Medical Research News

RSS

Metabolic and neurological disorders may share common risk factors

Metabolic disorders such as obesity and diabetes appear to share risk factors with and may influence the development of Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia, according to several reports published in the March issue of Archives of Neurology.

10 Mar 2009

Helium/oxygen mix helps lung patients breathe easier

New research published in the international journal Chest , by Neil Eves, PhD, finds that people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who breathed a mix of 60% helium and 40% oxygen during a rehabilitation program were able to exercise longer and harder than those who breathed normal air.

10 Mar 2009

Study looks at yoga and fear of falling in seniors

Indiana University researchers found promising results in an exploratory study involving yoga practice by older adults who expressed a fear of falling.

10 Mar 2009

BDNF gene shows promise as target for treating obesity

With obesity reaching epidemic levels, researchers at the Ohio State University Medical Center are studying a potentially long-term treatment that involves injecting a gene directly into one of the critical feeding and weight control centers of the brain.

10 Mar 2009

Relationship between depressive symptoms and cardiac events

New data published in the March 17, 2009, issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology suggest that relatively healthy women with severe depression are at increased risk of cardiac events, including sudden cardiac death (SCD) and fatal coronary heart disease (CHD).

10 Mar 2009

Air pollution and headaches

A new study shows that higher temperatures and lower barometric air pressure may lead to a higher, short-term risk of headaches, but air pollution may not have a significant effect on headache.

10 Mar 2009

Variants in DNA repairing genes may influence risk of Hodgkin disease

A new analysis has found that certain variations in genes that repair DNA can affect a person's risk of developing Hodgkin disease.

10 Mar 2009

Diabetes and elevated levels of cholesterol linked to faster cognitive decline in Alzheimer's patients

A history of diabetes and elevated levels of cholesterol, especially LDL cholesterol, are associated with faster cognitive decline in patients with Alzheimer's disease, according to a new study from Columbia University Medical Center researchers.

10 Mar 2009

Diabetes and elevated levels of cholesterol linked to cognitive decline in Alzheimer's

10 Mar 2009

Anger and hostility associated with higher risk for coronary heart disease

Anger and hostility are significantly associated with both a higher risk for coronary heart disease (CHD) in healthy individuals and poorer outcomes in patients with existing heart disease, according to the first quantitative review and meta-analysis of related studies, which appears in the March 17, 2009, issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

10 Mar 2009

Tools for more accurate dosage of drugs against HIV/AIDS and malaria

A doctoral thesis presented at the Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Sweden, shows that it is possible to describe and quantify the relationships between dose, concentration and effectiveness of several drugs against HIV/AIDS and malaria.

8 Mar 2009

Breakthrough improves effectiveness of tuberculosis vaccine

A breakthrough strategy to improve the effectiveness of the only tuberculosis vaccine approved for humans provided superior protection against the deadly disease in a pre-clinical test, report scientists at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston in Nature Medicine 's Advance Online Publication March 1.

8 Mar 2009

Synthetic biology extends anti-malaria drug artemisinin's effectiveness

In addition to providing a simple and much less expensive means of making artemisinin, the most powerful anti-malaria drug in use today, synthetic biology can also help to extend the effectiveness of this drug.

8 Mar 2009

Few physicians support private banking of umbilical cord blood

A survey of physicians has found broad support for the position that parents should not bank their newborns' umbilical cord blood in a private blood bank unless another member of the family is at risk for a blood disease that will require a stem cell transplant.

8 Mar 2009

Effective stem cell treatment for strokes a step closer

Effective stem cell treatment for strokes has taken a significant step forward today (09 March) as scientists reveal how they have replaced stroke-damaged brain tissue in rats.

8 Mar 2009

Scientists identify the neural circuitry of first impressions

Neuroscientists at New York University and Harvard University have identified the neural systems involved in forming first impressions of others.

8 Mar 2009

Advances in stem cell research

Scientists at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston are on the forefront of stem cell research, developing novel therapies designed to generate heart cells, repair traumatic lung injuries, grow new bone and stanch the spread of cancer cells.

8 Mar 2009