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Patients with H1N1 flu die due to over-reactive immune response: Research

On November 19, Jason Martin returned to the Medical Intensive Care Unit at Vanderbilt University Medical Center for the first time since he nearly died there during last year's H1N1 flu pandemic. The tall and burly Warren County, TN, ambulance worker - a 30-year-old, father of three young children - broke down and hugged some of the nurses he recognized.

6 Dec 2010

Seasonal light cycles can affect development of babies' specific brain function: Study

The season in which babies are born can have a dramatic and persistent effect on how their biological clocks function.

6 Dec 2010

Researchers adapt gene chip microarray technology to study glycans

Sugar molecules coat every cell in our bodies and play critical roles in development and disease, yet the components of these "glycans" have been difficult for scientists to study, because of their complexity.

6 Dec 2010

Quit smoking to lift mood: Study

The latest research has shown that quitting smoking not only helps ease depression, but also increases the level of happiness. Researchers at Brown University studied 236 men and women in total who were trying to quite smoking. They looked at physical as well as mental impact of kicking the habit on these people.

5 Dec 2010

New drug for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma shows promise

Genentech Inc., now part of Swiss drug developer Roche, and Biogen Idec Inc. on Sunday have announced positive and encouraging results from a clinical study of cancer drug Rituxan in patients with advanced type of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. An estimated 65,540 people in the US were diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma this year, and follicular lymphoma accounts for about 15 to 20 percent of those cases. The disease can occur at any time during adulthood, though people are typically diagnosed during their 50s and 60s.

5 Dec 2010

Multiple sclerosis therapy breakthrough with stem cells

There seems to a glimmer of hope for tens of thousands of multiple sclerosis sufferers as researchers discover a way to repair damaged nerves with stem cells. The British team says their findings could lead to the development of drugs that repair nerves in the brain and spinal cord and potentially reverse some of the symptoms of MS.

5 Dec 2010

Seven studies on Oncotype DX breast cancer test to be presented at 33rd CTRC-AACR SABCS

Genomic Health, Inc. today announced that the company will present results from seven studies at the 33rd Annual CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS), taking place December 8-12, 2010 at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center.

4 Dec 2010

Study reveals higher mortality rate among veteran status epilepticus patients

Status epilepticus (SE) is a true medical and neurologic emergency. To better understand the causes, treatment approaches and associated outcomes among SE patients, investigators at the Veterans Affairs Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System retrospectively reviewed all SE cases treated within their system over an eight year period.

4 Dec 2010

Increase in suicide rates underestimated

Ian Rockett, Ph.D, M.P.H., professor of epidemiology and associate chair of the West Virginia University Department of Community Medicine, isn't buying the story the suicide numbers are telling.

4 Dec 2010

Chaperone protein study could lead to effective therapies for Alzheimer's, neurological disorders

Dynamic regulation of the chaperone protein Hsp27 was required to get rid of abnormally accumulating tau in the brains of mice genetically modified to develop the memory-choking tau tangles associated with Alzheimer's disease, a University of South Florida-led study found.

4 Dec 2010

MDS Foundation: Significant advances made in understanding, treating MDS, AML

The Myelodysplastic Syndromes Foundation today said significant advances are being made in understanding and treating MDS and a related condition, AML (acute myeloid leukemia). Key studies being presented this week include data on new markers and genetic mutations to predict susceptibility to MDS and response to treatment.

4 Dec 2010

Event reporting prevents medication errors in primary care: Study

The most frequent contributors to medication errors and adverse drug events in busy primary care practice offices are communication problems and lack of knowledge, according to a study of a prototype web-based medication error and adverse drug event reporting system.

4 Dec 2010

IDRI receives $790,200 BARDA grant to develop pandemic flu vaccine

The Infectious Disease Research Institute (IDRI) today announced it has received a $790,200 grant from the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), part of the US Department of Health and Human Services. The grant enables technology transfer between IDRI and the Cantacuzino National Institute of Research and Development for Microbiology and Immunology (Bucharest, Romania), with the goal of producing a pandemic flu vaccine.

4 Dec 2010

New standard treatment for early stage breast cancer

Spanish Oncology has established a new standard treatment for Breast Cancer at early stages thanks to the results of the study 9805/Target 0 funded by Spanish Breast Cancer Research Group and sponsored by Sanofi Aventis.

4 Dec 2010

BRI enters 3-year partnership with Roche to develop human immunology programs

Baylor Research Institute (BRI), the research arm of Baylor Health Care System, announced that it has formed a three-year partnership with Roche to jointly develop programs emerging from the human immunology platforms developed at the Baylor Institute for Immunology Research (BIIR), a component of BRI.

4 Dec 2010

Review shows need for standardized approach to outcome assessment in breast reconstruction

Improved standards for outcome reporting in breast reconstruction are needed, according to a review published online December 3rd in The Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

4 Dec 2010

Gene mutation can lead to different mental illnesses when influenced by same environmental factor

Male mice born with a genetic mutation that's believed to make humans more susceptible to schizophrenia develop behaviors that mimic other major psychiatric illnesses when their mothers are exposed to an assault to the immune system while pregnant, according to new Johns Hopkins research.

4 Dec 2010

Electronic cigarettes are potentially harmful, researchers say

Electronic cigarettes (or e-cigarettes), also called "electronic nicotine delivery systems," are increasingly used worldwide even though only sparse information is available on their health effects. In the United States, e-cigarettes are readily available in shopping malls in most states and on the Internet.

4 Dec 2010

International project on equitable distribution of health resources and priorities within global health

Researchers in Bergen and Seattle will join forces in a project on the equitable distribution of health resources and priorities within global health. The agreement was signed during this year's Transatlantic Science Week held in Washington, D.C. in October.

3 Dec 2010

Mothers exposure to farm animals and cats during pregnancy lowers risk of atopic dermatitis in children

Children whose mothers are exposed to farm animals and cats are better protected against atopic dermatitis and are less likely to develop this painful inflammation of the skin in their first two years of life. A group of researchers from the University of Zurich and other universities have published evidence supporting this theory in the Journal of Allergy & Clinical Immunology.

3 Dec 2010