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International efforts to build a prosperous Africa are doomed unless malaria is tackled

In advance of the G8 Ministerial meetings, the first report of the All-Party Parliamentary Malaria Group concludes that unless malaria is tackled as a global crisis with increased and sustained resources, UK’s plans for Africa will fail.

9 Jun 2005

MabThera highly effective in treating rheumatoid arthritis

Results from the DANCER study presented today revealed that MabThera significantly improves symptoms in heavily treated patients who are affected by moderate-to-severe rheumatoid arthritis (RA), a painful and debilitating disease of the joints.

9 Jun 2005

Female gynecologists use more estrogen than the average woman

After studies appeared showing that treating menopausal complaints with estrogen entailed not wholly positive health effects, the prescription of such preparations declined.

9 Jun 2005

Physical activity in old age is beneficial for physical, cognitive and psychological health

Older persons who are capable of physical activity but do not exercise have an increased risk of future problems walking or climbing stairs, according to research published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

9 Jun 2005

Modifying your salt intake has the potential to prevent exercise-induced asthma

An Indiana University professor may have uncovered the mechanisms by which high-salt diets can trigger exercise-induced asthma, offering the most complete picture to date of how dietary factors can both aggravate and alleviate the symptoms of this common condition.

9 Jun 2005

Promising new vaccine candidate to prevent middle ear infections

Hoping to prevent ear infections for the more than 15 million children in the United States who suffer from them, a promising new vaccine candidate to prevent middle ear infections (otitis media) is being developed by researchers at the Columbus Children’s Research Institute (CCRI) on the campus of Columbus Children’s Hospital.

9 Jun 2005

Tooth whiteners that could enhance teeth's natural healing ability

...may soon be available in over-the-counter gels and strips, according to a dental researcher who shared his team's latest findings today at the American Dental Association's national media conference.

9 Jun 2005

Fundamental insights in how amyloid fibers form

Amyloid fibers are best known as the plaque that gunks up neurons in people with neurodegenerative illnesses such as Alzheimer's and Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease--the human analog of mad cow disease.

9 Jun 2005

Rheumatoid arthritis costs more to business and industry than almost any other disease

Speaking at a rheumatology congress in Vienna today (Thursday 9 June), USA experts estimated that RA costs employers over $4,000 more per person, per year.

9 Jun 2005

Rituximab, used to treat rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is safe and effective

Professor Paul Emery from the University of Leeds in the UK led the DANCER study (Double blind placebo controlled dose ranging study), designed to confirm the efficacy of rituximab for the treatment of patients with active RA who have failed to improve on one or more disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs).

9 Jun 2005

MicroRNAs play an important role in human cancer

Over the past few years, scientists have discovered that a new class of genetic regulators called "microRNAs" influences normal human growth and development. Now, researchers have found that microRNAs also play an important role in human cancer. The findings are published in today's issue of the journal Nature (June 9).

9 Jun 2005

New study shows tiny RNAs intimately associated with cancer

In discoveries that may open a new chapter in understanding and diagnosing cancer, Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) investigators and their colleagues have established that tiny microRNAs provide a novel genetic route to the initiation of some forms of cancer.

9 Jun 2005

Rituximab provides new hope for people with lupus

Rheumatologists at the Annual European Congress of Rheumatology in Vienna, Austria heard today (Thursday 9 June) that rituximab is the first drug in a quarter of a century that is making a real impact, and an alternative to previous standard treatments of high-dose steroids, and chemotherapy.

9 Jun 2005

Density of breast tissue can directly influence tumour development

New research suggests that there is a direct relationship between the density of breast tissue, and the risk of developing tumours in dense areas of the breast.

8 Jun 2005

TV confuses kids on healthy eating

Despite - or perhaps because of - the barrage of information about food that they consume while watching television, kids are getting the wrong message about healthy eating.

8 Jun 2005

Atrial fibrillation may soon have an effective treatment

In laboratory tests in dogs, cardiac researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found that treatment with anti-inflammatory drugs after heart surgery may lessen or prevent atrial fibrillation. They report their findings in the June 7 issue of Circulation.

8 Jun 2005

Discovery of molecular mechanism that seems to play an important role in Alzheimer's disease

An international team of chemists and molecular biologists has discovered a fundamental molecular mechanism that seems to play an important role in Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, mad cow disease and two-dozen other degenerative and fatal diseases.

8 Jun 2005

Sick infants in hospital intensive care units exposed to high levels of toxic phthalate

A first-of-its-kind study released today by Harvard University scientists found that babies in Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs) receiving intensive therapy with polyvinyl chloride (PVC) medical devices were exposed to a toxic phthalate at very high levels -- an average of 25 times higher than the general population and up to 50 times higher for the most exposed.

8 Jun 2005

Researchers link aberrant 'microRNA' expression to human cancer

8 Jun 2005

Canada's first two human embryonic stem cell lines

A senior scientist at Mount Sinai Hospital has developed Canada's first two human embryonic stem cell lines, giving researchers across the country new potential and hope for eventually discovering treatments and cures for many chronic and fatal diseases.

8 Jun 2005