Medical News

RSS

Newly identified human bocavirus may be associated with pneumonia

The newly identified human bocavirus was found in nearly 5 percent of pneumonia patients in rural Thailand, mostly in very young children. Researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report their finding at the International Conference on Emerging Infectious Diseases.

22 Mar 2006

Crucial breakthrough in pectin biosynthesis

Most people know pectin as a common household gelling agent in making jams and jellies, but its uses are vast. It has anticancer properties, for instance, and may have a role in important biological functions including plant growth and development and defense against disease.

22 Mar 2006

Jefferson neurosurgeons use innovative "Wingspan Stent System" to open clogged brain arteries

Neurosurgeons at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia are the first in the region and among the first in the nation to successfully use a new stent specifically designed to open potentially life-threatening clogged arteries in the brain, preventing a stroke.

22 Mar 2006

First evidence that dendritic cells show unprecedented sensitivity to thimerosal

A team of cell biologists, toxicologists and molecular bioscientists at UC Davis has published a study connecting thimerosal with disruptions in antigen-presenting cells known as dendritic cells obtained from mice.

22 Mar 2006

Children's earliest words stem from what interests them

A child's first word is always a time for celebration. Whether it's "ma," "da," or "cookie," the fact that your child has begun to communicate verbally represents a significant step in his or her development - and your role as a parent.

22 Mar 2006

The birth of words: Ten-month-olds learn words through perceptual salience

Infants are listening and learning their first words as young as 10 months, but they are only learning the words for objects that are of interest to them, not for objects of interest to the speaker, according to researchers at Temple University, University of Delaware and University of Evansville.

22 Mar 2006

Positron emission tomography identifies esophageal cancer patients who will respond well to treatment

New research at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center shows that Positron Emission Tomography (PET) is more accurate than conventional imaging in identifying patients who have good responses to chemotherapy and radiation treatment - a finding that could one day help some patients avoid surgery.

22 Mar 2006

Could global warming be contributing to the resurgence of malaria?

A widely-cited study published a few years ago said no, but new research by an international team that includes University of Michigan theoretical ecologist Mercedes Pascual finds that, while other factors such as drug and pesticide resistance, changing land use patterns and human migration also may play roles, climate change cannot be ruled out.

22 Mar 2006

Americans are eating safer!

Americans are eating safer. The number of people who reported eating one or more foods associated with an increased risk of foodborne disease declined by a third from 1998 to 2002, according to survey results released at the International Conference on Emerging Infectious Diseases.

22 Mar 2006

Sanofi-aventis and Bristol-Myers Squibb agree to settle patent dispute with Apotex

Sanofi-aventis and Bristol-Myers Squibb have announced that they have reached an agreement subject to certain conditions with Apotex to settle the patent infringement lawsuit pending between the parties in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

21 Mar 2006

Breast symmetry can be early indicator of breast cancer

Healthy Women who go on to develop breast cancer tend to have less symmetrical breasts than those women who do not develop the disease, researchers at the University of Liverpool have found.

21 Mar 2006

Environmental chemicals implicated in cancer

New research at the University of Liverpool suggests that environmental contaminants, such as pesticides, are more influential in causing cancer than previously thought.

21 Mar 2006

Zoologists succeed for the first time in transforming stem cells in freshwater polyps

Stem cells are versatile all-rounders. In the medical field, high hopes are resting on these miracle workers. However, we still understand very little about them.

21 Mar 2006

Combining old with new could resolve fertility problems

Many women with fertility problems could have a significantly better chance of having a baby if modern IVF techniques are combined with more traditional surgical interventions, according to a leading fertility specialist.

From Sheffield Hallam University 21 Mar 2006

Angina is more dangerous for women than was previously thought

The collaborative study, led by UCL (University College London) and funded by the British Heart Foundation, found that angina in women is as common as it is in men, in contrast to heart attacks (myocardial infarction) which have a higher rate in men.

21 Mar 2006

Swedish scientists move closer to a cancer vaccine

Scientists at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have helped to identify a molecule that can be used as a vaccination agent against growing cancer tumours. Although the results are so far based on animal experiments, they point to new methods of treating metastases.

21 Mar 2006