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Study explains why some people develop kidney stones and others do not

Kidney stones strike an estimated 1 million Americans each year, and those who have experienced the excruciating pain say it is among the worst known to man (or woman).

19 Apr 2012

BCCA, UBC scientists identify new breast cancer genes

Scientists at the BC Cancer Agency and University of British Columbia have identified new breast cancer genes that could change the way the disease is diagnosed and form the basis of next-generation treatments.

19 Apr 2012

Viewpoints: Insurance regulation a 'special interest'?; Washington's wrong health care battle; Will the health law turn us into part-time employees?

It takes a certain amount of chutzpah to name a group that opposes government oversight of health insurance premiums "Californians Against Higher Healthcare Costs." Especially when the group includes the trade associations for doctors and hospitals, two sets of Californians who've contributed mightily to the high cost of health care.

19 Apr 2012

Anti-HIV pill could prevent thousands of new infections: Study finds

A once daily pill to prevent HIV infection could significantly reduce the spread of the AIDS-causing virus. However it would only be cost-effective if limited to men at very high risk for HIV infection, according to a new study.

18 Apr 2012

Trauma patients flown in to the A&E may fare better: Study

A new study has found that transport by helicopter to a level I or II trauma center was associated with improved survival to hospital discharge compared with ground emergency medical services. The study, which appears in the April 18 issue of JAMA, included data on more than 200,000 adult patients.

18 Apr 2012

Brain size and IQ secret may lie in genes: Study

The study, conducted by a team of more than 200 scientists from 100 institutions worldwide, measured the size of the brain and its memory centers in thousands of MRI images from 21,151 healthy people while simultaneously screening their DNA. According to the researchers, a variant in a gene called HMGA2 affected the brain size, as well as a person's intelligence.

18 Apr 2012

Blood test to diagnose depression in adolescents

Researchers have developed a blood test that can diagnose depression in teens, a step they hope will lead to a better way to identify the disorder in young people. At present diagnosing depression depends entirely on a patient's willingness to report symptoms. For teens, the diagnosis is particularly challenging, given the natural emotional ups and downs of adolescence.

18 Apr 2012

PCMD chosen as collaborator in new NIHR School for Public Health Research

The Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry (PCMD) is one of just eight health research institutions in England to be chosen as a collaborator in the new National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) School for Public Health Research.

18 Apr 2012

Earth Day prompts examination of health-care providers' roles in climate change

Physicians and nurses have a role if not "a moral and professional responsibility to act" to help to reduce climate change and help those impacted, say the authors of "Climate Change & Health: Is There a Role for the Health Care Sector?," published by the Catholic Health Association of the United States.

18 Apr 2012

First Edition: April 18, 2012

Today's headlines include reports about the latest Capitol Hill developments related to the budget.

18 Apr 2012

New PBC tool for prioritizing laboratory-based CD-4 cell count testing

One of the major problems that has slowed progress toward universal access to life-saving antiretroviral therapy (ART) to treat AIDS in developing nations has been limited availability of laboratories and trained medical staff to conduct blood tests of immune system CD-4 T-cell levels that indicate when to start ART.

18 Apr 2012

Tengion completes FDA Pre-IND meeting for Neo-Kidney Augment preclinical program

Tengion, Inc., a leader in regenerative medicine, today announced that it recently completed a successful Pre-IND meeting with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its lead preclinical program, the Neo-Kidney Augment.

18 Apr 2012

Abbott reports positive results from LCIG Phase 3 trial for advanced Parkinson's disease

Abbott announced today the results from a Phase 3 trial evaluating the company's investigational compound for advanced Parkinson's disease, levodopa-carbidopa intestinal gel (LCIG).

18 Apr 2012

Combined, complimentary therapies maximize NSC transplantation benefits for spinal cord repair

Combined, complimentary therapies have the ability to maximize the benefits of neural stem cell (NSC) transplantation for spinal cord repair in rat models, according to a study carried out by a team of Korean researchers who published in a recent issue of Cell Transplantation.

18 Apr 2012

Conventional testing underestimates Rett Syndrome patients' cognitive abilities

Researchers at Montefiore Medical Center have identified, in a pilot study published in the April edition of Pediatric Neurology, that children with Rett Syndrome, who cannot speak or use their hands to communicate and therefore were thought to be unable to understand and process information, do in fact exhibit meaningful visual search whereby they can process and prioritize information.

18 Apr 2012

Tai Chi designed for wheelchair users

An innovative 13-postures Tai Chi designed for wheelchair users is described in the current issue of Technology and Innovation- Proceedings of the National Academy of Inventors.

18 Apr 2012

Lime juice and solar disinfection improve quality of drinking water

Looking for an inexpensive and effective way to quickly improve the quality of your drinking water? According to a team of researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, sunlight and a twist of lime might do the trick.

18 Apr 2012

Levodopa-carbidopa intestinal gel better than standard oral form to treat advanced Parkinson's disease

A levodopa-carbidopa intestinal gel (LCIG) works better than standard oral levodopa-carbidopa in reducing "off" time in patients with advanced Parkinson's disease.

18 Apr 2012

Genetic reach of autism may extend to half siblings

When a child has autism, siblings are also at risk for the disorder. New research from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis shows that the genetic reach of the disorder often extends to half siblings as well.

18 Apr 2012

Study demonstrates how Parkinson's disease protein can spread in patient's brain

Last year, researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania found that small amounts of a misfolded brain protein can be taken up by healthy neurons, replicating within them to cause neurodegeneration. The protein, alpha-synuclein (a-syn), is commonly found in the brain, but forms characteristic clumps called Lewy bodies, in neurons of patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) and other neurodegenerative disorders.

18 Apr 2012