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Obesity can increase dementia risk by up to 80 per cent - people who are underweight also face an elevated risk

Being obese can increase the risk of Alzheimer's Disease by as much as 80 per cent, according to a study in the May issue of the UK-based journal Obesity Reviews.

7 May 2008

The gender gap is alive and well in heart disease

... a new international study finds, with women differing from men on everything from symptoms to treatment in both heart attack and severe chest pain.

6 May 2008

New laser treatment for vocal-cord cancer

An innovative laser treatment for early vocal-cord cancer, developed at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), successfully restores patients' voices without radiotherapy or traditional surgery, which can permanently damage vocal quality.

6 May 2008

Autonomous robot surgery a step closer

The day may be getting a little closer when robots will perform surgery on patients in dangerous situations or in remote locations, such as on the battlefield or in space, with minimal human guidance.

6 May 2008

Women lag in heart attack care, study finds

The gender gap is alive and unwell in heart disease, a new international study finds, with women differing from men on everything from symptoms to treatment in both heart attack and severe chest pain.

6 May 2008

Breakthrough compound could lead to new class of antihypertensive drugs

University of Florida researchers have identified a drug compound that dramatically lowers blood pressure, improves heart function and - in a remarkable finding - prevents damage to the heart and kidneys in rats with persistent hypertension

1 May 2008

Obesity and heart failure risk

Heart specialists at Johns Hopkins and elsewhere report what is believed to be the first wide-scale evidence linking severe overweight to prolonged inflammation of heart tissue and the subsequent damage leading to failure of the body's blood-pumping organ.

1 May 2008

Alzheimer's and diabetes link

Diabetic individuals have a significantly higher risk of developing Alzheimer's disease but the molecular connection between the two remains unexplained. Now, researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies identified the probable molecular basis for the diabetes - Alzheimer's interaction.

30 Apr 2008

Researchers create heart and blood cells from reprogrammed skin cells

Stem cell researchers at UCLA were able to grow functioning cardiac cells using mouse skin cells that had been reprogrammed into cells with the same unlimited properties as embryonic stem cells.

30 Apr 2008

Ranibizumab therapy for diabetic eye disease shows promise

A JDRF collaboration between Johns Hopkins researchers and Genentech has shown that a drug for the treatment of diabetic eye disease has performed better in clinical trials than the current standard treatment using laser surgery.

29 Apr 2008

Chocolate good for pregnant women

According to scientific research in the U.S. eating chocolate, especially dark chocolate, during pregnancy is good for mother and baby.

29 Apr 2008

New research suggests hypertonic, hyperviscous fluids may be better treatment for severe blood loss

Intravenous administration of isotonic fluids is the standard emergency treatment in the U.S. for patients with severe blood loss, but UC San Diego bioengineering researchers have reported improved resuscitation with a radically different approach. Building on earlier studies in humans that have shown benefits of intravenous fluids that are eight times saltier than normal saline, the researchers combined hypertonic saline with viscosity enhancers that thicken blood.

29 Apr 2008

Aggregates of red and white blood cells may contribute to sickle cell disease

It's long been known that patients with sickle cell disease have malformed, "sickle-shaped" red blood cells - which are normally disc-shaped - that can cause sudden painful episodes when they block small blood vessels.

28 Apr 2008

Exercise helps lower heart disease risk in overweight women

The risk of heart disease in women associated with being overweight or obese is reduced but not eliminated by higher levels of physical activity, according to a report in the April 28 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.

28 Apr 2008

Discovery of important markers of high risk of type 2 diabetes

Doctors are aware of a range of risk factors, mostly related to the patients' family history, overweight, and lifestyle, that contribute to the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

26 Apr 2008

New 3-D ultrasound provides clear images of the major arteries within the brain

Using 3-D ultrasound technology they designed, Duke University bioengineers can compensate for the thickness and unevenness of the skull to see in real-time the arteries within the brain that most often clog up and cause strokes.

24 Apr 2008

Researchers unravel heparin death mystery

An international team of researchers led by MIT has explained how contaminated batches of the blood-thinner heparin were able to slip past traditional safety screens and kill dozens of patients recently in the United States and Germany.

23 Apr 2008

Discovery of new cell targets for preventing growth of breast and other tumors

Researchers at the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have discovered new targets for cancer treatment aimed at blocking a key step in tumor progression.

23 Apr 2008

Menstrual blood - an abundant sources of stem cells

Researchers seeking new and more abundant sources of stem cells for use in regenerative medicine have identified a potentially unlimited, noncontroversial, easily collectable, and inexpensive source - menstrual blood.

23 Apr 2008

Drug-releasing stent shows promise for improving outcomes in patients with coronary artery disease

For patients who underwent angioplasty to open narrowed coronary arteries, the use of stents releasing the drug everolimus reduced the rate of renarrowing of the arteries and significantly reduced the risk of major cardiac events, compared to the widely-used paclitaxel-releasing stents, according to a study in the April 23/30 issue of JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association.

22 Apr 2008