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A quarter of all adults aged over 40 could develop an irregular heartbeat

Atrial fibrillation is the most common heart rhythm disorder in the U.S., affecting more than 2 million adults. The prevalence of the condition is rising and scientists predict that about 5.6 million Americans will have the disorder by 2050. Known causes of AF include abnormalities in the heart’s structure and long-term uncontrolled high blood pressure.

17 Aug 2004

Immunotherapy and chemotherapy combined, slows tumor progression and extends survival of patients with glioblastoma multiforme

Researchers at Cedars-Sinai's Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute have found that the combination of immunotherapy and chemotherapy significantly slowed tumor progression and extended survival of patients with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM).

17 Aug 2004

Nasal cream effective in reducing the symptoms of allergic rhinitis

A nasal cream applied to the inside of the nose appears effective in reducing the symptoms of allergic rhinitis, according to an article in the August issue of The Archives of Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery.

16 Aug 2004

Physicians today perform more colonoscopies than necessary

A colonoscopy allows a physician look inside the entire large intestine, from the lowest part, the rectum, all the way up through the colon to the lower end of the small intestine.

16 Aug 2004

New blood test to detect ovarian cancer

Their preliminary studies with the new test suggest a molecular signature exclusive to this deadly cancer, known for its ability to remain undetected and spread quickly.

16 Aug 2004

Neural basis of memory loss

Most forms of memory loss are caused by some type of brain injury - particularly to the hippocampus. Amnesia can arise from brain damage that interferes with memory storage, retrieval, or consolidation. What ultimately causes amnesia - a failure to store memories or a failure to retrieve them - is not clear.

16 Aug 2004

Softening agents in their home linked to asthma and allergies

There is a clear co-variation between allergic symptoms in children and the concentration of softening agents in their homes. This is a finding made by a Swedish-Danish research team in a recently published study financed by Formas

16 Aug 2004

Cell biologists may have discovered a new effective therapy for psoriasis

About two million Germans suffer from psoriasis (from the Greek psora meaning ‘itching, scratching’). In this incurable disease the regeneration of the epidermis is speeded up enormously: whereas it normally renews itself in just under four weeks, this period is cut to four to seven days in psoriasis patients.

16 Aug 2004

Potential for a significant increase in the number of Americans without health insurance

As the U.S. economy struggled during the 2001 economic recession and less-than-robust job growth during the recovery, concerns escalated about the potential for a significant increase in the number of Americans without health insurance.

16 Aug 2004

Canadians are unhappy with the current Medicare system

A vast majority of Canadians polled assigned the health care system an overall B grade. Almost all Canadians feel sustainability of the health care system hinges on guaranteeing timely access to health care services. Two-thirds agree with making increased federal funds conditional on improved monitoring and accountability

16 Aug 2004

Scientists have uncovered the identity of the last of eight genes known to contribute to Bardet-Biedl syndrome

The identification of the BBS3 gene ends the search for primary BBS-causing genes in families studied for years by a team of scientists from the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. However, the scientists are still hunting for other, less obvious genetic influences in these families.

16 Aug 2004

The prion appears to function as an evolutionary stepping stone

“This prion,” explains Lindquist, “has a capacity to hide and release genetic information throughout the entire genome that can contribute to new traits in a complex way.”

16 Aug 2004

Revolutionary new test for identifying people infected with tuberculosis

The test – named T SPOT-TB – is designed to replace the century old skin test for TB, which is currently given to 600,000 UK schoolchildren every year. The test comes from discoveries made over the last 10 years at the University of Oxford by Dr Aljit Lalvani and collaborators at the Nuffield Department of Medicine.

16 Aug 2004

Link between marijuana and mental health

An eminent University of Melbourne Psychiatry Professor will lead a conference detailing the latest research findings on the link between marijuana and mental health.

16 Aug 2004

Medical alternative to surgery for cataracts

A common age related cause of blindness is being studied by researchers in the Cataract Group of the Agricultural and Life Sciences Division at Lincoln University, New Zealand. They are working on finding out a medical alternative to surgery.

16 Aug 2004

FDA clears device to remove blood clots from the brain in patients experiencing an ischemic stroke

An ischemic stroke occurs when a blood vessel in the brain is blocked by a blood clot which can impair brain function and cause severe disability or death. Of the 700,000 annual strokes in the US, approximately 83 percent (or 581,000) are ischemic. The Merci Retriever is a novel therapy that removes clots, restores blood flow and offers hope for ischemic stroke patients with no other options.

16 Aug 2004

Insomnia drug market will exceed $5.6 billion in 2013

The new Pharmacor study entitled Insomnia finds that upcoming launches of three new drugs from Sepracor, Pfizer, and Sanofi-Aventis will drive the market.

16 Aug 2004

Study on RNAi technology targeting neurodegenerative diseases

Sirna Therapeutics has announced the publication of preclinical studies evaluating RNA interference-based therapies for a class of inherited neurodegenerative diseases of the central nervous system (CNS) in the current issue of Nature Medicine.

16 Aug 2004

Discovery of new ways to manipulate AIDS virus

Researchers at the National Cancer Institute, have discovered new information about how human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the virus that causes acquired immune deficiency (AIDS), possibly evades eradication from the body.

16 Aug 2004

Heroin use amongst Australian detainees still lower than pre-drought levels

Heroin use amongst Australian detainees is still below the levels recorded prior to the heroin drought whilst methamphetamine use continues to rise, according to a new survey of drug use amongst detainees released today by the Minister for Justice and Customs, Senator Chris Ellison.

16 Aug 2004