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Discoveries
Research Briefs
A fine balance
New research shows that Vioxx—the blockbuster
painkiller pulled from the market in
2004 because it increased the risk of heart attacks—
reduces the risk of precancerous tumors
in the colon and rectum. The findings,
soon to be published in Gastroenterology,
"show once again the potential
for nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory
drugs, or NSAIDS, to interfere with the
development of cancer in the colon and rectum,"
says DMS's John Baron, M.D., who led
the study. But the "serious toxicity" of Vioxx
and similar drugs must be weighed carefully
against their chemopreventive powers, he
and his coauthors caution.
No bowl of cherries
It's not surprising to learn that women newly
diagnosed with breast cancer are often
worried, nervous, fearful, and depressed. But
little formal research has quantified those
symptoms. A new Dartmouth-led study, published
in Cancer, helps fill that gap
in knowledge. Nearly half of newly
diagnosed breast cancer patients
showed high levels of emotional distress or
met the criteria for psychiatric disorders,
found DMS psychologist Mark Hegel, Ph.D.,
and his collaborators. "Future research should
refine current screening procedures and develop
interventions," they say.
Mighty mouse
DMS scientists have created a mouse that
can exercise three times as long as a normal
mouse, without any particular training. The
key to the mouse's might is a genetic mutation
that appears to increase glycogen content
in skeletal muscle. Published in the
American Journal of Physiology: Endocrinology
and Metabolism, the research
has implications for anyone with a muscle
disease—and especially the elderly, who
often have deteriorating muscles, Lee Witters,
M.D., recently explained in a Dartmouth
press release. "We now wonder if it's
possible to achieve . . . muscular fitness without
having to exercise," he added.
Cellular call
It's well known that embryos generate stem
cells, but the precursor tissues of the placenta
and umbilical cord may, too—at least in
mice—according to new research from DMS.
Stem cells that can differentiate into a
wide variety of blood cells seem to
originate in the tissues that form the
placenta and umbilical cord, rather than
migrating from the embryo, found the researchers,
led by biochemist Nancy Speck,
Ph.D. In their paper, published in Development,
they do not comment on how their
findings may affect the national stem-cell debate
but call for more research into the area.
DeliverablesWomen who develop gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) "are at increased risk of persistent glucose intolerance after delivery, and yet many are not retested" after giving birth, researchers at Dartmouth and Brown discovered recently. They found that less than half of women with GDM got postpartum glucose testing, but more than a third of those who did had abnormal glucose tolerance. "With the magnitude of the public health problem posed by the rising incidence of diabetes in the United States, further attention needs to be given to these high-risk women," the authors conclude in the journal Obstetrics and Gynecology.
Pumping iron
Since "iron deficiency is a major human nutritional
problem wherever plant-based diets
are common"—as Dartmouth researcher
Mary Lou Guerinot, Ph.D., and her colleagues
noted in the journal Science
—learning how and where plants
store iron may one day help scientists engineer
more nutritious food sources. And
Guerinot and her team have made such a discovery.
"We have uncovered a fundamental
aspect of seed biology that will ultimately aid
the development of nutrient-rich seed," they
wrote, to the benefit of "both human health
and agricultural productivity."
A team of toxic-metal researchers at DMS found that exposure to arsenic in drinking water even at low levels can disrupt the function of certain receptors and affect hormone activity.
DMS's Samuel Finlayson, M.D., was invited by the Journal of the American Medical Association to write an editorial on a study of where minorities and the uninsured get surgery.
After adjusting for physical activity, DMS researchers found that children with a TV in their bedroom are more apt to be overweight; they studied 2,343 children aged 9 to 12.
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