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Apollo acquisition boosts NZ biotech Symansis

New Zealand biotech Symansis has purchased Australian company Apollo Cytokine Research for A$500,000 (NZ$627,000) to build on its unique cell signaling science and fast track expansion into new international markets.

24 Jun 2008

Simple ultrasound exam may predict osteoporosis risk

An ultrasound exam of the heel may be able to predict if a woman is at heightened risk for fractures due to osteoporosis, according to a new multicenter study being published in the July issue of the journal Radiology.

24 Jun 2008

Automated magnetic resonance imaging technique assists in earlier Alzheimer's diagnosis

An automated system for measuring brain tissue with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can help physicians more accurately diagnose Alzheimer's disease at an earlier stage according to a new study published in the July issue of the journal Radiology.

24 Jun 2008

Currently used pain assessment tools may be underestimating the pain response in infants

Dr Slater and colleagues (University College London, UK) studied the association between cortical pain responses in young infants and currently used pain assessment tools which are based on behavioural and physiological measures, such as change in facial expression.

24 Jun 2008

Genetic mutation and cat exposure at birth may increase a child's risk of developing eczema

A gene mutation and cat exposure at birth may increase a child's risk of developing eczema during their first year according to a study published in PLoS Medicine. Researchers led by Professor Hans Bisgaard (University Hospital Gentofte, Copenhagen, Denmark) studied the association between mutations in the filaggrin gene (FLG) and exposure to environmental factors with the development of eczema.

24 Jun 2008

More government in health care is not a prescription for reform

The Center for Medicine in the Public Interest (CMPI) today launched BigGovHealth.org, a new initiative to expose the consequences of greater government control in health care.

24 Jun 2008

New details on how low blood flow promotes vascular disease

Researchers have found the first direct proof that a key protein drives the clogging of arteries in two ways, and that lowering levels of it opens them up, according to study results published in the June edition of the journal Circulation.

24 Jun 2008

Seven biomarkers that may help pinpoint prostate cancer recurrence found

A simple blood test may help doctors better predict whether prostate cancer will recur or spread in patients who have undergone surgery for the disease, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have found.

24 Jun 2008

Hunger hormone ghrelin increases during stress, may have antidepressant effect

New research at UT Southwestern Medical Center may explain why some people who are stressed or depressed overeat.

24 Jun 2008

Researchers create molecule that nudges nerve stem cells to mature

Inspired by a chance discovery during another experiment, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have created a small molecule that stimulates nerve stem cells to begin maturing into nerve cells in culture.

24 Jun 2008

Symptom screening plus CA125 blood test improves early detection of ovarian cancer

Women's reports of persistent, recent-onset symptoms linked to ovarian cancer - abdominal or pelvic pain, difficulty eating or feeling full quickly and abdominal bloating - when combined with the CA125 blood test may improve the early detection of ovarian cancer by 20 percent, according to new findings by researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center published online today in CANCER.

24 Jun 2008

Viruses hitch a ride in the cell

Viruses can travel around cells they infect by hitching a ride on a microscopic transport system, according to new research. Cells are exposed to foreign DNA and RNA and it is understood that some of this genetic material can be integrated into the host genome. Using modern microscopic techniques, scientists have been able to see how virus DNA is transported in the cell.

23 Jun 2008

Drug rapamycin reverses mental retardation caused by tuberous sclerosis complex

UCLA researchers discovered that an FDA-approved drug reverses the brain dysfunction inflicted by a genetic disease called tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC). Because half of TSC patients also suffer from autism, the findings offer new hope for addressing learning disorders due to autism. Nature Medicine publishes the findings in its online June 22 edition.

23 Jun 2008

Lower blood levels of vitamin D linked to increased heart problems

Individuals with lower blood levels of vitamin D appear to have an increased risk of death overall and from cardiovascular causes, according to a report in the June 23 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.

23 Jun 2008

Study: Outreach and internal navigation program on breast cancer diagnosis in an urban cancer center with a large African-American population

A new study indicates that community education outreach and internal navigation programs lead to a significant shift in stage at diagnosis of breast cancer among African American women, with a doubling in the proportion of cases caught at the earliest stage and a nearly reciprocal drop in the proportion of cancers at most advanced stage.

23 Jun 2008

The impact of socioeconomic status on survival after cancer in the United States

Cancer patients with low socioeconomic status (SES) have more advanced cancers at diagnosis, receive less aggressive treatment, and have a higher risk of dying in the five years following cancer diagnosis, according to a new study.

23 Jun 2008

How mothers interact with their babies related to how children behave later on

The way mothers interact with their babies in the first year of life is strongly related to how children behave later on. Both a mother's parenting style and an infant's temperament reliably predict challenging behavior in later childhood, according to Benjamin Lahey and his team from the University of Chicago in the US. Their findings have just been published online in Springer's Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology.

23 Jun 2008

Hedgehog signaling is critical for maintenance of the adult coronary vasculature

A set of promising new anticancer agents could have unforeseen risks in individuals with heart disease, suggests research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

23 Jun 2008

New, previously unrecognized source of heart stem cells discovered

Researchers at Children's Hospital Boston are continuing to document the heart's earliest origins. Now, they have pinpointed a new, previously unrecognized group of stem cells that give rise to cardiomyocytes, or heart muscle cells. These stem cells, located in the surface of the heart, or epicardium, advance the hope of being able to regenerate injured heart tissue.

23 Jun 2008

New way to limit gene transfer and expression

Researchers from Northwestern University and Texas A & M University have discovered a new way to limit gene transfer and expression to specific tissues in animals.

23 Jun 2008