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Previously unknown family of plague virulence factors identified

Researchers at Duke University Medical Center have identified a previously unknown family of virulence factors that make the bacterium responsible for the plague especially efficient at killing its host.

28 Aug 2005

Continued race and sex disparities heart attack care

Differences based on race and sex in treatment patterns for hospitalized American heart attack patients have remained unchanged over an eight-year period, despite improvements in quality of heart attack care during this time, Emory and Yale School of Medicine researchers write in the August 18 issue of New England Journal of Medicine.

28 Aug 2005

Ways to avoid hazards of heart bypass under study

The heart-lung bypass machine that stills the heart while surgeons bypass an adult’s clogged arteries or repair a baby’s malformed heart can also trigger a potentially deadly inflammatory response.

28 Aug 2005

Inhibitory systems essential for controlling the pattern of activity in the cortex

Inhibitory systems are essential for controlling the pattern of activity in the cortex, which has important implications for the mechanisms of cortical operation, according to a Yale School of Medicine study in Neuron.

28 Aug 2005

Elevated blood lactate levels may indicate poor prognosis in liver failure

A new study on fulminant hepatic failure (FHF), a sudden and severe shutdown of the liver, examined ways of determining early on whether patients would benefit from a transplant as opposed to responding to other medical treatment. The results showed that elevated blood lactate levels indicate a poor prognosis and thus the need for a transplant.

28 Aug 2005

Ataxin-1 affects the development of the nervous system

In some neurological diseases, too much of what is usually a good thing can be bad, said researchers at Baylor College of Medicine in a report in this week's issue of the journal Cell.

28 Aug 2005

Immunity - another important function of the mitochondria

Researchers have discovered a surprise lurking inside mitochondria, the power plants that are present in every cell. It turns out that these powerhouses also contain a protein that triggers the immune system to attack viral invaders.

28 Aug 2005

Neurotransmitter orexin influences reward processing - associated with pleasure and reward pathways in the brain

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have discovered that the recently identified neurotransmitter orexin (also known as hypocretin) influences reward processing by activating neurons in the lateral hypothalamus region of the brain.

28 Aug 2005

Nitric oxide synthase plays a role in peripheral vascular disease

The enzyme nitric oxide synthase plays a role in peripheral vascular disease, a common disease that impairs the mobility of 25 percent of people over the age of 50, according to a Yale study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

26 Aug 2005

UCI study helps identify one reason why women have lower stroke risk than men

Estrogen's role as an inhibitor of toxic-free radicals in cerebral blood vessels may be a key reason why premenopausal women have a lower stroke risk than men.

26 Aug 2005

Compound might defeat African sleeping

One of the most devastating diseases in sub-Saharan Africa almost disappeared in the late 1950s.

26 Aug 2005

New knowledge into the molecular mechanisms involved in tumor growth

Scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have identified a molecular protein's critical role in cell division and growth.

26 Aug 2005

Londoners coping well after terror attacks

Almost two weeks after the London terrorist attacks, the majority of Londoners reported that they were coping well with their emotional responses, finds a study published online by the BMJ today.

26 Aug 2005

Scientists have developed a new dye that could offer noninvasive early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease

MIT scientists have developed a new dye that could offer noninvasive early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease, a discovery that could aid in monitoring the progression of the disease and in studying the efficacy of new treatments to stop it.

26 Aug 2005

Inflammation plays an important role in post-operative stroke

Duke University Medical Center researchers have discovered that patients who have two specific gene variants are more than three times as likely to suffer a stroke after heart surgery.

26 Aug 2005

New strategy to turn off the function of a special group of T cells to suppress immune response to tumors

A special stretch of genetic material may turn off the immune suppression that stymies attempts to fight cancer with a vaccine, said researchers at Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) at Houston.

26 Aug 2005

Campaign for tougher anti-smoking laws stepped up

The British Medical Association (BMA) has stepped up it's campaign for tougher anti-smoking laws with a blunt warning to the health secretary, Patricia Hewitt, that her current plans are a virtual death sentence for some bar staff.

25 Aug 2005

No show patients cost the health service millions each year

According to a new survey, missed appointments costs the National Health Service in the UK £21m.

25 Aug 2005

Teen cancer patients need specially designed wards

According to an National Health Advisory Body in the UK, most children and teenagers with cancer are treated on adult or paediatric wards.

25 Aug 2005

Austrian authorities find mad cow disease in Slovenian cattle

The health ministry says a case of mad cow disease, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), was found in a Slovenian animal that had been brought to the southern city of Graz to be slaughtered, but says there is no risk to consumers.

25 Aug 2005