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Study identifies gene variants associated with early-onset myocardial infarction

The largest study ever completed of genetic factors associated with heart attacks has identified nine genetic regions - three not previously described - that appear to increase the risk for early-onset myocardial infarction.

8 Feb 2009

FDA approves first ablation catheters for the treatment of atrial fibrillatio

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the first ablation catheters for the treatment of atrial fibrillation (uncoordinated contractions of the upper heart chambers), one of the most common types of arrhythmias-or abnormal heart rhythms--affecting more than two million Americans.

8 Feb 2009

Aspirin cuts stomach cancer risk

Aspirin users could be 36 per cent less likely to get a type of stomach cancer, according to a study published in the British Journal of Cancer.

8 Feb 2009

Novel gene silencing platform

A team of researchers led by Rutgers' Samuel Gunderson has developed a novel gene silencing platform with very significant improvements over existing RNAi approaches.

8 Feb 2009

Good news for folks is bad news for mozzies!

Australian scientists have good news for folks but bad news for 'mozzies' with the discovery a possible new treatment for malaria.

8 Feb 2009

Study tests salsalate anti-inflammatory for poorly controlled type 2 diabetes

Researchers in 20 medical centers across the country are enrolling adults with type 2 diabetes who have poorly controlled blood glucose to participate in a clinical study, Targeting Inflammation with Salsalate in Type 2 Diabetes (TINSAL-T2D).

5 Feb 2009

Ritalin may change brain in same way cocaine does

A common treatment for attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, prescribed millions of times a year, may change the brain in the same ways that cocaine does, a new study in mice suggests.

5 Feb 2009

New research may lead to new pharmacologic approaches to treating obesity

Scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine have discovered a gene that when mutated causes obesity by dampening the body's ability to burn energy while leaving appetite unaffected.

5 Feb 2009

Discovery of important drug target for influenza

Influenza is and remains a disease to reckon with. Seasonal epidemics around the world kill several hundred thousand people every year.

5 Feb 2009

Super-fine oil-and-water emulsion protects against superbugs that kill cystic fibrosis patients

University of Michigan scientists report highly encouraging evidence that a super-fine oil-and-water emulsion, already shown to kill many other microbes, may be able to quell the ravaging, often drug-resistant infections that cause nearly all cystic fibrosis deaths.

5 Feb 2009

Over a million U.S. cancer survivors foregoing vital treatments due to costs

More than a million cancer survivors living in the United States are foregoing what they believe is necessary medical care due to the cost, and Hispanics and African-Americans are twice as likely to go without services, according to data presented at the American Association for Cancer Research conference on the Science of Health Care Disparities.

5 Feb 2009

The economic cost of methamphetamine use in the United States

The economic cost of methamphetamine use in the United States reached $23.4 billion in 2005, including the burden of addiction, premature death, drug treatment and many other aspects of the drug, according to a new RAND Corporation study.

5 Feb 2009

Safinamide significantly improved motor function in patients with advanced Parkinson's disease

Merck Serono, a division of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, and its partner Newron Pharmaceuticals SpA has announced that the first Phase III trial of investigational agent safinamide as adjunctive therapy to levodopa (study 016) met its primary endpoint by increasing daily "ON" time in mid- to late-stage Parkinson's disease patients with motor fluctuations by 1.3 hours.

5 Feb 2009

Many neglected diseases lacking research funding

The first comprehensive survey of global spending on neglected disease R&D, published in this week's PLoS Medicine , finds that just over $US 2.5 billion was invested into R&D of new products in 2007, with three diseases-HIV/AIDS, TB, and malaria-receiving nearly 80% of the total

5 Feb 2009

Scientists discover missing link in the way cells protect themselves against cancer

Cancer Research UK scientists have discovered a missing link in the way cells protect themselves against cancer, according to research published in Genes & Development.

5 Feb 2009

Decoding funny faces to detect disease

Like Russell Crowe's character in A Beautiful Mind, life is often difficult for the 2.4 million Americans with schizophrenia.

5 Feb 2009

Disruption of circadian clock can suppress cancer growth

Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have shown that disruption of the circadian clock - the internal time-keeping mechanism that keeps the body running on a 24-hour cycle - can slow the progression of cancer.

3 Feb 2009

Seniors in Medicare's doughnut hole decrease use of meds

Beneficiaries enrolled in Medicare Part D who reached a gap in health care coverage known as the "doughnut hole" were much less likely to use prescription drugs than those with an employer-based plan, according to a University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health study.

3 Feb 2009

Discovery of new cause of ozone wheezing and potential treatments

Researchers at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), part of the National Institutes of Health, and Duke University have discovered a cause of airway irritation and wheezing after exposure to ozone, a common urban air pollutant.

3 Feb 2009