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Treatment of hepatitis C can be successful in a prison population

Incarcerated individuals with chronic hepatitis C virus infection can be successfully treated with pegylated interferon and ribavirin, achieving similar rates of treatment completion and sustained viral response to that of infected individuals in the community, study results show.

8 Oct 2012

Morphine inhibits BDNF protein, whereas cocaine enhances BDNF

Chronic morphine exposure has the opposite effect on the brain compared to cocaine in mice, providing new insight into the basis of opiate addiction, according to Mount Sinai School of Medicine researchers. They found that a protein called brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), which is increased in cocaine addiction, is inhibited in opioid addiction. The research is published in the October 5 issue of Science.

8 Oct 2012

High levels of chronic and acute illnesses in Palestinian refugees

New research draws attention to the continuing and urgent health emergency facing Palestinians living under occupation, especially the health and wellbeing issues surrounding refugees from the occupied Palestinian territories. Abstracts of the research, which were presented at the fourth meeting of The Lancet Palestinian Health Alliance in March 2012, are published online in The Lancet.

8 Oct 2012

New neuroprotective agent for stroke patients potentially found

Scientists have shown that a drug called NA-1 results in fewer brain lesions in patients who have undergone surgery to repair a brain aneurysm, compared to placebo, and appears to be safe to use, according to an Article published Online First in The Lancet Neurology.

8 Oct 2012

New legislation proposed to improve seniors' care coordination

The bill backed by Rep. Allyson Schwartz, D-Pa., and Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., would promote better coordination between medical and social services for elderly people by building on the Older Americans Act.

8 Oct 2012

Parametric response mapping could improve diagnosis and treatment of COPD

A new approach to lung scanning could improve the diagnosis and treatment of a lung disease that affects approximately 24 million Americans and is the country's third-highest cause of death.

8 Oct 2012

Researchers discover 8 new loci associated with susceptibility to atopic dermatitis

Researchers at the RIKEN Center for Genomic Medicine (CGM) and their colleagues have identified 8 new loci associated with susceptibility to atopic dermatitis in the Japanese population.

8 Oct 2012

Researchers decipher how AP-1 gene regulator controls survival of liver tumor-initiating cells

Researchers headed by Erwin Wagner, the Director of the BBVA Foundation-CNIO Cancer Cell Biology Programme at the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO), have deciphered how a stress-inducible gene regulator, AP-1, controls the survival of liver tumor-initiating cells. These results, published in the online edition of Nature Cell Biology, could provide new preventive strategies and identify potentially targetable molecules to prevent liver cancer.

8 Oct 2012

New insight into basis of opiate addiction

8 Oct 2012

FDA clears Fenwal's new plasma products

Fenwal Inc., a global leader specializing in separation technologies for blood and cell collection and therapy, announced today it has received clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for two new indications for collection of plasma products on the Fenwal Alyx and Amicus systems.

8 Oct 2012

FMCNA urges dialysis patients to get flu shots

With flu season just around the corner, Fresenius Medical Care North America (FMCNA), the nation's leading network of dialysis facilities, is urging dialysis patients to get flu shots to protect themselves against this common infectious disease. In October, FMCNA will begin offering at no cost to all of its dialysis patients and staff, flu vaccinations, which protect against both seasonal flu and H1N1 swine flu.

6 Oct 2012

Benzodiazepine exposure for over-65s linked to increased risk of dementia

The results from comparative analysis of this population demonstrate the risk of developing dementia increased by 50% for subjects who consumed benzodiazepines during the follow-up period, compared with those who had never used benzodiazepines.

6 Oct 2012

'Political will' needed to implement solutions for long-term food security challenges

"This month, President Obama's Feed the Future initiative received a $1 billion pledge from U.S. organizations to address the root causes of hunger and poverty," Rep. Mike Honda (D-Calif.) writes in the Huffington Post's "Politics" blog, noting, "This pledge came on the heels of a $4 billion pledge by more than 60 companies from Africa and other continents."

6 Oct 2012

Home hemodialysis more accessible than ever

Most patients with chronic kidney disease who undergo hemodialysis put up with a grueling treatment regimen that involves going into a clinic several days a week and sitting through a three-to-four hour dialysis session at each visit. Home hemodialysis is more accessible than ever, though, with the advent of newer systems that are easier for patients to learn, use, and maintain, according to a review appearing in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.

5 Oct 2012

UCLA project to promote healthy nutrition and physical activity to curb obesity

Researchers at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health and UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center have been awarded a $20 million federal grant to further their innovative efforts to curb obesity, a global pandemic that has reached the level of a national crisis in the United States.

5 Oct 2012

Paper proposes novel mathematical models for injection of insulin in type 1 and 2 diabetes

Diabetes mellitus is a chronic disease in which individuals exhibit high levels of sugar in the blood, either due to insufficient production of insulin-the hormone that allows glucose to be absorbed by body cells-or the body's lack of response to insulin. Type 1 diabetes occurs due to loss or dysfunction of β-cells of the pancreas, the organ that produces insulin. Type 2 diabetes is caused by a defective glucose-insulin regulatory system.

5 Oct 2012

New prototype mouse model duplicates the human response in rheumatoid arthritis

Researchers at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine have developed the first animal model that duplicates the human response in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), an important step that may enable scientists to discover better medicines to treat the disease.

5 Oct 2012

Patients with eye diseases can benefit from ArtCornea

Blindness is often caused by corneal diseases. The established treatment is a corneal transplant, but in many cases this is not possible and donor corneas are often hard to come by. In the future, an artificial cornea could make up for this deficiency and save the vision of those affected.

5 Oct 2012

Transplant recipients and lymphoma patients far likelier to develop melanoma

Melanoma is on the rise nationally, and transplant recipients and lymphoma patients are far likelier than the average person to get that form of skin cancer and to die from it, a Mayo Clinic review has found.

5 Oct 2012

New book on natural interventions for lung cancer

Told he had lung cancer and 6 months to live, the author refused chemo/surgery and used holistic, natural, non-invasive interventions. Now, 38 years later at age 80 he not only beat the odds of lung cancer but also the odds of 3 chronic illnesses and 5 prescribed medications that are the average for a 75 year old.

5 Oct 2012