A study published in the journal Nature Medicine suggests a potential new treatment for the seizures that often plague children with genetic metabolic disorders and individuals undergoing liver failure. The discovery hinges on a new understanding of the complex molecular chain reaction that occurs when the brain is exposed to too much ammonia.

One in ten of the world's population will have diabetes by 2035 according to the International Diabetes Federation (IDF). The latest edition IDF Diabetes Atlas, published today on World Diabetes Day, estimates that people living with diabetes will surge from 382 million to 59 2 million people by 2035, many in low and middle income countries and the majority under 60. This surge will form the backdrop of the World Diabetes Congress (#WDC2013) in Melbourne, Australia this December.

Some vegetable oils that claim to be healthy may actually increase the risk of heart disease, and Health Canada should reconsider cholesterol-lowering claims on food labelling, states an analysis in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). Replacing saturated animal fats with polyunsaturated vegetable oils has become common practice because they can reduce serum cholesterol levels and help prevent heart disease.

A collaboration among researchers in Israel and the United States has resulted in the discovery of a new pathway that has broad implications for treating allergic diseases - particularly eosinophil-associated disorders. The researchers from Tel Aviv University and Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center have discovered how this pathway kills eosinophils before they can cause havoc.

The most frequently mutated gene across all types of cancers is a gene called p53. Unfortunately it has been difficult to directly target this gene with drugs. Now a multi-institutional research team, led by Dr. Lewis Cantley and investigators at Weill Cornell Medical College, has identified a family of enzymes they say is crucial for the growth of cancers that have genetic aberrations in p53.

Results from a recent preclinical study have shown that a new drug combination therapy being developed at Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center effectively killed colon, liver, lung, kidney, breast and brain cancer cells while having little effect on noncancerous cells. The results lay the foundation for researchers to plan a future phase 1 clinical trial to test the safety of the therapy in a small group of patients.

The stop and start of blood flow to the heart during and after a heart attack causes severe damage to heart cells, reducing their capacity to function and potentially causing their death. But a recent study led by researchers at Temple University School of Medicine suggests that it is possible to limit the extent of that damage using a drug. In experiments in mice that recapitulated a human clinical scenario, they discovered that inhibition of a heart protein called TNNI3K reduced damage from heart attack and protected the heart from further injury.