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Scientists have discovered that two widely available prescription drugs restore partial cellular folding, trafficking, and function to a variety of mutant enzymes responsible for three distinct lysosomal storage diseases, maladies involving multiple organ system failure. This discovery may increase treatment options for inherited metabolic disease patients.

An unexpected finding turned out to be a clue leading researchers to propose a new treatment approach for Niemann-Pick disease, a rare, deadly neurodegenerative disorder. They believe the approach also could be useful for more common diseases -- such as cystic fibrosis -- that stem from a similar type of defect.

Women who smoke and have a specific genetic makeup are at significant risk for the development of breast cancer, according to a recent study. Researchers analyzed data from 10 of the 13 studies published in the last 10 years in which they evaluated genetic information, smoking habits and breast cancer risk in 4,889 premenopausal and 7,033 postmenopausal women.

A pair of researchers has answered a puzzle about why efforts to lower the transmission of dengue virus in Thailand have actually increased the severe, life-threatening, form of the infection. Lower transmission rates lead to increased risk of severe infection because of an immune system response.

Results of an early study suggest that dairy-free diets and unconventional food preferences could put boys with autism and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) at higher than normal risk for thinner, less dense bones when compared to a group of boys the same age who do not have autism. The researchers believe that boys with autism and ASD are at risk for poor bone development for a number of reasons. These factors are lack of exercise, a reluctance to eat a varied diet, lack of vitamin D, digestive problems, and diets that exclude casein, a protein found in milk and milk products.

Researchers have discovered that the mechanism that we rely on to transport iron safely through our blood can collapse into a state which grows long worm-like "fibrils" banded by lines of iron rust. This process could provide the first insight into how iron gets deposited in the brain to cause some forms of Parkinson's & Alzheimer's and Huntington's diseases.

Using two different endoscopes together is better than using one to stage lung cancer, and is also much more precise and less invasive than the surgical method now most commonly used. This new technique, which uses two small flexible tubes, one of which is inserted into a patient's esophagus to access lymph nodes in the back of the lungs while the other is placed into the trachea, or airway, to reach nodes at the front and sides, was 93 percent accurate in finding malignant lymph nodes in a group of 138 patients.

Less sleep can increase a child's risk of being overweight or obese.. A new analysis of epidemiological studies found that with each additional hour of sleep, the risk of a child being overweight or obese dropped by 9 percent.