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New national research consortium focuses on better drug therapies for viral infections

Viral infections with limited or no treatment options can pose a major global health threat, but a new national research consortium centered at the University of Alabama at Birmingham is focused on the discovery of new and better drug therapies as these viruses emerge.

24 Mar 2014

CUMC researchers devise new system for classifying periodontal disease

Researchers at Columbia University Medical Center have devised a new system for classifying periodontal disease based on the genetic signature of affected tissue, rather than on clinical signs and symptoms. The new classification system, the first of its kind, may allow for earlier detection and more individualized treatment of severe periodontitis, before loss of teeth and supportive bone occurs.

24 Mar 2014

People with rare inherited mutated gene have high chance of getting lung cancer

People who have an inherited mutation of a certain gene have a high chance of getting lung cancer — higher, even, than heavy smokers with or without the inherited mutation, according to new findings by cancer researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center. Although both genders have an equal risk of inheriting the mutation, those who develop lung cancer are mostly women and have never smoked, the researchers found.

24 Mar 2014

Viewpoints: Predictions of rising premiums in 2015; anniversary of health law

No one challenges reality like Kathleen Sebelius, who assured the world on Sept. 30, 2013 that the Affordable Care Act website would be open for business the next day. "We're very excited about tomorrow," Sebelius said. "Shutdown or no shutdown, we're ready to go."

24 Mar 2014

Rare abnormality in chromosomes increases risk of rare childhood leukaemia

Researchers have found that people born with a rare abnormality of their chromosomes have a 2,700-fold increased risk of a rare childhood leukaemia. In this abnormality, two specific chromosomes are fused together but become prone to catastrophic shattering.

24 Mar 2014

Brazil's ANVISA approves Genzyme's Lemtrada for multiple sclerosis treatment

Genzyme, a Sanofi company, announced today that Brazil's national health surveillance agency, ANVISA, has approved Lemtrada (alemtuzumab) for the treatment of patients with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS) to slow or reverse the accumulation of physical disability and reduce the frequency of clinical exacerbations.

21 Mar 2014

WTC first responders at higher risk for obstructive sleep apnea, PTSD

Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai researchers have linked high levels of exposure to inhaled particulate matter by first responders at Ground Zero to the risk of obstructed sleep apnea and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), both conditions that may impact cardiovascular health.

21 Mar 2014

Scientists explore link between SCN10A and cardiac arrhythmia risk

Although genome-wide association studies have linked DNA variants in the gene SCN10A with increased risk for cardiac arrhythmia, efforts to determine the gene's direct influence on the heart's electrical activity have been unproductive. Now, scientists from the University of Chicago have discovered that these SCN10A variants regulate the function of a different gene, SCN5A, which appears to be the primary gene responsible for cardiac arrhythmia risk.

21 Mar 2014

Health care reform increases emergency department use in Massachusetts

The implementation of health care reform in Massachusetts - principally the expansion of health insurance coverage to nearly everyone in the state - was associated with a small but consistent increase in emergency department use, according to the findings of a study to be published online today in Annals of Emergency Medicine ("Increased Use of the Emergency Department After Health Care Reform in Massachusetts").

21 Mar 2014

UC San Diego Library becomes official repository for the papers of Jonas Salk

The University of California, San Diego Library has become the official repository for the papers of Jonas Salk, noted physician, virologist, and humanitarian, best known for his development of the world's first successful vaccine for the prevention of polio.

21 Mar 2014

Researchers identify genetic defect that causes a subset of irritable bowel syndrome

Is irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) caused by genetics, diet, past trauma, anxiety? All are thought to play a role, but now, for the first time, researchers have reported a defined genetic defect that causes a subset of IBS. The research was published in the journal Gastroenterology.

21 Mar 2014

NIH awards $28M grant to establish new center for excellence to find treatment for Ebola virus

The National Institutes of Health has awarded a five-year, $28 million grant to establish a new center for excellence to find an antibody "cocktail" to fight two types of viruses that cause severe hemorrhagic fever, including the deadly Ebola virus. The project involves researchers from 15 institutions, including Kartik Chandran, Ph.D., and Jonathan Lai, Ph.D., at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University. Einstein will receive approximately $4 million of the total grant.

21 Mar 2014

Exercise reduces breast cancer risk irrespective of age

Practising sport for more than an hour day reduces the risk of contracting breast cancer, and this applies to women of any age and any weight, and also unaffected by geographical location, according to research presented to the 9th European Breast Cancer Conference (EBCC-9). Compared with the least active women, those with the highest level of physical activity reduced their risk of breast cancer by 12%, researchers say.

20 Mar 2014

Obesity: fat mass in cells expands with disuse

Over 35 percent of American adults and 17 percent of American children are considered obese, according to the latest survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Associated with diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and even certain types of cancer, obesity places a major burden on the health care system and economy. It's usually treated through a combination of diet, nutrition, exercise, and other techniques.

20 Mar 2014

Investigational vaccine reduces number of tumors in mice with lung cancer

Researchers at UC Davis have found that the investigational cancer vaccine tecemotide, when administered with the chemotherapeutic cisplatin, boosted the immune response and reduced the number of tumors in mice with lung cancer.

20 Mar 2014

Researchers uncover new connection between allergy and cancer

While many are stocking up on allergy medicine in preparation for spring, a new study from researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center has uncovered a new connection between allergy and cancer that could potentially lead to therapies involving common antihistamines.

20 Mar 2014

Scientists provide strategies for educating adolescents with autism under CCSS curriculum

Scientists at UNC's Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute (FPG) report that high school students with autism can learn under Common Core State Standards (CCSS), boosting their prospects for college and employment.

20 Mar 2014

Study: Infections caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria are on rise in U.S. children

Infections caused by a concerning type of antibiotic-resistant bacteria are on the rise in U.S. children, according to a new study published in the Journal of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society and available online.

20 Mar 2014

New stool-based screening test detects 92% of colorectal cancer

A new, non-invasive, stool-based screening test detected 92% of colorectal cancer (CRC), according to a multicenter trial published online today in the New England Journal of Medicine.

20 Mar 2014

Physicists recommend new strategies to make computed tomography safer

UC Davis clinicians and physicists have recommended new strategies to make computed tomography (CT) safer, including adoption of a new metric for dose measurement, ways to manage exposure protocols that differ by CT brand and specific approaches to reduce exposure during needle biopsies.

20 Mar 2014