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Researchers find way to increase cells' energy consumption

With obesity still on the increase, it appears that the main weapon in the fight against it - reducing energy consumption by eating less - is ineffective.

13 Mar 2008

TRPV1 receptor blockers may interfere with brain functions

A new class of painkillers that block a receptor called TRPV1 may interfere with brain functions such as learning and memory, a new study suggests.

13 Mar 2008

Research could put penicillin back in battle against antibiotic resistant bugs

Research led by the University of Warwick has uncovered exactly how the bacterium Streptococcus pneumoniae has become resistant to the antibiotic penicillin.

13 Mar 2008

Simple laboratory test predicts risk of kidney injury after surgery

A simple laboratory test may provide a new way for doctors to identify patients at risk of developing potentially severe acute kidney injury (AKI) after surgery up to three days before the problem would otherwise be detected, reports a pilot study in the May 2008 issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.

13 Mar 2008

Mathematical model of malaria transmission will help with eradication

Scientists at the Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência (IGC), in Portugal, have shown that Malaria eradication in Africa is sustainable, and any re-emergence of malaria in industrialized nations is highly unlikely.

13 Mar 2008

Diabetes and dental health

People who live with diabetes on a daily basis are usually instructed to eat right, maintain regular physical activity, and if necessary, take medication.

13 Mar 2008

Researchers may have found test for depression

Researchers from the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine have discovered that a change in the location of a protein in the brain could serve as a biomarker for depression, allowing a simple, rapid, laboratory test to identify patients with depression and to determine whether a particular antidepressant therapy will provide a successful response.

12 Mar 2008

Thermo Fisher Scientific creates breakthrough gene-silencing tool

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has developed a breakthrough gene-silencing tool that greatly simplifies RNA- interference (RNAi) technology and eliminates barriers associated with previous cellular delivery methods.

From Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. 12 Mar 2008

Short-term stress impairs brain-cell communication

Short-term stress lasting as little as a few hours can impair brain-cell communication in areas associated with learning and memory, University of California, Irvine researchers have found.

12 Mar 2008

New discovery could change future diagnosis and therapy of depression

12 Mar 2008

A road map to safer pain control, cost savings during colonoscopies

At a time when several U.S. health insurers have discontinued payment for use of the sedative propofol during most screening colonoscopies, physicians at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have discovered that an alternative way to administer the drug could both save millions of health care dollars and provide a safer way to deliver optimal pain relief.

12 Mar 2008

Myostatin shows promise for muscular dystrophy

Myostatin, a protein that blocks muscle growth, has shown promising results as a potential therapeutic target for treating muscular dystrophy in animal studies, where its inhibition led to increased muscle mass and strength.

12 Mar 2008

Blood test for Parkinson's shows promise

A test that profiles molecular biomarkers in blood could become the first accurate diagnostic test for Parkinson's disease, new research shows.

12 Mar 2008

COX-2 expression is marker for cancer development in some benign breast biopsies

It's a good news, bad news situation. Some women who have a breast biopsy are told that while they don't have cancer, they do have atypical hyperplasia -- cells that aren't quite normal and might become cancerous someday.

12 Mar 2008

Toddler takes sildenafil in order to survive

A two year old in Britain has a rare condition that causes chronic high blood pressure and must take Viagra to stay alive.

12 Mar 2008

Adapting drug dosing to body size

University of Queensland researchers are leading the charge in adapting drug dosing to a society that is changing shape.

11 Mar 2008

Novel brain cancer drug HhAntag for children may damage bones

A novel drug that fully eliminated brain tumors from mice in a dramatic 2004 study has shown a darker side - causing permanent bone damage in younger mice.

11 Mar 2008

Post-stroke clot-busting therapy beneficial for patients on aspirin

Patients given a clot-busting drug following stroke appear to have better outcomes if they were already taking anti-platelet medications, despite an apparent increased risk for bleeding in the brain, according to an article posted online that will appear in the May 2008 print issue of Archives of Neurology.

11 Mar 2008

Late treatment with letrozole (Femara) can reduce breast cancer recurrence risk

Treatment with the aromatase inhibitor letrozole (Femara) can reduce the risk of breast cancer recurrence even when initiated one to seven years after a course of tamoxifen therapy.

11 Mar 2008

Tackling antimicrobial resistance

Drug resistance is making many diseases increasingly difficult and sometimes impossible to treat, according to Anthony S. Fauci, M.D., director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health.

11 Mar 2008