- Test could identify which prostate cancers require treatment
The level of expression of three genes associated with aging can be used to predict whether seemingly low-risk prostate cancer will remain slow-growing, according to researchers. Use of this three-gene biomarker, in conjunction with existing cancer-staging tests, could help physicians better determine which men with early prostate cancer can be safely followed with “active surveillance” and spared the risks of prostate removal or other invasive treatment.
- Faulty stem cell regulation may contribute to cognitive deficits associated with Down syndrome
The learning and physical disabilities that affect people with Down syndrome may be due at least in part to defective stem cell regulation throughout the body, according to researchers.
- How chromosome ends influence cellular aging
By studying processes that occur at the ends of chromosomes, a team researchers has unravelled an important mechanism towards a better understanding of cellular aging.
- Breakthrough discerns normal memory loss from disease
Researchers have developed a reliable method to distinguish memory declines associated with healthy aging from the more-serious memory disorders years before obvious symptoms emerge. The method also allows research to accurately predict who is more likely to develop cognitive impairment without expensive tests or invasive procedures.
- Alzheimer's: Newly identified protein pathology impairs RNA splicing
Researchers have identified a previously unrecognized type of pathology in the brains of patients with Alzheimer’s disease. These tangle-like structures appear at early stages of Alzheimer’s and are not found in other neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s disease. The appearance of these tangles, which sequester proteins involved in RNA splicing, is linked to widespread changes in Alzheimer’s brains compared to healthy brains.
