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Scientists combine two nanoparticles into one tiny package

Nanoparticles are being developed to perform a wide range of medical uses - imaging tumors, carrying drugs, delivering pulses of heat. Rather than settling for just one of these, researchers at the University of Washington have combined two nanoparticles in one tiny package.

28 Jul 2009

miR-21 molecule plays early and important role in nonsmoking lung cancer

The cause of lung cancer in never-smokers is poorly understood, but a study led by investigators at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center and at the National Cancer Institute has identified a molecule believed to play an early and important role in its development.

28 Jul 2009

Current diagnostic tests for ovarian cancer woefully ineffective

A new study finds that in order to make a significant dent in the mortality rate for the deadly cancer, the tests would have to be able to detect tumors of less than 1 cm in diameter, or about 200-times smaller in mass than those currently used to assess potential new tests. Still, if that hurdle can be overcome, there is good reason to believe that testing could make a big difference: The window of opportunity for treating these clinically undetectable cancers before they become life threatening is surprisingly long: about four years.

28 Jul 2009

Nanodiamonds hold promise for wound-healing applications

Bacterial infection is a major health threat to patients with severe burns and other kinds of serious wounds such as traumatic bone fractures. Recent studies have identified an important new weapon for fighting infection and healing wounds: insulin.

27 Jul 2009

Trial to begin on alternative treatment for depression

The University of New South Wales (UNSW) and The Black Dog Institute are seeking participants for a trial of a new, non-invasive form of brain stimulation therapy for depression, known as Direct Current Stimulation (DCS).

27 Jul 2009

Autophagy helps HIV to proliferate

Not satisfied with simply thwarting its host's defensive maneuvers, HIV actually twists one to its advantage, based on new findings from Kyei et al. in the July 27, 2009 issue of the Journal of Cell Biology. Vojo Deretic and colleagues suggest that autophagy - a stress response process - helps HIV to proliferate and that conversely, blocking autophagy lessens HIV production.

27 Jul 2009

Age-prioritized use of antivirals during an influenza pandemic

A model of influenza transmission and treatment suggests that, if the current swine flu pandemic behaves like the 1918 flu, antiviral treatment should be reserved for the young.

27 Jul 2009

University at Buffalo start-up provides innovative digital sperm analysis to infertile couples worldwide

Couples struggling with fertility problems have a new option for assessing their ability to have a child with the start-up of a new Buffalo-based company called LifeCell Dx, Inc. (LCDX).

27 Jul 2009

Enzyme implicated in blood flow in Alzheimer’s, disease progression

Researchers have discovered that the enzyme, endothelin converting enzyme-2 (ECE-2), may cause the decrease in blood flow in the brain seen in Alzheimer's disease and contribute to progression of the disease.

27 Jul 2009

Adding a drug called neostigmine to epidural analgesia reduces dose needed during labor

Adding a drug called neostigmine to epidural analgesia during labor can reduce the amount of anesthetic drug required, while avoiding potential complications caused by morphine-like "opioid" drugs, according to a study in the August issue of Anesthesia & Analgesia, official journal of the International Anesthesia Research Society (IARS).

27 Jul 2009

Antiretroviral syrup for babies, mothers safely reduces HIV transmission

Giving daily antiretroviral syrup to breastfeeding infants or treating their HIV-infected mothers with highly active antiretroviral drugs is safe and effective in preventing mother-to-child HIV transmission through breast milk, a study led by University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill investigators has found.

27 Jul 2009

China's health reform must address costly, unnecessary treatment, report says

China's $124 billion three-year "overhaul of its healthcare system needs to address the prescription of unnecessary drugs and treatments - a widespread practice relied upon to finance the medical sector, the World Bank said Thursday," China Daily/People's Daily Online reports.

24 Jul 2009

Johns Hopkins-designed animal tuberculosis "tracker" to speed drug and vaccine studies

Johns Hopkins researchers have developed a novel way to monitor in real time the behavior of the TB bacterium in mouse lungs noninvasively pinpointing the exact location of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The new monitoring system is expected to speed up what is currently a slow and cumbersome process to test the safety and efficacy of various TB drug regimens and vaccines in animals. Plans are already under way for developing a similar system to monitor TB disease in humans.

23 Jul 2009

Identification of progressors in osteoarthritis by combining biochemical and MRI-based markers

A combination of biochemical and MRI markers will allow improved measurement of osteoarthritis (OA) progression. The biomarkers, described in BioMed Central's open access journal Arthritis Research and Therapy, will be useful for the design and interpretation of trials of new disease modifying drugs.

23 Jul 2009

Some blood pressure drugs may help protect against dementia, study shows

A particular class of medication used to treat high blood pressure could protect older adults against memory decline and other impairments in cognitive function, according to a newly published study from Wake Forest University School of Medicine.

23 Jul 2009

New drug may reduce heart attack damage

A novel drug that targets a master disease-causing gene can dramatically reduce heart muscle damage after a heart attack and may lead to significantly improved patient outcomes, researchers at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) have shown.

22 Jul 2009

Brits get direct access to a pandemic flu service

Brits will soon have direct access to a pandemic flu service which will make drugs for swine flu available without needing to consult a doctor.

22 Jul 2009

Costly biologics drugs prompt exclusivity debate

"A bitter Congressional fight over the cost of superexpensive biotechnology drugs has come down to a single, hotly debated number: How many years should makers of those drugs be exempt from generic competition?" The New York Times reports.

22 Jul 2009

Prevention, vaccines addressed at IAS conference

During the 5th International AIDS Society (IAS) Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention meeting in Cape Town, South Africa, scientists "renewed the call for more immediate and urgent effort to be directed towards HIV prevention amid the dominance of treatment interventions and the world-wide search for a quick fix vaccine, which many agree, is years away," Health-e/allAfrica.com reports (Thom, 7/22).

22 Jul 2009

National stroke quality improvement program passes the million mark

The American Heart Association's Get With The Guidelines-Stroke program reached a major milestone last week, as participating hospitals entered the one millionth stroke patient record into the program's database.

22 Jul 2009