Medical News

RSS

New clues about the roots of neurological disease

Switching off a key DNA repair system in the developing nervous system is linked to smaller brain size as well as problems in brain structures vital to movement, memory and emotion, according to new research led by St. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientists.

27 Jul 2009

Autophagy helps HIV to proliferate

Not satisfied with simply thwarting its host's defensive maneuvers, HIV actually twists one to its advantage, based on new findings from Kyei et al. in the July 27, 2009 issue of the Journal of Cell Biology. Vojo Deretic and colleagues suggest that autophagy - a stress response process - helps HIV to proliferate and that conversely, blocking autophagy lessens HIV production.

27 Jul 2009

New technique captures bacterial infection on film

Researchers have developed a new technique that allows them to make a movie of bacteria infecting their living host.

27 Jul 2009

Effect of sunlight exposure on cognitive function among depressed and non-depressed participants

A lack of sunlight is associated with reduced cognitive function among depressed people. Researchers writing in BioMed Central's open access journal Environmental Health used weather data from NASA satellites to measure sunlight exposure across the United States and linked this information to the prevalence of cognitive impairment in depressed people.

27 Jul 2009

Age-prioritized use of antivirals during an influenza pandemic

A model of influenza transmission and treatment suggests that, if the current swine flu pandemic behaves like the 1918 flu, antiviral treatment should be reserved for the young.

27 Jul 2009

Intensive glucose control halves complications of longstanding type 1 diabetes

Near-normal control of glucose beginning as soon as possible after diagnosis would greatly improve the long-term prognosis of type 1 diabetes, concludes a study published in the July 27, 2009, issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine, which updates information about the clinical course of type 1 diabetes.

27 Jul 2009

Obesity expert says rates of severe childhood obesity have tripled

Rates of severe childhood obesity have tripled in the last 25 years, according to a recent study by an obesity expert at Brenner Children's Hospital.

27 Jul 2009

Diets high in calcium and dairy products in childhood may lower mortality

Suggestive evidence points to the possibility that children who have a diet high in calcium and who consume dairy products may have a lower mortality rate than those who don't, according to a study by researchers in Bristol and Brisbane, published in the journal Heart.

27 Jul 2009

University at Buffalo start-up provides innovative digital sperm analysis to infertile couples worldwide

Couples struggling with fertility problems have a new option for assessing their ability to have a child with the start-up of a new Buffalo-based company called LifeCell Dx, Inc. (LCDX).

27 Jul 2009

Enzyme implicated in blood flow in Alzheimer’s, disease progression

Researchers have discovered that the enzyme, endothelin converting enzyme-2 (ECE-2), may cause the decrease in blood flow in the brain seen in Alzheimer's disease and contribute to progression of the disease.

27 Jul 2009

Adding a drug called neostigmine to epidural analgesia reduces dose needed during labor

Adding a drug called neostigmine to epidural analgesia during labor can reduce the amount of anesthetic drug required, while avoiding potential complications caused by morphine-like "opioid" drugs, according to a study in the August issue of Anesthesia & Analgesia, official journal of the International Anesthesia Research Society (IARS).

27 Jul 2009

New system may allow use of xenon to protect newborn brain

Breathing xenon gas can help protect the infant brain from damage caused by oxygen deprivation, but the xenon's high cost and scarcity has precluded its widespread use.

27 Jul 2009

Seattle Genetics starts Brentuximab Vedotin retreatment trial

Seattle Genetics, Inc. has announced that it has initiated a phase II clinical trial of brentuximab vedotin (SGN-35), an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC), for the retreatment of patients with Hodgkin lymphoma and systemic anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL).

27 Jul 2009

Marital biography and health at mid-life

A stable, long-term marriage can be good for your health, but divorce or widowhood leave a lasting scar on the health of middle-aged and older people, according to a new study. Remarriage seems to reduce but not erase the damage done by losing a marriage, and those who remain single after a marriage ends show consistently worse health than those who remarried.

27 Jul 2009

Adolescents at high HIV risk say peers should teach prevention

African-American adolescents have some of the highest rates of HIV infection in the United States, and efforts to educate them about preventing the disease must include the help of their adolescent peers, new research suggests.

27 Jul 2009

Antiretroviral syrup for babies, mothers safely reduces HIV transmission

Giving daily antiretroviral syrup to breastfeeding infants or treating their HIV-infected mothers with highly active antiretroviral drugs is safe and effective in preventing mother-to-child HIV transmission through breast milk, a study led by University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill investigators has found.

27 Jul 2009

Music drives experimental samples through a lab-on-a-chip

Music, rather than electromechanical valves, can drive experimental samples through a lab-on-a-chip in a new system developed at the University of Michigan. This development could significantly simplify the process of conducting experiments in microfluidic devices.

27 Jul 2009

Anxiety and distress during active surveillance for early prostate cancer

Men with early stages of prostate cancer who delay radical treatment in favor of an approach of "expectant management" do not have high levels of anxiety and distress. That is the conclusion of a new study published in the September 1, 2009 issue of Cancer, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society.

27 Jul 2009

Associations between lifestyle factors and quality of life among older, long-term breast, prostate, and colorectal cancer survivors

A new study finds that most older long-term cancer survivors who are interested in diet and exercise actually have poor health habits.

27 Jul 2009

Money now more of an issue for those about to retire

In the current uncertain economic climate, researchers say for those on the brink of retirement, money is more of an issue now than it was two years ago and many potential retirees have been forced to re-think their retirement plans.

27 Jul 2009