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Surgical myectomy gives fresh start to patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), an abnormal thickening of the heart, affects more than 500,000 Americans, making it more common than better-known conditions such as Crohn's disease, Multiple Sclerosis and Anorexia Nervosa.

2 Aug 2005

Aging and gene expression in the primate brain

While medical science and a healthy lifestyle can help increase life expectancy, many aspects of aging and longevity are beyond our control. Published this week in the open-access journal PLoS Biology, Michael Eisen and colleagues shed light on these genetic factors by identifying sets of genes whose expression changes with age in human and chimp brains.

2 Aug 2005

Two-thirds of American women find out about their pregnancies by using a home pregnancy test

In a recent survey undertaken on behalf of First Response, and released in conjunction with a partnership with the March of Dimes aimed at improving pregnancy outcomes, reveals two-thirds (67 percent) of American women aged 18 to 44 who became pregnant found out about their pregnancies by using a home pregnancy test.

2 Aug 2005

Women's preference for female colonoscopists hinders colon cancer screening

In a study conducted by researchers at the Division of Gastroenterology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and published in the current (August) issue of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (GIE) by the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE), 43% of the women who were asked their preference of a male or female endoscopist said female, while only 1.4% said male and the rest had no preference.

2 Aug 2005

Arf gene prevents excessive growth of blood vessels in the developing eye

A gene better known for its role in preventing cancer also plays a key role in the developing embryo, where the gene prevents excessive growth of blood vessels, according to investigators at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

2 Aug 2005

Living Cell Technologies announces results for treating Huntington's disease

Living Cell Technologies announced pre-clinical results today showing its brain protection product, NeurotrophinCell (NtCell) produces a marked reduction in the size of brain lesions in a Huntington's disease (HD) model.

2 Aug 2005

MediciNova starts phase II clinical trial of MN-166 for multiple sclerosis

MediciNova today announced the enrollment of patients in a Phase II clinical study with MN-166 for the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS), an inflammatory demyelinating disease of the central nervous system. MN-166 is an orally administered drug with a novel mechanism of action that includes the inhibition of phosphodiesterase IV.

2 Aug 2005

Mini-beacon design a major development for smart drug delivery

A nanoscopic beacon used by Melbourne researchers will help to enhance the design of smart gene and drug delivery systems.

1 Aug 2005

Researchers characterize the proteome of the human cornea

In doing so, they have identified 141 distinct proteins, 99 of which had not been previously recognized in mammalian corneas. The details of their findings appear in the August/September issue of Molecular and Cellular Proteomics, an American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology journal.

1 Aug 2005

Visceral obesity may be an important risk factor for insulin resistance syndrome in children

Waist circumference is associated with insulin resistance in children and may offer a simple way to identify children with risk factors for cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes, according to a study in the August issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.

1 Aug 2005

Discovery that oxidative stress from pollen is as important as antigen exposure could lead to new therapies

For a person with allergies or asthma, breathing in pollen can be a very bad thing. Within minutes of inhalation by someone sensitive to their effects, these tiny particles can trigger severe inflammation of the respiratory passages, producing uncontrollable sneezing, coughing, or extreme shortness of breath -- symptoms agonizingly familiar to those who suffer from allergy and asthma attacks.

1 Aug 2005

Pregnancy fears on drinking water byproducts may be overstated

Fears that chemical byproducts resulting from purifying drinking water with chlorine boost the chances that pregnant women will miscarry were not supported by the results of a major new study. If such threats exist at all, which is uncertain, they likely are modest, it concludes.

1 Aug 2005

Researchers unravel control of growing blood vessels

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have discovered a basic mechanism by which smooth muscle cells that line the blood vessels can grow - sometimes abnormally - suggesting methods of treatment for various coronary diseases.

1 Aug 2005

Laser scissor-and-tweezers technology called RoboLase performed across the Pacific

In an effort to combine sophisticated laser and Internet technologies, scientists in Australia have successfully performed laser surgery and "optical trapping" in a Southern California laboratory via the Internet.

1 Aug 2005

Researchers have identified a pathway that is specific for cancer

When cancer spreads, people often die. That's why a lot of cancer research and drugs focus on the metabolic pathways that allow cancer to metastasize -- to spread from one part of the body to another.

1 Aug 2005

Radiation helps eye cancer patients retain vision

Doctors in the United Kingdom have determined that patients suffering from cancer affecting their eye can usually avoid visual handicap, loss of the eye and spread of the disease by receiving proton beam radiation therapy, according to a new study

1 Aug 2005

More than one fourth of individuals with severe mental illness (SMI) were victims of violent crime in the past year

...eleven times the rate in the general population, according to a study in the August issue of Archives of General Psychiatry.

1 Aug 2005

Memory manipulation may lessen appeal of certain unhealthy treats

Most dieters know that the mind is a powerful force in the battle of the bulge; but a new study led by psychologist Elizabeth Loftus shows that the malleable nature of human memory might be used to help people avoid certain fattening foods.

1 Aug 2005

Inhibitors of cellular enzymes could be developed for SARS treatment

Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have found that inhibitors of an enzyme called cathepsin L prevent the SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) virus from entering target cells. SARS is caused by an emergent coronavirus. There is no effective treatment at this time.

1 Aug 2005

Brain may interpret the information it receives from sensory neurons using a code more complicated than scientists previously thought

...according to new research from the National Autonomous University of Mexico and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. By studying how monkeys perceive a vibrating object when it touches the skin, scientists found that changes in an animal's attention over time influence how a sensory signal is interpreted.

1 Aug 2005