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New hope for lung disease pulmonary alveolar proteinosis

A tale of two sisters has helped researchers solve a medical mystery and discover a familial genetic mutation that causes an inherited form of the lung disease Pulmonary Alveolar Proteinosis (PAP).

24 Nov 2008

Humoral immunity in kidney transplantation

There are more than 76,000 end-stage renal disease patients waiting for one of the 17,000 kidneys transplanted each year, making a host rejection an unacceptable waste.

24 Nov 2008

Blood pressure readings taken at medical office do not appear to predict future heart risks

Continuously measuring blood pressure may help predict heart disease and related deaths among individuals with treatment-resistant hypertension, while blood pressure readings taken in a medical office do not appear to predict future heart risks, according to a report in November 24 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.

24 Nov 2008

Health study in northern Uganda calls for improved services for internally displaced persons

There are over 1 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Uganda due to the 20-year conflict waged between a rebel group, the Lord's Resistance Army, and the central government.

24 Nov 2008

Study looks at health care in 21 countries

A new study involving health care systems in 21 countries -- and the prospects for change in response to such common pressures as rising costs and aging populations -- casts doubt on the possibility of major overhauls of any of these systems because of the history and traditions that created them.

24 Nov 2008

IGF-1 not beneficial for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

A growth hormone that had shown some promise for treating people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) showed no benefit in a new study published in the November 25, 2008, issue of Neurology , the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

24 Nov 2008

New model predicts risk of recurrence in early stage colon cancer patients

Researchers in the Duke Institute for Genome Sciences & Policy have developed a model for predicting risk of recurrence in early stage colon cancer patients, and have used the model to also predict sensitivity to chemotherapy and targeted therapy regimens.

24 Nov 2008

Gasping a good sign in sudden cardiac arrest

People who witness an individual collapse suddenly and unexpectedly should perform uninterrupted chest compressions even if the patient gasps or breathes in a funny way, research from the Resuscitation Research Group at The University of Arizona Sarver Heart Center shows.

24 Nov 2008

Seychelles flies could reveal evolutionary step to live birth

A species of fruit fly from the Seychelles Islands often lays larvae instead of eggs, UC San Diego biologists have discovered.

24 Nov 2008

Sexual reproduction and evolution

The utility of sex, according to an intriguing new theory of evolutionary biology, may be its ability to promote genes that play well with many other partners rather than those that shine with just one specific set of genes.

24 Nov 2008

Final ruling on Patient Safety Organizations

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has issued a final rule for Patient Safety Organizations (PSOs).

24 Nov 2008

Tapentadol hydrochloride approved for pain relief

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Tapentadol hydrochloride, an immediate-release oral tablet for the relief of moderate to severe acute pain.

24 Nov 2008

Exercise helps manage anger in overweight children

Regular exercise seems to reduce anger expression in overweight but otherwise healthy children, researchers said.

24 Nov 2008

Gorillas may be at increased risk of pathogen exchange with humans

A new study finds that mountain gorillas are at increased risk of acquiring gastrointestinal microbes, such as Escherichia Coli, from humans.

24 Nov 2008

Risks associated with diabetes drug rosiglitazone may be higher than those with pioglitazone

Older adults who take the diabetes medication rosiglitazone appear to have a higher risk of death and heart failure than those taking the related medication pioglitazone, according to a report in the November 24 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.

24 Nov 2008

Understanding lipid storage

Magazine articles describing ways to burn fat, lose weight, etc. are omnipresent in Western culture, but science's understanding of the way fat is stored in the cells of the human body is rather slimmer.

24 Nov 2008

Artemisinin combination therapies may be almost as effective as treated bednets in preventing malaria

Artemisinin combination therapies (ACTs) could be almost as effective in reducing transmission of malaria as insecticide-treated bednets (ITNs) in areas of low transmission, a study based on data from Tanzania has found. In high transmission areas, long-acting antimalarial regimens may be needed to achieve significant transmission reductions.

24 Nov 2008

Children with sickle cell disease have inadequate healthcare

A new study finds that youth populations with sickle cell disease (SCD) are receiving inadequate healthcare, and thus may fail to benefit from scientific advances.

24 Nov 2008

Children with constipation a significant health issue

According to new research conducted at Nationwide Children's Hospital, the burden of illness in children suffering from constipation, and the costs associated with this condition, are roughly of the same magnitude as those for asthma and attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

24 Nov 2008

Neurons in adult brain can remodel their connections

In work reported in the Nov. 24 online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) , Elly Nedivi, associate professor of neurobiology at the Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, and colleagues found that a type of neuron implicated in autism spectrum disorders remodels itself in a strip of brain tissue only as thick as four sheets of tissue paper at the upper border of cortical layer 2.

24 Nov 2008