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Los Angeles County Health Department confirms third West Nile virus victim

Los Angeles County Department of Health Services is reporting a death from locally acquired West Nile Virus. The victim is a 62-year-old male from the eastern region of the county who passed away last week.

23 Aug 2004

Genmab's HuMax-CD4 receives U.S. orphan drug designation

Genmab has announced that HuMax-CD4 for the treatment of Mycosis Fungoides (MF), which constitutes 75% of all Cutaneous T-cell Lymphomas (CTCL), has been designated an orphan drug by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The US prevalence of MF is estimated at 16,000 to 20,000.

23 Aug 2004

Clearing toxins in the brains of Alzheimer's patients can stave off future reductions in cognitive abilities

The ever-slowing capacity to clear the build-up of such toxins as isoprostanes and misfolded proteins that accumulate in the brains of Alzheimer's disease patients causes the death of cells involved in memory and language.

23 Aug 2004

Scientists have developed the first mouse model Werner’s syndrome

Scientists have developed the first mouse model of a rare disease in which people age rapidly and start developing cancers and other diseases associated with the elderly when they are only about 30 years old.

20 Aug 2004

First probable human case of West Nile virus infection in Indiana

Indianpolis State health officials report that a Benton County resident is the first probable human case of West Nile virus infection in Indiana this year.

20 Aug 2004

Researchers find important gene for lupus

Researchers at the University of Minnesota have identified, for the first time, a gene variation associated with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), a potentially fatal disease which causes the body's defence system to attack itself.

18 Aug 2004

New link between a specific protein and its role in determining how cancerous cells divide

Biology researchers at Rutgers-Newark have identified a new link between a specific protein and its role in determining how cancerous cells divide, spread and form new tumors in other parts of the human body.

18 Aug 2004

Research will lead to better treatments for mastocytosis

Tens of millions of people know what it's like to suffer the seasonal torment of allergies, when just a whiff of pollen, mold or dust can set off a chain reaction in the body that causes sniffling, sneezing and coughing.

18 Aug 2004

Exposure to natural and man-made substances in the environment accounts for at least two-thirds of all the cases of cancer in the U.S.

These environmental factors include lifestyle choices like cigarette smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, poor diet, lack of exercise and excessive sunlight exposure. Other factors include exposure to certain medical drugs, hormones, radiation, viruses, bacteria, and chemicals that may be present in the air, water, food and workplace.

18 Aug 2004

Scientists have successfully filmed individual cells migrating within a functioning lymph node

The researchers hope to gain a deeper understanding of how our immune system functions from their detailed study of lymph node processes.

17 Aug 2004

Nasal cream effective in reducing the symptoms of allergic rhinitis

A nasal cream applied to the inside of the nose appears effective in reducing the symptoms of allergic rhinitis, according to an article in the August issue of The Archives of Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery.

16 Aug 2004

Cell biologists may have discovered a new effective therapy for psoriasis

About two million Germans suffer from psoriasis (from the Greek psora meaning ‘itching, scratching’). In this incurable disease the regeneration of the epidermis is speeded up enormously: whereas it normally renews itself in just under four weeks, this period is cut to four to seven days in psoriasis patients.

16 Aug 2004

Revolutionary new test for identifying people infected with tuberculosis

The test – named T SPOT-TB – is designed to replace the century old skin test for TB, which is currently given to 600,000 UK schoolchildren every year. The test comes from discoveries made over the last 10 years at the University of Oxford by Dr Aljit Lalvani and collaborators at the Nuffield Department of Medicine.

16 Aug 2004

New imaging technique may help cystic fibrosis sufferers

Now, Jefferson Lab scientists have used their expertise to build a small animal medical imager that's helping researchers develop a new gene therapy technique for cystic fibrosis.

15 Aug 2004

Children who have severe allergic reactions when stung by bees should receive venom immunotherapy

Children who have severe allergic reactions when stung by bees, wasps and other insects should receive venom immunotherapy, or allergy shots, to reduce the chance of future life-threatening reactions if a repeat sting should occur, said an allergist at UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas.

11 Aug 2004

One in five children who had allergic reactions when stung by a bee as a child are likely to have reactions later in life

Although the majority of children outgrow allergies to bee, wasp and other insect stings, almost one in five who had allergic reactions when stung as children - especially those who had serious allergic reactions - are likely to have reactions later in life, according to a study by Johns Hopkins scientists.

11 Aug 2004

Vaccine trial shows promising results for streptococcal infection protection

A study published in the current issue of JAMA reports that a streptococcal vaccine trial has shown promising results for protection against streptococcal infections.

11 Aug 2004

First licence for therapeutic cloning

Britain's Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority has granted the first licence to create human embryonic stem cells using cell nuclear transfer – a technique also known as therapeutic cloning.

11 Aug 2004

Death from locally acquired West Nile Virus within Los Angeles County

Laboratory tests confirmed the presence of WNV antibodies in a 91-year-old San Fernando Valley resident who passed away late last week. This is the third reported death for WNV in California and the first for Los Angeles County.

11 Aug 2004

WHO tackles the parasitic disease Leishmaniasis in Afghanistan

A rapid intervention by the World Health Organization and its partners, the Massoud Foundation and HealthNet International, in Kabul, Afghanistan, made possible by a donation from the Belgian government, should dramatically reduce the incidence of leishmaniasis in less than two years.

10 Aug 2004