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Central command system for pulmonary hypertension discovered

Researchers at the University of Alberta have identified a "central command system" for pulmonary hypertension, a disease that currently has no cure and kills thousands each year.

4 Jul 2007

People with narcolepsy have a high frequency of REM sleep without muscle atonia

Normal rapid eye movement (REM) sleep is characterized by tonic features, including cortical electroencephalogram (EEG) desynchronization and muscle atonia, as well as phasic events, including bursts of REM, phasic activities of both chin and limb electromyography (EMG), and cardiorespiratory variability.

4 Jul 2007

Men physcologically affected by fertility problems as much as women

Although most psychosocial research into infertility is centred round the unhappiness it causes women, men suffer just as much, a scientist will tell the 23rd annual conference of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology today (Wednesday 4 July).

4 Jul 2007

Just one smoke can lead to nicotine addiction

A new study published in the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine shows that 10 percent of youth who become hooked on cigarettes are addicted within two days of first inhaling from a cigarette, and 25 percent are addicted within a month.

4 Jul 2007

Increase in prescription drug cost sharing associated with lower rates of drug treatment, adherence

A review of previous studies indicates that an increase in prescription drug cost sharing is associated with a decrease in drug spending and use of pharmacies; and for some chronic conditions, higher cost sharing is associated with greater use of expensive medical services, according to an article in the July 4 issue of JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association.

4 Jul 2007

Harnessing the power of the immune system to fight cancer

Teaching a body's own immune system to seek out and destroy cancerous tumours represents a promising way to fight a disease that kills more than 70,000 Canadians a year.

4 Jul 2007

Grandchildren more likely to care for caring grandparents

Perhaps this headline isn't surprising, but now it has scientific backing: new research at the University of Haifa found that grandchildren who, during their childhood, were taken care of by their grandparents, expressed a greater desire to take care of their grandparents as they aged than did grandchildren who were not taken care of by their grandparents.

4 Jul 2007

Variations in two genes related to inflammation may be a risk factor for lung cancer

Variations in two genes related to inflammation may be a major risk factor for developing lung cancer, according to a team of scientists from the National Cancer Institute and the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.

4 Jul 2007

Drugs cost more for elderly men than women

Independent research, involving over 3 million Italians, conducted by Henley Management College and the University of Milan has concluded that the prescription costs for men over the age of 65 is significantly higher than it is for women.

4 Jul 2007

Are we looking at cancer vaccine trials the wrong way?

Ongoing therapeutic cancer vaccine trials have yet to show evidence of vaccines spurring a patient's immune system to shrink tumors -- yet patients who receive these vaccines in trials tend to live longer and respond better to subsequent treatment.

4 Jul 2007

Targeted nalmefene with simple medical management in the treatment of heavy drinkers

Problem drinkers who took a craving-curbing drug whenever they felt the desire to imbibe reported fewer heavy drinking days each month than drinkers who took a look-alike placebo pill, but both groups reported marked reductions in heavy drinking days.

4 Jul 2007

Protein dysferlin critical for resealing heart muscle cell membranes

During vigorous exercise, heart muscle cells take a beating. In fact, some of those cells rupture, and if not for a repair process capable of resealing cell membranes, those cells would die and cause heart damage (cardiomyopathy).

4 Jul 2007

Dark chocolate lowers blood pressure

Eating about 30 calories a day of dark chocolate was associated with a lowering of blood pressure, without weight gain or other adverse effects, according to a study in the July 4 issue of JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association.

4 Jul 2007

Artificially replicating the male genome may help infertile men

Artificially replicating the male genome could help men with very low sperm counts become fathers, a scientist told the 23rd annual conference of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology.

4 Jul 2007

Cardiac surgery in patients with liver cirrhosis

A new study on the outcome of cardiac surgery in patients with liver cirrhosis found that the surgery can safely be performed in patients with milder disease, while those with more severe cirrhosis are less likely to survive.

4 Jul 2007

Myeloperoxidase protein provides clues to heart attacks in healthy people

We've all wondered how a seemingly healthy person can actually be at high risk for heart disease or a heart attack.

4 Jul 2007

Fibrinogen protein may inhibit spinal cord regeneration

Fibrinogen, a blood-clotting protein found in circulating blood, has been found to inhibit the growth of central nervous system neuronal cells, a process that is necessary for the regeneration of the spinal cord after traumatic injury.

4 Jul 2007

$2.5 million for study on how insecticides affect human health

The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) has awarded Cornell insecticide toxicologist David Soderlund two grants, providing more than $2.5 million over five years, to study how insecticides affect human health.

4 Jul 2007

Tamiflu for children

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the United States has given approval for Tamiflu to be used for children but at a lower dose than the adult version.

4 Jul 2007

Biomira files NDA for novel inhibitor of hypoxia-inducible factor-1 alpha

Biomira Inc. has announced that it has submitted an investigational new drug (IND) application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for PX-478. PX-478 has been shown in preclinical studies to inhibit hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1 alpha, a protein that controls the transcription of a number of genes whose products are important for tumor growth and survival.

4 Jul 2007