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Opposite approach to asthma treatment may be in order

Just when the Food and Drug Administration is reconsidering the use of stimulants to treat asthma, a new research study offers further evidence to support a University of Houston professor's theory that an opposite approach to asthma treatment may be in order.

27 Jan 2009

Anticholinergic medications linked to cognitive decline in seniors

A study published in Journal of the American Geriatrics Society suggested that the use of certain medications in elderly populations may be associated with cognitive decline.

27 Jan 2009

Imported diet pills from South America are dangerous

Americans who use illegal diet pills from South America are taking amphetamines without knowing it and seriously risking both their health and their jobs.

27 Jan 2009

Researchers refine breast cancer identification

Not all breast cancers are the same, and not all will have fatal consequences.

27 Jan 2009

Aspirin shown to help prevent liver damage

According to scientists at Yale University ordinary aspirin may help prevent liver damage in millions of people suffering from the side effects of common drugs, alcohol abuse and obesity-related liver disease.

27 Jan 2009

Unexpected finding opens up new way to stop autoimmune diseases and transplant rejection

After several years of battling recurring infections, the last thing a patient and her doctors ever expected was that the cause of her problems might actually help millions live longer, more active lives.

23 Jan 2009

Researchers learn some of nicotine's secrets

Duke University Medical System researchers have discovered there are differing taste pathways for nicotine, which could provide a new approach for future smoking-cessation products.

23 Jan 2009

Low-carb diet burns more excess liver fat than low-cal diet

People on low-carbohydrate diets are more dependent on the oxidation of fat in the liver for energy than those on a low-calorie diet, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found in a small clinical study.

23 Jan 2009

Genetic interactions are the key to understanding complex traits

In recent years, genetic studies have uncovered hundreds of DNA variations linked to common diseases, such as cancer or diabetes, raising the prospect that scientists can gauge disease risk based on information in an individual's genome.

23 Jan 2009

Gene provides hope for restoring injured nerves

University of Utah scientists identified a worm gene that is essential for damaged nerve cells to regenerate, and showed they could speed nerve regeneration by over-activating the gene - a step toward new treatments for nerves injured by trauma or disease

23 Jan 2009

First '3D movie' of tumour protein gives new drug hope

First '3D movie' of tumour protein gives new drug hope CANCER RESEARCH UK scientists have created the first complete model of a molecule which captains a key cell signalling network to prevent cancer - and exposed the secret of how a highly selective drug can intervene to control its activity, according to a study published in PLoS Biology.

23 Jan 2009

Lisofylline drug improves type 2 insulin action; reduces harm of fat in preclinical study

Results of a preclinical study involving DiaKine Therapeutics' lead drug candidate Lisofylline (LSF) indicate the compound may reduce two key risk factors for type 2 diabetes.

23 Jan 2009

Topical treatment wipes out herpes with RNAi

Whether condoms or abstinence, most efforts to prevent sexually transmitted diseases have a common logic: keep the pathogen out of your body altogether.

21 Jan 2009

Discovery could lead to novel arrhythmia treatments

Abnormal heart rhythms - arrhythmias - are killers. They strike without warning, causing sudden cardiac death, which accounts for about 10 percent of all deaths in the United States.

21 Jan 2009

Slices of living human brain tissue are helping scientists identify new stroke therapies

Slices of living human brain tissue are helping scientists learn which drugs can block the waves of death that engulf and engorge brain cells following a stroke.

21 Jan 2009

New and simple urine test detects common cause of kidney transplant failure

A new and simple urine test can detect polyomavirus nephropathy, a relatively new and serious complication that affects up to 9% of kidney transplant recipients, according to a study appearing in the February 2009 issue of the Journal of the American Society Nephrology (JASN).

21 Jan 2009

New formula accurately measures kidney function in children

Measuring a child's kidney function has traditionally been time-consuming, costly, and difficult to perform, but a new equation that uses parameters collected at routine office visits can effectively accomplish this, according to a study appearing in the March 2009 issue of the Journal of the American Society Nephrology ( JASN ).

21 Jan 2009

Potential new target in the war on HIV/AIDS

The study revealed that a variant of a protein involved in HIV pathogenesis can suppress production of an HIV protein, known as Nef. Nef is required for the human immunodeficiency virus to develop into AIDS through a series of complex events involving viral elements and cellular proteins. Nef has never been a target for drug treatment in HIV patients.

21 Jan 2009

Impaired kidney function raises risk of heart problems in the elderly

A study published next week in the open access journal PLoS Medicine suggests that elderly people with damaged kidneys are at greater risk of cardiovascular disease, such as heart failure and stroke, and other causes of mortality.

21 Jan 2009

Researchers show how anthracycline class of chemotherapeutics block blood vessel growth, slow cancer spread

Researchers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine have discovered how a whole class of commonly used chemotherapy drugs can block cancer growth.

21 Jan 2009