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Researchers discover how bloodstream malaria infection manipulates immune system

University of Iowa researchers and colleagues have discovered how malaria manipulates the immune system to allow the parasite to persist in the bloodstream. By rescuing this immune system pathway, the research team was able to cure mice of bloodstream malaria infections.

13 Dec 2011

Many parents do not think their teens are at risk for noise-induced hearing loss

National data demonstrate that 1 in 6 U.S. adolescents has high-frequency hearing loss. A new report from the University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health shows that many parents don't think their teens are at risk.

13 Dec 2011

ISIS-FXIRx reduces Factor XI activity without bleeding in healthy volunteers

Isis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today positive results from a Phase 1 study with ISIS-FXIRx. The results demonstrated that treatment with ISIS-FXIRx produced dose-dependent statistically significant reductions of up to 78 percent in Factor XI activity.

13 Dec 2011

WPI to develop smart phone app for foot ulcers, advanced diabetes

An interdisciplinary research team at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) has received a $1.2 million award from the National Science Foundation to develop a smart phone application that will help people with advanced diabetes and foot ulcers better manage their disease.

13 Dec 2011

Inaccurate blood pressure assessment may impact hypertension treatment decisions

Because some clinicians fail to stick to official recommendations for blood pressure monitoring, a number of patients are misclassified, which could have an impact on decisions about their treatment. According to Gretchen Ray and colleagues, from the University of New Mexico College of Pharmacy, when routine blood pressure monitoring in clinics is compared with measurements based on the latest guidelines, 93 percent of patients have different blood pressure readings.

13 Dec 2011

U of A creates 'conversation cards' for pediatric weight management

Medical researchers at the University of Alberta have created a deck of cards with conversation starters about sensitive and informational topics related to weight, that parents can use to guide their discussions when talking about their child's weight management with health professionals.

13 Dec 2011

Study to establish zebrafish as functional animal model for V. cholerae

A small fish may prove useful to understanding a worldwide health problem, if a Wayne State University researcher is correct.

13 Dec 2011

HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment efforts should include care for other diseases, experts say

"Global HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment efforts are missing a major opportunity to significantly improve health conditions in poor countries by simply adding low-cost care for the many other chronic and disabling diseases routinely afflicting and often killing these same patients, according to a panel of disease experts who spoke at the annual meeting of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH)," an ASTMH press release states.

13 Dec 2011

Consistent asthma medication use could prevent severe attacks

Researchers at Henry Ford Hospital have found that one-quarter of severe asthma attacks could be prevented if only patients consistently took their medication as prescribed.

13 Dec 2011

Study: One kind of leukemia sometimes masquerades as another

One kind of leukemia sometimes masquerades as another, according to a study published online this week in the Journal of Experimental Medicine.

13 Dec 2011

Patients on contact precautions more likely to develop delirium during hospital stay

A new study finds that patients who are moved into isolation during a hospital stay are nearly twice as likely to develop delirium, a potentially dangerous change in mental status that often affects hospital patients. Patients who began their stay in isolation were not at increased risk.

13 Dec 2011

Plexxikon announces scientific findings from PLX3397 preclinical studies on AML

Plexxikon Inc., a member of Daiichi Sankyo Group, today announced scientific findings from preclinical studies showing that treatment with a novel oral agent, PLX3397, selectively inhibited key cancer-driving Flt3 mutations that occur in 20-30 percent of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients.

13 Dec 2011

Scientists identify genetic alteration behind anophthalmia

Scientists at University College Dublin, Ireland, have identified a genetic alteration which causes a child to be born with no eyes - a condition called anophthalmia.

13 Dec 2011

Ect2 protein plays a crucial role in cell division

Cancer Research UK scientists have discovered how cells 'pinch in' at the middle in order to split into two new cells.

13 Dec 2011

Three-drug combination therapy appears to be effective for newly diagnosed MM patients

A three-drug combination treatment for the blood cancer multiple myeloma compares favorably to the best established therapy for newly diagnosed patients, according to a multi-center study led by Andrzej Jakubowiak, MD, PhD, professor of medicine and director of the multiple myeloma program at the University of Chicago Medical Center.

13 Dec 2011

ADHD drugs not bad for the heart: Study

Drugs widely prescribed for attention disorders like Ritalin, Adderall and other drugs, did not increase the risk of serious heart problems in a major study published Monday. This could assure parents of children on these medications on heart-related safety of the medicines.

12 Dec 2011

Alternative cures for cancer lure people and may cause more harm than good: Study

According to doctors thousands of cancer patients are turning to alternative treatments that could harm them and ultimately claim their lives. There have been cases of alternative practitioners who have tricked vulnerable patients into fraudulent cancer therapies. This fails to deter most people shows a new study.

12 Dec 2011

Side effects and non-compliance with breast cancer therapy

Yet another study showed that more than a third of women taking a certain class of breast cancer drugs are so bothered by side effects that they stop taking the pills before their treatment is complete

12 Dec 2011

Bone drug effective in improving breast cancer survival

In a chance finding a bone drug was found to be effective in breast cancer. While doctors were prescribing young women a medicine to keep their bones strong during breast cancer treatment they noted that after seven years it did more than that - the bone drug improved survival, as much as most chemotherapy could do.

12 Dec 2011

Gene therapy for bleeding disorder Hemophilia B

In a landmark study, researchers used gene therapy to successfully treat six patients with severe hemophilia, a blood-clotting disorder. Despite the early nature of the study, it is promising. A single infusion using the new treatment worked in some patients for more than a year, boosting their clotting ability significantly.

12 Dec 2011