Medical Research News

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New material effective in destroying drug-resistant fungi

Researchers at Singapore’s Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (IBN) and California’s IBM Research – Almaden (IBM) have discovered a new, potentially life-saving application for polyethylene terephthalate (PET), which is widely used to make plastic bottles.

9 Dec 2013

Findings support health impact assessments of fine particles in Europe

Prolonged exposure to tiny particles of soot or dust found in traffic fumes and industrial emissions may be more deadly below current European Union air quality limits than previously thought, according to new research examining two decades of data from over 360 000 residents of large cities in 13 European countries.

9 Dec 2013

Children with epilepsy at higher risk for mood and behavior disorders

Children with epilepsy are at high risk for depression, anxiety, and behavioral functioning disorders. Mood and behavior are known to change or improve in children following epilepsy surgery, but research is inconsistent concerning the extent of the change.

9 Dec 2013

Researchers identify central switch by which HDL controls inflammatory response

High-density lipoprotein, known colloquially as "good cholesterol", protects against dangerous deposits in the arteries. An important function of HDL is its anti-inflammatory properties. An international research team at the Institute of Innate Immunity at the University Hospital of Bonn and the LIMES Institute at the University of Bonn has identified a central switch by which HDL controls the inflammatory response. The results are presented in the current issue of "Nature Immunology".

9 Dec 2013

Malaria cases in the U.S. rising due to international travel, inadequate use of prevention methods

The number of malaria cases in the United States is rising, a trend that can be linked to the increasing amount of international travel and inadequate use of prevention methods.

9 Dec 2013

Researchers one step closer to development of drug-eluting contact lens for glaucoma treatment

For nearly half a century, contact lenses have been proposed as a means of ocular drug delivery that may someday replace eye drops, but achieving controlled drug release has been a significant challenge. Researchers at Massachusetts Eye and Ear/Harvard Medical School Department of Ophthalmology, Boston Children's Hospital, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are one step closer to an eye drop-free reality with the development of a drug-eluting contact lens designed for prolonged delivery of latanoprost, a common drug used for the treatment of glaucoma, the leading cause of irreversible blindness worldwide.

9 Dec 2013

Findings hold great promise for potential use of ELABELA as therapeutic molecule for heart diseases

Scientists at A*STAR's Institute of Medical Biology and Institute of Molecular and Cellular Biology have identified a gene encoding a hormone that could potentially be used as a therapeutic molecule to treat heart diseases. The hormone - which they have chosen to name ELABELA - is only 32 amino-acids long, making it amongst the tiniest proteins made by the human body.

9 Dec 2013

NYSCF, PersonalGenomes.org partner to identify genetic contributions to disease development

Today, the New York Stem Cell Foundation Research Institute and PersonalGenomes.org announced a partnership to identify genetic and environmental contributions to trait and disease development. Cell lines generated by NYSCF will complement genomic data and medical histories contributed by participants in the Harvard Personal Genome Project, creating a unique and powerful resource to help researchers identify causes of disease.

9 Dec 2013

New form of gene therapy shows promising outcomes for "bubble boy" disease

Researchers reported promising outcomes data for the first group of boys with X-linked severe combined immunodeficiency syndrome (SCID-X1), a fatal genetic immunodeficiency also known as "bubble boy" disease, who were treated as part of an international clinical study of a new form of gene therapy. The mechanism used to deliver the gene therapy is designed to prevent the serious complication of leukemia that arose a decade ago in a similar trial in Europe, when one-quarter of boys treated developed the blood cancer.

9 Dec 2013

UC Santa Barbara extends research contract with Army Research Laboratory

UC Santa Barbara's Institute for Collaborative Biotechnologies has received an extension of its contract with the U.S. Army Research Laboratory-Army Research Office, providing an additional $48 million over three years to support research that is inspired by biological systems. The continuation in ICB funding speaks to the success of a decade of fundamental research in the areas of biotechnology, chemistry, engineering, physics, materials science, computer science, neuroscience and medicine.

9 Dec 2013

Penn researchers identify protein that could clear Alzheimer's plaques

The body is structured to ensure that any invading organisms have a tough time reaching the brain, an organ obviously critical to survival. Known as the blood-brain barrier, cells that line the brain and spinal cord are tightly packed, making it difficult for anything besides very small molecules to cross from the bloodstream into the central nervous system. While beneficial, this blockade also stands in the way of delivering drugs intended to treat neurological disorders, such as Alzheimer's.

9 Dec 2013

New study presents promising results for treatment of multiple myeloma

A new study conducted by scientists from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute at Harvard Medical School, USA, and Karolinska Institutet, Sweden, presents very promising results for the treatment of the cancer form multiple myeloma. The drug candidate used in the research has been developed by scientists from Karolinska Institutet and a Swedish company following its initial identification at the same university. The findings are so promising that the scientists are teaming up with Harvard to bring the drug to clinical trials on patients.

