Medical Research News

RSS

Sleep promotes lasting changes in memory for emotional scenes

According to a research abstract presented at SLEEP 2009, the 23rd Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies, sleep selectively preservers memories that are emotionally salient and relevant to future goals when sleep follows soon after learning. Effects persist for as long as four months after the memory is created.

12 Jun 2009

Male ‘baby boomers’ face lonely retirement

According to new study by Australian researchers men are better at saving money for their retirement - but often have no idea how to spend it.

12 Jun 2009

Tai Chi helps those chronic aches and pains

A new analysis by Australian researchers has revealed that Tai Chi helps fight chronic aches and pains.

12 Jun 2009

Study reveals publics’ ignorance of anatomy

A study of patients and members of the public has shown that most lack even basic knowledge of human anatomy. The research, featured in the open access journal BMC Family Practice, found that people were generally incapable of identifying the location of major organs, even if they were currently receiving relevant treatment.

11 Jun 2009

‘Designer molecules’ being developed to fight disease

Researchers in the Department of Cardiovascular Sciences at the University of Leicester are developing a new way to make protein based drugs with potential applications in stroke, vascular inflammation, blood vessel formation, regenerative medicine and tissue engineering.

11 Jun 2009

Factors linked to failure of corneal transplants

Certain eye conditions appear to put patients at greater risk for having a failed cornea transplant, according the Cornea Donor Study (CDS), a multi-center clinical trial conducted by the National Eye Institute. The study concludes that patients with glaucoma and patients who had corneal swelling following an earlier cataract surgery were more likely to experience failure of the cornea transplant than were other patients in the study.

11 Jun 2009

Yeast 'DNA damage sensor' provides chemotherapy resistance clue

Cancer Research UK scientists have been part of an international collaboration that has revealed the structure of a protein found in simple yeast cells and shown how it flags up damaged DNA for repair. The results of their study are published in Nature*. The finding may provide clues as to how some cancer cells become resistant to certain chemotherapy drugs.

11 Jun 2009

Researchers discover how prion protein damages brain cells

Scientists at the National Institutes of Health have gained a major insight into how the rogue protein responsible for mad cow disease and related neurological illnesses destroys healthy brain tissue.

11 Jun 2009

Discovery of four new breast cancer targets

Four suspects often found at the scene of the crime in cancer are guilty of the initiation and progression of breast cancer in mice that are resistant to the disease, a team led by scientists at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center reports in the June edition of Cancer Cell.

10 Jun 2009

Discovery of new appetite suppressant - potential anti-obesity treatment

Researchers at Imperial College London have identified a new appetite suppressant for promoting weight loss that they say works in rodents and may one day be used to develop an effective anti-obesity treatment. Results of the new study were presented at The Endocrine Society's 91st Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C.

10 Jun 2009

Angiotensin 1-7 hormone offers hope for metabolic syndrome

Angiotensin 1-7, a hormone in the body that has cardiovascular benefits, improves the metabolic syndrome in rats, according to a new study. The results were presented at The Endocrine Society's 91st Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C.

10 Jun 2009

Discovery of protein profile that may predict whether a cancer will be tamoxifen resistant.

Tamoxifen is a widely used and highly successful drug in the treatment of breast cancer, though resistance to tamoxifen is still a concern in recurrent disease (affecting 25-35% of patients), since therapy resistant metastatic tumor cells are a major cause of death.

10 Jun 2009

Bisphenol A may cause heart disease in women

New research by a team of scientists at the University of Cincinnati (UC) shows that bisphenol A (BPA) may be harmful for the heart, particularly in women.

10 Jun 2009

Neuroscientists watch memories form in real time

Our ability to form long-term memories depends on cells in the brain making strong connections with each other. Yet while it's not well understood how those connections are made, lost or changed, the process is known to involve the movement of the AMPA receptor protein to and from those neuronal connections.

10 Jun 2009

51 genes predict breast cancer survival

It may be possible in the future to use a specimen from the tumour to determine which patients with breast cancer have a good chance of overcoming the disease, and which patients should be given more intensive treatments.

10 Jun 2009

Newly discovered peptide promises hope for Alzheimer's disease

Researchers in Japan have detected a peptide in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) that can show whether a person is developing Alzheimer's disease. Measuring the level of this peptide could show that the disease process has started, long before any serious damage is done to the brain.

10 Jun 2009

Discovery of biomarker that predicts the outcome of certain breast cancers

Scientists have found a new biomarker that can predict the outcome of breast cancers that have spread to the lymph nodes, reveal findings published in the British Journal of Cancer today (Wednesday).

10 Jun 2009

New report looks at cigarette smoking rates and policies throughout the U.S.

The United States is becoming a nation of haves and have-nots when it comes to tobacco control, according to a comprehensive publication on cigarette smoking prevalence and policies in the U.S. that was released today.

10 Jun 2009

Caffeine protects against increased risk-taking behavior during severe sleep deprivation

According to a research abstract that will be presented on Wednesday, June 10, at SLEEP 2009, the 23rd Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies, caffeine use prevents increased risk taking that occurs after several nights of total sleep deprivation.

10 Jun 2009

The relationship of sleep on academic performance in adolescents

According to a research abstract that will be presented on Wednesday, June 10, at SLEEP 2009, the 23rd Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies, getting more high-quality sleep is associated with better academic performance. The positive relationship is especially relevant to performance in math.

10 Jun 2009