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First-degree relatives of patients with primary biliary cirrhosis more likely to have biomarkers of the disease

Armed with this new information, physicians could screen and assess first-degree relatives of PBC patients with a simple blood test, enabling them to diagnose and treat more patients before the disease causes irreversible liver damage. These findings were published in this month's issue of Hepatology.

11 Sep 2007

New minimally-invasive coated vascular stent graft in use at Methodist DeBakey Heart Center

Surgeons at the Methodist DeBakey Heart Center in Houston were among the first in the U.S. to implant a new, less-invasive stent graft designed to reduce the risk of blood clots in patients treated for peripheral arterial disease (PAD), which affects as many as 12 million Americans over the age of 50.

11 Sep 2007

Most comprehensive recommendations related to lung cancer

New evidenced-based guidelines from the American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP) recommend against the use of low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) for the general screening of lung cancer.

11 Sep 2007

Natural aorta grafts have few side effects for infection-prone patients

A vascular surgery technique pioneered at UT Southwestern Medical Center, in which veins are removed from the thigh to repair the aorta does not create blood-flow problems and painful side effects in a majority of patients, researchers report.

11 Sep 2007

Mylan receives tentative FDA approval for Topiramate capsules

Mylan Laboratories Inc. has announced that Mylan Pharmaceuticals Inc. has received tentative approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) for Topiramate Capsules, 15 mg and 25 mg.

11 Sep 2007

Mutations in the insulin gene can cause permanent neonatal diabetes

Mutations in the insulin gene can cause permanent neonatal diabetes, an unusual form of diabetes that affects very young children and results in lifelong dependence on insulin injections, report researchers from the University of Chicago and Peninsula University (Exeter, UK) in Sept. 18, 2007, issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, published early online.

11 Sep 2007

Mouse model for schizophrenia

Scientists at Johns Hopkins have developed a mouse model for schizophrenia in which a mutated gene linked to schizophrenia can be turned on or off at will.

11 Sep 2007

Mediterranean diet may help people with Alzheimer's disease live longer

A Mediterranean diet may help people with Alzheimer's disease live longer than patients who eat a more traditional Western diet.

11 Sep 2007

Tadalafil appears to improve erectile function in men with spinal cord injuries

The drug tadalafil appears to improve erectile function in men with spinal cord injuries, according to an article posted online today that will appear in the November 2007 print issue of Archives of Neurology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

11 Sep 2007

John Cheatham receives prestigious award for work on congenital heart disease

The Pediatric Interventional Cardiac Symposium (PICS) & Adult Interventional Cardiac Symposium (AICS) Lifetime Achievement Award for 2007 was recently presented to John P. Cheatham, MD, Co-Director of The Heart Center at Columbus Children's Hospital and Professor of Pediatrics & Internal Medicine at The Ohio State University College of Medicine.

11 Sep 2007

A neurostimulator device that detects, stops seizures under study at Medical College of Georgia

A small device implanted in the skull that detects oncoming seizures, then delivers a brief electrical stimulus to the brain to stop them is under study at the Medical College of Georgia.

11 Sep 2007

C-reactive protein shown to be a potential target for cancer treatment

Scientists report that a protein best known as a common marker of inflammation plays a key role in the progression of human cancer.

11 Sep 2007

Vitamin C inhibits the growth of some tumors

Nearly 30 years after Nobel laureate Linus Pauling famously and controversially suggested that vitamin C supplements can prevent cancer, a team of Johns Hopkins scientists have shown that in mice at least, vitamin C - and potentially other antioxidants - can indeed inhibit the growth of some tumors ¯ just not in the manner suggested by years of investigation.

11 Sep 2007

GP prescribing of antibiotics in question

GPs prescribing antibiotics often rely on their personal preferences and experience, rather than clinical evidence, says new research launched at the British Pharmaceutical Conference (BPC) in Manchester.

11 Sep 2007

Mechanism identified that plays a critical role in multiple myeloma cell cycle and survival

Researchers at Emory University's Winship Cancer Institute are the first to discover a mechanism that plays a critical role in the multiple myeloma cell cycle and survival.

11 Sep 2007

Shaken not stirred for embryonic stem cells

Embryos spend much of their time in the womb bobbing along with a mother's movement, and, surprisingly enough, new research from the Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University suggests that embryonic stem cells may develop much better under similarly shaky conditions.

11 Sep 2007

Mind-body therapies may help elderly chronic pain sufferers

Mind-body therapies, which focus on the interactions between the mind, body and behavior, and the ways in which emotional, mental, social and behavioral factors can affect health, may be of particular benefit to elderly chronic pain sufferers.

11 Sep 2007

Everything that itches isn't a yeast infection!

Most women who think they have a vaginal yeast infection are wrong and may be doing more harm than good in treating their problem, says a Saint Louis University researcher who presented her findings recently.

11 Sep 2007

HIV patients with declining platelet counts appear to be at increased risk for HIV-associated dementia

Therapies leading to longer life for HIV patients have paradoxically increased the prevalence of this condition. Identifying biological markers for the development of HIV–associated dementia is critical both for diagnosing the disorder and for understanding its underlying mechanisms.

11 Sep 2007