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Puberty means girls more at risk of insomnia than boys

According to a new U.S. study of 1014 adolescents who were 13 to 16 years of age, almost 11 percent had suffered from insomnia at some stage.

19 Feb 2006

Botox finds a use in cancer treatment

The cosmetic treatment Botox may have a new use as an adjuvant to cancer therapy, providing an open door for chemotherapy and radiation treatments, according to a study published in the Feb. 15 issue of Clinical Cancer Research.

17 Feb 2006

Acupressure more effective than physical therapy in alleviating back pain

Acupressure (applying pressure with the thumbs or fingertips to the same points on the body stimulated in acupuncture) seems to be more effective in reducing low back pain than physical therapy, finds a study published online by the British Medical Journal.

17 Feb 2006

Inactivating Rad9 protien could make cancer cells easier to kill with ionizing radiation

The researchers found that Rad9, previously considered a "watchman" that checks for DNA damage, is actually a "repairman" that fixes dangerous breaks in the DNA double helix. They found Rad9 is especially active in telomeres, the protective ends of chromosomes.

17 Feb 2006

New method determines in a matter of hours exposure to a bioterrorism agents

Researchers at Walter Reed Army Institute of Research are developing a method to determine in a matter of hours if someone has been exposed to a bioterrorism agent just by looking at the pattern of active genes in that person's white blood cells.

17 Feb 2006

Adjuvant hormonal therapy reduces contralateral breast cancer risk

The risk for a new cancer in the unaffected breast substantially increases in women diagnosed with unilateral, hereditary (non-BRCA) breast cancer, according to a new study.

17 Feb 2006

Study examines treatment to maintain blood pressure in those with disorder causing postural drops

Use of a medication called pyridostigmine alone or in combination with low-dose midodrine appears to improve standing blood pressure in patients with orthostatic hypotension, a fall in blood pressure associated with postural changes and standing

17 Feb 2006

Major Alzheimer's discovery

A team from the Faculty of Medicine at Universiti Laval and the research centre at CHUQ (Centre hospitalier universitaire de Quibec) has discovered a natural defence mechanism that the body deploys to combat nerve cell degeneration observed in persons with Alzheimer's disease (AD).

17 Feb 2006

Elastin fragments drive emphysema

Pulmonary emphysema is caused primarily by cigarette smoking, and the underlying cellular mechanisms are thought to involve smoke-induced activation of tissue degrading enzymes known as proteases.

16 Feb 2006

FOLFOX now treatment standard for colorectal cancer in the United States

One of the newest and most potent chemotherapies for colon cancer is as safe and effective for the elderly as it is for younger patients, based on a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill-led data review.

16 Feb 2006

Hormone aldosterone linked to quality of hearing

Researchers have linked a hormone known to adjust levels of key brain chemicals to the quality of our hearing as we age. The more of the hormone that older people have in their bloodstream, the better their hearing is, and the less of the hormone, the worse their hearing is.

16 Feb 2006

Estrogen therapy does not reduce the risk of heart attack in healthy postmenopausal women

Estrogen therapy does not appear to reduce the risk of heart attack or coronary death in healthy postmenopausal women, although some data suggest a lower coronary heart disease risk in women aged 50 to 59 years, according to a new article in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

16 Feb 2006

Diuretics improve exercise capacity in patients with congestive heart failure

Diuretics reduce the risk of death, delay heart deterioration and improve exercise capacity in patients with congestive heart failure, a new review of studies shows.

16 Feb 2006

Anti-malarials most effective in lupus patients genetically at risk of high levels of TNF-alpha

Anti-malarial drugs are most effective in people with lupus who are genetically predisposed to high levels of tumour necrosis factor alpha and low levels of the cytokine IL-10.

16 Feb 2006

ECT shock treatment improves quality of life in patients with major depression

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) - shock treatment -improves quality of life in patients with major depression, and that improved quality of life continues for six months, according to a report in the February Journal of Affective Disorders.

16 Feb 2006

Not every stutterer is a problem case: over-reacting can make stuttering worse

If a child often stops in the middle of a sentence and repeats individual sounds or syllables, this does not inevitably mean that the child is a stutterer.

16 Feb 2006

Floating reduces stress-related pain

Treatment in the form of floating in huge tanks of saltwater, so-called 'floating', is effective for chronic stress-related pain. This is shown in a study at Karlstad University, Sweden, led by Professor Torsten Norlander.

16 Feb 2006

Stealthyx Therapeutics and Cancer Research Technology announce co-development partnership for tumour-targeted therapy

Cancer Research Technology (CRT), the specialist oncology development and commercialisation company, and Stealthyx Therapeutics, the disease targeting drug company spin out of Queen Mary, University of London have entered into an agreement to co-develop Stealthyx’s proprietary drug delivery platform, Prothyx.

16 Feb 2006

Rifaximin effective in treating flatulence and irritable bowel syndrome

In the first study of its kind, researchers discovered that rifaximin, an antibiotic used to treat diarrhea, is an effective treatment for abdominal bloating and flatulence, including in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) patients.

16 Feb 2006

Calcium and Vitamin D supplememts of limited benefit to older women

According to researchers at Stanford University Medical Center, older women who regularly take calcium and Vitamin D marginally decrease their risk of hip fractures.

16 Feb 2006