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Blood-incompatible infant heart transplants safe, may save more lives

ABO-incompatible heart transplantation (heart transplantation among non-compatible blood groups) can be safely performed in infants a year old or younger, researchers reported at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2007.

6 Nov 2007

Osteopontin-c is a good biomarker of breast cancer.

Researchers have identified a molecule that may be more accurate than existing biological signposts used to predict which breast cancers will develop into advanced forms of the disease.

6 Nov 2007

Antioxidants inositol and inositol hexaphosphate could provide all-purpose radiation protection

Two common dietary molecules found in legumes and bran could protect DNA from the harmful effects of radiation, researchers from the University of Maryland report.

6 Nov 2007

Having two particular epilepsy genes protects against the disease

New research from the Baylor College of Medicine has found that inheriting two of the genes which both cause epilepsy might actually provide protection from the serious condition.

6 Nov 2007

Stanford researchers start voluntary program to screen athletes for heart problems

Everyone has heard the stories: the fit 20-something who drops dead in the middle of a marathon, the high school football player who, without warning, dies during practice. While rare, the stories of sudden death among young athletes strike fear into the hearts of parents everywhere.

5 Nov 2007

Talking improves the memory and boosts test performance

According to new research spending just 10 minutes talking to someone can help improve your memory and can also boost your performance in tests.

5 Nov 2007

Cancer victim comes up with a possible alternative to chemo

A cancer victim has invented a machine that could well replace traditional chemotherapy for the treatment of the disease.

5 Nov 2007

Treat all patients with rare lung disease to prevent stroke, say doctors

Treatment should be offered to all people with a particular rare lung condition, regardless of whether or not they show symptoms of it, say researchers and doctors behind a new study published today.

5 Nov 2007

Testing delays cause severe AIDS complications

Despite the availability of life-saving antiretroviral treatment, people infected with HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) continue to die and suffer from complications of AIDS, mainly due to delayed diagnosis and initiation of treatment.

5 Nov 2007

Plasma serotonin levels can correlate with degree of liver insufficiency

Liver cirrhosis is a worldwide disease with an incidence of 5 - 10% and represents a major health problem everywhere. Prognosis depends on the degree of liver damage and etiology of cirrhosis.

5 Nov 2007

Researchers identify gene behind rheumatoid arthritis

University of Manchester researchers have identified a genetic variant in a region on chromosome 6 that is associated with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), the most common inflammatory arthritis affecting 387,000 people in the UK.

From The University of Manchester 5 Nov 2007

How does the antitumor drug get to the cell nucleus?

Platinum complexes such as the well-known cisplatin are powerful antitumor medications. They cross the cell membrane and reach the nucleus, where they attach to DNA and stop cell growth. But how does cisplatin get to the nucleus Italian researchers have now proven that a copper transport protein may play a critical role.

5 Nov 2007

Hepatitis C virus found to spread directly from cell to cell by-passing antibodies

Scientists looking for an effective treatment for Hepatitis C may face an even bigger task than anticipated. Recent studies looking into how the virus spreads in liver tumour cells have demonstrated that the virus uses two different routes, which may explain why the body's natural occurring antibodies are ineffective at controlling the virus.

5 Nov 2007

Comprehensive view of the abnormal genetic landscape in lung cancer cells

An international team of scientists has announced the results of a systematic effort to map the genetic changes underlying lung cancer, the world's leading cause of cancer deaths.

5 Nov 2007

Inheriting two genetic mutations that can individually cause epilepsy may cancel each other

Inheriting two genetic mutations that can individually cause epilepsy might actually be "seizure-protective," said Baylor College of Medicine researchers in a report that appears online in the journal Nature Neuroscience.

5 Nov 2007

Endosonography-guided biliary drainage is useful in cases with failed endoscopic biliary stenting

The role of endosonography (ES) in digestive diseases is expanding gradually from diagnostic applications to therapeutic ones. The feasibility of ES-guided cholangiopancreatography was first reported by Harada et al. (pancreatography) and Wiersema et al. (cholangiography) in 1995 and 1996, respectively.

5 Nov 2007

Does neural cell adhesion molecule-180 predict survival in colorectal cancer?

When a person learns they are suffering from cancer, the first question in their mind is always: "How much time do I have?" Unfortunately, this is a question to which the researchers have long been seeking an absolute answer.

5 Nov 2007

Manipulation of MOF enzyme may make tumors more sensitive to radiation therapy

To make tumors more sensitive to the killing power of radiation is a key aspiration for many radiation oncologists. Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have uncovered new information that leads them closer to that goal.

5 Nov 2007

Carnegie Mellon researchers to develop new stem cell-based drug delivery therapy

Carnegie Mellon University's Stefan F. Zappe is using adult neural stem cells to develop a new stem cell-based drug delivery therapy that may ultimately help treat a variety of inherited genetic disorders like Hunter syndrome.

5 Nov 2007

Hairpin peptide mimetics show promise as new drugs to fight HIV

When a host cell is infected with HIV, the virus brings its own genetic material into the host cell. This cell then replicates, reads the viral RNA, and uses it as a blueprint to produce more viral proteins.

5 Nov 2007