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Living near to a petrol station may increase the risk of acute childhood leukaemia by 400%

These new findings are based on 280 cases of acute childhood leukaemia and a comparison group of 285 children matched for sex. The children were drawn from four hospitals in France (Nancy, Lille, Lyon, and Paris), and almost two thirds (60%) of the children with leukaemia were aged between 2 and 6.

19 Aug 2004

Stem cell research may one day help cerebral palsy

Natural chemicals that assist healing may one day help transplanted adult stem cells integrate into an injured brain, helping children with cerebral palsy recover lost function, according to researchers at the Medical College of Georgia.

18 Aug 2004

Authors redefine aging as any change in an organism over time

Voyager Pharmaceutical have announced the publication of a paper co-authored by its chief scientist, Richard Bowen, M.D., and Craig Atwood, Ph.D., research director of the University of Wisconsin Memory Research Program and the Wisconsin Alzheimer's Institute.

18 Aug 2004

Gene variant that is a major contributor to cleft lip

An international team of researchers has identified a gene variant that is a major contributor to oral clefts and triples the risk of recurrence in affected families, it was reported today in The New England Journal of Medicine.

18 Aug 2004

Researchers find important gene for lupus

Researchers at the University of Minnesota have identified, for the first time, a gene variation associated with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), a potentially fatal disease which causes the body's defence system to attack itself.

18 Aug 2004

Zinc plays a crucial role in blindness

Dartmouth Medical School researchers in their quest to find cures for inherited diseases have found that zinc plays a crucial role in blindness in over one million people worldwide.

18 Aug 2004

Newly discovered protein switch may be key to understanding sleep disorders, anxiety, and depression

University of California researchers have found that a newly discovered protein switch which they named neuropeptide S appears to work in the brain to enhance wakefulness and reduce anxiety in laboratory animals. According to Rainer Reinscheid and his colleagues, the protein could help in the understanding of sleep disorders, anxiety, and depression.

18 Aug 2004

More tumour cells in the blood leads to quicker deterioration in women with breast cancer

A new study of women with advanced breast cancer who have more tumor cells circulating in their blood deterioate and die quicker than women with fewer of these cells, according to the researchers from the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center and other cancer centers throughout the country.

18 Aug 2004

Embryonic stem cell therapy show benefits in rebuilding damaged heart

Despite improvements in earlier diagnosis and treatment, cardiovascular disease is far and away the leading cause of death in the U.S. and the world.

18 Aug 2004

New link between a specific protein and its role in determining how cancerous cells divide

Biology researchers at Rutgers-Newark have identified a new link between a specific protein and its role in determining how cancerous cells divide, spread and form new tumors in other parts of the human body.

18 Aug 2004

Researchers to conduct a series of studies on human circulation

Penn State College of Medicine researchers recently were awarded a five-year, $7 million grant from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health to conduct a series of studies on human circulation.

18 Aug 2004

Research will lead to better treatments for mastocytosis

Tens of millions of people know what it's like to suffer the seasonal torment of allergies, when just a whiff of pollen, mold or dust can set off a chain reaction in the body that causes sniffling, sneezing and coughing.

18 Aug 2004

Researchers find way to detect dangerous brain swelling in diabetic children

A rare swelling of the brain that is nonetheless the most common diabetes-related cause of death for children with the disease could be caught earlier — potentially saving lives — if practitioners learn to recognize key signs, researchers at the University of Florida report.

18 Aug 2004

Computed tomography may improve screening of latent atherosclerosis

Atherosclerosis is the progressive narrowing and hardening of the arteries over time, known to occur to some degree with aging; but other risk factors (such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure, smoking, diabetes and family history for atherosclerotic disease) that accelerate this process have been identified.

18 Aug 2004

Friendly bacteria the key to ulcerative colitis treatment

Affecting an estimated fifty thousand people in the UK, with a particularly high incidence rate in north east Scotland, ulcerative colitis is an acute and chronic disease that causes inflammation and sores, called ulcers, in the lining of the large bowel.

17 Aug 2004