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Tourette's and obsessive compulsive disorders linked to strep throat

A new study is suggesting that Strep throat infections can triple a child's risk of developing compulsive behaviors or tics, an indication that the same antibodies that attack the infection may also damage brain cells.

6 Jul 2005

Discovery of genes that impact the development and function of blood stem cells

Researchers at the University of Minnesota have identified for the first time a group of genes that impact the development and function of blood stem cells, a discovery that brings researchers a step closer to harnessing the power of stem cells for disease treatments.

6 Jul 2005

Substantial public health impacts of 1990 invasion and occupation of Kuwait

Researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) made public the findings of Phase I of their investigation of the public health impacts on Kuwaiti Nationals of Iraq's 1990 invasion and seven-month occupation of Kuwait.

6 Jul 2005

Early detection of colorectal cancer

The largest study to date on the early detection of colorectal cancer offers benchmark data for what could be expected from large-scale use of flexible sigmoidoscopy as a screening tool for colorectal cancer.

6 Jul 2005

Sex hormone levels not linked to low sexual desire

No single androgen (sex hormone) level was found to be predictive of low sexual function in women, according to a study in the July 6 issue of JAMA.

6 Jul 2005

Teenage IQ linked to risk of dementia

Your IQ and extracurricular interests as a teenager may forecast your memory and thinking abilities decades later.

6 Jul 2005

Tool to predict potential ovarian failure after radiation

Doctors in the United Kingdom have created a table to predict when a woman who has undergone radiation therapy as a part of cancer treatment regimen in her abdominal or pelvic area may become sterile

6 Jul 2005

Potential novel treatment targets for the most common form of childhood epilepsy

New research suggests novel treatment targets for the most common form of childhood epilepsy - with the potential to have fewer side effects than traditional therapy. The findings from Wake Forest University School of Medicine are reported in the July issue of the Journal of Neurophysiology.

6 Jul 2005

Why cervical precancers disappear in some women and not in others

New research sheds light on why cervical precancers disappear in some women and not in others. Scientists at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center report in the July 1 issue of Clinical Cancer Research that the reason many of these lesions persist is an unlikely mix of human papilloma virus (HPV) strain and a woman's individual immune system.

6 Jul 2005

State-sponsored anti-tobacco media campaigns reduce youth smoking

Reduced cigarette smoking and more favorable anti-smoking attitudes were found among youth exposed to state-sponsored anti-tobacco advertising, according to a study in the July issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

6 Jul 2005

Study is the first to show that there are mechanisms in place for the immune system to identify cancer cells

A study undertaken by biologists at the University of California, Berkeley, has found that damage to a cell's DNA sets off a chain reaction that leads to the increased expression of a marker recognized by the body's immune system.

6 Jul 2005

Obese older women may be more prone to frailty

Obesity is associated with frailty in obese older women, according to a recent study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

6 Jul 2005

Yaktrax Walker - new footwear reduces falls in the elderly

A new gait-stabilizing device called the Yaktrax Walker has shown to reduce the risk of injurious falls during winter months in older adults who are fall-prone, reports a study in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

6 Jul 2005

Even on cool days leaving kids in parked cars dangerous

Even on a relatively cool day, the temperature inside a parked car can quickly spike to life-threatening levels if the sun is out, researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have found.

6 Jul 2005

Point-of-selection nutrition information cards can spur students to pick the right foods

Mystery meat not withstanding, high school cafeterias can provide nutritional, balanced and healthful meals, but students have to choose correctly.

6 Jul 2005

Functional analysis of human hematopoietic stem cell gene expression using zebrafish

What do you get when you mix RNA chips and zebrafish? A new two-stage method for studying human gene expression differs in human stem cells and progenitor cells, according to a new article in the open access journal PLoS Biology.

6 Jul 2005

Cancer cells may be able to avoid destruction by anti-vascular and anti-angiogenesis agents

Cancer cells may be able to avoid destruction by anti-vascular and anti-angiogenesis agents through a cellular stress response that activates a pro-survival protein called GRP78, according to researchers from the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California.

6 Jul 2005

Experimental treatment shown to reverse the loss of nerve fibres in Parkinson's Disease

Analysis of the brain of a patient suffering from Parkinson's Disease has shown that the experimental treatment he received caused regrowth of the nerve fibres that are lost in this disease. The findings are reported in the July issue of Nature Medicine.

6 Jul 2005

HIF-1alpha expression regulates the bactericidal capacity of phagocytes

When microorganisms invade the body, immune mechanisms kick in to fight them off. The infected tissues typically show depleted oxygen levels, and a protein called HIF-1 alpha regulates this. Interestingly, the cells responsible for destroying the foreign pathogens are effective in this low-oxygen environment.

6 Jul 2005

Asthma and the Older Australian: What we know and what we need to do

New asthma research indicates that as many as a third of people +55 years old may be living with undiagnosed asthma and that a high prevalence of asthma in an ageing population will impose an increasing burden on the health system and the Australian economy in the future.

6 Jul 2005