Medical Research News

RSS

People with metabolic abnormalities more likely to develop kidney disease

Metabolic syndrome comprises a group of medical disorders that increase people's risk of diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and premature death when they occur together. A patient is diagnosed with the syndrome when he or she exhibits three or more of the following characteristics: high blood pressure, high blood sugar, excess body fat in the waist/abdomen, low good cholesterol, and higher levels of fatty acids.

19 Aug 2011

Scientists uncover how human egg captures sperm to begin fertilisation process

Researchers have uncovered exactly how a human egg captures an incoming sperm to begin the fertilisation process, in a new study published this week in the journal Science.

19 Aug 2011

Medical research funding boost in UK

Health researchers in Cambridge have been awarded £114.5m to develop and translate new scientific discoveries into medicines and treatments. The funds come as a part of a five-year £800m investment by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR).

18 Aug 2011

AHRQ awards Johns Hopkins Evidence-based Practice Center $475,000 for study on effective wound care

An estimated $25 billion is spent annually on treating chronic wounds on patients in the United States. These chronic wounds deeply affect the quality of life of more than six million people who have them. The most common types of chronic skin wounds and skin ulcers are related to venous disease (conditions related to or caused by veins that become diseased or abnormal).

18 Aug 2011

U.S. research collaboration addresses threat of cancer in Latin America

In a post in the State Department's "DipNote" blog, Krysten Carrera, a Presidential Management fellow at the National Cancer Institute currently serving in the Bureau of International Organization Affairs, discusses "the growing international effort to address the threat of chronic non-communicable diseases."

18 Aug 2011

Conference to expand awareness about benefits of human tissue research

When you have blood taken for a test or have tissue removed for a biopsy, it may be used for medical research. While there are clear benefits to such research, medical and health care professionals need to be aware of cultural and confidentiality concerns on the part of patients.

18 Aug 2011

New collaboration for development of new malaria vaccine

"The Infectious Disease Research Institute (IDRI) today announced a new Memorandum of Understanding with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), focused on support of a collaboration with the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR) for the development of a new vaccine against malaria," an IDRI press release states.

18 Aug 2011

Patients with SVT more likely to develop venous thromboembolism

Patients with clinically diagnosed superficial vein thrombosis (SVT), a blood clot in the veins just beneath the skin that commonly resolves on its own without treatment, are four to six times more likely to develop venous thromboembolism (VTE), a dangerous, often life-threatening condition, according to study results published today in Blood, the Journal of the American Society of Hematology.

18 Aug 2011

Alcohol before bed hampers sleep: Study

A new small-scale study showed the impact of drinking before going to bed on heart rate and sleep.

18 Aug 2011

Scientists turn drug-disease match makers

In a new medical breakthrough American researchers have devised a drug-disease matchmaking program that mines databases for potentially useful new treatment combinations and have actually turned up two so far, said a study on Wednesday.

18 Aug 2011

Researchers discover new mechanism that controls ageing in WBCs

Researchers funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) have discovered a new mechanism controlling ageing in white blood cells.

18 Aug 2011

Patients with diabetes, hypertension more likely to develop open-angle glaucoma

Many Americans suffer from diabetes and hypertension and, according to a study by researchers at the University of Michigan Kellogg Eye Center, these individuals may have an increased risk of developing open-angle glaucoma.

18 Aug 2011

New research: Sniffer dogs can reliably identify lung cancer

Sniffer dogs could be used for the early detection of lung cancer, according to new research published in the European Respiratory Journal.

18 Aug 2011

Radioiodine being overused in thyroid cancer: Study

According to the latest research the use of radioactive iodine to treat thyroid cancer increased 40 percent from 1990 to 2008 even though the risks may outweigh the benefits for some patients, particularly those with early-stage tumors.

17 Aug 2011

Inherited genetic links to prostate cancer discovered

Researchers from the U.S. and Sweden have linked five inherited genetic mutations to the development of a particularly aggressive and deadly form of prostate cancer. They suggest that these findings could someday lead to development of an easy-to-administer blood test to screen for such mutations to help physicians assess the long-term risk faced by newly diagnosed prostate cancer patients.

17 Aug 2011

Harmless bacteria re-engineered to fight a deadly strain

Scientists in Singapore have re-engineered a harmless strain of bacteria to fight another common, drug-resistant microbe that spreads in hospitals and is deadly to patients with weak immune systems.

17 Aug 2011

Just 15 minutes of exercise per day prolongs life

Taiwanese researchers reported Monday in the journal The Lancet that exercising for just 15 minutes most days of the week appears to provide health benefits by prolonging life.

17 Aug 2011

Addiction – a brain disorder say experts

According to the American Society of Addiction Medicine, addiction is a chronic brain disorder like any other chronic brain disease such as obsessive-compulsive disorder and body dysmorphic disorder. Neurological abnormalities like disruptions in neurotransmission and the reward system drive addiction, the group said in a statement.

17 Aug 2011

The Washington Post explores comparative effectiveness research

American medical care is rife with such treatments, whose usefulness is uncertain not just to the doctors who deliver them but also to the patients who receive them. These days, however, many people are pinning their hopes on "comparative effectiveness research" as way to solve the dilemma of how best to treat this and hundreds of other common problems in day-to-day medicine.

17 Aug 2011

UC Riverside research could help prevent crop loss, pest outbreaks

New research by scientists at the University of California, Riverside shows that evolution - genetic changes in populations over time - can occur so rapidly in organisms that its impact on population numbers and other aspects of biology can be seen within just a few generations.

17 Aug 2011