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Smoking during the first trimester of pregnancy linked to oral clefts

Smoking during the first trimester of pregnancy is clearly linked with an increased risk of cleft lip in newborns.

18 Dec 2008

FDA approves Mozobil (plerixafor) for multiple myeloma or non-Hodgkin's lymphomas

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Mozobil (plerixafor), a drug that helps increase the number of blood stem cells for bone marrow transplantation in patients with certain forms of blood cancer.

18 Dec 2008

Trial tests adult stems cells to treat congestive heart failure

The University of California, San Diego Medical Center is the first hospital in California to enroll patients in a multi-center clinical trial, sponsored by Angioblast Systems Inc., to examine the safety and feasibility of administering adult stems cells to treat congestive heart failure.

18 Dec 2008

New method offers direct access to the brain through the nose to treat stroke

UT Health Science Center San Antonio researchers, working in a mouse model of stroke, are delivering neuroprotective drugs to the brain by spraying them onto the lining of a nerve in the nose.

18 Dec 2008

Evaluation of treatments for benign prostatic enlargement

Research published by the National Institute for Health Research Health Technology Assessment (NIHR HTA) programme has found that transurethral resection, the most common operation for benign prostatic enlargement (BPE), remains a clinically and cost-effective treatment. BPE commonly causes older men to have difficulty passing urine and may require surgery to alleviate the problem.

18 Dec 2008

Surgeons perform first simultaneous double-lung, kidney transplant in Illinois, Wisconsin

Eric McCabe of Wausau, Wis., had no earth-shaking plans for the future as he began his recovery from the rare double-lung and kidney transplant surgery he had at Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, Ill.

17 Dec 2008

Optimal dialysis treatment differs among kidney disease patients

For kidney disease patients who need to undergo dialysis, one type of treatment is not best for all, according to a study appearing in the January 2009 issue of the Journal of the American Society Nephrology ( JASN ).

17 Dec 2008

Phosphorus binders help dialysis patients

For patients on dialysis, taking medications to reduce levels of the mineral phosphorus in the blood may reduce the risk of death by 25 to 30 percent, reports a study in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN).

17 Dec 2008

Relationship of dialysis modality and mortality

17 Dec 2008

Biopure submits IND for trial in patients with acute myeloid leukemia

Biopure Corporation has announced that it has submitted to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) an investigational new drug (IND) application to conduct a pilot phase 2 clinical trial of the company's oxygen therapeutic Hemopure [hemoglobin glutamer - 250 (bovine)].

17 Dec 2008

Abbott starts trial of 2.25 mm stent system

Abbott has announced the start of SPIRIT Small Vessel, a clinical trial evaluating a 2.25 mm size of the XIENCE V Everolimus Eluting Coronary Stent System.

17 Dec 2008

Exercise on doctors orders!

Researchers in New Zealand say though exercise is known to be one of the essential components which improve and enhance the quality of life, it is unfortunately underused.

17 Dec 2008

Researchers hunt for new drugs for Leishmaniasis

Hundreds of millions of people, mainly in developing countries, are disabled by infectious diseases, according to the World Health Organization.

16 Dec 2008

New anti-tumor gene called SARI

Researchers from Virginia Commonwealth University have identified a new anti-tumor gene called SARI that can interact with and suppress a key protein that is overexpressed in 90 percent of human cancers.

16 Dec 2008

New system of scoring IQ tests taken by children with fragile X syndrome

Parents of children with intellectual disabilities have long been frustrated by intelligence quotient (IQ) testing that tells them little to nothing about the long-term learning potential of their children.

16 Dec 2008

Low-glycemic foods better for glycemic control than high-fiber

Persons with type 2 diabetes who had a diet high in low-glycemic foods such as nuts, beans and lentils had greater improvement in glycemic control and risk factors for coronary heart disease than persons on a diet with an emphasis on high-cereal fiber, according to a study in the December 17 issue of JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association.

16 Dec 2008

Single letter in the human genome points to risk for high cholesterol

Write out every letter in the human genome, one A, C, T or G per millimeter, and the text would be 1,800 miles long, roughly the distance from New York to Colorado.

16 Dec 2008

Archived blood from infant heel stick tests could lead to discoveries about diseases that have roots in perinatal period

Van Andel Institute (VAI) researchers are the first to apply a new technology to measure on a large scale the presence of genes in blood spots - the blood drawn from newborn infants to screen for health-threatening conditions.

16 Dec 2008

New technique to view labeled tumor cells in 'real' time

A breakthrough technique that allows scientists to view individually-labeled tumor cells as they move about in real time in a live mouse may enable scientists to develop microenvironment-specific drugs against cancer, researchers report at the American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB) 48th Annual Meeting, Dec. 13-17, 2008 in San Francisco.

15 Dec 2008

Tracking the molecular pathway to mixed-lineage leukemia

Infants and adults with the blood cancer mixed-lineage leukemia (MLL) typically have a poor prognosis, and most infants die before their first birthdays.

15 Dec 2008