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Elimination of charges for health care at the point of use could have an immediate and substantial impact on child mortality

Abolishing user fees (charges for health care at the point of use) could prevent approximately 233,000 child deaths annually in 20 African countries, say researchers in this week's British Medical Journal.

3 Oct 2005

First direct clues about how the brain alters the state of consciousness during sleep

In the human brain, cells talk to one another through the routine exchange of electrical signals. But when people fall into a deep sleep, the higher regions of the brain - regions that during waking hours are a bustling grid of neural dialogue - apparently lose their ability to communicate effectively, causing consciousness to fade.

3 Oct 2005

Ubiquitin ligase Rnf6 may be involved in oncogenesis

In a recent study, Dr. Ingolf Bach and colleagues from the University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester and the University of Hamburg describe a novel role for the ubiquitin/proteosome protein degradation pathway in the regulation of local actin dynamics in neurons.

3 Oct 2005

Healthy 3 and 4-year-olds drive flu epidemics

Current immunization policies recommend universal flu vaccination for children aged 6-23 months, but shots are advised for older children only if they have high-risk medical conditions.

3 Oct 2005

Discovery of mechanism in the body that could lead to autoimmune diseases

Researchers at National Jewish Medical and Research Center have discovered a mechanism in the body that could lead to autoimmune diseases, such as lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, or diabetes.

3 Oct 2005

Lab-made version of a human protein opens a new research avenue to better understand rheumatoid arthritis

A lab-made version of a human protein alleviates symptoms of both acute and chronic arthritis in mice and could be the basis for a new arthritis drug for people, report scientists from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

3 Oct 2005

Steroids significantly reduce heart damage in children with Kawasaki's disease

When added to standard treatment, steroids significantly reduce the odds of developing heart damage in children with Kawasaki's disease, according to a study in the October issue of Pediatrics. These findings address a gap in knowledge.

3 Oct 2005

PSA doubling time is an important indicator of how well a patient will recover from prostate cancer

The clinical outcome for prostate cancer patients who have been treated with hormone therapy and radiation therapy can usually be determined by how rapidly their prostate specific antigen level rises following treatment

3 Oct 2005

Training for health workers improves the quality of tuberculosis care and control without requiring extra staff

Tuberculosis is a growing problem in lower and middle income countries, including South Africa. The World Health Organization estimates that about two thirds of people with tuberculosis are never diagnosed and so cannot benefit from treatment, leaving the epidemic unchecked despite global treatment programmes.

3 Oct 2005

Plant-derived compounds appear to block the activity of an enzyme that triggers inflammation in joints

The findings came to light while the researchers were studying the wildly different ways in which cells in human blood vessels and joints respond to pressure gradients generated from liquid moving along their surface, a force called shear stress.

3 Oct 2005

Risk of acquiring HIV rises during pregnancy

The risk of acquiring HIV rises during pregnancy, according to a study of women in Uganda's Rakai District led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The increased risk for acquiring HIV remained even after researchers controlled for behavior and other factors that contribute to HIV risk.

3 Oct 2005

Computer model shows biochemical variations, or noise, leads to oscillations in gene regulation that couldn't otherwise be predicted

Geneticists have debated for decades the relative importance of nature versus nurture in determining how an animal looks and behaves, and now University of California, San Diego (UCSD) scientists report that noise could also be an important factor in determining phenotype.

3 Oct 2005

Rise in oxygen content corresponds exactly to a really rapid rise of large, placental mammals

The first, high resolution continuous record of oxygen concentration in the earth's atmosphere shows that a sharp rise in oxygen about 50 million years ago gave mammals the evolutionary boost they needed to dominate the planet, according to Paul Falkowski, Rutgers professor of marine science and lead author of a paper published Sept. 30 in the journal Science.

3 Oct 2005

Survey highlights the need to increase folic acid fortification of the grain supply

Only one-third of childbearing age women are taking a multivitamin containing the B vitamin folic acid daily to prevent serious birth defects of the brain and spine in their future babies, according to a decade of March of Dimes surveys.

3 Oct 2005

Discovery establishes a role for the gene Rsf-1 in ovarian cancer

Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center researchers have linked alterations in a gene, called Rsf-1, to the most deadly ovarian cancers. The scientists say the discovery is the first to establish a role for the gene in ovarian cancer and may lead to a test that can predict, early on, which patients will develop aggressive disease.

3 Oct 2005

Misoprostol could play an important part in reducing complications of delivery in developing countries

A relatively cheap and easy to use drug could save the lives of thousands of women in the developing world, according to a study in this week's British Medical Journal.

3 Oct 2005

New genes tied to lifespan extension

Drastically reducing calorie intake, or caloric restriction, is known to extend the lifespan of species including yeast, worms and rodents. Previous research linked a gene called Sir2 with lifespan extension due to caloric restriction, but worms and yeast that lack Sir2 also live longer when put on a tough diet, showing that some other genes must be at work.

3 Oct 2005

Organosilicon compounds help improve lithium battery technology

With the help of new silicon-based compounds, scientists -- and patients -- are getting a significant new charge out of the tiny lithium batteries used in implantable devices to help treat nervous system and other disorders.

3 Oct 2005

First identification of the genetic basis of disease in a patient with a complex I assembly defect

Mitochondrial complex I deficiency is one of the most common defects in patients with mitochondrial disease. The deficiency results from a failure to assemble the enzyme properly, but the nature of the molecular chaperones that are necessary for this process in mammals have remained obscure.

3 Oct 2005

Microarray technology may help tailor breast cancer therapy

Microarray technology could be used to tailor therapy according to the individual, and prevent breast cancer patients from having to undergo painful unsuccessful therapies.

3 Oct 2005

Medical News

Elimination of charges for health care at the point of use could have an immediate and substantial impact on child mortality

First direct clues about how the brain alters the state of consciousness during sleep

Ubiquitin ligase Rnf6 may be involved in oncogenesis

Healthy 3 and 4-year-olds drive flu epidemics

Discovery of mechanism in the body that could lead to autoimmune diseases

Lab-made version of a human protein opens a new research avenue to better understand rheumatoid arthritis

Steroids significantly reduce heart damage in children with Kawasaki's disease

PSA doubling time is an important indicator of how well a patient will recover from prostate cancer

Training for health workers improves the quality of tuberculosis care and control without requiring extra staff

Plant-derived compounds appear to block the activity of an enzyme that triggers inflammation in joints

Risk of acquiring HIV rises during pregnancy

Computer model shows biochemical variations, or noise, leads to oscillations in gene regulation that couldn't otherwise be predicted

Rise in oxygen content corresponds exactly to a really rapid rise of large, placental mammals

Survey highlights the need to increase folic acid fortification of the grain supply

Discovery establishes a role for the gene Rsf-1 in ovarian cancer

Misoprostol could play an important part in reducing complications of delivery in developing countries

New genes tied to lifespan extension

Organosilicon compounds help improve lithium battery technology

First identification of the genetic basis of disease in a patient with a complex I assembly defect

Microarray technology may help tailor breast cancer therapy

How can microdialysis benefit drug development

Global and Local Efforts to Take Action Against Hepatitis

Addressing Important Cardiac Biology Questions with Shotgun Top-Down Proteomics

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