9 Dec 2013

Genetically engineered cell therapies demonstrate early efficacy, safety in patients with blood disorders

A series of advancements in genetically engineered cell therapies demonstrate early efficacy and safety in patients with blood disorders for whom standard treatments have been unsuccessful, according to data showcased today during the 55th American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting and Exposition in New Orleans.

9 Dec 2013

Researchers uncover biological factor that may contribute to disparities in prostate cancer incidence

Researchers have uncovered a potential biological factor that may contribute to disparities in prostate cancer incidence and mortality between African-American and non-Hispanic white men in the United States, according to results presented here at the Sixth AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved, held Dec. 6-9.

9 Dec 2013

Research findings suggest possible novel strategies to prevent SUDEP

Patients with epilepsy and, in particular, those with severe syndromic forms of the disorder, harbor a risk of sudden unexplained death in epilepsy, or SUDEP. Cardiac arrhythmias are a proposed cause. In a test of this theory, researchers have demonstrated that mice harboring a human SCN1A gene mutation that results in Dravet Syndrome, a severe and intractable genetic epilepsy, have electrical disturbances in the heart that culminate in ventricular fibrillation and sudden cardiac death.

9 Dec 2013

Researchers assess direct out-of-pocket costs for couples undergoing fertility treatment

From drug therapy to IVF, out-of pocket costs can range from $900 to $19,000 per treatment cycle, report researchers in The Journal of Urology

9 Dec 2013

Prolonged febrile seizures can affect pediatric patients

A long-standing hypothesis holds that prolonged febrile (fever induced) seizures, the most common form of childhood convulsive status epilepticus, cause mesial temporal sclerosis. CSE is a single seizure, or two or more seizures between which consciousness is not regained, lasting for more than 30 minutes.

9 Dec 2013

NIST develops prototype calibration tools for experimental medical imaging technique

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has developed prototype calibration tools for an experimental medical imaging technique that offers new advantages in diagnosing and monitoring of certain cancers and possibly other medical conditions.

9 Dec 2013

$Management of refractory convulsive status epilepticus varies at different medical centers$

Management of refractory convulsive status epilepticus varies at different medical centers

The management of refractory convulsive status epilepticus varies at different medical centers and from patient to patient. Rapid success in aborting these non-stop seizures is crucial as the risk of neurological damage is high and, though rare, may result in death depending on seizure duration. By pooling data and analyzing current RCSE management practices, researchers representing a multicenter network of tertiary referral hospitals in the U.S. conducted a study that could lead to improved treatment outcomes for potentially life-threatening seizures.

9 Dec 2013

MRI-guided SLA surgery proves safe and shows adequate efficacy for seizure control

MRI-Guided Stereotactic Laser Ablation of the hippocampus to control seizures in people with temporal lobe epilepsy may result in seizure control that approaches that from anterior temporal lobectory or selective amygdalohippocampectomy and better cognitive outcomes than any of the standard open resections, according to a study presented at the American Epilepsy Society's 67th Annual Meeting in Washington DC.

9 Dec 2013

Medical Research News

New material effective in destroying drug-resistant fungi

Findings support health impact assessments of fine particles in Europe

Children with epilepsy at higher risk for mood and behavior disorders

Researchers identify central switch by which HDL controls inflammatory response

Malaria cases in the U.S. rising due to international travel, inadequate use of prevention methods

Researchers one step closer to development of drug-eluting contact lens for glaucoma treatment

Findings hold great promise for potential use of ELABELA as therapeutic molecule for heart diseases

NYSCF, PersonalGenomes.org partner to identify genetic contributions to disease development

New form of gene therapy shows promising outcomes for "bubble boy" disease

UC Santa Barbara extends research contract with Army Research Laboratory

Penn researchers identify protein that could clear Alzheimer's plaques

New study presents promising results for treatment of multiple myeloma

Genetically engineered cell therapies demonstrate early efficacy, safety in patients with blood disorders

Researchers uncover biological factor that may contribute to disparities in prostate cancer incidence

Research findings suggest possible novel strategies to prevent SUDEP

Researchers assess direct out-of-pocket costs for couples undergoing fertility treatment

Prolonged febrile seizures can affect pediatric patients

NIST develops prototype calibration tools for experimental medical imaging technique

Management of refractory convulsive status epilepticus varies at different medical centers

MRI-guided SLA surgery proves safe and shows adequate efficacy for seizure control

How can microdialysis benefit drug development

Global and Local Efforts to Take Action Against Hepatitis

Addressing Important Cardiac Biology Questions with Shotgun Top-Down Proteomics

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