Wake Forest University
New research in monkeys suggests that a diet high in soy could be good for the hearts and bones of premenopausal women. The findings are from two separate studies. The results suggest that for cholesterol and bone density, the natural plant estrogens in soy may be most effective in conjunction with the body's own estrogen -- which would make it especially potent in women who haven't reached menopause. They also point to the possibility the estrogen-soy synergy could have other benefits as well.
Pediatricians are diagnosing and treating a growing number of children with behavioral health problems. However, they do not always feel comfortable or sufficiently trained to fill this new role, according to a new study. The study involved interviews with community pediatricians who estimated that an average of about 15 percent of the children they see have behavioral health problems. Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is the most common behavioral health disorder seen by pediatricians, she said. The pediatricians ''expressed a high level of comfort with the diagnosis and frequently or occasionally prescribed stimulants'' to treat it.
With the help of snake venom and sophisticated laboratory testing, scientists believe they've uncovered the reason why a group of new heart medications were doing some patients more harm than good. Researchers from Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center and colleagues report the findings in the current on-line issue of The Journal of Molecular Biology. ''Our findings suggest that drug developers should take a different approach,'' said Roy Hantgan, Ph.D., principal investigator, ''and we've also developed a way to test drugs for these harmful effects before they are given to patients.''
A hormone that is important in the control of blood pressure may also inhibit the growth of lung cancer cells, say scientists at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, writing in the new issue of the journal Carcinogenesis. Patricia E. Gallagher, Ph.D., and E. Ann Tallant, Ph.D., said the hormone, called angiotensin-(1-7), ''may represent a novel chemotherapeutic and chemopreventive treatment for lung cancer.''
Research in monkeys suggests the possibility that stress may increase risk for the most common type of uterine cancer, according to a report from Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center. The study results also suggest that two drinks a day won't increase breast or endometrial cancer risk for postmenopausal women who don't take estrogen.
Frequent tanning bed users may be getting more out of the experience than darker skin. Researchers at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center say exposure to ultraviolet light may produce a ''relaxing'' effect that lures tanners back to the beds.
Research in monkeys suggests that a diet high in the natural plant estrogens found in soy does not increase the risk of breast or uterine cancer in postmenopausal women.
''This is convincing evidence that at dietary levels, the estrogens found in soy do not stimulate cell growth and other markers for cancer risk,'' said Charles E. Wood, D.V.M., lead researcher, from Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center. ''The findings should be especially interesting to women at high risk for breast cancer who take soy products.''
The surprising finding that people with cystic fibrosis (CF) produce too little airway mucus -- rather than too much, as it commonly believed -- could lead to more effective treatments for the genetic disorder, say researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center. ''It has always been thought, but never proven, that CF causes the body to produce too much abnormally thick mucus that accumulates in the lungs and intestines,'' said Bruce Rubin, M.D., professor of pediatrics. ''However, we have now shown that these patients actually have very little mucus in their airways. This finding could change the way we think about CF treatment.''
Medical residents need to learn that there's "no free lunch" when it comes to their interactions with drug company representatives, say researchers from Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center in the current issue of Academic Medicine. The researchers found a compelling need for medical residency training programs to include information about drug company marketing techniques and how physician interactions with sales representatives can affect what medications they prescribe.
New research in monkeys may provide a clue about how the brain manages vast amounts of information and remembers what it needs. Researchers have identified brain cells that streamline and simplify sensory information ? markedly reducing the brain's workload. "When you need to remember people you've just met at a meeting, the brain probably doesn't memorize each person's facial features to help you identify them later," says Sam Deadwyler, Ph.D., a Wake Forest neuroscientist and study investigator. "Instead, it records vital information, such as their hairstyle, height, or age, all classifications that we are familiar with from meeting people in general. Our research suggests how the brain might do this, which could lead to ways to improve memory in humans."
The enzyme that can help turn a one-time experience into a long-term memory has been identified in mice, researchers reported today at the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience in New Orleans. Ashok Hegde, Ph.D., of Wake Forest described the researchers' work and proposed a theory for how lasting memories are formed, a process that involves the enzyme known as protein kinase C.
A drug designed to mimic the effects of Vitamin D hormone may be able to boost the effectiveness of radiation treatment for prostate cancer, report researchers from Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center in the current on-line edition of the British Journal of Cancer. "About 30 percent of men with locally advanced prostate cancer fail radiation therapy because the cancerous cells become resistant to treatment," said Constantinos Koumenis, Ph.D., lead researcher. "Any agent that increases the cancer cells' sensitivity to radiation, without significantly affecting normal cells, would be of great benefit."
Researchers at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center are reporting how a 15-year-old drug could have a promising new role in the treatment of rectal cancer. The drug is oxaliplatin, and when administered in combination with fluorouracil (5-FU) plus leucovorin--standard therapy for patients with advanced/metastatic colorectal cancer--it makes the radiation therapy more effective. Oxaliplatin is one in a family of platinum-based drugs, which contain small molecules that interact with DNA and disrupt the replication process. Some cancers, however, have developed resistance to other platinum-based drugs.
Scientists at the Comprehensive Cancer Center of Wake Forest University have developed a colony of mice that successfully fight off virulent transplanted cancers. "The mice are healthy, cancer-free and have a normal life span," the 10-member team reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences online edition to be published the week of April 28. The transplantation of the cancer cells in these special mice provokes a massive infiltration of white blood cells that destroy the cancer, said Zheng Cui, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of pathology at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center and the lead scientist.
The timing of treatment may be a key factor in whether hormone replacement therapy (HRT) can slow heart vessel disease, report researchers from Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center and Tufts-New England Medical Center in the winter issue of Menopausal Medicine.
