Medical News

RSS

Low vitamin E levels associated with physical decline in elderly

Researchers at Yale School of Medicine have found that a low concentration of vitamin E in the blood is linked with physical decline in older persons.

23 Jan 2008

New method for measuring protein synthesis

In a major breakthrough for future research and drug development, a team of Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute (LA BioMed) investigators developed a new, more reliable method for measuring protein synthesis and turnover, processes that are critical to understanding cellular functions.

23 Jan 2008

Johns Hopkins to participate in 1000 Genomes Project

Researchers at the McKusick-Nathans Institute of Genetic Medicine (IGM) at Johns Hopkins will join other national and international scientists in the 1000 Genomes Project, an ambitious effort that will involve sequencing the genomes of numerous people from around the world to create the most detailed and medically useful picture to date of human genetic variation.

23 Jan 2008

New air sensor system will help asthmatics

Researchers at the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) have developed a sensor system that continuously monitors the air around persons prone to asthma attacks.

23 Jan 2008

Infants with poor intestinal flora often develop eczema

In a healthy intestinal system there is a great variety of natural bacteria.

23 Jan 2008

Heart and stroke death rates steadily decline; risks still too high

In an appropriate prelude to American Heart Month, which is just ahead in February, new mortality data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that, since 1999, coronary heart disease and stroke age-adjusted death rates are down by 25.8 percent and 24.4 percent, respectively.

23 Jan 2008

Genetic switches could lower cost of producing drugs, proteins

Bacteria have evolved complex mechanisms called quorum sensing systems that provide for cell-to-cell communication, an adaptation that allows them to wait until their population grows large enough before mounting an attack on a host or competing for nutrients.

23 Jan 2008

Gene variations associated with effectiveness of blood pressure medications

Patients with hypertension and certain gene variations experienced varying results with some blood pressure medications, suggesting matching a patient's genotype with certain hypertension medications could result in more favorable outcomes, according to a study in the January 23 issue of JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association.

23 Jan 2008

Scientists render Ebola harmless in the laboratory

Scientists in the United States say that they have found a way to make the lethal Ebola virus harmless in the laboratory.

23 Jan 2008

Food peptides activate bitter taste receptors

Researchers from the Monell Center and Tokyo University of Agriculture have used a novel molecular method to identify chemical compounds from common foods that activate human bitter taste receptors.

23 Jan 2008

Dark-field X-rays give more revealing images of body tissue

A new method of using standard X-ray equipment gives scientists more revealing images of body tissue.

23 Jan 2008

Connection between vitamin E and subsequent decline in physical function for older adults

Low serum concentration of vitamin E, an indication of poor nutrition, is associated with physical decline for older persons, according to a study in the January 23 issue of JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association.

23 Jan 2008

Same-sex couples just as committed in relationships as heterosexual couples

Their finding disputes the stereotype that couples in same-sex relationships are not as committed as their heterosexual counterparts and are therefore not as psychologically healthy.

23 Jan 2008

Do national dietary guidelines do more harm than good?

For nearly three decades, Americans have become accustomed to hearing about the latest dietary guidelines, which are required by federal regulation to be revised and reissued at five-year intervals.

23 Jan 2008

Myostatin inhibitors may make injuries more likely

Block the action of a protein that normally regulates muscle mass, and watch your muscles grow.

23 Jan 2008

Researchers look at link between inability to express emotions and sleep disturbances

A group of Finnish investigators has explored the relationship between alexithymia (the inability to express emotions) and sleep disturbances in the 2008 January issue of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics.

23 Jan 2008

Eating out in New York City will be a healthy affair

As from the end of March this year diners at fast food restaurants in New York will have the full picture on the calorie content of what they are being served.

23 Jan 2008

Racial and ethnic differences among patients with extremity soft-tissue sarcomas

A new study reveals significant racial and ethnic differences in the treatment and survival of patients with soft-tissue sarcomas, a rare but dangerous cancer that begins in muscle, fat, blood vessels or other supporting tissue of the body.

23 Jan 2008

German Research Foundation skeptical on cloning of human cells

According to a paper published in the journal Stem Cells, an American group has succeeded in inserting cell nuclei from human skin cells into human enucleated oocytes and to stimulate these new cells to undergo cell division in the laboratory.

23 Jan 2008

Debate over safety of gene therapy trials focuses on issue of informed consent

Can a patient who agrees to participate in a safety study of a gene therapy protocol give truly informed consent and understand the risks involved when the consent forms are highly technical and the physician or institution seeking their consent has a stake in the study and its outcome?

23 Jan 2008