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New rapid diagnostic tests for Neisseria meningitidis

Over a million people each year, most of them in the "meningitis belt" in Africa, contract bacterial meningitis, a potentially deadly infection of tissues that line the brain and spinal cord.

4 Sep 2006

Mood swings and depression appear to be related to cardiovascular disease

Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and affective disorders are both very prevalent in the general population.

1 Sep 2006

Prenatal diagnostic tests have low risk of miscarriage

Pregnant women who seek prenatal diagnostic testing to identify genetic or chromosomal abnormalities have a lower risk of miscarriage than previously believed, according to a UCSF study.

31 Aug 2006

Largest review of Loeys-Dietz syndrome to date

At least three severe, potentially fatal genetic diseases leave patients with aortas so flimsy that they can rupture in pregnancy and labor or even lesser activities, often without warning.

31 Aug 2006

NIH seeks input on proposed repository for genetic information

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is seeking public input on a proposed new policy designed to facilitate the research community's access to data resulting from NIH-funded, genome-wide association studies.

30 Aug 2006

Preoperative Functional MR Imaging localization of language and motor areas

By pinpointing the motor and language areas of the brain with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), surgeons can target brain tumors more effectively while reducing the risk of damaging important cognitive and motor processes.

30 Aug 2006

The public face of mental illness

Both the tabloid and the broadsheet press have consistently given disproportionate and sensationalized coverage to psychotic illnesses such as schizophrenia, often linking them to serious crime.

30 Aug 2006

New microchip enables quick diagnosis of flu strains

Scientists from the University of Colorado at Boulder and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have developed a microchip-based test that may allow more labs to diagnose influenza infections and learn more about the viruses causing illness.

30 Aug 2006

Procedures for obtaining release of H5N1 sequences to the public domain

Information on the gene sequences of H5N1 viruses is important for vaccine development, the preparation of reagents used for diagnostic purposes, and monitoring for drug-resistant strains.

24 Aug 2006

BMI unreliable when assessing obesity and risk of heart disease

According to doctors in the United States the standard measure of obesity, the Body Mass Index (BMI), is badly flawed and may not be such an accurate indicator as it lumps muscle and fat into one category.

21 Aug 2006

$1M Myers Fellowship brings US research techniques to Melbourne

The Howard Florey Institute's inaugural Allan and Maria Myers Travel Fellowship has been awarded to world renowned neuroscientist, Prof Gerard Shaw, from the McKnight Brain Institute, University of Florida College of Medicine.

20 Aug 2006

Chagas' disease needs more research attention

The international research community needs to focus more attention on Chagas' disease - an infectious disease that kills 50,000 people a year, states an Editorial in this week's special cardiology issue of The Lancet.

17 Aug 2006

H5 and N1 avian influenza found in two samples from wild mute swans in Michigan

The U.S. Departments of Agriculture and Interior has announced that routine surveillance has indicated the presence of H5 and N1 avian influenza subtypes in samples from two wild mute swans in Michigan.

17 Aug 2006

Intensified action needed to halt a quarter of a million TB/HIV deaths a year of people living with AIDS

Leading HIV experts today called on the global HIV community to intensify collaboration on tuberculosis control, to prevent the deaths of a quarter of a million people living with HIV (PLHIV) a year.

17 Aug 2006

The role of transurethral resection of the prostate and biopsy of the peripheral zone after pepeated negative biopsies in the diagnosis of prostate cancer examined

Persistent suspicion of prostate cancer despite repeated negative prostate biopsies is a common problem in urologic practice.

15 Aug 2006

Boston Life Sciences announces issuance of U.S. patent for methods to diagnose ADHD

Boston Life Sciences has announced that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued a patent to the President and Fellows of Harvard College, the General Hospital Corporation and Organix that covers methods of diagnosing and monitoring attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) by assessing the level of dopamine transporter (DAT) in at least one region of a patient's central nervous system.

14 Aug 2006

USDA, DOI and state partners begin monitoring wild migratory birds in lower 48 states

Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns and Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne today announced that their departments are expanding wild bird monitoring for highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza.

9 Aug 2006

Radioactive treatment can set off security alarms

According to a new case report patients receiving radioactive isotopes should be warned that they may trigger radiation alarms for several weeks after the treatment has been completed.

7 Aug 2006

Almost half of kids with ADHD are not being treated

In contrast to claims that children are being overmedicated for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), a team of researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has found that a high percentage of kids with ADHD are not receiving treatment.

4 Aug 2006

Diagnosis and referrals for kidney disease fall well short of need

Results of a national study of 304 U.S. physicians, in which "mock" patients' symptoms were presented for diagnosis, suggest that a sizeable percentage of primary care doctors probably fail to properly diagnose and refer patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD).

3 Aug 2006