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Alternative ways to manage chronic pain

Yoga, massage or plain old exercise? It could be just what the doctor ordered to minimize pain from chronic conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, neck pain, low back pain or fibromyalgia, according to the September issue of Mayo Clinic Women's HealthSource.

28 Sep 2005

Nanoparticles as an invisible diet

Utah State University researchers are in the early stages of scientifically tricking the body into eating less and finding a treatment for obesity without dangerous side effects.

28 Sep 2005

Effective removal of face masks from players who sustain c-spine injuries

This fall, as more than a million high school football players take to the gridiron, University of New Hampshire's Erik Swartz is focused on the worst-case scenario.

28 Sep 2005

Salivary antimicrobial peptide expression and dental caries experience in children

A study comparing antimicrobial peptides, or AMPs, a group of small proteins that occur naturally in human saliva and act like antibiotics against oral bacteria, could lead to new ways to screen children for risk of tooth decay and protect them against this common, chronic problem.

28 Sep 2005

Time-to-treatment is important to success of angioplasty treatment

An in-depth look at hospitals that reduced treatment delays highlights steps other hospitals could take to provide rapid angioplasty treatment to heart attack patients, according to a new study in the Oct. 4, 2005, issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

28 Sep 2005

Flavanols help smokers repair blood vessel function

Phytochemicals known as flavanols, which are found in chocolate, fruits and vegetables, can boost the levels of nitric oxide in the blood of smokers and reverse some of their smoking-related impairment in blood vessel function, according to a new study in the Oct. 4, 2005, issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

28 Sep 2005

Quality-improvement improves mortality in hospital

Heart attack death rates dropped significantly at hospitals that participated in a quality-improvement process that increased the use of evidence-based therapies, according to a new study in the Oct. 4, 2005, issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

28 Sep 2005

Flaviviruses immune system defenses in different ways depending on whether they are transmitted by mosquitoes or ticks

"Flaviviruses exact an enormous toll in terms of illness and death worldwide," notes NIAID Director Anthony S. Fauci, M.D. "Because this is a relatively new field of study, everything we learn about how these viruses operate is significant.

28 Sep 2005

C-reactive protein in atherosclerotic lesions: its origin and pathophysiological significance

New research shows that levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), produced by the liver and not at the lesion site, correlate with the degree of atherosclerosis.

28 Sep 2005

People who receive a kidney transplant are nearly four times more likely to develop melanoma

...a rare but deadly form of skin cancer, according to a study led by Christopher Hollenbeak, Ph.D., associate professor, Departments of Surgery and Health Evaluation Sciences, Penn State College of Medicine, Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center.

28 Sep 2005

Chicken virus helps develop novel vaccines

Researchers at the University of South Australia are developing novel vaccines by using a chicken virus to either stimulate or suppress the body's immune system.

28 Sep 2005

Hair loss and self-confidence

Hair loss in women or female pattern baldness can have devastating psychological effects on sufferers, two Monash University researchers have found.

28 Sep 2005

Stem cells help regenerate cartilage and bone

UK scientists are working on new methods to regenerate cartilage and bone by delivering genes to stem cells within the body to instruct them to turn into bone cells.

28 Sep 2005

Possible new therapy for lymphoma and leukemia patients

Marty Holmes, a landscaper from Stockton, Calif., had never heard of a regulatory T cell before his doctor suggested that it could be the key to helping him survive his cancer.

28 Sep 2005

Dengue and other viruses may have developed tricks that let them reproduce inside macrophages

A monoclonal antibody that can effectively treat mice infected with West Nile virus has an intriguing secret: Contrary to scientists' expectations, it does not block the virus's ability to attach to host cells. Instead, the antibody somehow stops the infectious process at a later point.

28 Sep 2005

Discovery may lead to development of more effective antibiotics

Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology and the John Innes Centre in the United Kingdom have uncovered a mechanism with which disease-causing bacteria may thwart the body's natural defense responses. The findings, which could ultimately lead to the development of more effective antibiotics, appear in the September 29, 2005 issue of the journal Nature.

28 Sep 2005

Working in a pub can be hazardous to your health

Too much time in the tavern can be hazardous to your health--and not just for the drinkers bending their elbows or scrapping with the bouncer, according to a new study done in part at the University of Alberta.

28 Sep 2005

Alcoholics who smoke appear to lose more brain mass than alcoholics who don't smoke

It is already well-known that the brains of long-term alcoholics atrophy and shrink, the study authors say, but the new findings are the first evidence that cigarette smoking might contribute to that atrophy, particularly in grey matter of the parietal and temporal lobes.

28 Sep 2005

Parental behavior about smoking affects children

Twelve-year-olds whose parents smoked were more than two times as likely to begin smoking cigarettes on a daily basis between the ages of 13 and 21 than were children whose parents didn't use tobacco, according to a new study that looked at family influences on smoking habits.

28 Sep 2005

New Stat1 and interferon findings

By altering a molecule called Stat1, which is involved in cellular immune signaling, scientists have succeeded in making the molecule more responsive and thus more efficient. This old protein with a new twist may eventually be used to improve the body's defense against infection.

28 Sep 2005