Blood News and Research

RSS

Accumulation of fat in the liver linked to hypertension

The accumulation of fat in the liver, or "fatty liver," resulting from accumulation of central body fat, and perhaps not alcohol consumption, may represent an important underlying mechanism for the association between liver enzymes and hypertension.

3 Nov 2005

Vaccine that targets nicotine rather than the brain's reaction to it

Since smoking became popular in America in the 1930s, lung cancer rates have continued to climb. Today, it is still the leading cause of cancer-related deaths, with totals more than the other five leading cancers combined.

3 Nov 2005

Interferon combined with ribavirin treatment is effective for children with chronic Hepatitis C virus

Nearly half of 118 children with chronic Hepatitis C virus (HCV) treated with a combination of interferon-alpha-2b and an optimized dose of ribavirin achieved sustained viral response, and side effects were generally mild.

3 Nov 2005

Fundamental insight about protein evolution

While searching for new targets for malaria drugs and vaccines, a team including a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) medical student fellow reached a fundamental insight about evolution: different species make use of similar sets of proteins in different ways.

3 Nov 2005

New method to find deadly malaria parasite

Researchers at UCSD have discovered that the single-cell parasite responsible for an estimated 1 million deaths per year worldwide from malaria has protein "wiring" that differs markedly from the cellular circuitry of other higher organisms

3 Nov 2005

Shortness of breath can be a serious cardiac symptom

Now, researchers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center have found that patients with shortness of breath can have a higher risk of dying from cardiac disease than patients without symptoms, and even than patients with typical cardiac pain.

3 Nov 2005

DN-101 may protect against major side effects of chemotherapy

Men with advanced prostate cancer who take an experimental, high-dose vitamin D pill with chemotherapy live about eight months longer than those receiving chemotherapy and placebo, according to a new study.

3 Nov 2005

Calcitriol - promising chemopreventive agent that may prevent prostate cancer

The active metabolite of vitamin D, calcitriol, and other vitamin D analogs are promising chemopreventive agents that may prevent prostate cancer, according to a study presented today at the American Association for Cancer Research's 4th annual Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research meeting in Baltimore.

3 Nov 2005

Nearly one-fourth of all dialysis patients have a close relative on dialysis

Researchers at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, and others, report in the current online edition of the American Journal of Nephrology. The researchers suggest screening other relatives for undetected kidney disease.

3 Nov 2005

Diet high in soy does not increase the risk of uterine cancer in postmenopausal women

Cline said there has been much debate about whether high levels of dietary soy are safe for postmenopausal women. Soy products are sometimes sold as a natural alternative to traditional estrogen therapy, which does increase the risk of endometrial cancer.

3 Nov 2005

Combination of radiotherapy and a drug named S247 as a cure for cancer

Does a combination of radiation therapy and the inhibition of integrins (key molecules in angiogenesis) improve the chance of cure in cancer?

3 Nov 2005

Bird flu drug combo could extend supplies

Doctors are saying that because of the scarcity of Tamiflu, presently being stockpiled by governments in the event of an influenza pandemic, supplies could be extended by giving it with another drug.

2 Nov 2005

Drug giants join forces to develop gel for women in fight against AIDS

Giant American drug companies Merck and Bristol-Myers Squibb, have signed agreements to develop a treatment called a microbicide, a gel or a cream that women can use to protect themselves from AIDS.

2 Nov 2005

Ibuprofen and naproxen combined with aspirin increase risk of gastrointestinal complications

Patients who combine the common over-the counter pain medications ibuprofen and naproxen with aspirin have a risk of gastrointestinal complications including ulcers, perforations and bleeding that is two to three times greater than patients who take these medications but do not combine them with aspirin.

1 Nov 2005

Paclitaxel may help treat scleroderma

Using a novel model for scleroderma, researchers from Duke University Medical Center have discovered two important insights into this devastating disorder - the anti-cancer drug paclitaxel (Taxol) may prevent the skin thickening and small blood vessel destruction that characterizes the disease.

1 Nov 2005