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Screening MRI allows detection of more breast cancers in high-risk women

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) enables radiologists to accurately identify tumors missed by mammography and ultrasound, according to a multicenter study comparing the three screening methods in women at high-risk for breast cancer.

1 Aug 2007

Scientists discover brain cell development process implicated in mental retardation

New Brunswick, N.J. , Scientists at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, have discovered a biological process in brain cell development that may help explain some causes of mental retardation.

1 Aug 2007

Lithium promotes better bone healing

Researchers at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) have found a molecular pathway that plays a critical role in bone healing and have found that the drug lithium can improve the healing process.

1 Aug 2007

Understanding how humor comprehension functions in older adults

It's no laughing matter that older adults have a tougher time understanding basic jokes than do younger adults.

1 Aug 2007

Reducing inflammation plays key role in type 1 diabetes therapy

Researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) have found that a triple combination therapy consisting of both tolerance-inducing and anti-inflammatory properties is successful in abolishing adverse autoimmunity against insulin-producing cells in a mouse model of Type 1 diabetes.

1 Aug 2007

Laser printers might pose health concern

Certain laser printers used in offices and homes release tiny particles of toner-like material into the air that people can inhale deep into lungs where they may pose a health hazard, scientists are reporting.

1 Aug 2007

Novavax begins human clinical testing of novel pandemic flu vaccine

Novavax has announced that it has begun vaccinating healthy volunteers in the first human clinical trial of its virus-like particle ("VLP") based pandemic influenza vaccine.

1 Aug 2007

Neighbor clustering better identifies functionally related genes on the bacterial chromosome

The moment a bacterial pathogen makes contact with its host, its goal is simple: to infect.

1 Aug 2007

Bipolar disorder phenome database

A novel, free, public online database opening this week should greatly speed efforts to find genes linked to increase risk of bipolar disorder.

1 Aug 2007

Report reveals pregnancies exposed to accutane despite iPledge

Despite a mandatory program designed to prevent pregnant women from being exposed to the anti-acne medication Accutane and similar medications containing isotretinoin (a known teratogen or birth defect-causing agent), 122 pregnancies were exposed during the first year of the program, known as iPledge, a report revealed.

1 Aug 2007

U.S. blood donor pool smaller than previously thought

According to a new study in TRANSFUSION, the number of individuals in the U.S. who are eligible to donate blood may be smaller than previously believed, approximately 60 million fewer people.

1 Aug 2007

New way to predict how cells will respond to targeted drug therapies

Models based on this approach could help doctors make better treatment choices for individual patients, who often respond differently to the same drug, and could help drug developers identify the ideal compounds on which to focus their research.

1 Aug 2007

Nanoparticles may provide safe pain control on the battlefield

University of Michigan scientists have received a pilot grant of nearly $1.3 million from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency to test whether nanoparticles can solve a pressing problem in battle zones like Iraq: how to administer sustained, safe doses of the most effective painkillers to injured soldiers, long before they can reach expert medical help.

1 Aug 2007

Focused ultrasound treatment of uterine fibroids offers long term symptom relief

A noninvasive, outpatient treatment for noncancerous uterine tumors provides sustained relief from symptoms, according to a new Mayo Clinic led collaborative study.

1 Aug 2007

Pigs key to understanding antibiotic resistant bacteria

NSW Department of Primary Industries (NSW DPI) Immunology & Molecular Diagnostic Research Unit Team Leader, Dr James Chin, says it is commonly believed that each time an antibiotic is used only pathogens or disease-causing bacteria will be killed.

1 Aug 2007

Imaging technique accurate in aneurysm detection and therapy planning

Multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) angiography is highly accurate in depicting intracranial aneurysms, according to a study published in the August issue of Radiology.

1 Aug 2007

Huntington's disease study shows animal models on target

An international team of researchers has published a benchmark study showing that gene expression in several animal models of Huntington's Disease (HD) closely resembles that of human HD patients.

1 Aug 2007

HIV prevalence and predictors of infection in sex-trafficked Nepalese girls and women

A study by Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) researchers of girls and women who were sex-trafficked from Nepal to India and then repatriated has found that 38 percent were HIV positive.

1 Aug 2007

High rates of posttraumatic stress disorder after war in Uganda

A survey of adults displaced by war in northern Uganda found high rates of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression, and that these individuals were more likely to favor violent means to end the conflict compared to persons without these symptoms, according to a study in the August 1 issue of JAMA, a theme issue on violence and human rights.

1 Aug 2007

Hallucinations in schizophrenia linked to brain area that regulates emotion and processes human voices

For the first time, researchers using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) have found both structural and functional abnormalities in specific brain regions of schizophrenic patients who experience chronic auditory hallucinations, according to a study published in the August issue of Radiology.

1 Aug 2007