Attention, chocolate lovers: You may not be able to help yourselves. Swiss and British scientists have linked the widespread love of chocolate to a chemical "signature" that may be programmed into our metabolic systems.
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Enzyme may help arthritis
ST. LOUIS, Jun 24, 2005 (United Press International via COMTEX) -- St. Louis scientists have found a new role for an enzyme that may make it a target for anti-inflammatory treatments and help in arthritis.
Research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis shows the enzyme cathepsin G regulates the ability of immune cells known as neutrophils to secrete chemicals that attract other immune cells and start the local inflammatory process. Over time, the excessive accumulation of immune cells can lead to tissue and cartilage damage in joints, causing pain and limiting mobility.
"Cathepsin G affects a very early step in this kind of immune response, so inhibiting it has attractive potential for developers of therapeutics," says senior author Dr. Christine T.N. Pham, assistant professor of medicine and a rheumatologist at Barnes-Jewish Hospital.
The findings are published in Immunity.