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UK's first 'beating heart' transplant a success

Surgeons in the UK have successfully kept a human heart alive and beating outside the body, before it was transplanted into a patient.

4 Jun 2006

How low should our cholesterol be and just how safe are statins?

Experts in Sweden are warning that the new U.S. recommendations for lowering cholesterol levels would increase the risk of harmful side effects with no overall reduction in deaths.

4 Jun 2006

Indonesian bird flu death toll now up to 37

Confirmation by the World Health Organization that a 15-year-old boy who died in West Java, Indonesia last week, was the latest bird flu victim, takes Indonesia's confirmed deaths from the virus to 37.

4 Jun 2006

Siblings deaths may indicate another bird flu cluster in Indonesia

According to an Indonesian health ministry official, a 7-year-old Indonesian girl who died last week has tested positive for bird flu in local tests; the results have yet to be confirmed by a World Health Organisation-accredited laboratory in Hong Kong.

4 Jun 2006

Pituitary adenoma predisposition caused by germline mutations in the AIP gene

A recent Finnish study identifies a low-penetrance gene defect which predisposes carriers to intracranial tumors called pituitary adenomas. In particular individuals carrying the gene defect are susceptible to such tumors which secrete growth hormone.

1 Jun 2006

Nepalese Rhesus monkeys may provide new alternative for HIV/AIDS research

Rhesus monkeys in Nepal may provide a suitable alternative to alleviate a critical shortage of laboratory animals used in work to develop vaccines against diseases such as HIV/AIDS.

1 Jun 2006

Costly IVIg could be replaced with synthetic blood product

Patients suffering from a life-threatening bleeding disorder are closer to having access to a more effective treatment.

1 Jun 2006

Monitoring anemia provides clues to prostate cancer treatment response

Researchers from the Oregon Health & Science University Cancer Institute and Southwest Oncology Group have identified a new method of determining how men with advanced prostate cancer will respond to treatment.

1 Jun 2006

Exposure to environmental estrogens during development of the prostate gland in the male fetus may lead to later prostate cancer risk

A study in the June 1 issue of Cancer Research presents the first evidence that exposure to low doses of environmental estrogens during development of the prostate gland in the male fetus may result in a predisposition to prostate cancer later in life.

1 Jun 2006

Blood pressure drugs associated with reduced risk of cancers

Thousands of individuals currently taking angiotension converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, a type of medication commonly used to lower blood pressure, may be doing more than treating their hypertension.

31 May 2006

Control your diabetes for life

The prevalence of diagnosed diabetes in U.S. adults age 20 and older has risen from about 5.1 percent to 6.5 percent.

31 May 2006

Baby boy in China born with three arms

A baby boy in China has been born with an unusually well-formed third arm and doctors are considering surgical options for him.

31 May 2006

What to do about bird flu

The latest deaths last week from bird flu in Indonesia have spread alarm across the globe that the world is on the brink of a pandemic.

30 May 2006

Exercise shown to have an anti-cancer effect

According to Australian researchers exercise appears to slow down the growth of cancer cells because it increases a protein that blocks cell growth and induces cell death.

30 May 2006

Working too much as bad as smoking for pregnant mums

New research says that pregnant women who work more than 32 hours a week in stressful jobs risk the health of their unborn child.

30 May 2006

COX-1 and COX-2 enzymes may be blocked by pain medications

COX-1 and COX-2 enzymes may be blocked by pain medications such as Advil and Vioxx in a more complex manner than was previously understood, a Queen's University study has found.

29 May 2006

Lowering blood pressure does not appear to prevent cognitive or dementia-related disorders

Lowering blood pressure does not appear to prevent cognitive or dementia-related disorders, a desired effect in light of the large number of elderly adults who suffer from both cognitive impairment and hypertension.

29 May 2006

Canadian researchers close in on new treatments for type 2 diabetes

Researchers funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and the Canadian Diabetes Association (CDA) have identified an unsuspected role of a protein named SHP-1 that could constitute a new therapeutic path against Type 2 Diabetes.

29 May 2006

WHO ships Tamiflu to Indonesia just in case

A Hong Kong laboratory officially recognized by the World Health Organisation (WHO) has confirmed the latest four cases of bird flu infection in humans in Indonesia.

29 May 2006

On the diabetes front the news is not good

According to newly published study more than 73 million Americans, one-third of the adult population either already have diabetes and don't even know they have it or are well on the way to getting it.

29 May 2006