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Link Between Light Touch And Merkel Cells Solves 100-year Mystery
Light touch - the sense that lets musicians find the right notes on a keyboard, a seamstress revel in the feel of cool silk, the artisan feel a curve in material and the blind read Braille - truly depends on the activity of Merkel cells usually found in crescent-shaped clusters in the skin, said researchers from Baylor College of Medicine and colleagues in a report that appears in the current issue of the journal Science.
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Close Caregiver Relationship May Slow Alzheimer's Decline
A study led by Johns Hopkins and Utah State University researchers suggests that a particularly close relationship with caregivers may give people with Alzheimer"s disease a marked edge over those without one in retaining mind and brain function over time. The beneficial effect of emotional intimacy that the researchers saw among participants was on par with some drugs used to treat the disease.
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Innovative Medicines Initiative: 246 Million Euros To Support Public-private Research Cooperation For A Fast Development Of Better Medicines
Today, 15 new research projects aimed at bringing innovative medicines more quickly to the market have been selected to receive 246 million euros from the European Commission and the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA). The projects will foster understanding of health issues such as diabetes, pain, severe asthma and psychiatric disorders while increasing drug safety. They will also help improve the training of researchers and clinicians involved in medicines development. The projects were chosen following the first call for proposals launched within the Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI), a public-private partnership - so called Joint Technology Initiative- between the European Commission and the pharmaceutical industry. With this selection, IMI has reached a key milestone. This initiative marks the first time that pharmaceutical competitors are pooling their res, together with research organisations, patient groups and other stakeholders in large consortia, in order to develop generic, pre-competitive knowledge. The Commission"s contribution of €110 million is backed up with €136 million provided in-kind from the pharmaceutical industry. The successful projects will now enter into the final negotiation phase.
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Blood Flow In Alzheimer's Disease

Dr. Jennifer C Palmer and colleagues at the University of Bristol have discovered that endothelin converting enzyme-2 (ECE-2) may cause the decrease in cerebral blood flow seen in Alzheimer"s disease. These results are presented in the July 2009 issue of the American Journal of Pathology. Alzheimer"s disease is the most common form of dementia. Aí² peptide, which accumulates in the brain of Alzheimer"s disease patients, is thought to lead to tightening of the blood vessels and reduction of cerebral blood flood. ECE-2 may contribute to these symptoms by converting an inactive precursor to endothelin-1, which constricts blood vessels. To determine if ECE-2 affects cerebral blood flow in Alzheimer"s disease, Palmer et al examined the expression of ECE-2. They found that ECE-2 levels were elevated in patients with Alzheimer"s disease and that Aí² could increase ECE-2 expression in vitro. These data indicate that ECE-2 levels are increased in response to Aí² and may cause the decrease in cerebral blood flow seen in Alzheimer"s disease. Palmer et al "suggest that [endothelin-1] receptor antagonists, already licensed for treating other diseases, could be of benefit in [Alzheimer"s disease] therapies." Palmer JC, Baig S, Kehoe PG, Love S: Endothelin-Converting Enzyme-2 is Increased in Alzheimer"s Disease. Am J Pathol 2009, 174: 2672-2680 Angela Colmone American Journal of Pathology


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