Categories
Cardiovascular
Diagnostics
Endocrinology
Health Insurance
Medical Devices
Mental Health
Nutrition
Oncology
Public Health
Sexual Health
Popular Articles

Anterior Cingulate Cortex: Monitoring The Outcomes Of Others' Decisions
Good decision-making helps us to achieve our goals in a complicated world. Understanding which decisions are successful and which ones fail is important, and learning how other people make decisions is an important way of refining this ability. What happens in the brain when this useful information is withheld? Brain imaging researchers from Royal Holloway University of London (UK) investigated activity in the human brain at the time that volunteers interpreted the successes and failures of their own decisions, or the successes and failures of others" decisions. Crucially, when this important information was withheld, a region of the brain called the Anterior Cingulate Cortex became active in different ways depending on whether the information withheld related to decisions of the person in the scanner, or whether it related to the person that they were monitoring during the experiment. This tells us that this area works in different ways depending on whether gaps in important information relate to ourselves, or whether they relate to others".
generic viagra online
Metabolic Factors May Play A Role In Risk For Breast Cancer
Physiological changes associated with the metabolic syndrome may play a role in the risk of postmenopausal breast cancer, according to study results published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.
News of the day
Infighting Among Dems On Health Care Reform
Infighting among Democrats over inclusion of a public plan in health care reform is turning disagreement between moderates and liberals into a "Democratic civil war" with outside groups taking part in the attacks, Politico reports.
Endocrinology

Study Examines Mechanism For Gene Alterations In Brain Tumors

In a related article appearing in the July 15 issue of JAMA, researchers have identified the mechanism linked to the alteration of certain genes cited by Bredel et al in the previous study. Glioblastomas-uniformly fatal brain tumors-often have both monosomy (absence of 1 chromosome) of chromosome 10 and gains of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene locus on chromosome 7. This association suggests a fundamental biological role in glioblastoma pathogenesis, yet its molecular basis is poorly understood, according to background information in the article. Markus Bredel, M.D., Ph.D., of the Northwestern Brain Tumor Institute at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, and colleagues examined the mechanism of deregulation of the gene ANXA7 in glioblastomas and its association with patient outcome. The study included a multidimensional analysis of gene, coding sequence, messenger RNA (mRNA) transcript, protein data for ANXA7 (and EGFR), and clinical patient data profiles of 543 high-grade gliomas from U.S. medical centers and The Cancer Genome Atlas pilot project. The authors write: "We propose that ANXA7 haploinsufficiency [when a diploid cell (a cell having two sets of chromosomes) only has a single functional copy of a gene that does not produce enough of a gene product (typically a protein) to permit the cell to function normally, leading to an abnormal or diseased state] is a positive regulator of EGFR signaling and a driver for the conserved monosomy of chromosome 10 in glioblastomas. We provide evidence that ANXA7 loss of function facilitates unmitigated EGFR signaling, thereby contributing to an EGFR gain-of-function phenotype in high-grade gliomas, and that the complementary dysregulation of EGFR and ANXA7 synergistically promotes the tumorigenic potential of glioblastoma cells." The authors found that the status of the ANXA7 gene was immediately associated with the duration of survival of malignant gliomas in three patient populations. "The dismal prognosis in glioblastoma outcome, even with the most advanced clinical care, addresses the need for the translation of new biological insights into clinical end points that can ultimately influence patient management. Identification of genes in which expression is altered or pathways in which activity is modified in tumors is important to understanding basic tumor biology, developing clinical-pathological correlations, and identifying points of therapeutic intervention. As we demonstrate here for ANXA7 and its link to EGFR signaling and dysregulation in glioblastomas, these require integration of genomic analysis, cancer genetics and biology, and clinical validation." JAMA 2009;302[3]:276-289. Journal of the American Medical Association


Add your comment:
Name:
Site address: http://
Your message:
Enter today\\\\'s date, 2 digits
(spam protection):

© Copyright 2009