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New study shows showering in manganese contaminated water could permanently affect the nervous system

A new analysis based on animal studies suggests that showering in manganese-contaminated water for a decade or more could have permanent effects on the nervous system. The damage may occur even at levels of manganese considered safe by the Environmental Protection Agency.

1 Jul 2005

Found! - mutant viruses that laid NSW low with gastro

New mutant viruses responsible for gastroenteritis outbreaks in New South Wales in recent times have been identified by research published in Emerging Infectious Diseases, a journal of the US Centers for Disease Control.

27 Jun 2005

Smoking in cars - won’t somebody please think of the children!

Australian Medical Association Victoria (AMA) President Dr Mark Yates has praised the support from various health lobby groups and Democrats Leader Senator Lyn Allison to ban smoking in cars carrying passengers, and in particular children.

21 Jun 2005

Marijuana vaporizers - get the dope without the smoke

The latest gadget on the medical marijuana scene is a high-tech contraption that lets people inhale the drug without the smoke.

20 Jun 2005

Maryland's poor, African-American communities suffer disproportionate cancer risk from air pollution

Maryland communities that are poor and predominantly African-American incur a disproportionate cancer risk from ambient exposure to airborne toxins, according to researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

15 Jun 2005

Tetanus toxin may help fight depression, anxiety, anorexia and Parkinson's

A team of researchers from the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and the Institute of Neuroscience at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona has discovered that tetanus toxin, which causes tetanus, could be extremely useful as a therapy against psychological disorders such as depression, anxiety and anorexia, and to slow the progress of neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson's disease.

14 Jun 2005

Venom of marine cone snails may provide an improved treatment for neuropathic pain associated with diabetes

A cone snail toxin discovered by Melbourne researchers has proven to have great potential for easing pain and could provide an improved treatment for neuropathic pain associated with diabetes.

12 Jun 2005

Multisequential MRI approach improves heart inflammation diagnosis

A multisequential approach to cardiovascular magnetic resonance scans that highlight different aspects of heart structure and function may offer a better and safer way to identify potentially deadly inflammation of the heart muscle, according to a new study (PDF) in the June 7, 2005, issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

9 Jun 2005

Detox diets unsound science and do not work

Scientists say there is no proof that Detox diets work and they do no more to rid the body of toxins than the body's own natural system.

8 Jun 2005

12 deaths creates new infection scare in UK hospitals

There have been some 300 cases of Clostridium difficile in 18 months at Stoke Mandeville Hospital, in Aylesbury, Bucks, a national centre for spinal injury, and it is thought that the infection was an "actual or probable" factor in 12 deaths in that time.

6 Jun 2005

Toxic chemicals that poisoned your great-grandparents may also damage your health

New U.S. research is suggesting that chemicals can change the way genes work and that toxic chemicals that poisoned your great-grandparents may also damage your health.

5 Jun 2005

Role of toxins in inherited disease

A disease you are suffering today could be a result of your great-grandmother being exposed to an environmental toxin during pregnancy.

3 Jun 2005

Lactose intolerance linked to ancestral environment

Got milk? Many people couldn't care less because they can't digest it. A new Cornell University study finds that it is primarily people whose ancestors came from places where dairy herds could be raised safely and economically, such as in Europe, who have developed the ability to digest milk.

1 Jun 2005

Technology for analyzing gene expression must be standardized

Technology for analyzing gene expression must be standardized among laboratories and across platforms around the world to support this age of human genome exploration, an Oregon Health & Science University researcher says.

29 May 2005

Most serious side effects in statins may be higher in one of the newest drugs, rosuvastatin (Crestor)

A post-market analysis of cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins indicates that some of the most serious side effects may be higher in one of the newest drugs, rosuvastatin (Crestor). The drug is the strongest statin available because it has the greatest effect per milligram on low-density lipoprotein ("bad" cholesterol).

26 May 2005

What is Sick Building Syndrome?

Science-based identification of mold and other causes of Sick Building Syndrome may improve its management, say plant pathologists with The American Phytopathological Society (APS).

26 May 2005

Anti-inflammatory protein annexin 1 may protect patients from the detrimental effects of severe inflammatory response syndrome

Severe inflammatory response syndrome, or SIRS, occurs when the body's response to an overwhelming infection becomes uncontrolled. The very immune response meant to clear the pathogen and its toxins actually causes damage to the host's own tissues when it goes into overdrive, releasing too many immune signals.

23 May 2005

Association between maternal exposure to toxoplasmosis and increased risk for developing schizophrenia

Toxoplasmosis is a parasitic infection that can develop from eating undercooked meat and unwashed fruits and vegetables, drinking contaminated water, or not washing one's hands after gardening or changing cat litter boxes. Researchers found a potential link between high maternal toxoplasmosis gondii antibody titers and development of schizophrenia spectrum disorders in the adult offspring.

16 May 2005

Common antibiotic called minocycline may slow or prevent diabetic retinopathy

The team found that minocycline, often used to treat acne, limits by about 50 percent the retinal damage caused by microglia. Microglia are cells that act as the "cleanup crew" for the Central Nervous System (CNS).

11 May 2005

Study reports little hope, much hazard in new tobacco products

On May 4, 2005, the University of Minnesota Transdisciplinary Tobacco Use Research Center released a groundbreaking report that shows there is no evidence that a relatively new line of tobacco products, called “potentially reduced-exposure tobacco products,” or PREPs, are safer than other tobacco products.

10 May 2005