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Is red hair gene linked to increased risk of Parkinson's?
Conclusion This study looked at the role the red hair gene MC1R plays in the brains of mice. The findings suggest the gene has a part to play in keeping certain nerve cells in the brain alive. The cells in question are those that die off in Parkinson's disease and cause the condition's characteristic movement problems. These findings in mice are likely to need further investigation in human cells and tissue in lab studies. Exactly what causes brain cells to die, causing Parkinson's disease, is unknown. As with many conditions, it's thought both genetic and environmental factors could play a role. Research like this helps...
Source: NHS News Feed - March 6, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Cancer Genetics/stem cells Source Type: news

Could curry spice boost brain cell repair?
ConclusionThis laboratory and animal research has found that an extract from turmeric (aromatic turmerone) seems to increase the growth and differentiation of neural stem cells (NSCs). However, this research is in the very early stages. So far, the extract has only been added to brain stem cells in the laboratory, or directly injected into the brains of only three rats. Though NSCs have some ability to regenerate brain cells after damage, this is usually not enough to have an effect in degenerative brain diseases such as Alzheimer’s. The hope is that by boosting the number of NSCs, they could be more effective at repairi...
Source: NHS News Feed - September 26, 2014 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Food/diet Neurology Source Type: news

'Safe' stem cell therapy may help stroke recovery
Conclusion This study provides evidence that a new technique using a patient's own stem cells to aid the recovery from severe ischaemic stoke is feasible and appears to be safe. It was not designed to test whether the technique was better than doing nothing or better than other types of care or treatment. The authors are perfectly clear that this "proof-of-concept study was not designed with a control group or powered to be able to detect efficacy". This means we cannot be sure that the improvements seen in the five patients were caused by the stem cell treatment. They could have occurred anyway as part of the na...
Source: NHS News Feed - August 11, 2014 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Genetics/stem cells Heart/lungs Source Type: news

Stress 'causes damage to the heart,' study finds
Conclusion This research investigates the widely held perceived wisdom that psychological stress is associated with coronary heart disease. It found 29 medical residents working in a stressful intensive care unit setting had increased levels of white blood cells, which form part of the immune system. The researchers also found exposing mice to chronic stress similarly increased their levels of certain white blood cells. When they examined the bone marrow of stressed mice, they found this increase in the number of white blood cells seemed to be mediated by an increase in the activity of hematopoietic stem cells, which prod...
Source: NHS News Feed - June 23, 2014 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Heart/lungs Lifestyle/exercise Mental health Source Type: news

Can pain be 'switched off'?
Conclusion This study adds to the scientific knowledge about which genes play a role in pain response. The study shows an association between a low pain threshold and reduced gene expression in nine locations on the DNA. This means that researchers have found changes not only in genes already known to be involved in pain response, but in other genes as well. As the study was conducted in identical twins, the researchers have also been able to identify that the gene responses started off the same but have become different for some reason. The study shows that there is an association, but it does not provide information abo...
Source: NHS News Feed - February 5, 2014 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Genetics/stem cells Medical practice Source Type: news

New heart op could save 'thousands of lives'
Conclusion This was a well-designed study which showed that over the course of two years, the risk of another non-fatal or fatal heart attack is reduced in heart attack patients who have preventive stents inserted in narrowed arteries at the same time as a procedure to insert stents into the blocked coronary artery that caused their heart attack. However, an important point to note is that the study results do not apply to all patients who have had a heart attack. The study only looked at the group of patients who had a specific type of heart attack – a STEMI – and needed an emergency stent placement operation. ...
Source: NHS News Feed - September 3, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Heart/lungs Genetics/stem cells Source Type: news

Stem cell stroke treatment trial results 'show promise'
This study looked at the safety and tolerability of a stem cell therapy called ReN001 in the treatment of ischaemic stroke, where the blood supply to the brain is blocked by a blood clot. The findings, which were reported in a press release, suggest that the nine people included in the study experienced no adverse effects and showed a modest improvement in stroke-related symptoms. However, the full findings from the PISCES trial are yet to be published in a peer-reviewed journal. Until this happens, it is worth exercising a little healthy scepticism about the claims being made. This research is still at a very early s...
Source: NHS News Feed - May 28, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Neurology Medical practice QA articles Source Type: news

Do epilepsy and migraine share a genetic link?
Conclusion This paper suggests there is a link between the number of close relatives with a seizure disorder and the likelihood that an individual with epilepsy will also suffer from migraines with aura. However, it seems that the researchers were only interested in what they term ‘additional’ family members, and did not take into account the fact that to be eligible for this study at least two siblings or a parent and child both had to suffer from epilepsy. There seems to be the possibility that if, for example, four members of a family were enrolled in the study but the family had no further affected members, all me...
Source: NHS News Feed - January 7, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Neurology Genetics/stem cells Source Type: news