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Total smoking ban in public places only viable option in the UK

Doctors, nurses and charities in the UK have renewed demands for a total ban on smoking in public places, and are warning that government plans to allow smoking in some pubs would increase health inequalities.

6 Sep 2005

Phase II clinical study of ularitide

The European Society of Cardiology (ESC) today highlighted results of a Phase II clinical study of ularitide, a synthetic form of a natriuretic peptide synthesized in the kidney for patients with acute decompensated congestive heart failure (ADHF).

5 Sep 2005

Parasite could help prevent asthma

Asthma in Britain has reached epidemic proportions and the country now has one of the highest numbers of sufferers of the allergy in the world; in Ireland alone it is reported that as many as 30% of all schoolchildren have symptoms of the disease.

5 Sep 2005

Researchers to test whether cannabinoids can help chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients

Researchers from Imperial College London are looking for volunteers to test whether cannabinoids, the active ingredient of cannabis, can be used to alleviate the sensation of breathlessness caused by illnesses such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

4 Sep 2005

Rett Syndrome gene discovery

Adrian Bird of the University of Edinburgh and colleagues report in the online issue of Molecular Cell that the "Rett Syndrome protein", MeCP2, only binds to genes with a specific sequence of nucleotide bases. This knowledge will aid in the identification of the genes that are regulated by the gene MECP2

4 Sep 2005

MRSA risk doubled in critically ill patients with glucose in their airways

Critically ill patients with glucose in their airways seem to be at double the risk of picking up serious hospital acquired infections, including MRSA, suggests research in Thorax.

1 Sep 2005

Discovery of gene that may play a role in centronuclear myopathy

By studying the molecules that regulate the formation of muscle, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have discovered a gene that may play a role in a rare muscular disease in humans.

31 Aug 2005

Mouse model of Rett Syndrome displays reduced cortical activity

Sacha Nelson of Brandeis University in Waltham, MA and Rudolf Jaenisch of the Whitehead Institute of Biomedical Research in Cambridge, MA and their colleagues report online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Early Edition that spontaneous neuronal activity is reduced in the cortex of a knockout mouse model for the childhood neurodevelopmental disorder, Rett Syndrome.

23 Aug 2005

Body's own defense mechanism causes some of the most serious asthma symptoms

McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) scientists have discovered that our body's own defense mechanism causes some of the most serious asthma symptoms.

13 Aug 2005

New theory as to why some people die during sleep

According to scientists the reason why some people stop breathing fatally in their sleep, is because a cumulative loss of cells in the area of the brain that controls breathing triggers a condition called central sleep apnoea.

9 Aug 2005

Nighttime dying linked to sleep apnea from brain cell loss

Aim to grow old and die peacefully in your sleep? Be careful what you wish for. A new UCLA study suggests that some people die in their sleep because they stop breathing due to a cumulative loss of cells in the brain's breathing command-post. The online edition of Nature Neuroscience reports the findings.

7 Aug 2005

Hot flashes - women experience this symptom differently

Hot flashes are well known to most menopausal women - and to many who are in perimenopause, the transition to menopause.

4 Aug 2005

Aging profile of the human brain differs greatly from that seen in chimpanzees

Researchers have found that the two primary areas of the human brain appear to age in radically different ways: The cortex used in higher-level thought undergoes more extensive changes with age than the cerebellum, which regulates basic processes such as heartbeat, breathing and balance.

2 Aug 2005

Discovery that oxidative stress from pollen is as important as antigen exposure could lead to new therapies

For a person with allergies or asthma, breathing in pollen can be a very bad thing. Within minutes of inhalation by someone sensitive to their effects, these tiny particles can trigger severe inflammation of the respiratory passages, producing uncontrollable sneezing, coughing, or extreme shortness of breath -- symptoms agonizingly familiar to those who suffer from allergy and asthma attacks.

1 Aug 2005

Beta-blockers 'blot out memories' for sufferers with post-traumatic stress disorder

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) affects around one in three of people caught up in such events, as the London bombings, and memories can be triggered just by a sound or smell.

29 Jul 2005

Multiple rare mutations within a single gene may increase risk for autism

While debate still rages over the 'cause' of autism, mounting evidence suggests that genetic factors play a major role in the disease.

25 Jul 2005

Breathing in large quantities of salt particles has just the same effect on blood pressure as eating a salty diet

Workers in salt factories, who inhale large amounts of salt particles, are at risk of high blood pressure due to the increased salt intake.

25 Jul 2005

Study warns against global use of old asthma medicines for kids' coughs

An asthma medicine widely used around the world to stop children's coughs has no provable benefit for that purpose and may cause harm, a new review of existing studies reports.

19 Jul 2005

Combination of ribavirin and interferon is more effective in treating hepatitis C than using interferon alone

The researchers reviewed 72 randomized trials and 9,991 patients who had chronic hepatitis C for more than six months and were previously untreated, who had relapsed after treatment or who had not responded to other treatment.

19 Jul 2005

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) rates in women skyrocket

The death rate for one of the most lethal diseases in North America has skyrocketed for women in the last 20 years, and a team of researchers from the University of British Columbia and the B.C. Centre of Excellence for Women's Health wants to find out why.

19 Jul 2005