rochester medical center

Statins have unexpected effect on pool of powerful brain cells

EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health  Wed, 07/02/2008 - 23:00

(University of Rochester Medical Center) Cholesterol-lowering drugs known as statins have a profound effect on an elite group of cells known as glial progenitor cells that are important to brain health as we age, scientists have found.

The new findings shed light on a long-debated potential role for statins in the area of dementia.


 

Pregnancy may help protect against bladder cancer

EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health  Wed, 06/25/2008 - 23:00

(University of Rochester Medical Center) Pregnancy seems to confer some protection against bladder cancer in mice, scientists have found.

Female mice that had never become pregnant had approximately 15 times as much cancer in their bladders as their counterparts that had become pregnant, according to new findings by investigators at the University of Rochester Medical Center.

Their work appears online as a rapid communication in the journal Urology.


 

Study in Circulation provides detail on how low blood flow promo...

EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health  Sun, 06/22/2008 - 23:00

(University of Rochester Medical Center) Researchers have found the first direct proof that a key protein drives the clogging of arteries in two ways, and that lowering levels of it opens them up, according to study results published in the June edition of the journal Circulation.

The work establishes cyclophilin A as an exciting target in the design of drugs against atherosclerosis, the number one cause of heart attacks and strokes, which occur when vessels become completely blocked.


 

Salmonella: Trickier than we imagined

EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases  Thu, 06/12/2008 - 23:00

(University of Rochester Medical Center) Salmonella is serving up a surprise not only for tomato lovers around the country but also for scientists who study the rod-shaped bacterium that causes misery for millions of people.

Researchers have identified a molecular trick that may explain part of the bacteria's fierceness: A protein allows the bacteria to maintain a low profile in the body, giving Salmonella crucial time to gain a foothold before the immune system is roused to fight the invader.


 

Researchers find roadmap to next-generation cancer therapies

EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health  Sat, 05/24/2008 - 23:00

(University of Rochester Medical Center) Pinpointing new targets for cancer treatments is as difficult as finding a needle in a haystack, yet a University of Rochester team has discovered an entire novel class of genes they believe will lead to a greater understanding of cancer cell function and the next generation of effective and less harmful therapies for patients.


 

Separation from mom, dad linked with learning trouble in kids

EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health  Thu, 05/15/2008 - 23:00

(University of Rochester Medical Center) In the wake of divorce, illness, violence and other problems that can unsettle homes, countless young children are liable to experience temporary separations from one or both parents before packing their knapsacks for kindergarten.

Published in the May/June issue of Ambulatory Pediatrics, a new, community-wide study from Rochester, New York, warns that such kids are at increased risk for learning difficulties.


 

Vitamin D protects cells from stress that can lead to cancer

EurekAlert! - Cancer  Mon, 05/12/2008 - 23:00

(University of Rochester Medical Center) By inducing a specific gene to increase expression of a key enzyme, vitamin D protects healthy prostate cells from the damage and injuries that can lead to cancer, University of Rochester Medical Center researchers report.


 

Telemedicine could eradicate many expensive ED visits

EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health  Mon, 05/05/2008 - 23:00

(University of Rochester Medical Center) A community-wide study in upstate New York found that nearly 28 percent of all visits to the pediatric emergency department could have been replaced with a more cost-effective Internet doctor's "visit," or telemedicine, according to investigators from the University of Rochester Medical Center.

The Rochester team will present these findings and more at this year's Pediatric Academic Society Meeting in Honolulu, Hawaii.


 

New SCHIP enrollees have unmet health care needs

EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health  Sun, 05/04/2008 - 23:00

(University of Rochester Medical Center) Even with prior private health insurance, patients enrolling in the state children's health insurance program had unmet health care needs.

Instituting a waiting period to deter "crowd-out" would further prolong these children's need to address asthma and other chronic health conditions, according to research from the University of Rochester Medical Center.

The study will be presented in a presidential plenary session Monday, May 5, at this year's Pediatric Academic Society Meeting in Honolulu, Hawaii.


 

Nearly one-third of US parents don't know what to expect of infa...

EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health  Sat, 05/03/2008 - 23:00

(University of Rochester Medical Center) Almost one-third of US parents have a surprisingly low-level knowledge of typical infant development and unrealistic expectations for their child's physical, social and emotional growth, according research from the University of Rochester.

The new findings, which suggest that such false parenting assumptions can not only impair parent-child interactions, but also rob kids of much-needed cognitive stimulation, will be presented Sunday, May 4, at the Pediatric Academic Society meeting in Honolulu, Hawaii.