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Should Alzheimer's sufferers take part in research?

Grandma has Alzheimer's disease - should you sign her up for a new research study, even if she doesn't really understand what it entails?

7 Nov 2005

Specific bacterial markers for bacterial vaginosis discovered

Findings reported in this week's New England Journal of Medicine (November 3 issue) highlight promising findings from two Seattle-based researchers on the origins of bacterial vaginosis (BV).

7 Nov 2005

Methylphenidate shows promise for hyperactivity associated with autism

Medication commonly used to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may be effective for treatment of hyperactivity symptoms in children with autism and related pervasive developmental disorders, according to a study in the November issue of Archives of General Psychiatry.

7 Nov 2005

MIT speeds up robotic muscles

Robots, both large and micro, can potentially go wherever it's too hot, cold, dangerous, small or remote for people to perform any number of important tasks, from repairing leaking water mains to stitching blood vessels together.

7 Nov 2005

Children bottle-fed past 12 months of age may be at high risk for iron deficiency

Children bottle-fed past 12 months of age and Mexican-American children may be at high risk for iron deficiency and the problems that accompany it, according to a national study by Medical College of Wisconsin and Children's Hospital of Wisconsin researchers.

7 Nov 2005

New Flu Chip can determine the genetic make-up of types of flu virus in 11 hours

A novel "Flu Chip" developed at the University of Colorado at Boulder that can determine the genetic signatures of specific influenza strains from patient samples within hours may help world health officials combat coming epidemics and pandemics.

7 Nov 2005

Approximately 9% of children with an allergy to tree nuts will outgrow their allergy

...including children who have previously experienced a severe allergic reaction, according to a study in the November 2005 Journal of Allergy & Clinical Immunology (JACI).

7 Nov 2005

Cholesterol lowering drugs do not appear to decrease the risk of melanoma

No clear evidence exists that some widely-prescribed cholesterol-lowering drugs can decrease the risk of melanoma, a deadly and malignant skin cancer, according to a new review of recent studies.

7 Nov 2005

MRI helps early diagnosis of schizophrenia

Researchers may have discovered a new way that may ultimately assist in the early diagnosis of schizophrenia - by utilizing MRI to study the patient's brain.

7 Nov 2005

Psychologically distressed children more likely to be involved in bullying

Bullying by elementary school children was associated with increased odds of lacking a feeling of safety while at school, having lower academic achievement, and feeling sad most days, according to an article in the November issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.

7 Nov 2005

Nine risk indicators for periodontal disease

Severe periodontal disease causes tooth loss and affects a certain group of people that appear to exhibit increased susceptibility to periodontal destruction, according to a study that appeared in the November Journal of Periodontology.

7 Nov 2005

Lupus discovery may improve treatment

Researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine and the University of Virginia hope to reset part of the "epigenetic code" in lupus patients and thus improve treatment.

7 Nov 2005

Sleeping sickness parasite shows how cells divide their insides

Researchers at Yale have brought to light a mechanism that regulates the way an internal organelle, the Golgi apparatus, duplicates as cells prepare to divide, according to a report in Science Express.

7 Nov 2005

Tiny worms provide clues to new treatments for diabetes, asthma and hay fever

University of Edinburgh scientists, who have discovered that helminth parasites can exploit an 'Achilles heel' in our immune system, now hope to mimic the worms' survival tactics in a bid to beat infection.

7 Nov 2005

Low-calorie sweetener for diabetics

A low-calorie sweetener that tastes like sugar and could help control diseases like diabetes and obesity may be closer to reality thanks to new research.

From The University of Manchester 7 Nov 2005

First clinical study of FX06 treatment against damage caused by heart attacks

Central to the study is FXO6, a peptide developed and patented by Austro-American company Fibrex Medical. Fibrex will now test the tolerability and pharmacokinetics of FX06 in humans. The peptide reduces inflammatory responses of the heart muscle that can arise after treatment for a myocardial infarction. Tests will begin immediately on the first - healthy - subjects at the Vienna General Hospital.

7 Nov 2005

New VariDose device will reduce pharmaceutical R&D costs

A new optical instrument that could vastly reduce the amount of time the pharmaceutical industry spends in R&D, by speeding up the measurement of drug inhaler performance, is being launched by Loughborough University spin out VariDose Limited.

7 Nov 2005

Research project to advance understanding of how cancer cells evade the immune system

A pre-clinical research project coordinated by The University of Manchester, which will advance understanding of how cancer cells evade the immune system, has been awarded nearly 12m Euro by the EU.

From The University of Manchester 7 Nov 2005

Diagnostics test for monitoring anti-HIV drugs hits European market

The test has been acquired by Delphic Europe - a diagnostics products provider - which will develop it in conjunction with viral resistance testing for market on the continent. The service was created by Professor David Back, Dr Saye Khoo and a team in the School of Biomedical Science and is currently used to analyse blood samples from patients with HIV across the UK in order to identify the correct dosage of medicine for individual patients.

7 Nov 2005

Inexpensive and rapid test for tuberculosis wins major award

An inexpensive and rapid test for tuberculosis (TB) which could be used in developing countries has won first place in the Best Innovation to Improve Global Healthcare category of the Medical Futures Innovation Awards. It also scooped the overall prize at the awards ceremony held last week in London.

7 Nov 2005