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New device helps catch out kids that smoke

Bedfont, a breath monitoring equipment manufacturer, announced it developed a tool that can aid parents in testing their kids for cigarette and marijuana use.

From Bedfont® Scientific Ltd 11 Apr 2005

Increased scrutiny of new multiple sclerosis-fighting drugs after Tysabri withdrawal

The removal of Tysabri from the market soon after its introduction is expected to increase scrutiny of other similar drugs in development for multiple sclerosis (MS), says ECRI, a leading, independent health services research agency.

11 Apr 2005

HIV treatment-experienced patients set high standards for therapy success

Patients who have previously failed at least two anti-HIV regimens continue to have high standards for their treatment success, according to a survey commissioned by the American Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR).

11 Apr 2005

Study predicted cardiovascular risk of Cox-2 inhibitors

Amid the recent controversy and confusion over serious side effects from pain medications, a new UCLA and Veterans Affairs Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System study demonstrates that for arthritis sufferers at high risk for gastrointestinal problems who traditionally may have used a drug like Vioxx, the most cost-effective and safest treatment is actually a common painkiller combined with an acid-reducing drug.

11 Apr 2005

New blood test improves the ability to diagnose or exclude congestive heart failure

A new blood test that measures a particular marker of cardiac distress can markedly improve the ability to diagnose or exclude congestive heart failure in patients with shortness of breath who come to hospital emergency departments.

11 Apr 2005

Research suggests a central role for NMDA receptors in learning and memory

Learning and memory are processes that link experience with behavior and therefore play central roles in our daily experience. That there exists a physical basis for these processes seems at first hard to imagine--except for the fact that physical disruptions in the brain, such as stroke or disease, can make them go wrong.

11 Apr 2005

Smokers who receive abnormal results using computed tomography to screen for lung cancer are more likely to quit

According to a new study, smokers who receive multiple abnormal results using computed tomography (CT) to screen for lung cancer are more likely to quit, suggesting an opportunity for doctors to motivate smokers to quit smoking.

11 Apr 2005

Ephrins may influence learning

A Burnham Institute study has found that one of the cell's largest families of signaling molecules, called ephrins, which are known to regulate the development of nerve cells, also controls nerve cells' ability to engulf critical chemicals and proteins for learning and memory.

11 Apr 2005

A parent's weight may also play a role in adolescent weight gain

The prevalence of adolescent obesity has doubled over the last 30 years and can lead to serious medical problems, like high blood pressure, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and colorectal cancer.

11 Apr 2005

Public-health efforts to increase the use of breast-cancer screening appear to have altered the types of breast cancer being diagnosed

Since 1980, the incidence of ductal carcinoma in situ, or DCIS, one of the most common kinds of early stage breast cancer, has increased more than sevenfold. This sharp increase in DCIS – which is a tumor that contains cancer-like cells but is not considered "true" cancer because the cells have not invaded normal breast tissue – has been accompanied by a flattening in the incidence of true invasive breast cancer.

11 Apr 2005

Moderate levels of exercise may not be enough to control mild hypertension

Moderate levels of exercise may not be enough to control mild hypertension in men and women over age 55, the age group most at risk of later developing potentially fatal heart failure, a new four-year study reports. The findings by researchers at Johns Hopkins, to be published in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine online April 11, call into question the effectiveness of national guidelines on exercise for lowering blood pressure in older people.

11 Apr 2005

Study shows older children also benefit from lazy eye treatment

Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Children's Center and 48 eye centers across North America report that many children between the ages of 7 and 17 with amblyopia, or "lazy eye," may benefit from treatments usually prescribed for younger children.

11 Apr 2005

Fifteen-year hunt uncovers gene behind pseudothalidomide syndrome

A team of scientists from Colombia, the United States and elsewhere has successfully completed a 15-year-plus search for the genetic problems behind the very rare Roberts syndrome, whose physical manifestations often include cleft lip and palate and shortened limbs that resemble those of babies whose mothers took thalidomide during pregnancy.

11 Apr 2005

Malaria's secret weapon revealed

A US-led international team of scientists have discovered how the deadliest malaria parasite is able to "hide" from the body's immune system.

10 Apr 2005

Now revealed that Salk polio vaccine was a team effort

The cure for polio came as a result of the collaboration between Thomas Francis Jr. and Jonas Salk.

10 Apr 2005

Bextra withdrawn from market, strong warnings on popular painkillers

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued warnings that most popular painkillers can hurt the heart, stomach and skin, and they have told pharmaceutical giant Pfizer to withdraw Bextra a top selling painkiller.

10 Apr 2005

HIVNET 012 perinatal HIV prevention trial praised by IOM

The Institute of Medicine (IOM) of the National Academies of Sciences in the autumn of 2004 was asked by the NIH to review the HIVNET 012 perinatal HIV prevention trial and provide an assessment of the validity of the study results.

10 Apr 2005

Panel in US disputes drug trial allegations

Medical experts have been forced to defend a study conducted in Uganda and called HIVNET 012 that led to the widespread use of a single AIDS drug called nevirapine to protect newborns, after allegations by Dr. Jonathan Fishbein, a National Institutes of Health researcher, that the research was flawed and the conclusions were unfounded.

10 Apr 2005

Eat like the Greeks and live longer

Researchers at the University of Athens Medical School, in a major pan-Europe study, have produced convincing evidence that a Mediterranean diet rich in vegetables and fruit and low in saturated fats can help us live longer.

10 Apr 2005

Hemodialysis causes antioxidant loss leading to long-term complications

An article published in Hemodialysis International discusses the role of oxidative stress (OS) in dialysis patients, an imbalance which can result in long-term health problems. Potential therapeutic options to restore balance in patients are also reviewed.

10 Apr 2005