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Immunoglobulins might be promising treatment for Alzheimer's disease

Intravenous immunoglobulin might offer a promising treatment for Alzheimer's disease, suggests preliminary research in the Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery and Psychiatry.

15 Sep 2004

Role of gene identified in development of tumours in children

Medical researchers from Children’s Cancer Institute Australia for Medical Research (CCIA) have made significant progress in understanding tumour initiation in the aggressive, debilitating childhood cancer, neuroblastoma

14 Sep 2004

Drinking by youth at disturbingly high levels

Although the prevalence of underage drinking has decreased since its peak in the late 1970s, drinking by youth has stabilized over the past decade at disturbingly high levels.

14 Sep 2004

Important discovery that will increase the understanding of multiple sclerosis

Scientists at the University of California, Santa Barbara have made an important discovery that will increase the understanding of multiple sclerosis, a debilitating disease of the central nervous system in which the myelin sheath, an insulating membrane surrounding the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, start to unravel for reasons as yet unknown.

14 Sep 2004

German researchers are identifying lymphoma risks

Little is known about the causes of lymphoma. A case-control study conducted by Professor Nikolaus Becker and Dr. Alexandra Nieters, Division of Clinical Epidemiology at the Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum (German Cancer Research Center, DKFZ), is looking closely at possible risk factors.

14 Sep 2004

Brain function a key to addiction treatments

Neuroscience research should be informing drug addiction treatment and policy in Australia, according to Neuroscience of Psychoactive Substance Use and Dependence, a new report from the World Health Organization (WHO).

14 Sep 2004

Shade structures are not built effectively

Skin cancer causes more than 1000 deaths in Australia, and costs the health care system over $700 million each year.

14 Sep 2004

Research highlights the need for vehicle redesigning of SUV's, pickup trucks and vans

While the number of fatalities resulting from crashes between passenger vehicles decreased steadily between 1980 and 1998, there has been an increase in fatalities resulting from collisions between passenger vehicles and light trucks, a category that includes sport utility vehicles, pickup trucks and vans.

14 Sep 2004

Crocodile blood could help make artificial blood

Pioneering research being undertaken on crocodile blood to see if it can help in making artificial blood is revealed tomorrow in an innovative new, free, emailed, quarterly science magazine called Velocity.

14 Sep 2004

Lead poisoning in children may be a bigger public health issue in the UK than is currently appreciated

Britain's Health Protection Agency is warning that lead poisoning in children may be a bigger public health issue in the UK than is currently appreciated, and more research needs to be done to establish the exact threat.

14 Sep 2004

Prolonged and sustained endurance training prevents stiffening of the heart

The researchers also report that a sedentary lifestyle, in addition to aging, puts older people at risk for heart failure, the leading cause of hospitalizations for patients over 65 and a condition that affects eight out of every 1,000 people older than 70.

14 Sep 2004

Hibiscus flowers contain antioxidants that help control cholesterol levels

Hibiscus flower extract may have the same health benefits as red wine and tea according to new research by scientists in Taiwan. Hibiscus contains antioxidants that help control cholesterol levels and reduce heart disease, says the research in Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture.

14 Sep 2004

New biological principle and therapeutic goal for cancer treatment

Pioneering research on leukaemia cells can have identified their vulnerable spot. This new knowledge can now be used to produce more effective medicines.

14 Sep 2004

Genetically modified bacterium as remedy for intestinal diseases

Researchers from the Flanders Interuniversity Institute for Biotechnology (VIB) at Ghent University are joining the fight against chronic intestinal disease with a genetically modified bacterium (Lactococcus lactis).

14 Sep 2004

Statistical method for faster prognosis of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases

A large number of diseases − including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and mad cow disease − are the result of proteins that erroneously assume the wrong shape, causing them to stick to each other.

13 Sep 2004

Researchers find way to clean up the drugs market

Researchers from the University of Cambridge and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have made a breakthrough by using supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2) as a reaction medium for the preparation of molecules of interest to the pharmaceutical industry.

13 Sep 2004

Researchers have discovered a possible way to distinguish lethal from localized prostate cancers

If future studies show their test -- measuring the level of activity of a signaling pathway called Hedgehog -- can predict which prostate cancers will spread, the results could revolutionize decision making processes for prostate cancer patients, the researchers say.

13 Sep 2004

Western diseases such as stroke and heart disease are a major problem in Asia

Diseases such as stroke and heart disease, which have traditionally been associated with Western diets and lifestyles, are also a major problem in Asia according to researchers at The University of Auckland, New Zealand.

13 Sep 2004

Crucial research fails to connect due to secretive nature of research and development

A researcher in the United States has many of the pieces needed to cure a disease. Thousands of miles away, another scientist has uncovered some crucial information of his own - but thanks to the often secretive nature of research and development and the big-time dollars associated with major discoveries, they fail to connect.

13 Sep 2004

$10.3 million biodefense contract to tackle salmonella, typhoid fever and monkey pox virus

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory has received a $10.3 million biodefense contract from the National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Agents (NIAID) to identify the proteins that regulate the bacteria that cause salmonella poisoning and typhoid fever, and the monkey pox virus.

12 Sep 2004