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Researchers investigate African plants effective in treating snakebite

A PhD student at the University of Copenhagen has drawn on nature's own pharmacy to help improve the treatment of snakebites in Africa.

17 Sep 2012

Novel method of identifying molecules that can help prevent diabetes

Pancreatic beta cells produce insulin, responsible for controlling blood sugar levels and thus essential for our survival. Among the numerous factors that affect the workings of these cells, a protein called Cx36 was identified a few months ago by a research team at the UNIGE.

27 Jul 2012

Venom protein could treat Duchenne muscular dystrophy

While Spider-Man is capturing the imagination of theatergoers, real-life spider men in Upstate New York are working intently to save a young boy's life. It all began in 2009, when Jeff Harvey, a stockbroker from the Buffalo suburbs, discovered that his grandson, JB, had Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The disease is fatal. It strikes only boys, causing their muscles to waste away.

17 Jul 2012

UNN, UM establish firm foundation for mutual collaborations

A delegation from the University of Nigeria (UNN) has just completed a week in key laboratories and boardrooms at the University of Maryland's Baltimore campus exploring educational exchanges between the two universities.

8 Jul 2012

Allergies may provide benefit by keeping away noxious environmental toxins

Yale researchers suggested Wednesday that allergies may be an outgrowth of the protective mechanism of the body to protect itself from noxious substances in the environment.

26 Apr 2012

Ten tips to avoid or treat common medical problems in the outdoors

"Good fortune favors the well prepared," says Paul S. Auerbach, MD, a founder and past President of the Wilderness Medical Society and editor of Wilderness Medicine, 6th Edition, recently published by Elsevier. With some advance reading, individuals planning vacations or outdoor excursions can become familiar with adverse situations and be prepared to handle them.

19 Apr 2012

Spider venom studied as treatment for breast cancer

James Cook University Professor Norelle Daly has received a $205,000 research grant from the National Breast Cancer Foundation to analyze whether the venom of tarantulas and funnel web spiders can kill breast cancer cells.

10 Apr 2012

µ-PIIIA conotoxin can be effective in controlling cancer pain

Hidden in the mud, the cone snail Conus purpurascens lies in wait for its victims. It attracts its prey, fish, with its proboscis, which can move like a worm, protruding from the mud. Once a fish approaches out of curiosity, the snail will rapidly shoot a harpoon at it, which consists of an evolutionarily modified tooth. The paralyzed victim then becomes an easy meal. It takes the venomous cone snail about two weeks to digest a fish. During this time, its venomous harpoon is also replaced.

5 Apr 2012

Cenderitide may preserve cardiac function after heart attack

The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI), a division of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has awarded a $2.5 million grant to Mayo Clinic's Cardiorenal Research Laboratory to conduct a highly innovative research project, "Cardiovascular Peptides and Myocardial Infarction."

6 Mar 2012

Researchers warn food allergy blood tests should never be used as standalone diagnostics

An advisory from two leading allergists, Robert Wood of the Johns Hopkins Children's Center and Scott Sicherer of Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York, urges clinicians to use caution when ordering allergy tests and to avoid making a diagnosis based solely on test results.

26 Dec 2011

Fatal snakebites 'vastly underreported,' researchers report at annual ASTMH meeting

"Fatal snakebites worldwide have been vastly underreported because many die before seeking or reaching medical care, researchers" from the Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre in Frankfurt, Germany, reported on Monday at the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene's (ASTMH) annual meeting, UPI.com writes.

8 Dec 2011

Global problem of fatal snakebites and promising solutions highlighted at ASTMH meeting

Fatal snakebites are a bigger-than-acknowledged global health problem that has been vastly under-reported, according to research presented today at the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene's (ASTMH) annual meeting.

6 Dec 2011

Fatal snakebites emerging global threat

5 Dec 2011

Neuropharmacology to publish Nutra Pharma's Alpha-Cobratoxin mechanism study on chronic pain

Nutra Pharma Corporation, a biotechnology company that is developing treatments for Multiple Sclerosis (MS), Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), Adrenomyeloneuropathy (AMN) and Pain, announced today that the journal Neuropharmacology will be publishing a mechanism study on the use of Alpha-Cobratoxin, a component of cobra venom, as a treatment for pain.

1 Dec 2011

First Edition: November 29, 2011

Reporting for Kaiser Health News, and working in collaboration with The Washington Post, Sandra G. Boodman writes: "Propelled by the Post-9/11 GI Bill, which took effect in 2009, 2 million veterans, many of whom served in Iraq and Afghanistan, are eligible for generous benefits that can amount to a full scholarship.

29 Nov 2011

Research shows how the bite of a small Texas snake causes extreme pain

Examining venom from a variety of poisonous snakes, a group of researchers at the University of California, San Francisco has discovered why the bite of one small black, yellow and red serpent called the Texas coral snake can be so painful.

17 Nov 2011

Researchers identify how to design drugs to target specific brain areas

The future of drug design lies in developing therapies that can target specific cellular processes without causing adverse reactions in other areas of the nervous system. Scientists at the Universities of Bristol and Li-ge in Belgium have discovered how to design drugs to target specific areas of the brain.

11 Nov 2011

Study indicates need for antivenoms and better health-care services in Africa

One and a half million people per year are poisoned by snake venom in Sub-Saharan Africa. An IRD researcher recently analysed around 100 surveys and medical reports published over the past 40 years. No large-scale study of the situation had hitherto been conducted and public health authorities had underestimated the size of the problem.

12 Sep 2011

First anti-venom for scorpion bites approved by FDA

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a Mexican-made drug that is the first specific treatment for stings by the most common type of scorpion in the United States. The new preparation called Anascorp is found to have few allergic reactions and was approved after a series of clinical trials by the University of Arizona.

5 Aug 2011

FDA approves first scorpion antivenom

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Anascorp-, an antivenom produced in Mexico and tested in clinical trials conducted through the University of Arizona, for use in treating patients suffering the effects of scorpion sting.

5 Aug 2011