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Fosamax use linked to atrial fibrillation in women

Women who have used Fosamax are nearly twice as likely to develop the most common kind of chronically irregular heartbeat (atrial fibrillation) than are those who have never used it, according to research from Group Health and the University of Washington published in the April 28 Archives of Internal Medicine.

28 Apr 2008

Researchers identify new genes that help predict breast cancer outcomes

Not a day goes by without a new story about the environment. Although we often consider the environment on a global scale, cells in our body also have to contend with environmental factors.

28 Apr 2008

Hormone therapy in postmenopausal women associated with increased risk of stroke

Postmenopausal women taking hormone therapy appear to have an increased risk of stroke regardless of when they started treatment, according to a report in the April 28 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.

28 Apr 2008

Abmormal behaviour of osteoglycin gene linked to heart and kidney problems

A gene that can cause the heart to become enlarged, greatly increasing the risk of heart attacks and heart failure, is identified today in a new study.

28 Apr 2008

Cell-based therapy shows promise in patients with Parkinson's disease

Rush University Medical Center neurosurgeon Dr. Roy A. E. Bakay and colleagues from Emory University, Atlanta found the therapy Spheramine was well-tolerated and patients experienced improvement in Parkinsonian symptoms (tremor, rigidity, slowness of movements, and impaired balance and coordination.)

28 Apr 2008

Thiazolidinediones may slow bone formation and speed bone loss

A widely used class of diabetes medications appears to be associated with an increased risk for fractures, according to a report in the April 28 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.

28 Apr 2008

More than 40 per cent of smokers tried to quit in 2007

Forty three per cent of England's smokers tried to quit in 2007, and many of them several times - according to Cancer Research UK's director of tobacco studies, Professor Robert West. His findings are presented at the Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) Wales conference in Cardiff today (Monday).

28 Apr 2008

Man's sight restored by gene therapy

Eye specialists at London's Moorfields Eye Hospital in Britain have restored a man's sight by using gene therapy.

28 Apr 2008

Laser eye surgery comes under close scrutiny

More and more people are having laser vision corrective surgery (LASIK surgery) in the hope that their vision will be restored to such an extent that glasses will no longer be needed.

28 Apr 2008

Sensory integration therapy helps children with autism

Parents of children with autism are increasingly turning to sensory integration treatment to help their children deal with the disorder, and they're seeing good results. In 2007, 71 percent of parents who pursued alternatives to traditional treatment used sensory integration methods, and 91 percent found these methods helpful.

27 Apr 2008

Scientists discover 4th major set of common genetic variants linked to risk of estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer

Scientists from deCODE genetics report the discovery of two common single-letter variants (SNPs) on chromosome 5 of the human genome that are associated with risk of estrogen receptor-positive (ER+) breast cancer.

27 Apr 2008

Gene therapy restores vision in patients with rare congenital blindness

In a clinical trial at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, researchers from The University of Pennsylvania have used gene therapy to safely restore vision in three young adults with a rare form of congenital blindness.

27 Apr 2008

Cancer immunotherapy shows long-term promise in lung cancer

New, long-term results from a clinical trial presented at the 1st European Lung Cancer Conference jointly organized by the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) and the International Association of the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) show that MAGE-A3 ASCI (Antigen-Specific Cancer Immunotherapeutic), an immune-boosting treatment for lung cancer patients, reduces the risk of relapse after surgery -- to the same extent as chemotherapy but without the side-effects of chemotherapy.

26 Apr 2008

Breast cancer subtypes are different diseases

There is a biological distinction between breast cancers that depend on hormones and those that do not, according to research published in PLoS Genetics (Friday).

26 Apr 2008

Newly refined antibody therapy may be potent treatment for autoimmune diseases

An old, fickle therapy for a variety of autoimmune diseases is getting a makeover, thanks to a decade-long investigation by Rockefeller University researchers.

26 Apr 2008

FDA approves Actonel (risedronate sodium) for postmenopausal osteoporosis

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a new once-a-month dose (150 mg) of Actonel (risedronate sodium) tablets for the treatment and prevention of postmenopausal osteoporosis. Actonel is approved to reduce the risk of fractures in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis.

24 Apr 2008

Coffee protects some women against breast cancer

Depending on which variant of a certain gene a woman has, a coffee consumption rate of at least two-three cups a day can either reduce the total risk of developing breast cancer or delay the onset of cancer. This is shown in new research from Lund University and Malmo University in Sweden.

24 Apr 2008

Monitoring AIDS treatment by physical symptoms is effective

When millions of HIV-infected people in poor countries began receiving advanced drug therapies, critics worried that patient care would suffer because few high-tech laboratories were available to guide treatments.

24 Apr 2008

Bioartificial kidney speeds recovery, reduces mortality

Another promising clinical trial for the bioartificial kidney is offering researchers even more hope that within the next few years the device will be available to save lives of patients with acute renal failure.

24 Apr 2008

DNA vaccines may offer hope in multiple sclerosis

Authors from the VA North Texas Health Care System Neurology Section and the Department of Neurology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas have highlighted the potential benefits for DNA-based vaccine administration in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS).

24 Apr 2008