Medical News

RSS

Mutated gene may provide better idea of how cancer develops and progresses

Scientists are taking the first steps to find out how a gene that is mutated in many cancer cells functions in healthy cells.

6 Jan 2005

Processes shed light on how DNA recombination mechanisms are related

Peter W. Atkinson, a University of California, Riverside professor of entomology and member of the university’s Institute for Integrative Genome Biology, is part of a team that has linked the movement of small pieces of DNA, known as transposable elements, to a process called V(D)J recombination that produces the genetic diversity responsible for the production of antibodies.

6 Jan 2005

Gene sequencing explains why natural bioremediation 'bug' has big appetite for chlorinated pollutants

"The born-to-dechlorinate bug" is what Cornell University researchers called Dehalococcoides ethenogenes Strain 195 when they found the bacterium obligingly detoxifying the pollutant PCE, or perchloroethylene (a chlorinated solvent used for dry cleaning), in sludge from an Ithaca, N.Y., sewage treatment plant.

6 Jan 2005

DermaVir, a novel treatment for HIV/AIDS, complements and improves present drug therapies

DermaVir, a novel treatment for HIV/AIDS, offers a new option which complements and improves present drug therapies. The vaccine, applied topically to the skin, has demonstrated efficacy in boosting immune responses and controlling virus replication in chronically infected monkeys.

6 Jan 2005

Scents and emotions linked by learning

Whether emotional responses to scent are a product of nature or nurture is a matter of scientific debate. But a Brown University study, published in the current issue of the International Journal of Comparative Psychology, comes down on the nurturing side.

6 Jan 2005

Reduced progression of atherosclerosis tied to statin drugs lowering fats, protein

Aggressive therapy with statins -- drugs that inhibit cholesterol synthesis -- works better than moderate statin therapy in reducing fats and proteins in the blood that have been linked to atherosclerosis, a new multi-center study concludes. Statins’ effects on both complex compounds appear beneficial in cutting patients’ cardiovascular risks.

6 Jan 2005

Herpes virus is everywhere and it's unavoidable

While not the first, the researchers report that this study uses the most sensitive techniques in a cross-sectional assessment performed to date of the presence of HSV-1 DNA in the eyes and mouths of healthy individuals, in terms of population size and total samples collected.

6 Jan 2005

In the first few days of each month, fatalities due to medication errors rise by as much as 25 percent above normal

Beware not the ides but the start of March – and April and May and every month. In the first few days of each month, fatalities due to medication errors rise by as much as 25 percent above normal, according to new research by University of California, San Diego sociologist David Phillips.

6 Jan 2005

New insights into the strategies that the brain uses to measure time

From pouring a glass of milk to typing a news article, precise timing--down to the thousandth of a second--is key to the brain's control of movement.

6 Jan 2005

Glia cells may be essential for the normal development of nerve cells responsible for hearing and balance

Traditionally viewed as supporting actors, cells known as glia may be essential for the normal development of nerve cells responsible for hearing and balance, according to new University of Utah research. The study is reported in the January 6, 2005 issue of Neuron and is co-authored by scientists at the University of Washington.

6 Jan 2005

Antibiotics protect nerves in mice by turning on genes

A family of antibiotics that includes penicillin may help prevent nerve damage and death in a wide variety of neurological diseases, including Lou Gehrig's disease, dementia, stroke, and epilepsy, Johns Hopkins researchers have found.

6 Jan 2005

CDC concern over contraceptive decline deserves second look

On January 4, The Washington Post allocated front page coverage to a biased December 2004 study by Centers for Disease Control (CDC) on Contraceptive use among American women.

6 Jan 2005

States to explore putting restrictions on AIDS drug Trizivir

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) has sent a letter dated October 20, 2004, to the heads of all state Medicaid programs asking them put in use treatment authorization request (TAR) procedures on GlaxoSmithKline's (GSK) fixed-dose combination AIDS drug, Trizivir, as a standalone regimen for treatment naïve patients.

6 Jan 2005

Four out of five sexually active adolescent females infected with the human papillomavirus

More sexually active adolescent females than previously thought may be infected with a virus linked to cervical cancer and genital warts, according to a study published in the Jan. 15 issue of The Journal of Infectious Diseases.

5 Jan 2005

Women need less morphine after hysterectomies with new treatment

Women recovering from hysterectomies require less morphine to combat pain and are able to recover their lung function more quickly when they receive a combination of two non-morphine-like or “non-opioid” drugs as part of their treatment, a new Queen’s study shows.

5 Jan 2005

Discovery of gene related to p53 called Bnip3L that can also cause cell death

Researchers have known for a decade that the p53 tumor suppressor gene is important for killing cells as they proliferate under low-oxygen conditions inside tumors.

5 Jan 2005

New hope for millions of patients suffering from liver damage (cirrhosis)

Millions of patients suffering from liver damage (cirrhosis) and failure may benefit from research by the Universities of Edinburgh and Southampton which may lead to new life-saving treatments. There is currently no cure for liver cirrhosis and a patient's only hope of survival is to receive a liver transplant.

5 Jan 2005

Old fashioned cod piece helps shield male gonads when X-rayed

Shielding the male gonads using a type of lead capsule previously only used in X-ray imaging also reduces indirect radiation to the testes during MDCT of the abdomen and pelvis, according to a new study by researchers from the University of Technology of Aachen in Germany.

5 Jan 2005

Protein in cardiac muscle cells may play a crucial role in heart failure prevention

Scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine have shown that a protein in cardiac muscle cells may play a crucial role in heart failure prevention.

5 Jan 2005

Metabolic syndrome linked to carbohydrate-rich diet

Metabolic Syndrome, a health condition characterized by obesity, high cholesterol levels, elevated blood pressure and pre-diabetes, presently affects nearly 47 million Americans.

5 Jan 2005