Weight Loss News and Research

Latest Weight Loss News and Research

Tijuana injection drug users on collision course for HIV and tuberculosis

A study by researchers from the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, in collaboration with Mexican researchers and health officials, shows that as many as 67 percent of injection drug users in Tijuana test positive for tuberculosis (TB) infection.

15 Apr 2009

Vaccine for Coeliac disease could mean the end of gluten free diets

Australian scientists have developed an experimental vaccine to treat coeliac disease. The team at the Walter and Eliza Hall (WEHI) Institute in Melbourne are hoping a phase 1 clinical trial of the vaccine, due to begin this month, will eventually lead to an effective clinical treatment for the disease.

15 Apr 2009

Surgery for obesity

Surgeons once recommended weight-loss surgery only for severely obese patients who failed to drop pounds with conventional weight-loss methods, but a review now finds that bariatric surgery helps the moderately obese lose more weight, too.

14 Apr 2009

Safety of Bitter orange herbal weight loss product questioned

The Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) is reportedly examining whether there are any risks associated with an over-the-counter (OTC) herbal weight loss programme sold in Australia.

13 Apr 2009

Omega-3 fatty acids may help cancer patients undergoing major operations

New research from Trinity College Dublin published in this month's Annals of Surgery points to a potentially significant advance in the treatment of patients undergoing major cancer surgery.

12 Apr 2009

Carrying extra weight earlier in life increases risk of physical disabilities adulthood

Carrying extra weight earlier in life increases the risk of developing problems with mobility in old age, even if the weight is eventually lost, according to new research out of the Sticht Center on Aging at Wake Forest University School of Medicine.

8 Apr 2009

Omega-3 EPA/DHA may reduce risk of prostate cancer

A new study presented in Clinical Cancer Research, a journal of the AACR (American Association for Clinical Cancer Research), shows diets high in Omega-3 EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) may decrease the risk of prostate cancer.

8 Apr 2009

Inflammatory chemokine may explain diseases that come with obesity

An inflammatory factor already linked to several diseases, including pulmonary disease, lung cancer, and arthritis, may also be responsible for the insulin resistance that comes with obesity, according to a new study published in the April issue of Cell Metabolism.

8 Apr 2009

Cigarette smoke changes the immune response to bacteria - culprit behind COPD exacerbations

Smoking cigarettes is not only the principle cause of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), but it may change the body's immune responses to bacteria that commonly cause exacerbations of the disease, according to new research in a mouse model.

8 Apr 2009

Replacing sugar-sweetened beverages with water reduces excess calorie consumption in kids

Replacing consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) with water could eliminate an average of 235 excess calories per day among children and adolescents, according to a study published in the April 2009 Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.

6 Apr 2009

Varicella zoster infection causes severe autoimmune hepatitis

Autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) is a chronic liver inflammation of unknown etiology that is characterized by the presence of circulatory autoantibodies and ongoing liver tissue damage.

2 Apr 2009

Bariatric surgery shows potential for resolving type 2 diabetes

As the incidence of obesity-induced type 2 diabetes mellitus continues to increase worldwide, medical research indicates that surgery to reduce obesity can completely eliminate all manifestations of diabetes.

2 Apr 2009

Scientists detect molecular obesity link to insulin resistance, type II diabetes

A molecular switch found in the fat tissue of obese mice is a critical factor in the development of insulin resistance, report scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies.

2 Apr 2009

Heart burn surgery reverses chronic rejection in transplant patient

Acid reflux is thought to be - at most - an irritating condition easily controlled with medication, diet and weight loss.

1 Apr 2009

Corthera's Relaxin in acute heart failure shows promising results

Corthera Inc. has announced that results from Pre-RELAX-AHF, the Phase II portion of a Phase II/III multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled international study, demonstrated promising efficacy and safety for relaxin, the company's investigational drug for treatment of acute heart failure (AHF).

30 Mar 2009

Dapagliflozin trial results indicate improvement in key glycemic measures in treatment-naive type 2 diabetes

Findings published in Diabetes Care from a 12-week, Phase IIb dose-ranging study showed that dapagliflozin, a novel, selective, sodium glucose co-transporter2 (SGLT2) inhibitor, produced clinically meaningful reductions across all key glycemic measures studied [glycosylated hemoglobin level (HbA1c), fasting plasma glucose (FPG), and postprandial plasma glucose (PPG)] in treatment-naive type 2 diabetes patients, compared to placebo.

29 Mar 2009

Protein from tick saliva shows potential for myasthenia gravis treatment

Looking for a better treatment for the autoimmune disease myasthenia gravis, researchers have found that a protein in tick saliva shows promise in limiting the severity of the disease in an animal model in a study published in the Annals of Neurology.

29 Mar 2009

Experimental Parkinson's therapy may have robust weight-loss effect

A growth factor used in clinical experiments to rescue dying brain cells in Parkinson patients may cause unwanted weight loss if delivered to specific areas of the brain, according to University of Florida researchers in the March online edition of Molecular Therapy.

24 Mar 2009

Focus on treating malnutrition in cancer patients, researchers say

Cancer patients who are malnourished experience significantly greater levels of psychological distress than those who are more adequately nourished, according to new results reported at the European Society for Medical Oncology's Symposium on Cancer and Nutrition (Zurich, 20-21 March 2009).

22 Mar 2009

Nationwide alert on tainted weight loss products

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is expanding, for the second time, its nationwide alert to consumers about tainted weight loss products containing

22 Mar 2009