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Scientists confirm rarefied air poses in-flight problem

More than half of all air passengers experience significant blood oxygen decreases at high altitudes, UK researchers report in the scientific journal Anaesthesia. We take a look at the findings and EU research in the aeronautics field.

18 May 2005

Hypertension drug combination yields high rate of blood pressure control in hard-to-treat patients

The study, conducted at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and 118 other sites, was focused on bringing down systolic blood pressure, the top number in a blood pressure reading, which is the more difficult number to bring down.

18 May 2005

Telemonitoring or telephone calls prevent heart failure deaths

Monitoring heart failure patients with either high-tech home monitors or through regular telephone contacts with nurses improves the odds they will survive during the months after a serious hospitalization, according to a new study in the May 17, 2005, issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

18 May 2005

Routine, inexpensive blood test sharpens heart disease risk predictions

Routine measurements of white blood cell counts that provide a ratio of neutrophils to lymphocytes may offer a simple and low-cost way to refine predictions of heart attack or death, according to a new study in the May 17, 2005, issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

18 May 2005

A drug that controls blood pressure and reduces heart risk also appears to protect against diabetes

In new results from the VALUE trial that pitted the drug valsartan against another blood pressure drug, amlodipine, the patients taking valsartan were found to have a 23 percent lower risk of developing diabetes during the four or more years of the study.

18 May 2005

New blood tests for both prostate and colon cancer

Tessera Inc., a Seattle-based biomedical company is, in collaboration with Dr. Robert Getzenberg, Director of the Brady Urological Research Institute at Johns Hopkins University, developing blood tests for both prostate and colon cancer and expects to commence clinical trials on EPCA (Early Prostate Cancer Antigen), its first blood test for prostate cancer, before the end of this year.

18 May 2005

Don’t skip chest CT in the ER just because X-ray checks out okay, warns study

Chest X-rays may miss 40% of clinically significant thoracic injuries in multiple trauma patients that can be caught by chest CT, say researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.

18 May 2005

Chronic stress can be harmful - to your health and also to your brain

Chronic stress can be harmful - to your health and also to your brain, according to researchers at the Douglas Hospital Research Center. Their findings, published in a recent issue of Psychoneuroendocrinology, show increased stress hormones lead to memory impairment in the elderly and learning difficulties in young adults.

17 May 2005

Zevalin safe and effective for non-Hogdkin's lymphoma patients

According to a University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) study, patients with advanced non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) previously treated with chemotherapy and adult stem cell transplantation can safely tolerate Zevalin (ibritumomab tiuxetan), a radiolabeled monoclonal antibody that targets radiation directly to a tumor.

17 May 2005

Breast cancer chemotherapy regimen associated with life-threatening complications

The chemotherapy regimen of doxorubicin plus docetaxel, used to treat breast cancer in a clinical trial, was associated with an increased risk of serious complications, resulting in the premature termination of the trial, according to a study in the May 18 issue of JAMA.

17 May 2005

Patients who have a blood clot are at high risk of having another one, and men have more than twice the risk as women

While estimates of the overall risk of a thrombotic (blood clot) event recurrence vary, reports on contributing factors are contradictory, according to background information in the article. Knowledge of the risk of a thrombotic event recurrence and its determinants is relevant for clinical policy regarding screening for thrombophilia (increased risk for blood clot), duration of anticoagulant treatment, and treatment strategies in circumstances of increased risk.

17 May 2005

Tumor vasculature has become an attractive target in the treatment of cancer.

Treatment with a protein fused to an antibody in tumor-bearing mice led to coagulation of the blood within the tumor blood vessels, tumor tissue death, and tumor growth delay, according to a new study in the May 18 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

17 May 2005

Grapefruit have strong antioxidant properties that can have healing effects on stomach ulcers

Extracts of the popular diet item grapefruit have strong antioxidant properties that can have healing effects on stomach ulcers, according to a new study presented today at Digestive Disease Week 2005 (DDW).

17 May 2005

Mathematical way to identify babies at risk for epilepsy

Confusion and speech problems are frequent signs of seizures, but babies offer few such clues as to what ails them.

17 May 2005

Scientists have uncovered a new method the immune system uses to label foreign invaders as targets to be attacked

Researchers showed that the immune system can brand foreign proteins by chemically modifying their structure, and that these modifications increased the chances that cells known as lymphocytes would recognize the trespassers and attack them.

17 May 2005

Pills made from the plant kudzu may help binge drinkers lose the urge

Researchers have found that drinkers seemed to lose the urge to binge-drink when they took pills made from the plant kudzu. Experts say the groundbreaking discovery may lead to a way to attack the rising binge-drinking problem which is especially prevalent among young people.

17 May 2005

Lower doses of chemo just as effective in childhood cancers

In the latest research into treating a common childhood cancer, paediatric oncologist Allen Chauvenet, is optimistic that the long-term side effects that survivors experience as they grow into adulthood can be reduced.

17 May 2005

Sensor warns of gastrointestinal problems

Dutch researcher Sebastiaan Herber has developed a sensor which can detect poor blood circulation in the stomach. A high level of carbon dioxide in the stomach is a characteristic of this so-called gastrointestinal ischaemia. By measuring this concentration the sensor can indicate how good or bad the circulation in the stomach wall is.

17 May 2005

New discovery sparks hope of safer dosage of Warfarin

The blood-thinning drug Warfarin tops the list of drug side-effects in Sweden. Patient sensitivity to Warfarin varies, which can lead to over-dosage and in certain cases to death.

17 May 2005

Vitamin D, taxotere combination promising for advanced prostate cancer

Results of a new study strongly suggest that DN-101, a new high-dose calcitriol pill designed specifically as a cancer therapy, given in combination with docetaxel (Taxotere) extends the lives of men with advanced prostate cancer.

17 May 2005