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Call for more genetic research in the sport and exercise sciences

Genetic research into athletic ability should be encouraged for its potential benefits in both sport and public health, a leading group of scientists meeting at the University of Bath said today.

13 Sep 2007

Platelets help white blood cells fight inflammation

Scientists have shown for the first time that platelets, the cells needed for blood clotting, help white blood cells called neutrophils fight inflammation.

13 Sep 2007

Hispanics' hypertension better controlled with equal access to care

With equal access to medical care and medication, Hispanic men and women have as good or greater chance as non-Hispanics of controlling their high blood pressure, researchers reported in Hypertension: Journal of the American Heart Association.

13 Sep 2007

Proteins Nox1 and Nox2 play important role in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

University of Iowa researchers investigating the basic biology of cell signaling have made a discovery that may have therapeutic implications for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and other neurodegenerative diseases.

13 Sep 2007

Breast cancer drug tamoxifen helps treat symptoms of bipolar disease

Government researchers in the United States have found that the breast cancer drug tamoxifen helped treat the manic symptoms of bipolar disease.

13 Sep 2007

Delivery of anti-cancer drug paclitaxel on a tiny ball of gold

Rice University chemists have discovered a way to load dozens of molecules of the anti-cancer drug paclitaxel onto tiny gold spheres. The result is a tiny ball, many times smaller than a living cell that literally bristles with the drug.

13 Sep 2007

New Rensselaer tools speed stem cell research

Engineers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have developed tools to help solve two of the main problems slowing the progress of stem cell research - how to quickly test stem cell response to different drugs or genes, and how to create a large supply of healthy, viable stem cells to study from only a few available cells.

13 Sep 2007

Study finds HIV patients lead chaotic lives - a barrier to regular medical care

Unstable and unpredictable lifestyles are significant factors in determining access to health care among low-income HIV-positive people, a new UCLA study has found.

13 Sep 2007

Gene-drug interactions that lower blood pressure

Patients with high blood pressure respond very differently to antihypertensive medication, making treatment selection tricky for physicians.

13 Sep 2007

New understanding of tropical disease schistosomiasis

Researchers have provided new details about the inner workings of a parasitic worm that causes a tropical disease called schistosomiasis, which leads to itchy skin, fever, chills, muscle aches, and liver disease that, in some cases, can be fatal.

13 Sep 2007

FDA committees recommend continued U.S. marketing for Trasylol

The Cardiovascular and Renal Drugs Advisory Committee and the Drug Safety and Risk Management Advisory Committee to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) held a meeting to discuss the risk /benefit profile of Trasylol (aprotinin injection), a Bayer drug used in coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery.

13 Sep 2007

Pocket guidelines for assessment and management of cardiovascular risk

A new book of pocket-charts that will help health workers to identify people at risk of heart attacks and strokes and save lives by prescribing the most appropriate treatment is published today by the World Health Organization (WHO). The charts can be adapted for use in any setting, in any country, with any patient.

12 Sep 2007

Drug spending caps cause some seniors to quit taking key medicines

Many seniors quit taking drugs for chronic illnesses such as diabetes and high blood pressure when they exceed their drug plan's yearly spending limits, according to a RAND Corporation study.

12 Sep 2007

Prescription labels focus on logos not instructions

The labels on most prescription drug containers highlight the pharmacy's name or logo rather than instructions on how to take the medication, reports a new study in the September 10 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.

12 Sep 2007

Personal chaos in HIV patients' lives may be a barrier to regular medical care

Unstable and unpredictable lifestyles are significant factors in determining access to health care among low-income HIV-positive people, a new UCLA study has found.

12 Sep 2007

National effort to preserve, restore fertility in women with cancer

The Oregon National Primate Research Center and the Oregon Health & Science University School of Medicine have been named to a national team of institutions hoping to preserve or restore fertility in women battling cancer.

12 Sep 2007

Novel angiogenic drugs could revolutionize treatment of peripheral arterial disease

Decision Resources, one of the world's leading research and advisory firms for pharmaceutical and healthcare issues, finds that the market entry of novel angiogenic agents, including a future blockbuster drug from Genzyme, could revolutionize symptomatic treatment of peripheral arterial disease (PAD).

12 Sep 2007

Generic prostate drug finasteride helps find high-risk cancers early

Men now have another good reason to consider taking finasteride, a well-known generic drug that shrinks an enlarged prostate and reduces the risk of getting prostate cancer by 25 percent.

12 Sep 2007

Finasteride unlikely to induce high grade prostate cancers

An increase in high-grade prostate cancer among men taking the drug finasteride is likely caused by an increased detection of cancers, and not by the development of more high-grade cancers, according to two studies published online September 11 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

12 Sep 2007

Embryonic stem cell strategy advanced with UCSF finding

UCSF scientists are reporting what they say is a significant improvement in the technique for genetically reprogramming mouse cells to their embryonic state, a process that transforms the cells, in essence, into embryonic stem cells.

12 Sep 2007