Medical News

RSS

New understanding of how anaesthetics work in the brain

An important clue to how anaesthetics work on the human body has been provided by the discovery of a molecular feature common to both the human brain and the great pond snail nervous system, scientists say today.

20 Jul 2007

Schering-Plough announces licensing of Acadesine

Schering-Plough Corporation has announced the worldwide licensing of acadesine, an investigational, potentially first-in-class adenosine regulating agent (ARA), from PeriCor Therapeutics, Inc., a privately held, specialty biopharmaceutical company.

20 Jul 2007

Discovery of new brain mechanism involved with waking up

How do we wake up? How do we shift from restful sleep to dreaming? Researchers at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) have discovered a new brain mechanism that just might explain how we do that.

20 Jul 2007

New genetic risk factors for restless leg syndrome

In Germany alone 8 million patients are affected by RLS, which makes it one of the most common neurological diseases.

20 Jul 2007

Reducing insulin signaling in the brain can prolong lifespan

One route to a long and healthy life may be establishing the right balance in insulin signaling between the brain and the rest of the body, according to new research from Children's Hospital Boston.

20 Jul 2007

Protein pulling advances in protein folding science

Rice University physicists have unveiled an innovative way of finding out how proteins get their shape based on how they unfold when pulled apart.

20 Jul 2007

Protein IKKa protects checkpoint gene from chemical shutdown

A protein that is largely absent in one type of skin cancer protects an important gene in a cell's defense against harmful mutations from being silenced, researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center report in the July 20 edition of Molecular Cell.

20 Jul 2007

Xenotransplantation from pigs getting closer

Experiments using pigs genetically engineered for compatibility with the human immune system have raised hopes that cross-species transplantation could soon become an option for patients with diabetes and other currently incurable diseases.

20 Jul 2007

Obesity a risk factor for multiple myeloma

An obese person is more likely than a lean person to develop multiple myeloma, according to researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, and Harvard School of Public Health.

20 Jul 2007

Ortho-McNeil settles patent cases against Par/Kali

Ortho-McNeil, Inc. has announced that it settled its patent litigation against Par Pharmaceutical Companies, Inc. and its subsidiaries, Par Pharmaceutical, Inc., and Kali Laboratories, Inc., generic drug manufacturers, regarding their infringement of the Ortho-McNeil patent for ULTRACET (tramadol/acetaminophen).

20 Jul 2007

New study on breast feeding and post natal depression

The commonly held belief that mothers suffering from post natal depression will not be able to breastfeed has been challenged by research from the University of Leicester, which also suggests that the manner in which current breastfeeding promotion strategies are communicated may contribute to feelings of guilt and fears of inadequacy by mothers suffering from depression.

20 Jul 2007

Study challenges NICE guidelines that recommend SSRIs be prescribed only in conjunction with psychological therapies

Should adolescents with depression be prescribed antidepressants, and if so, should they be given only with a psychological therapy, as advocated by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE)"

20 Jul 2007

Cholesteryl ester transfer protein may also influence how fat cells store fat

Scientists have shown for the first time that a protein involved in the transfer of fat in the blood may also influence how fat cells store fat.

20 Jul 2007

Powerful proteomics research promises to revolutionize biomedical discovery

Human cells function through the concerted action of thousands of proteins that control their growth and differentiation.

20 Jul 2007

New biochemical mechanism for memory storage

Our experiences - the things we see, hear, or do - can trigger long-term changes in the strength of the connections between nerve cells in our brain, and these persistent changes are how the brain encodes information as memory.

20 Jul 2007

New combo treatment for chronic lymphocytic leukaemia increases survival

The combination treatment of fludarabine plus cyclophosphamide for chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) greatly increases progression-free survival and response rates, compared with single treatment with either fludarabine or chlorambucil alone.

20 Jul 2007

Eat a good diet and exercise to live longer

The traditional prescriptions for a healthy life sensible diet, exercise and weight control extend life by reducing signaling through a specific pathway in the brain, according to Howard Hughes Medical Institute researchers who discovered the connection while studying long-lived mice.

20 Jul 2007

Cot death questioned by BMJ paper

An analysis published in this week's British Medical Journal is set to re-open the debate over sudden unexpected infant death (cot death).

20 Jul 2007

Novel radiotherapy approach for lung cancer

A novel radiotherapy approach has shown promise as a treatment option, and may possibly increase the cure rate, for people with early stage lung cancer who are unable to tolerate surgery, according to findings from a five-year study led by SUNY Upstate Medical University.

20 Jul 2007

Aptamers may refine cancer treatment

University of Florida researchers have successfully used molecular probes to detect subtle differences in leukemia cells from patient samples, an achievement that could lead to more effective ways to diagnose and treat cancer.

20 Jul 2007