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New neurotechnology aims to help rehabilitate stroke survivors

What comes naturally to most people - to think and then do - is difficult for stroke patients who have lost the full use of their limbs. New research by Rice University, the University of Houston (UH) and TIRR Memorial Hermann aims to help victims recover that ability to the fullest extent possible with a $1.17 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the President's National Robotics Initiative (NRI).

21 Aug 2012

Daily vitamin D intake protects against respiratory infections in children

A study conducted in Mongolian schoolchildren supports the possibility that daily vitamin D supplementation can reduce the risk of respiratory infections in winter. In a report that will appear in the journal Pediatrics and has received early online release, an international research team found that vitamin D supplementation decreased the risk of respiratory infections among children who had low blood levels of vitamin D at the start of the study.

21 Aug 2012

Semen protein acts on the female brain to prompt ovulation

An international team of scientists led by Gregg Adams at the University of Saskatchewan has discovered that a protein in semen acts on the female brain to prompt ovulation, and is the same molecule that regulates the growth, maintenance, and survival of nerve cells.

21 Aug 2012

Roundup: Abortion cases against Kan. Planned Parenthood dropped; Maine Readies session on money owed hospitals; Calif. suing doc over billing practices

The first criminal prosecution of Planned Parenthood came to an abrupt end Friday when Kansas prosecutors dropped all charges against a local affiliate accused of failing to determine the viability of fetuses before abortions were performed. ... They said that state law did not prohibit Planned Parenthood from using the gestational age of fetuses to determine whether they were viable or could survive outside of the womb.

21 Aug 2012

BioDiem and French partner VIVALIS a step forward in developing vaccines for diseases and related cancers

Australian infectious disease therapy and vaccine development company BioDiem Ltd (ASX: BDM) announced today successful results from two programs of work carried out by French partner VIVALIS (NYSE Euronext: VLS), confirming the ability of BioDiem’s Live Attenuated Influenza Virus (LAIV) to grow in VIVALIS’ proprietary EB66® cell line.

20 Aug 2012

Working out during pregnancy wards off muscle pain

Not enough healthy pregnant women are doing the recommended amount of physical exercise, suggest study findings.

20 Aug 2012

Enzalutamide extends castration-resistant prostate cancer survival

Enzalutamide treatment significantly improves survival in men with castration-resistant prostate cancer, demonstrate phase III trial results published in TheNew England Journal of Medicine.

20 Aug 2012

Specialist referral unearths wide spectrum of adult primary immune deficiencies

The range of adult primary immune deficiencies is considerable and the majority of patients are diagnosed only after specialist referral, conclude Canadian scientists who identified two novel patient groups with humoral abnormalities.

20 Aug 2012

US task force unconvinced of case for hearing tests in elderly

A US Preventive Services Task Force review of screening for hearing impairment in older, asymptomatic adults concludes that there is insufficient evidence to assess whether or not the benefits outweigh the harms.

20 Aug 2012

Parkinson’s disease with dementia falls into two pathologic subgroups

Patients with Parkinson’s disease who also have dementia fall into two main pathologic categories, characterized by neocortical synucleinopathy in isolation and neocortical synucleinopathy with amyloid beta deposition.

20 Aug 2012

Lack of certain gene occurs in almost 28% of breast cancers

More than one out of every four cases of breast cancer is associated with a specific, missing gene - a finding that could have significant implications for chemotherapy treatments, according a recent study by Cornell University researchers.

20 Aug 2012

Injectable controlled-release capsules against gum disease

Scientists are trying to open a new front in the battle against gum disease, the leading cause of tooth loss in adults and sometimes termed the most serious oral health problem of the 21st century. They described another treatment approach for the condition in a report here today at the 244th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society, the world's largest scientific society.

20 Aug 2012

Anti-cancer regimens with multiple modes of action increase treatment effectiveness

Cancer may be the Harry Houdini of diseases—it often finds devious ways to escape treatment. Because cancer disables our cellular quality control mechanisms, rampant mutations that cause tumor cells to grow uncontrollably can also generate resistance to anticancer drugs. Even if 99 percent of the tumor is destroyed, that 1 percent can come roaring back. How do we knock out that 1 percent? By attacking the cancer from multiple angles, using multiple treatments and strategies.

20 Aug 2012

'Not enough exercise' cited as top children's health concern

Adults across the U.S. rate not getting enough exercise as the top health concern for children in 2012, according to a new University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health.

20 Aug 2012

Juventas commences treatment in JVS-100 Phase II STOP-HF trial for late stage heart failure

Juventas Therapeutics, a privately-held clinical-stage company developing novel regenerative therapies for treatment of cardiovascular disease, reports treating the first patient in its STOP-HF trial.

20 Aug 2012

Paper-strip test could identify counterfeit versions of faked medicines in the world

In a thrust against the major problem of counterfeit medicines sold in developing countries, which causes thousands of illnesses and deaths annually, scientists today described development of a simple, paper-strip test that people could use to identify counterfeit versions of one of the most-frequently faked medicines in the world.

20 Aug 2012

UCP2 uncoupling protein occurs mainly in cells of the immune system

When uncoupling proteins are active, mitochondria produce heat instead of ATP. This may be useful under certain circumstances, such as when an animal is hibernating. But non-hibernating animals also have them. Particularly poorly understood is the uncoupling protein UCP2. Elena Pohl and colleagues at the University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, show that the protein occurs mainly in cells of the immune system.

18 Aug 2012

Ohio's three Clinical and Translational Science Award institutions establish IRB agreement

The three Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) institutions in Ohio — Case Western Reserve University, University of Cincinnati and The Ohio State University — and their partnering institutions have established a statewide collaborative agreement allowing a single organization's Institutional Review Board (IRB) to assume IRB responsibilities on behalf of multiple institutions when conducting multicenter studies.

18 Aug 2012

New book on malaria tells story of Plasmodium falciparum Genome Project

Few infectious diseases can rival malaria's ability to kill and cripple. Each year the disease causes hundreds of millions of people to be sickened and more than a million - mostly African children under the age of five - die.

18 Aug 2012

CDC reports worst West Nile virus outbreak in the U.S.

This past year's mild winter and wet spring could be contributing to the worst West Nile virus outbreak since the disease was first detected in the United States in 1999. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there have been more cases of the virus so far this year than any year. As of August 14, almost 700 cases had been reported across the nation, including 26 deaths. This year also marks the earliest reported case of West Nile virus in New Jersey.

18 Aug 2012