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Research suggests oxytocin as potential new obesity treatment

The hormone oxytocin reduces the communication between different brain areas involved in the cognitive, sensory and emotional processing of food cues that people with obesity demonstrate when they look at high-calorie foods, according to research being presented Monday at ENDO 2019, the Endocrine Society's annual meeting in New Orleans, La.

25 Mar 2019

Naltrexone implant more effective in reducing relapses in HIV patients with opioid addiction

When patients with HIV who are also battling opioid dependence go without addiction treatment, they are more likely to stop taking their HIV medications than drug-free patients.

22 Mar 2019

First postpartum depression drug gets FDA nod

Sage therapeutics’ Zulresso became the first drug approved for postpartum depression by the United States Food and Drugs Administration (FDA). This cause the shares of Sage to rise by over 5 percent on Tuesday this week.

20 Mar 2019

New study aims to reduce online sexual exploitation of children

On March 26th, the Karolinska Institutet and Karolinska University Hospital in Swedenare launching a new study aimed at reducing online sexual exploitation of children. Recruitment of study participants will take place in forums on the encrypted part of the internet called the darknet.

20 Mar 2019

FDA approves first drug for treatment of postpartum depression in adult women

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Zulresso (brexanolone) injection for intravenous use for the treatment of postpartum depression in adult women. This is the first drug approved by the FDA specifically for PPD.

20 Mar 2019

Acute doses of synthetic cannabinoid can impair critical thinking and memory

A new study shows that inhaled doses of as little as 2 mg of the synthetic cannabinoid JWH-018 can significantly impair critical thinking and memory, slow reaction times, and increase confusion and dissociation.

19 Mar 2019

Research: Pure omega-3 prescription drug significantly reduces the occurrence of ischemic events

Taking a high dose of icosapent ethyl--a pure and stable prescription form of the omega-3 fatty acid known as EPA--significantly reduces the occurrence of first, subsequent and total ischemic events, including heart attacks, strokes and related deaths, among people at high cardiovascular risk despite already being on statin therapy, according to research presented at the American College of Cardiology's 68th Annual Scientific Session.

19 Mar 2019

Study indicates the benefits of stopping aspirin in heart attack patients

Patients who stopped taking aspirin three months after receiving a stent to open the heart's arteries but continued taking a P2Y12inhibitor—clopidogrel, prasugrel or ticagrelor—did not experience higher rates of death from any cause, heart attack or stroke after a year compared with those receiving standard therapy, according to research presented at the American College of Cardiology's 68thAnnual Scientific Session.

19 Mar 2019

A new option for reducing LDL cholesterol in patients at high risk for heart attack, stroke

Patients at high risk for a heart attack or stroke who took an investigational drug in addition to a statin had significantly lower LDL, or "bad" cholesterol, after 12 weeks compared to similar patients who took a placebo in addition to statin therapy, according to research presented at the American College of Cardiology's 68thAnnual Scientific Session.

19 Mar 2019

One-off surgery could offer hope to patients with high blood pressure

A one-off operation that targets the nerves connected to the kidney has been found to maintain reduced blood pressure in hypertension patients for at least six months, according to the results of a clinical trial led in the UK by Queen Mary University of London and Barts Health NHS Trust, and supported by the National Institute for Health Research.

18 Mar 2019

Cardiovascular benefits of diabetes drug extend across a wide spectrum of patients, shows study

The cardiovascular benefits of the diabetes drug dapagliflozin extend across a wide spectrum of patients and are especially pronounced in those with reduced ejection fraction, a measure of the heart's pumping ability indicative of poor heart functioning, according to research presented at the American College of Cardiology's 68thAnnual Scientific Session.

18 Mar 2019

Researchers report promising results of potential reversal agent

In patients with acute coronary syndromes, coronary artery stenting, or a history of prior heart attacks, antiplatelet therapy can be lifesaving.

18 Mar 2019

Study confirms sensitivity of microbiological cultures for detecting cholera

Recently, the sensitivity of fecal microbiological cultures for detecting cholera has come under question. Researchers reporting in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases investigated this claim using a ‘vaccine probe’ analysis of a completed cholera vaccine cluster randomized trial to support the sensitivity of conventional microbiological culture for cholera.

15 Mar 2019

Shorter treatment for Chagas disease found to be effective and safer than standard treatment

A two-week treatment course for adult patients with chronic Chagas disease showed, when compared to placebo, similar efficacy and significantly fewer side effects than the standard treatment duration of eight weeks, according to the results of a clinical trial in Bolivia led by the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative.

14 Mar 2019

Success for new cholesterol-lowering drug

A new, oral drug that effectively lowers LDL or "bad" cholesterol, looks set for clinical approval.

14 Mar 2019

Study unravels how cancer medication works in brains of Parkinson's patients

Laboratory analysis from the first arm of a phase II clinical trial testing the use of nilotinib in patients with Parkinson's disease demonstrates precisely how the agent increases levels of dopamine in the brains of study participants, says a research team at Georgetown University Medical Center. Symptoms of Parkinson's, such as motor dysfunction, are a result of a dopamine loss.

13 Mar 2019

Fear center in the brain provides protection against body perception disorders

If functionality of the brain's amygdala is impaired, illusory perceptions arise much faster and more pronounced.

13 Mar 2019

Brain stimulation reduces depression symptoms, shows study

With a weak alternating electrical current sent through electrodes attached to the scalp, UNC School of Medicine researchers successfully targeted a naturally occurring electrical pattern in a specific part of the brain and markedly improved depression symptoms in about 70 percent of participants in a clinical study.

12 Mar 2019

Proving the efficacy of traditional Chinese medicine

Using GC-MS, scientists have uncovered the anti-pyretic mechanisms of Jinxin, a traditional Chinese medicine typically prescribed for fever.

11 Mar 2019

Diet reverses Alzheimer’s-like symptoms in mice

A diet containing compounds found in green tea and carrots reversed Alzheimer's-like symptoms in mice genetically programmed to develop the disease, USC researchers say.

7 Mar 2019