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Helminthic therapy, using worm eggs to treat patients with inflammatory bowel disorders

University of Iowa Health Care researchers reported important findings recently at a conference of specialists in New Orleans, La. The findings are from their study of helminthic therapy - using specially prepared worm eggs - to treat patients diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disorders that don't respond to standard treatments.

21 May 2004

Using gene therapy to fight rheumatoid arthritis

Guided by a similar principle, arthritis researchers at the University of Florida and Harvard University hope to use gene therapy to help joint cells pump out a harmless protein that parks in receptor sites, leaving a notorious inflammatory agent “circling the lot” and unable to cause pain, swelling and possible joint damage.

21 May 2004

New treatment for dry eye syndrome (keratoconjunctivitis sicca)

Researchers in the department of ophthalmology at the University of Arizona College of Medicine in Tucson played an important role in the development of Restasis, the first alternative to artificial tears for the treatment of dry eye syndrome.

21 May 2004

Pulsed-dye laser surgery for voice disorders better all round

The newly developed pulsed-dye laser surgery for voice disorders has been found to be faster, cheaper, better tolerated, and less complicated than standard surgery that requires general anesthesia, more time and a longer recovery, surgeons reported here today at an international conference on problems associated with laryngopharyngeal reflux.

21 May 2004

Genome research sheds light on Bardet-Biedl syndrome

By comparing the genomes of an alga, a weed and humans, a team of researchers has identified a new gene behind Bardet-Biedl syndrome (BBS), a complex condition marked by learning disabilities, vision loss and obesity.

21 May 2004

Pacemaker-type device and medicines reduce hospital stays and death rates

A nationwide clinical trial of more than 1,600 heart failure patients showed that when medicines are combined with the use of a pacemaker-type device that resynchronizes both sides of the heart, hospital stays and death rates drop significantly.

20 May 2004

Improving the care delivered to children with special health care needs

Health care delivered close to home is vitally important, especially when the patient is a child. But how do community pediatric practices adapt to offer the best care when faced with a child who has complex and often, multiple health needs? Reporting in this month's issue of Pediatrics, Dartmouth researchers outline a process designed to help any practice become a state of the art "medical home" for such children.

20 May 2004

No justification for claims that cleaning and hygiene contribute to an increase in allergies

A landmark report by the London-based International Scientific Forum on Home Hygiene (IFH) on the so-called hygiene hypothesis finds "no justification" for claims that cleaning and hygiene contribute to an increase in allergies.

20 May 2004

Diabetes drug improves metabolic changes associated with HIV combination therapy

Use of an oral antidiabetes medication produced significant improvement in a group of patients with HIV lipodsytrophy, a syndrome involving the redistribution of fat and other metabolic changes in those receiving combination drug therapy for HIV infection.

20 May 2004

Obese women more likely to have pregnancy complications and caesarean sections than women of average weight

The controlled study is one of the largest ever to look at obesity in pregnancy, following more than 16,000 pregnant women at 14 medical centers across the country.

20 May 2004

Study has important implications for African Americans who suffer from high blood pressure

A new study has important implications for the millions of African Americans who suffer from high blood pressure. The study, AADVANCE, shows Diovan HCT(R) (valsartan and hydrochlorothiazide) lowers blood pressure in African Americans to aggressive recommended target blood pressure goals as effectively as amlodipine.

20 May 2004

UK pet owners who take their animals on holiday to Europe could bring back tropical diseases

UK pet owners who take their animals on holiday to Europe are being alerted to the fact that their pets could bring back some unwelcome souvenirs in the form of diseases more often associated with the tropics.

20 May 2004

Australian government puts it on the record that prices of prescription medicines will not rise as a result of the Free Trade Agreement with the United States

The price of prescription medicines will not rise as a result of the Free Trade Agreement with the United States. The Australian Government gave this undertaking going into the negotiations and has delivered on this commitment.

20 May 2004

Studies identify risk factors for colon cancer in women

In new studies presented today at Digestive Disease Week in New Orleans, scientists report that women’s preferences for a female physician may delay or prevent proper colorectal screenings due to a lack of females in the field and diabetes may be a significant risk factor for development of colon cancer.

19 May 2004

CRT implantable defibrillators significantly reduce hospitalization rates and extend lives

Researchers at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center have announced the findings of a large-scale clinical trial for patients with late-stage heart failure. Results showed that cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) from implantable pacemaker-like devices or CRT combined with an implantable defibrillator (CRT-D), when used in addition to optimal drug therapy, reduced significantly the mortality and first hospitalization rate when compared to drug therapy alone. CRT-D also substantially lowered mortality.

19 May 2004

New study of tumor genetics may help to treat patients with head and neck cancer

Head and neck tumors account for more than 40,000 new cancers annually in the United States. The most common of these is squamous cell carcinoma. Prognosis is based largely on location and size of the tumor, and if the cancer has spread, or metastasized, to lymph nodes and distant sites in the body.

19 May 2004

Damaged metal halide lamps can cause sunburn

Ever think you could get a nasty sunburn — severe enough to peel — by attending an indoor event? Seems improbable, but it can happen. And it has — three times recently in Middle Tennessee.

19 May 2004

Anti-clotting treatment underused at many hospitals

Academic hospitals are more likely than community or Veteran’s Administration (VA) hospitals to follow national guidelines for treating patients at risk for blood clots with aspirin or warfarin.

19 May 2004

Higher volume may not guarantee higher quality angioplasty and stenting

"Practice makes perfect" seems logical, but how much practice remains uncertain, and current health care quality guidelines may be set too high. It may be time to reexamine the standard recommending hospitals perform at least 400 angioplasty and stent procedures per year, according to a new study in the May 19, 2004 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

19 May 2004

Comparison study shows low-carbohydrate, high-protein diet loses more weight than low-fat, low-cholesterol, low-calorie diet

People who followed a low-carbohydrate, high-protein diet lost more weight than people on a low-fat, low-cholesterol, low-calorie diet during a six-month comparison study at Duke University Medical Center. However, the researchers caution that people with medical conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure should not start the diet without close medical supervision.

19 May 2004

Medicine News and Research

Helminthic therapy, using worm eggs to treat patients with inflammatory bowel disorders

Using gene therapy to fight rheumatoid arthritis

New treatment for dry eye syndrome (keratoconjunctivitis sicca)

Pulsed-dye laser surgery for voice disorders better all round

Genome research sheds light on Bardet-Biedl syndrome

Pacemaker-type device and medicines reduce hospital stays and death rates

Improving the care delivered to children with special health care needs

No justification for claims that cleaning and hygiene contribute to an increase in allergies

Diabetes drug improves metabolic changes associated with HIV combination therapy

Obese women more likely to have pregnancy complications and caesarean sections than women of average weight

Study has important implications for African Americans who suffer from high blood pressure

UK pet owners who take their animals on holiday to Europe could bring back tropical diseases

Australian government puts it on the record that prices of prescription medicines will not rise as a result of the Free Trade Agreement with the United States

Studies identify risk factors for colon cancer in women

CRT implantable defibrillators significantly reduce hospitalization rates and extend lives

New study of tumor genetics may help to treat patients with head and neck cancer

Damaged metal halide lamps can cause sunburn

Anti-clotting treatment underused at many hospitals

Higher volume may not guarantee higher quality angioplasty and stenting

Comparison study shows low-carbohydrate, high-protein diet loses more weight than low-fat, low-cholesterol, low-calorie diet

Discover how SciY empowers scientists

Why use light scattering to analyze proteins and viral vectors?

Changing the landscape of R&D to build clinical success from the ground up

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