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Kidney disease in children: common but treatable

"Kidney disease occurs more often than we think, but it is also more treatable than we used to think, especially when caught early," says Barbara Fivush, M.D., director of nephrology at the Johns Hopkins Children's Center.

8 Mar 2007

Impact of maternal obesity on the NHS

A new study reveals the true costs of the increase in maternal obesity and how it is impinging on service delivery in the NHS

8 Mar 2007

Researchers show how endocrine cell types are produced in the pancreas

An international research team has identified the process by which pancreatic progenitor cells give rise to different endocrine cell types.

8 Mar 2007

When it comes to antioxidants, orange could be the new red!

Scientists say a special variety of orange tomatoes may be healthier than the usual bright red ones.

8 Mar 2007

AIDS and circumcision - the jury's still out

According to preliminary results of a study in Africa, although circumcision offers men some protection from the AIDS virus, if they are already-infected, unless they let the penis heal completely they may put women at an even higher risk of contracting the virus.

8 Mar 2007

California Sen. Carole Migden introduces bill to allow HIV-positive men to use reproductive services

California Sen. Carole Migden (D) recently introduced a bill (SB 443) that would allow HIV-positive men to use reproductive services, including artificial insemination and in vitro fertilization, under certain guidelines, the MediaNews/San Jose Mercury News reports.

8 Mar 2007

HIV-positive men who have sex before circumcision wounds are healed could increase female partners' infection risk

HIV-positive men undergoing circumcision might be more likely to transmit the virus to their female partners if they have sex before the circumcision wounds have healed, according to preliminary results from a study being conducted in Uganda and presented on Tuesday to 75 officials from the World Health Organization and UNAIDS at a meeting in Montreux, Switzerland, the Washington Post reports

8 Mar 2007

Atkins comes up trumps in low carb diets

Researchers in the United States have carried out a comparison of four of the most popular diets and the low-carbohydrate 'Atkins diet' has come up trumps.

7 Mar 2007

Tekturna new hypertension drug - first in a decade

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the United States has given it's approval for the use of a new drug to treat hypertension.

7 Mar 2007

How polonium-210 acts as a poison in the body

The Health Protection Agency's radiation protection experts together with colleagues from research laboratories in the USA have published a paper in the Journal of Radiological Protection 1 on how polonium-210 acts as a poison in the body.

6 Mar 2007

Digital network links cardiovascular research globally

With $8.5 million in federal support, leading researchers at three universities, including Johns Hopkins, are creating an ambitious digital network that will allow cardiovascular researchers worldwide to easily exchange data and expertise on heart-related illnesses.

6 Mar 2007

FDA approves Tekturna for the treatment of high blood pressure

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today announced the approval of Tekturna (aliskiren) tablets for the treatment of high blood pressure, or hypertension, which affects an estimated 25 percent of Americans and causes increased risk of stroke, heart attack, kidney failure, heart failure and death.

6 Mar 2007

Arm yourself with knowledge before plastic surgery

Despite the fact that 8 out of 10 patients who have plastic surgery are happy with the results, nearly 40 percent wish they had done better research before the operation with regard to the potential side effects and complications.

6 Mar 2007

Clean hands save patient lives

Experts on patient safety are urging countries in Latin America and the Caribbean to join a global effort to improve hand hygiene and related practices in hospitals and health care facilities to help reduce the growing number of deaths and illnesses due to health care-associated infections.

5 Mar 2007

Lactulose improves quality of life in patients with cirrhosis who have minimal hepatic encephalopathy

A study on patients with cirrhosis who had minimal hepatic encephalopathy (MHE), a condition in which behavioral, psychological and neurological changes are associated with advanced liver disease, found that cognitive function and health related quality-of-life improved when they took lactulose. Lactulose is a drug used to help eliminate toxins such as ammonia that are normally cleared by the liver.

5 Mar 2007

New drug delivery method incorporates drug molecules in fat

Devastating blood-borne fungal infections that can be lethal for HIV/AIDS, cancer, and organ transplant patients may be treated more successfully, thanks to a new drug delivery method developed by researchers at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver.

5 Mar 2007

Copper good for your heart

Including more copper in your everyday diet could be good for your heart, according to scientists at the University of Louisville Medical Center and the USDA Human Nutrition Research Center.

5 Mar 2007

Translaminar technique reduces neck pain without significant risk of paralysis

In the largest series of patients to date, recent research shows that the translaminar approach to cervical spinal steroid injections can reduce neck pain in eighty-three percent of those treated.

5 Mar 2007

Improvement of cancer-targeting therapy, using nanocarriers for intractable solid tumors by inhibition of TGF-beta signaling

Administering a small amount of a potent but potentially toxic anticancer agent along with nanoparticles loaded with a second anticancer agent produced a dramatic inhibition of tumor growth in normally intractable cancers. These findings suggest a new approach to treating malignancies such as pancreatic cancer and diffuse gastric cancer.

5 Mar 2007

Magnetic nanocrystals used to carry tumor-killing drugs

Imagine using a focused magnetic field to concentrate anticancer drugs in and around tumors, and then turning off the magnetic field so that the drugs then leave the body.

5 Mar 2007