Medical Research News

RSS

Many gene variants affect person's response to medication

In recent decades much hope was based on the development of personalised drug treatments, in which genetic tests determine the choice and optimal dose of medication for each individual patient. However, the real breakthrough is still to be seen, and now researchers at Karolinska Institutet show in two separate scientific papers that many more gene variants affect how a person responds to medication than previously thought - and thus that today's analytical tools are too coarse.

16 Dec 2015

Study highlights strong need for weight management before menopause

At midlife, overweight and obesity, lack of exercise, less education, and low income put women at much higher risk of having metabolic syndrome, the cluster of conditions predisposes people to diabetes and heart disease, shows a large study published today in Menopause, the journal of The North American Menopause Society.

16 Dec 2015

New study finds a reason for ethnic disparity in CF diagnoses

Cystic fibrosis (CF) occurs less frequently in nonwhites than in whites, and nonwhites tend to be diagnosed at a later age. This late diagnosis often comes only once they have become symptomatic, rather than through newborn screening programs or molecular diagnostic testing.

16 Dec 2015

Children from low income environments experience higher risk of neurological impairment

Children from low income environments appear to have a higher risk of neurological impairment than those from more economically secure circumstances, according to researchers at the National Institutes of Health and other institutions. This neurological impairment appears to be distinct from the risk of cognitive and emotional delays known to accompany early-life poverty.

16 Dec 2015

Study paves way for development of novel cancer therapeutics

A team of scientists, comprising researchers from the Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, a research institute under the Agency for Science, Technology and Research, Singapore, and the VIB Laboratory of Molecular Cancer Biology, has revealed the mechanism by which tumor cells elevate levels of MDM4, a protein that is highly expressed in cancer cells but not in normal adult tissues.

16 Dec 2015

Soap and water less effective than saline water for cleaning wounds

Many scientific advances have been made in the delivery of care and infection prevention for open fractures, but the standard practice of wound cleaning with soap and water before surgery has remained unchanged.

16 Dec 2015

Study provides insight into design, production of today's functional beverages

Adding calcium, Vitamin D and prebiotic dietary fibre to a beverage made of whey can have huge health benefits for those who drink it, team of Lithuanian scientists has discovered.

16 Dec 2015

Diseases that cause skin-related problems can also trigger serious neurological conditions

Diseases such as lupus that cause rashes and other skin problems also can trigger migraine headaches, strokes and other serious neurological conditions, according to an article by Loyola University Medical Center physicians.

16 Dec 2015

High testosterone levels in women may increase uterine fibroid risk

Women who have high levels of both testosterone and estrogen in midlife may face a greater risk of developing benign tumors on the uterus called uterine fibroids than women with low levels of the hormones, according to a new study published in the Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

16 Dec 2015

Teens separated from fathers more likely to experience depressive symptoms

Family breakdown and the insecure financial situation that may result is more likely to cause worry, anxiety and depressive symptoms in adolescents who are separated from their father, says Professor Jennifer O'Loughlin of the University of Montreal. However, these symptoms can disappear in the nine-month period following the separation. O'Loughlin came to these conclusions after conducting a study that was recently published in the Canadian Journal of Psychiatry.

16 Dec 2015

Major clinical trial launched to test ways to slow or halt mental decline in seniors

Some decline in memory and cognitive function is a normal part of aging, but what if it could be prevented? Researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and Washington University in St. Louis have launched a major clinical trial to investigate whether mental decline in seniors can be slowed or halted through exercise and other health-related interventions.

16 Dec 2015

Study points to future treatment for post-stroke damage

A study of rats released today shows that blocking a type of RNA produced by what used to be called "junk DNA" can prevent a significant portion of the neural destruction that follows a stroke. The research points toward a future treatment for post-stroke damage, which is often more extensive than the initial destruction that results when blood to the brain is temporarily shut off.

16 Dec 2015

Researchers successfully test parent-led autism therapy in India and Pakistan

In a world first, clinical researchers from the Universities of Manchester and Liverpool have collaborated with colleagues in south Asia to adapt a parent-led autism therapy and successfully tested it in India and Pakistan, with the aim of improving treatment for an estimated 5 million children in the region with the disorder.

16 Dec 2015

Carbohydrates boost endurance sports performance

Carbohydrates are the body's main energy source during high-intensity, prolonged running, a new study published in Journal of Applied Physiology reports.

16 Dec 2015

Brain regions cause PTSD patients to generalize non-threatening events

Regions of the brain function differently among people with post-traumatic stress disorder, causing them to generalize non-threatening events as if they were the original trauma, according to new research from Duke Medicine and the Durham VA Medical Center.

16 Dec 2015

Study finds decrease in newly registered NIH-funded trials compared to industry-funded trials

From 2006 through 2014, there was a decrease in newly registered NIH-funded trials, whereas industry-funded trials increased substantially, based on trials registered in ClinicalTrials.gov. The study appears in the December 15 issue of JAMA.

16 Dec 2015

Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation does not provide improvement for patients with Crohn disease

Among adults with difficult to treat Crohn disease not amenable to surgery, hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, compared with conventional therapy, did not result in significant improvement in sustained disease remission at l year and was associated with significant toxicity, according to a study in the December 15 issue of JAMA.

16 Dec 2015

Use of tumor-treating fields along with chemotherapy improves survival in patients with brain tumor

Early research indicates that the use of tumor-treating fields, a type of electromagnetic field therapy, along with chemotherapy in patients with a brain tumor who had completed standard chemoradiation resulted in prolonged progression-free and overall survival, according to a study in the December 15 issue of JAMA.

16 Dec 2015

Human-gut-on-a-chip model offers hope for patients suffering from IBD

It's estimated that as many as 1,000,000 Americans suffer from inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), such as ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease, which cause mild to severe symptoms that at best can be managed and at worst can lead to life-threatening complications.

16 Dec 2015

CTE can be diagnosed by neuropathological examination of brain tissue

For the first time, CTE has been confirmed as a unique disease that can be definitively diagnosed by neuropathological examination of brain tissue. A consensus panel of expert neuropathologists concluded that CTE has a pathognomonic signature in the brain, an advance that represents a milestone for CTE research and lays the foundation for future studies defining the clinical symptoms, genetic risk factors and therapeutic strategies for CTE.

16 Dec 2015