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Gulf War Syndrome more prevalent in first Persian Gulf War veterans

Comparing veterans deployed in the first Persian Gulf War and veterans deployed elsewhere at the same time has revealed veterans who served in the Persian Gulf have nearly twice the prevalence of chronic multi-symptom illness (CMI), a cluster of symptoms similar to a set of conditions often called Gulf War Syndrome.

5 Jan 2006

p11 gene may play a key role in depression

For the more than 18 million Americans who suffer from depressive illnesses, the best pharmacological treatments are those that increase levels of serotonin, the brain chemical that regulates mood, sleep and memory.

5 Jan 2006

Children more likely to survive in-hospital cardiac arrests than adults

Children are more likely to survive in-hospital cardiac arrests than adults and with appropriate cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), the survival rates for both children and adults are higher than previously thought.

5 Jan 2006

UCLA examines disease-versus-disease interactions

The knowledge that one disease may prevent the onset of another is not new. For example, the discovery that cowpox vaccines can prevent smallpox dates back to 1798.

5 Jan 2006

California Governor urges drug imports; Canadian Pharmacies have already delivered

This week California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger appealed to Congress to allow Americans to import affordable prescription drugs from Canada and other countries.

5 Jan 2006

Elevated homocysteine levels may be a biomarker for increased risk of AMD

People who have elevated homocysteine in their blood, an amino acid that is a known biomarker for cardiovascular disease, may also be at an increased risk of developing age-related macular degeneration (AMD), according to a study in the January issue of the American Journal of Ophthalmology.

5 Jan 2006

Loud noise increases the risk of developing a non-cancerous tumor

New research suggests that years of repeated exposure to loud noise increases the risk of developing a non-cancerous tumor that could cause hearing loss.

5 Jan 2006

Exercise helps elderly heal

The body's ability to heal even small skin wounds normally slows down as we age. But a new study in older adults finds that regular exercise may speed up the wound-healing process by as much as 25 percent.

5 Jan 2006

Concerns raised about surgeons performing occasional breast cancer operations

A leading cancer expert has expressed concern about the link between hospitals carrying out low numbers of breast cancer operations and disproportionately high readmission rates.

5 Jan 2006

Magnesium for stronger bones

Intake of magnesium through diet and supplements is positively associated with bone density throughout the whole body, particularly in older white adults, according to research published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. Researchers say the effects are similar to that of calcium.

5 Jan 2006

New research indicates birth control pill could cause long-term problems with testosterone

In the January issue of The Journal of Sexual Medicine, researchers have published a new investigation measuring sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) before and after discontinuation of the oral contraceptive pill.

4 Jan 2006

Guidelines needed to help care for children during emergencies

Evidence-based guidelines for the care of children in emergency situations should be developed and distributed to international relief organizations, according to researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the World Health Organization (WHO).

4 Jan 2006

One day radiation may become an option for breast cancer patients

Doctors in Canada are studying the effectiveness of permanent radiation seed implants following lumpectomy as an alternative to whole or partial breast irradiation for early-stage breast cancer patients

4 Jan 2006

NEJM rotavirus studies: statement by PATH's Rotavirus Vaccine Program

On Thursday, January 5, the New England Journal of Medicine published the results of two important clinical trials of rotavirus vaccines.

4 Jan 2006

SOCS1 silencing could help enhance vaccines against HIV

Researchers from Baylor College of Medicine have shown that switching off a molecule that helps regulate dendritic cells, specialized white blood cells that activate the immune system, could help the host fight HIV infection.

4 Jan 2006

New hope for osteoporosis sufferers

Medical researchers at the University of Bonn, working in collaboration with scientists from Israel, the USA and Britain, have identified a previously unknown regulatory mechanism in the process of bone loss. Their findings could open up new approaches to the treatment of osteoporosis.

4 Jan 2006

Art sessions can benefit cancer patients

Northwestern Memorial Hospital research shows that cancer patients benefit from one-hour art sessions.

2 Jan 2006

Smokers with a family history of lung cancer encouraged to undergo screening

To detect invasive lung cancer in its early stages, researchers urge current and former smokers who have a strong family history of the disease to take a lung function test and undergo screening with spiral computed tomography. The test is especially important should the previously diagnosed relative be young (around 50).

2 Jan 2006

Reduced rates of lung function decline in cystic fibrosis clinical study patients

Although cystic fibrosis patients in clinical trials had more severe illness, worse lung function, a lower weight level and more respiratory infection than non-participants, their involvement in research studies resulted in less lung function decline over a 7-year period.

2 Jan 2006

New human embryonic stem cells grown in animal cell-free cultures

Scientists working at the WiCell Research Institute, a private laboratory affiliated with the University of Wisconsin-Madison, have developed a precisely defined stem cell culture system free of animal cells and used it to derived two new human embryonic stem cell.

2 Jan 2006