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Gene therapy promises relief from chronic pain

Researchers in the U.S. have discovered that chronic pain can be successfully treated with a new gene therapy technique.

22 Jan 2008

Radiotherapy as effective as surgery in bladder cancer treatment

The study by Cancer Research UK scientists has found that survival rates among bladder cancer patients treated with radiotherapy in Leeds are the same as those associated with radical cystectomy surgery involving the complete removal of the bladder.

22 Jan 2008

Twenty five babies tested for rare TB in Melbourne hospital scare

Following the birth of a premature baby in a Melbourne hospital late last year with a rare form of tuberculosis (TB), blood tests are being carried out on 25 babies who were also in the hospital at the time of his birth.

22 Jan 2008

Popular sleeping pill Stilnox in danger of being classed with morphine, narcotics and amphetamines

A popular sleeping pill that has reportedly triggered bizarre side-effects in some people, could be placed by Australian drug regulators into the same class as morphine, narcotics and amphetamines.

22 Jan 2008

Genetics behind the disease systemic lupus erythematosus almost completed

A new study has mapped the risk factors behind the autoimmune disease SLE in the entire human genome.

22 Jan 2008

Researchers disarm Ebola virus

The deadly Ebola virus, an emerging public health concern in Africa and a potential biological weapon, ranks among the most feared of exotic pathogens.

22 Jan 2008

AIDS Healthcare Foundation criticizes Etravirine's pricing

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) has urged Tibotec Pharmaceuticals Ltd., a division of Johnson & Johnson, to reconsider and reduce its steep price for its newest AIDS drug, etravirine (TMC 125), a non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor, (NNRTI), which received Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval on Friday after a fast track or 'priority review' and approval process granted to companies for medications and therapies intended to treat life-threatening illnesses such as AIDS.

22 Jan 2008

Value of drugs for pre-osteoporosis exaggerated

A series of recent scientific publications have exaggerated the benefits and underplayed the harms of drugs to treat pre-osteoporosis or "osteopenia" potentially encouraging treatment in millions of low risk women, warn experts in this week's BMJ.

21 Jan 2008

Stem cell research aims to tackle Parkinson's disease

Scientists in Sweden are developing new ways to grow brain cells in the laboratory that could one day be used to treat patients with Parkinson's disease, an international conference of biologists organised by the European Science Foundation (ESF) was told last week.

21 Jan 2008

$Risk of falling is overlooked as the major cause of fractures in the elderly$

Risk of falling is overlooked as the major cause of fractures in the elderly

An elderly person's risk of falling is too often overlooked when trying to prevent them from getting serious fractures, for instance of the hip or wrist, according to an article published in this week's BMJ.

21 Jan 2008

Aspirin resistance and heart attack - stroke risk

Being resistant to aspirin makes patients four times more likely to suffer a heart attack, stroke or even die from a pre-existing heart condition, according to a study published on bmj.com.

21 Jan 2008

Breakthrough in breast cancer treatment

Researchers at the Tenovus Centre for Cancer Research at Cardiff University have made a breakthrough in breast cancer treatment that could help save the lives of women who become resistant to breast cancer drugs such as tamoxifen.

21 Jan 2008

FDA clears for ProFlu+ test for marketing

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has cleared for marketing a test that simultaneously detects four common respiratory viruses, including the flu, in a patient's respiratory secretions.

21 Jan 2008

Discovery major step forward in treating leukemia

Researchers at the University of East Anglia have discovered for the first time a pathway that makes cancerous leukaemia cells resistant to treatment.

21 Jan 2008

Smoking wipes out protective genes

A University of Rochester scientist discovered that the toxins in cigarette smoke wipe out a gene that plays a vital role in protecting the body from the effects of premature aging.

21 Jan 2008

How anti-TNF compounds work

Powerful drugs used to treat patients with rheumatoid arthritis have a profound, previously unrecognized effect on the immune system, breaking up molecular "training camps" for rogue cells that play an increasingly recognized role in autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis and lupus.

21 Jan 2008