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Implanting dopamine generators in brain cells improves Parkinson's in monkeys

Implanting dopamine generators (dopaminergics) in brain cells has produced improvement in the symptoms in Parkinson's, according to the results of tests carried out with monkeys by the Navarra University Hospital, led by Dr Mar'a Rosario Luquin Piudo, neurologist at the Hospital and at the other Navarra University-based medical centre, CIMA (the Research Centre for Applied Medicine).

17 May 2007

Environmental toxins may cause autism

The increase in the number of diagnosed cases of autism in recent years has sparked concern that environmental toxins may cause this complex disorder.

17 May 2007

New guidelines for blood conservation during cardiac procedures

A team of medical experts led by a Virginia Commonwealth University anesthesiologist and a thoracic surgeon from the University of Kentucky has established a set of clinical guidelines to help physicians decrease the need for blood transfusions in high-risk patients during cardiac operations.

17 May 2007

Potential new treatments for hemorrhagic shock

Blood loss due to severe internal injuries requires rapid action to prevent mortality.

17 May 2007

ACE inhibitors help preserve kidney function in IgA nephropathy

For young patients with the kidney disease IgA nephropathy (IgAN), early treatment with angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors can reduce the long-term risk of irreversible kidney damage, suggests a study in the June Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.

17 May 2007

Possible neuroprotective effect of testosterone treatment in men

A small pilot study suggests that testosterone treatment is safe, well tolerated and may reduce symptoms, slow brain degeneration and increase muscle mass in men with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis, the most common form of the disease, according to a report in the May issue of Archives of Neurology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

17 May 2007

Surgeons rebuild war veteran's nose using his own body parts

It took only seconds for the Humvee to flip over and crash on a highway near Camp Bucca in southern Iraq in August 2005.

17 May 2007

Disposable tourniquet could reduce spread of MRSA

A product designed by two entrepreneurial medical graduates could soon be helping to reduce the spread of hospital-acquired infections such as MRSA.

17 May 2007

Minimally invasive treatment of chronic mesenteric ischemia

Using catheter techniques perfected in the arteries of the heart, interventional cardiologists are successfully treating chronic mesenteric ischemia, a condition akin to intestinal angina.

17 May 2007

Single dose of vitamin D may be enough to boost the immune system to fight against tuberculosis

Their findings came from a study that identified an extraordinarily high incidence of vitamin D deficiency amongst those communities in London most at risk from the disease, which kills around two million people each year.

16 May 2007

Screening men over 65 for abdominal aortic aneurysms could save lives

Between 5% and 10% of men aged 65 to 79 have abdominal aortic aneurysms, but don’t know it.

16 May 2007

Potential therapeutic target for autoimmune vasculitis

A potential therapeutic target for autoimmune vasculitis has been identified by researchers of the Franz Volhard Clinic for Cardiovascular Diseases (FVK) of the Charity – University Medicine Berlin/HELIOS-Klinikum and the Max Delbruck Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch.

16 May 2007

Multiple myeloma dexamethasone / lenalidomide trial closes

The Southwest Oncology Group, the largest of several National Cancer Institute-sponsored clinical trials networks, has permanently closed enrollment in a trial comparing a standard drug therapy, dexamethasone, with a combined therapy of the same drug plus the drug lenalidomide (Revlimid) for people newly diagnosed with multiple myeloma.

16 May 2007

Sex differences in health awareness

A majority of American women always or frequently read the labels of their prescribed or over the counter medications to see if they might work differently in women, but few discuss this issue with their doctor or pharmacist, according to a new survey released by the Society for Women's Health Research, a Washington, D.C., based advocacy organization.

16 May 2007

Just 75 minutes of exercise per week helps improve fitness levels for postmenopausal women who are overweight

New research indicates that even small amounts of physical activity, approximately 75 minutes a week, can help improve the fitness levels for postmenopausal women who are sedentary and overweight or obese, according to a study in the May 16 issue of JAMA.

16 May 2007

Low tar cigarettes as damaging as regular tar

Low tar "lite" cigarettes impair blood flow through the heart as severely as regular cigarettes, reveals a small study published ahead of print in the journal Heart.

16 May 2007

FDA approves Evicel Fibrin surgical sealant

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Evicel Fibrin Sealant, a liquid product that when applied topically helps control oozing from small blood vessels during surgical procedures.

16 May 2007

Chemical maps hint at drug's effects on schizophrenia

Antipsychotic drugs do most of their work in the brain, but they also leave behind in the bloodstream a trail of hundreds of chemicals that may be used in the future to direct better treatment for schizophrenia and other psychiatric conditions, say Duke University Medical Center researchers.

16 May 2007

Atypical pathogen treatment vital in hospitalized community-acquired pneumonia patients

Hospitalized patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) who received treatment regimens against atypical disease-causing pathogens reached clinical stability quicker, had fewer days of hospitalization, and had lower mortality rates as a result of their disease, according to a large new study.

16 May 2007

Single-tablet combination of atorvastatin and amlodipine for high blood pressure effective

Adults with high blood pressure and additional risk factors for heart disease may benefit more from taking one tablet rather than two, if their current treatment combines the lipid-lowering medication atorvastatin with the blood pressure-lowering medication amlodipine, researchers reported at the American Heart Association's 8th Scientific Forum on Quality of Care and Outcomes Research in Cardiovascular Disease and Stroke.

16 May 2007