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40 percent of parents willing to have their child's DNA stored in a government biobank

Genetic testing holds great promise for the future. Information generated by genetic testing may provide information that leads to new treatments for common diseases such as heart disease and diabetes.

23 Jun 2007

Mid-life stroke in women

More women than men appear to be having a stroke in middle age, according to a study published June 20, 2007, in the online edition of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

23 Jun 2007

Many couples willing to donate unused embryos to stem cell research

In a survey of over a thousand patients who have created and frozen embryos as part of fertility treatment, 60 percent said they would be likely to donate unused embryos for stem cell research, according to a study led by researchers at Duke University Medical Center and Johns Hopkins University.

23 Jun 2007

Kidney specialists review plans for disaster response

Hurricane Katrina and other recent disasters have focused attention on the urgent need for planning to provide health services after natural disasters.

23 Jun 2007

First genome-scale model of microbe that causes tuberculosis

Tuberculosis remains one of the biggest killers in the world today being responsible for nearly ten million cases and one and a half million deaths each year.

23 Jun 2007

Key mechanism identified by which the body regulates iron metabolism

Scientists at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) have determined a key mechanism by which the body regulates iron metabolism, a discovery that may provide new approaches for the treatment of anemia.

23 Jun 2007

Entecavir can compromise HIV treatment

Treating hepatitis B patients with the drug entecavir can cause those who are also infected with HIV to become resistant to two of the most important drugs in the anti-HIV arsenal, according to a new report in the New England Journal of Medicine.

23 Jun 2007

FDA approves Differin (adapalene) gel, 0.3% for acne

Galderma Laboratories, L.P., has announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Differin (adapalene) Gel, 0.3%, a new, higher concentration formulation of Differin (adapalene) 0.1%, a topical retinoid indicated for the treatment of acne.

23 Jun 2007

Genzyme files for FDA approval of single-treatment Synvisc-One

Genzyme Corp. has announced that it has filed with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for approval of Synvisc-One, the single treatment of Synvisc (hylan G-F 20) that provides up to six months of pain relief from osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee.

23 Jun 2007

Expert warning to Australian overweight forum

Professor Philip James, Chairman of the International Obesity Taskforce,was the keynote speaker at the Healthy Lifestyle Forum to Help Combat Childhood Obesity held in Parliament House, Canberra.

23 Jun 2007

Estrogen use lowered one risk factor for heart disease among some younger postmenopausal women

A follow-up study to the federally funded Women's Health Initiative should help allay one concern in a subset of women in their 50s who are considering taking estrogen to relieve hot flashes.

23 Jun 2007

Drug warning prompts treatment changes for those infected with hepatitis B and HIV

Cross-resistance alarms raised earlier this year by Johns Hopkins researchers about a widely used antiviral therapy for hepatitis B liver infections have prompted swift treatment revisions by the drug's maker and governmental agencies.

23 Jun 2007

Smoking affects ligament healing

The list of reasons you shouldn't smoke has gotten longer. Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis are reporting that smoking interferes with ligament healing.

23 Jun 2007

Discovery of sophisticated neural computer, buried deep in the cerebellum

Researchers have discovered a sophisticated neural computer, buried deep in the cerebellum, that performs inertial navigation calculations to figure out a person's movement through space.

23 Jun 2007

Autism-related proteins control nerve excitability

Two proteins that are implicated in autism have been found to control the strength and balance of nerve-cell connections, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found.

23 Jun 2007

Emergency food security interventions

Implementing best-practice standards for emergency international food aid will improve the quality, timeliness and appropriateness of food aid, reports Daniel Maxwell, PhD, research director for Food Security and Complex Emergencies at the Feinstein International Center (FIC), part of the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University.

23 Jun 2007

New way to increase stem cells in blood

Researchers at Children's Hospital Boston report finding a new way to increase stem cells in blood, suggesting a possible treatment to help patients who undergo chemotherapy or bone marrow transplant for leukemia and other cancers recover their immune function more quickly.

23 Jun 2007

Three-dimensional ultrasound scanner provides in-depth view of the brain

Biomedical engineers at Duke's Pratt School of Engineering have adapted a three-dimensional ultrasound scanner that might guide minimally invasive brain surgeries and provide better detection of a brain tumor's location.

23 Jun 2007

Sea-squirt derived drug trabectedin shows promise as cancer treatment

The sea-squirt derived drug trabectedin (ecteinascidinin-743) shows anti-tumour activity in more than half of patients with a specific type of cancer, conclude authors of an article published early Online and in the July edition of The Lancet Oncology.

22 Jun 2007

Senate Appropriations Committee approves spending bill that would expand federal funding for embryonic stem cell research

The Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday voted 26-3 to approve the fiscal year 2008 Labor-HHS-Education spending bill, which includes a provision that would expand the number of human embryonic stem cell lines eligible for federal funding, CQ HealthBeat reports (CQ HealthBeat, 6/21).

22 Jun 2007