Experimental Biology, April 28 - May 2, 2007

Experimental Biology 2007

The Experimental Biology 2007 meeting took place in Washington, D.C., on April 28-May 2, 2007. The six societies that sponsored the annual meeting offered up their own programming, which encompassed everything from the use of bioengineering to create replacement tissues for the heart, eye, skin and other organs to the health effects of coffee and the neuropathology and genetics of Parkinsonism.

"The theme of this year's meeting was 'Today's Research: Tomorrow's Health,'" said Martin Frank, Ph.D., of the American Physiological Society in Bethesda, Md.

"The important thing about the meeting is that it is a broad scientific meeting covering lots of areas and it really stresses the importance of basic science in developing new treatments," he said.

To that end, Frances M. Ashcroft, of Oxford University in the U.K., gave a talk on how ion channel malfunction can result in permanent neonatal diabetes. "Their discovery produced dramatic changes in the lives of children born with the disease," he said. "As a result of their research, these children have been able to switch from daily insulin injections to a daily pill, transforming both their lives and that of their parents."

The research began close to 20 years ago. "It is really amazing how these young kids who have been on insulin their whole lives and had developmental disturbances were able to begin prospering once they were given the chemical." For this work, Ashcroft received the American Physiological Society's most prestigious honor, the Walter B. Cannon Award, at the meeting.

"I think it is very important to recognize that basic science is the stepping stone to developing treatments and that is something that elected officials fail to recognize," he said. "Research takes time."

The emerging field of pharmacogenomics generated lots of buzz at this year's meeting, said Jim Bernstein of the American Society for Investigative Pathology in Bethesda, Md.

"The pharmacogenomics symposium was terrific, very informative and pretty cutting edge," he said. In particular, David Goldstein of Duke University in Durham, N.C., spoke on the future of anti-hypertensive pharmacogenetics. "This was a really terrific lecture," he said.

"The whole field of pharmacogenomics is so multi-disciplinary and it contributes to so much leading research in so many fields," he added.

Overall, "Experimental Biology 2007 had a nice turn out," he said. "This meeting always attracts great programming because it encompasses many broad areas."

In addition to the American Physiological Society and American Society for Investigative Pathology, the other sponsoring societies were the American Association of Anatomists, the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, the American Society for Nutrition, Inc., and the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics.

ExpBio: Compound May Help Polycystic Kidney Disease

THURSDAY, May 3 (HealthDay News) -- Triptolide, a compound derived from a Chinese herb called Lei Gong Teng, may one day help block the formation of kidney-destroying cysts in patients with polycystic kidney disease, according to the results of a study in mice presented this week at Experimental Biology 2007 in Washington, D.C.

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ExpBio: Dietary Calcium May Affect Brain Lesion Volume

THURSDAY, May 3 (HealthDay News) -- Among older adults, those with high dietary intakes of calcium and vitamin D have greater brain lesion volumes than those with lower intakes, which may increase the risk of cognitive impairment, dementia, depression and stroke, according to research presented this week at the Experimental Biology 2007 conference in Washington, D.C.

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ExpBio: Rotator-Cuff Injuries Respond to Weight Training

WEDNESDAY, May 2 (HealthDay News) -- Free-weight resistance training can help rehabilitate workers whose rotator-cuff injuries have not responded to surgery and conventional physical therapy, according to research presented this week at the Experimental Biology 2007 conference in Washington, D.C.

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ExpBio: Blocked Bile Duct May Spur Cholangiocarcinoma

WEDNESDAY, May 2 (HealthDay News) -- Bile duct obstruction may hasten the spread of ductal cancer to the liver and other body tissues, according to research presented this week at the Experimental Biology 2007 conference in Washington, D.C.

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ExpBio: Green Tea Compound Fights Rheumatoid Arthritis

TUESDAY, May 1 (HealthDay News) -- A compound in green tea -- epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) -- may inhibit joint destruction in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, according to an in vitro study presented this week at the Experimental Biology 2007 conference in Washington, D.C.

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ExpBio: Injured Runners Can Retrain Using Biofeedback

TUESDAY, May 1 (HealthDay News) -- Injured runners can be successfully and quickly retrained using biofeedback to change their gait, according to results of two ongoing studies presented at the Experimental Biology 2007 meeting in Washington, D.C.

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