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A new non-invasive test for kidney disease

A new non-invasive test for kidney disease, developed by clinicians at Hammersmith Hospitals NHS Trust and Imperial College London, is providing a simple, safe, cheap and reliable method of detecting kidney disease.

13 Sep 2004

Researchers find way to clean up the drugs market

Researchers from the University of Cambridge and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have made a breakthrough by using supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2) as a reaction medium for the preparation of molecules of interest to the pharmaceutical industry.

13 Sep 2004

Potential new drug for the treatment of sickle cell disease

The results were published in the June 2004 issue of The British Journal of Haematology (BJH). MX-1520 is a prodrug of vanillin, a very popular food additive generally regarded as safe (GRAS) by the FDA.

13 Sep 2004

Yentreve available in Europe for treatment of stress urinary incontinence

Yentreve (duloxetine hydrochloride) is now available in certain European countries, giving women suffering from moderate to severe stress urinary incontinence (SUI) a pharmaceutical treatment option for the first time.

13 Sep 2004

$10.3 million biodefense contract to tackle salmonella, typhoid fever and monkey pox virus

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory has received a $10.3 million biodefense contract from the National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Agents (NIAID) to identify the proteins that regulate the bacteria that cause salmonella poisoning and typhoid fever, and the monkey pox virus.

12 Sep 2004

A third of chronically ill adults don't tell their clinicians that they underuse medications due to cost

About one-third of chronically ill adults who underuse medications because of the costs associated with buying the drugs, never tell their health care practitioners, according to an article in the September 13 issue of The Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

12 Sep 2004

Grant to study genetics and drug interaction

A University of Minnesota researcher received a nearly $1 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to study how genetic differences affect whether people will experience dangerous drug interactions and how to adjust medications to avoid those interactions.

10 Sep 2004

Discovery of way to regulate brain blood could lead to new treatments for stroke, migraine, Alzheimer’s

There may be new treatments for stroke, migraine, Alzheimer’s and other brain disorders, thanks to the discovery of a mechanism for regulating brain blood flow made by researchers at the University of British Columbia.

10 Sep 2004

Herbals, surgery and anesthesia don't always mix

The woman who swears by gingko biloba wonders why her mouth won't stop bleeding after wisdom tooth surgery. What she doesn't know is that the herbal remedy she takes religiously to enhance mental alertness also acts as a powerful blood thinner that inhibits clotting.

10 Sep 2004

Transthyretin discovery may halt progression of Alzheimer's

In a finding that may cause a dramatic shift in the way scientists and researchers search for a therapy for Alzheimer's disease, a team of researchers led by Jeff Johnson, an associate professor at the School of Pharmacy, has discovered that increased expression of a protein called transthyretin in the brain appears to halt the progression of the disease.

10 Sep 2004

Teens who engage in high-risk behaviors involving sex and drugs have significantly higher odds of depression

Teens who engage in high-risk behaviors involving sex and drugs have significantly higher odds of depression, suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts than teens who say no to sex and drugs, according to a study.

10 Sep 2004

Childhood leukaemia significantly lower in Asia than in Western countries

The incidence of childhood leukaemia in Britain increased dramatically during the twentieth century. The increase has mainly affected the under-five age group, in whom the risk increased by more than 50 per cent during the second half of the century alone.

9 Sep 2004

Results of all clinical trials for new drugs and procedures must be released publicly

The results of all clinical trials for new drugs and procedures must be released publicly if people are to get the full facts about their medical treatment, says a letter in this week's BMJ.

9 Sep 2004

Cancers, including colon, prostate, and leukemia, continue to grow unchecked

Many cancers, including colon, prostate, and leukemia, continue to grow unchecked because they do not respond to a signal to die and stop proliferating from Transforming Growth Factor-beta (TGF-b).

8 Sep 2004

Scientist rewarded for breaking down transplant rejection

A scientist from Australia's Monash University who has recently determined the structure of drug that is widely used as an immunosuppressant, will be presented the 2004 Science Minister's Prize for Life Scientist of the Year.

8 Sep 2004

Researchers uncover how HIV causes abnormalities in antibody-producing cells

HIV wreaks much of its damage by targeting the “orchestra conductor” of the immune system, a key class of T cells—CD4+ T cells—whose destructive relationship with HIV has been well-studied by AIDS researchers.

8 Sep 2004

Researchers keep milk free of contaminants

Dairy farms in the United States produced more than 170 billion pounds of milk last year. The more than 9 million cows that produced that milk occasionally need to be treated for various ailments

8 Sep 2004

Japanese research lab to use an IBM supercomputer for protein research

IBM announced today that AIST, a leading Japanese research laboratory, will use an IBM BlueGene/L supercomputer to advance their research in proteins, potentially accelerating breakthroughs in drug design. The BlueGene/L supercomputer has been ranked as the fourth largest supercomputer in the world.

8 Sep 2004

Advances in gene silencing on the agenda

Recent advances in using 'RNA interference' (RNAi) to improve plant, animal and human health will be the major focus of the CSIRO-hosted Horizons in Livestock Sciences Conference on the Gold Coast from 12-15 September.

8 Sep 2004

ADHD children four times more likely to have mental health problems when they grow up

Many normal children display low levels of the traits associated with ADHD – behaving in an impulsive, inattentive, and restless fashion – which will not cause problems.

8 Sep 2004