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Statin-induced muscle disorders are focus of $2.5 million in grants from NIH

Approximately 200,000 of the 38 million people in the U.S. who take statins to treat high cholesterol may develop life-threatening muscle disease.

2 Oct 2008

Cholesterol research, begun in the 'Little Skate,' Garners Award

New research on the way the body processes cholesterol has earned a scientist at the University of Rochester Medical Center one of the highest honors in the field.

2 Oct 2008

Vitamin C supplements appear to undercut the effectiveness of cancer drugs

A new study by scientists in the United States has revealed that vitamin C may blunt the effectiveness of chemotherapy treatment.

1 Oct 2008

Long-term psychotherapy superior in treating chronic mental disorders

German researchers say they have found that long-term psychotherapy is effective and even superior to shorter-term therapy for patients with complex mental disorders such as personality and chronic mental disorders.

1 Oct 2008

Nanoparticles, so small, seep right through the skin

Scientists are warning that tiny particles - nanoparticles - are so small that they can be absorbed through the skin.

1 Oct 2008

First genetic research model of retina receptors

A team of scientists at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center has created the first genetic research model for a microscopic part of the eye that when missing causes blindness. The research appears in a recent issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry.

30 Sep 2008

Discovery of genetic link between obesity and colon cancer risk

A new study reveals the first-ever genetic link between obesity and colon cancer risk, a finding that could lead to greater accuracy in testing for the disease, said a researcher at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB).

30 Sep 2008

Molecule provides new understanding of cause of colon cancer

Scientists investigating a molecule known to play a key role in causing colon cancer have made a series of ground-breaking discoveries that could have major implications for future treatment of the disease, responsible for 655,000 deaths worldwide per year. Their findings are published in the journal Cancer Research.

30 Sep 2008

New gout gene discovery

Researchers have identified two new genes - and confirmed the role of a third gene - associated with increased risk of higher levels of uric acid in the blood, which can lead to gout, a common, painful form of arthritis.

30 Sep 2008

Experts say heart patients should be screened for depression

The American Heart Association says heart patients are particularly vulnerable to depression and should be screened, and if necessary treated, to improve their recovery and overall health.

30 Sep 2008

Danish study provides new information on hormone replacement therapy and the risk of heart attacks

It's not what you take but the way that you take it that can produce different results in women who take hormone replacement therapy (HRT), according to new research on the association between HRT and heart attacks, published online in Europe's leading cardiology journal, the European Heart Journal today.

30 Sep 2008

Cancer Research UK and Astex Therapeutics join forces to develop new anti-cancer treatment

Cancer Research UK, Cancer Research Technology (CRT) - the charity's development and commercialisation arm - and Astex Therapeutics Limited announced today that they have agreed to take into development a potential new anti-cancer treatment.

30 Sep 2008

A DNA-based vaccine shows promise against avian flu

Though it has fallen from the headlines, a global pandemic caused by bird flu still has the United States' Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on high alert. Yet, to date, the only vaccines that have proven even semi-effective are produced in chicken eggs, take five to six months to prepare and act against a single variant of the H5N1 virus, which mutates incredibly quickly.

30 Sep 2008

Tuberculosis bacterium uses its sugar coat to sweeten its chances of living in lungs

Common strains of tuberculosis-causing bacteria have hijacked the human body's immune response to play tricks on cells in the lungs, scientists say.

29 Sep 2008

Immune system hurts as well as fights cancer - discovery could lead to new cancer treatments with fewer side effects

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have found that some proteins of the immune system can promote tumor growth.

29 Sep 2008

Multiple sclerosis patients have higher spinal fluid levels of suspicious immune molecule

A protein that helps keep immune cells quiet is more abundant in the spinal fluid of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), further boosting suspicion that the protein, TREM-2, may be an important contributor to the disease.

29 Sep 2008

Statins shown not to increase the risk of Lou Gehrig's disease

A U.S. Food and Drug Administration's analysis provides new evidence that the use of statins does not increase incidence of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a neurodegenerative disease often referred to as "Lou Gehrig's Disease." The analysis was reported on Monday, Sept. 29, 2008 in Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety.

29 Sep 2008

Existing anti-obesity drugs may be effective against flu, hepatitis and HIV

Viruses dramatically increase cellular metabolism, and existing anti-obesity drugs may represent a new way to block these metabolic changes and inhibit viral infection, according to a study published today in the journal Nature Biotechnology.

29 Sep 2008

Gap in black, white new cancer diagnoses narrowing in Missouri; mortality rate gap falling more slowly, study finds

The gap between blacks and whites in Missouri for newly diagnosed cancers is narrowing in part because of an overall decline in smoking and an increase in cancer screenings, according to a study to be published early next year in the journal Missouri Medicine, the AP/St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

29 Sep 2008

Infants who focus on mouths rather eyes could be autistic

Researchers in the United States say young children who focus on mouths rather than on eyes could be autistic and they believe the extent of such behaviour indicates the severity of the Autism Spectrum Disorder.

28 Sep 2008