabetic population1. TDS is associated with a 42% additional risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, and up to 60% additional risk of all-cause and coronary heart disease (CHD) mortality1.

TDS, also known as hypogonadism, describes symptomatic patients with low serum testosterone levels (generally below 12 nmol/L)2. TDS is estimated to affect one in ten men over the age of 50 years3. The data, presented by Dr Geoff Hackett and Professor Hugh Jones reveal that TDS is associated with insulin resistance, raised HbA1c, visceral adiposity, raised BMI and ED, all of which are significant CHD risk factors1.

Dr Geoff Hackett, Consultant in Sexual Medicine, Good Hope Hospital, Sutton Coldfield said; “Testosterone Deficiency Syndrome is more common than GPs realise, particularly amongst men with Type 2 diabetes. Erectile dysfunction has been shown to be a robust predictor of CHD risk in men with Type 2 diabetes and yet neither testing for low testosterone nor ED assessment are part of the QOF. Assessment of testosterone is regarded as mandatory by all published authoritative guidelines on ED management.”

TDS can be treated with testosterone therapy. Data presented reveal that testosterone therapy in hypogonadal diabetic men, reduces insulin resistance and has beneficial effects on glycaemic control, waist circumference, leptin and cholesterol4.

Recently published recommendations on the identification, monitoring and treatment of hypogonadism have been formulated by major international scientific organisations, including the European Association of Urology, the European Society of Endocrinology and the European Academy of Andrology2. These state that all patients presenting with Type 2 diabetes or with ED, should have their serum testosterone levels measured on a blood sample taken in the morning between 07.00 and 11.002.

Professor Hugh Jones, Hon. Professor of Andrology and Consultant Physician and Endocrinologist, Barnsley Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, explains; “There is now substantial evidence that there is an increased prevalence of hypogonadism in men with Type 2 diabetes. Doctors should check early morning testosterone levels in men with Type 2 diabetes and symptoms of hypogonadism, which includes erectile dysfunction (ED). Testosterone therapy has in some men with diabetes been shown to improve ED and convert some who fail to respond to PDE 5 inhibitors to responders. If testosterone levels in symptomatic patients are found to be low or near the lower end of the normal range (generally below 12 nmol/l) on at least two occasions, then referral to a specialist for further investigation and treatment should be considered.”

Source: Medical News Today

Congressman Michael Burgess, M.D. (R-Texas), made the following remarks this morning after receiving the Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Society’s House Legislator of the Year Award:

“I am honored to receive this award and vow to continue my efforts in the cause to find answers to the questions posed by this disease. Every hour in the United States, someone new is diagnosed with MS. This is a cruel disease, and one of the great unsolved mysteries of our day. Many Americans know a person living with multiple sclerosis, including myself, and as co-chair of the Congressional MS Caucus, I intend to bring the needs of those individuals into the larger discussion of quality health care.

“I have reintroduced bipartisan legislation again this Congress to create a national MS Registry to house information about Americans living with MS. A national registry would allow for future planning of health care needs, detect changes in health practices, promote advocacy, and support a wide range of research initiatives. We must work together to improve access to quality health services, to break down barriers, and to make MS therapies more affordable. Creating a national registry like this one will help achieve these critical goals and provide consistency and coordination in the care of those living with MS.

“Finally, we must always remember that behind every statistic is the face of a family member or friend. We have a shared responsibility to offer help and hope. There is no better time than now to begin offering it.”

Source: Medical News Today

According to a new study by a team of psychologists and neuroscientists from the University of Pennsylvania, people learn better when presented an unexpected reward rather than expected ones.  A computer-base card game is presented with microelectrodes to observe neuronal activity of the brain. The player was given two different color cards, one red and one blue, in which he or she has to choose between. If the draw card yield a reward, a stack of gold coins appear along with audible ring or cash register. However, if the draw card did not yield a reward or if there was no draw, the screen goes blank and there will be a buzz.  There is a higher probability yielding a financial reward for one card than the other. The research suggests that neurons in the human substantia nigra (SN) play a central role in reward-base learning.

Another study by Dr. Zaghloul and Michael J. Kahana, and Gordon Baltuch, Md, PhD, associate professor of neurosurgery, in a unique collaboration among Psychology Neurosurgery, and Bioengineering researchers was conducted on patients with Parkinson’s disease. Microelectrode recordings were obtained during deep brain stimulation surgery. Patients with Parkinson’s disease (Parkinson’s disease belongs to a group of conditions called motor system disorders, which are the result of the loss of dopamine-producing brain cells) shows impaired learning from both positive and negative feedback due to degenerative nature of their disease and the decrease in number of dopaminergic neurons. Dopaminergic neurons drive a larger basal ganglia circuit and are activated in response to reward and depressed after omission of reward.

Source: Medical News Today

Children at risk of obesity who live close to parks tend to be more physically active. The study recently submitted to American Heart Association’s conference in Florida is monitoring children with potential risk problems in the future up to ten years or until the subject turns eighteen. They are monitoring the environment effect on obesity. The likelihood of walking to school increases double for girls and leisure walking for boys increases by 60 percent for every park in close proximity to home. This definitely is a positive possibility that people will be more physically active by walking more instead of depending on auto transportation.

Source: Medical News Today

According to WHO, 240,000 Americans lives are lost due to respiratory disease, while 7.7 million lives are claimed worldwide. The reason for these high rates is the effect of the ozone layer. The ozone layer is 7 miles above the earth’s surface, and it is a protective layer that blocks ultraviolet radiation. The ozone at ground level reacts chemically with sunlight which can cause further respiratory problems such as irritate breathing, decrease lung function, inflame airways, and worsen lung conditions such as asthma and emphysema.(EPA). These problems typically occur in hot, dry cities where highest concentration of ozone is found. Efforts to lower the ground-level ozone is currently being proposed.

Source: Health

U.S. researchers concluded that the gene ADAM33 in chromosome 20 has a link to asthma. Those who gets chronic obstructive pulmonary disease from smoking contains this gene while the rest aren’t afflicted with serious breathing problem.

Source: Health

Electronic cigarette is the possible new solution for those who wants to stop smoking. Smoking Everywhere had invented a type of cigarette that has the same physical look as a real cigarette and the exact oral usage of a real cigarette. However, the e-cig is pure nicotine. FDA have not approved this new drug due to the lack of evidence in effectiveness. It may be safer than actual tobacco, but the idea of inhaling pure nicotine can be dangerous.

Source: CNN