Medical News

RSS

Geron Corporation awarded UK grant funding for human embryonic stem cell research

Geron Corporation announced today two grant awards to the University of Edinburgh from the UK Stem Cell Foundation, with funding from the Medical Research Council and Scottish Enterprise.

6 May 2008

Erythropoietin gene linked to severe diabetic eye, kidney diseases

Researchers at the John A. Moran Eye Center at the University of Utah and collaborative institutions have identified a gene called erythropoietin (EPO) that contributes to increased risk of severe diabetic eye and kidney diseases, called retinopathy and nephropathy.

6 May 2008

New chemicals shield 'genome guardian'

Cancer Research UK scientists have discovered a potent group of chemicals that protect p53 - a major anti-tumour gene - from destruction, a study published in Cancer Cell* today (Monday) reveals.

6 May 2008

Sport and asthma, researchers follow European Olympic athletes to Beijing

The pan-European study will allow scientists to specify the prevalence of asthma, exercise induced asthma and other allergic diseases among European athletes qualified for the Beijing Olympics, while identifying the differences in prevalence between a wide range of sports and between the different European regions.

6 May 2008

Ibuprofen found to reduce the risk of Alzheimer's

A large study by scientists in the U.S. has revealed that the long-term use of ibuprofen may reduce the risk of a person developing Alzheimer's disease.

6 May 2008

Autism linked to schizophrenia

Researchers say they have discovered a link between childhood autism and mental illness in parents; they suggest that the parents of autistic children are twice as likely to have had a psychiatric illness.

6 May 2008

Discovery of tenovins could lead to cancer cure

Scientists in Scotland have discovered a group of chemicals which protect one of the body's most important anti-cancer genes from destruction.

6 May 2008

Breastfeeding makes for more intelligent children

While it has been recognised for decades that breastfeeding is better for both mothers and babies, scientists are now suggesting that it also benefits a child's intelligence.

6 May 2008

Breast cancer cluster prompts nationwide study of all ABC studios

The Cancer Council New South Wales (NSW) has announced that it is conducting a study of breast cancer cases at every Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) site in the country.

6 May 2008

Depression in seniors linked to low levels of vitamin D

Researchers in Holland have found that older people with low blood levels of vitamin D and high blood levels of the parathyroid hormone are more likely to be depressed.

6 May 2008

Relief in sight for arthritis triggered by viral infections such as Ross River fever

Australian scientists believe they may have discovered the possibility of relief for those suffering with the debilitating arthritis triggered by viral infections such as Ross River fever.

6 May 2008

Computer keyboard five times filthier than the toilet seat!

According to scientists in Britain your computer keyboard could contain a virus which threatens more than just what is on the screen - they say it poses a considerable health risk which equates to those presented by a toilet seat.

6 May 2008

Prana Biotechnology has discovered novel drug candidates for use in Parkinson's disease

Prana Biotechnology Limited has announced that it has identified novel therapeutic drug candidates from its Parkinson's disease program. Already, a lead candidate drug has demonstrated positive effects in pre-clinical studies, protecting the brain from damage to the substantia nigra, the area of the brain affected in Parkinson's disease.

6 May 2008

Better understanding of immune response to HIV infection

The "exhaustion" of immune cells that target HIV appears to result from chronic exposure to the virus, specifically exposure to the particular protein segments targeted by the pathogen-killing HIV-specific CD8 T cells.

6 May 2008

More than 25 percent of pediatric emergency visits could be conducted online

A community-wide study in upstate New York found that nearly 28 percent of all visits to the pediatric emergency department could have been replaced with a more cost-effective Internet doctor's "visit," or telemedicine, according to investigators from the University of Rochester Medical Center

6 May 2008

Impact of round-the-clock, rapid oral fluid HIV testing of women in labor

Can HIV transmission in pregnancy in low income settings be prevented with round the clock rapid testing in labor?

6 May 2008

Study identifies problems with diagnosis of bipolar disorder

A new study by Rhode Island Hospital and Brown University researchers reports that fewer than half the patients previously diagnosed with bipolar disorder received a diagnosis of bipolar disorder based on a comprehensive, psychiatric diagnostic interview--the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID).

6 May 2008

Newly identified protein called BILBO1 fatal to Trypanosoma brucei

Trypanosoma brucei is a pathogen that causes epidemics of human and animal sleeping sickness in central and Southern Africa, a disease that is fatal if untreated. A new paper published this week in the open-access journal PLoS Biology investigates the formation of a trypanosome structure called the Flagellar Pocket (FP).

6 May 2008

FGFR2 gene increases susceptibility to breast cancer

Much work has been done to identify genetic variations that predispose women to breast cancer. Previous work showed that variants in the gene called fibroblast growth factor receptor 2 (FGFR2) were associated with increased risk of the disease, but how these variants translated into increased risk was unknown.

6 May 2008

New saliva-based HIV test gives results in 20 minutes!

The usual waiting period for the results of a HIV test can seem like an eternity, especially in emergency situations where results are needed immediately. Also it requires a blood sample, which is invasive and often painful. Recognizing the urgent need for a faster and less invasive diagnostic method, Dr. Nitika Pant Pai, from Marina Klein's research team at the MUHC has just finished testing a new saliva-based test that gives results in approximately 20 minutes! She describes her findings in an article that will appear in the May 6th, 2008 issue of PLoS Medicine.

6 May 2008