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Researchers create hiPS-RPE cells to treat age-related macular degeneration

The notion of transplanting adult stem cells to treat or even cure age-related macular degeneration has taken a significant step toward becoming a reality. In a study published today in Stem Cells, Georgetown University Medical Center researchers have demonstrated, for the first time, the ability to create retinal cells derived from human-induced pluripotent stem cells that mimic the eye cells that die and cause loss of sight.

24 Mar 2011

Study demonstrates superiority of Spiriva over salmeterol in reducing risk of exacerbations in COPD

Results of the one-year Prevention Of Exacerbations with Tiotropium in COPD (POET-COPD®) study, published today by the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), demonstrate that Spiriva® (tiotropium), is superior to salmeterol, in reducing the risk of exacerbations in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD).

24 Mar 2011

American Heart Association: 81.8% of obese women underestimate their weight

Overweight and obese mothers and their children think they weigh less than their actual weight, according to research reported at the American Heart Association's Nutrition, Physical Activity and Metabolism/Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention 2011 Scientific Sessions.

24 Mar 2011

Opexa's Tovaxin data against MS to be presented at AAN Annual Meeting

Opexa Therapeutics, Inc., a company developing a novel T-cell therapy for multiple sclerosis, announced today that the Company has been selected to present key Tovaxin data at the upcoming American Academy of Neurology 63rd Annual Meeting to be held in Honolulu, Hawaii April 9-16, 2011.

24 Mar 2011

Viewpoints: Boehner, Mcconnell, Thune, major new organizations opine on health law

We now know that lawmakers who promised that "if you like your plan, you can keep your plan" were wrong. The president likes to say Americans aren't interested in revisiting the debates of the past. No one would accept an answer like that from an electronics store manager who refused to offer a refund on a defective television.

24 Mar 2011

Zebrafish model of human melanoma reveals new cancer gene

Looking at the dark stripes on the tiny zebrafish you might not expect that they hold a potentially important clue for discovering a treatment for the deadly skin disease melanoma. Yet melanocytes, the same cells that are are responsible for the pigmentation of zebrafish stripes and for human skin color, are also where melanoma originates.

24 Mar 2011

Physicians launch international advocacy campaign on TB

Physicians across the globe are coming together to advocate for a large, underrepresented patient population - those suffering from tuberculosis. On World TB Day, March 24th, a team of physician and researchers led by Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine's Tuberculosis Research Unit will nationally launch "I am TB," an international advocacy campaign aimed at reducing stigma among patients with TB and those at risk for the disease.

24 Mar 2011

Gut bacteria and state of immune system influence personality

Researchers at McMaster University discovered that the "cross-talk" between bacteria in our gut and our brain plays an important role in the development of psychiatric illness, intestinal diseases and probably other health problems as well including obesity.

24 Mar 2011

PFC exposure can lead to early menopause in women

A recent study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism found that higher levels of perfluorocarbons in the body are associated with increased odds of having experienced menopause in women between 42 and 64 years old. Women in this age group with high levels of PFCs also had significantly lower concentrations of estrogen when compared to women who had low levels of PFCs.

24 Mar 2011

Fudan, UTHealth introduce international network to fight against scleroderma

Scleroderma clinicians and researchers in the United States and China have launched an international network to fight this debilitating disease that affects more than one million people worldwide.

24 Mar 2011

Rapid treatment within an hour of injury dramatically cuts bleeding deaths in injured patients

An hour can make the difference between life and death when using tranexamic acid to treat injured patients with severe bleeding, a study by researchers at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine suggests.

24 Mar 2011

ISEFC, TB Alliance to establish Global Health R&D Center of China

The International Scientific Exchange Foundation of China, a technical public foundation dedicated to promoting and advancing scientific development, cooperation, and exchange, today signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Global Alliance for TB Drug Development, to work together to establish the Global Health R&D Center of China, a world-class organization focused on developing innovative new treatments for public health diseases, including tuberculosis, malaria, and HIV/AIDS.

24 Mar 2011

Insomnia affects 20% of the Spanish population

Insomnia is common in Spain, and affects one person in every five. This is the conclusion of a study carried out by the Vall d'Hebron University Hospital in Barcelona and the Stanford University School of Medicine (USA), which shows that 40% of survey respondents aged over 65 report interrupted sleep at night being the prime cause of this problem.

24 Mar 2011

Tick-borne disease identified as emerging threat

Five years ago, large numbers of farmers in central China began falling victim to an mysterious disease marked by high fever, gastrointestinal disorder and an appalling mortality rate - as high as 30 percent in initial reports. Investigators from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention hurried to the scene of the outbreak. On the basis of DNA evidence, they quickly concluded that it had been caused by human granulocytic anaplasmosis, a bacteria transmitted by tick bites.

24 Mar 2011

Roundup: Calif. lawmakers mull bill to tighten hospital security; abortion measures continue to advance in various states

A California legislative committee gave preliminary approval Tuesday to a bill that would tighten security at hospitals and increase their requirements for reporting violent acts to the state.

24 Mar 2011

Individuals who smoke mentholated cigarettes do not develop lung cancer

Individuals who smoke mentholated cigarettes are no more likely to develop lung cancer or to die from the disease than smokers of non-mentholated cigarettes, according to a new study led by William Blot, Ph.D., professor of Medicine, Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, Nashville, Tenn., and colleagues at VICC, Meharry Medical College, Nashville, and the International Epidemiology Institute, Rockville, Md.

24 Mar 2011

Researchers develop new epileptic seizure-detection method

Researchers at Concordia University have pioneered a computer-based method to detect epileptic seizures as they occur - a new technique that may open a window on the brain's electrical activity.

24 Mar 2011

IMS introduces new Institute for Healthcare Informatics

IMS Health today introduced the IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics - a new initiative that will leverage collaborative relationships in the public and private sectors to strengthen the vital role of information in advancing healthcare globally.

24 Mar 2011

MicroRNAs may play a key role in future medicine

Since their discovery in the 1990s, microRNAs have proven to play a complex role in normal and abnormal functioning of many organ systems. In the April issue of Translational Research, entitled "MicroRNAs: A Potential New Frontier for Medicine," an international group of medical experts explores several themes related to our current understanding of microRNAs and the role they may play in the future of medicine.

24 Mar 2011

Sex and heart attack risk: Study

According to a study published March 23/30 in the Journal of the American Medical Association, sexual intercourse can trigger dangerous cardiac events and sudden heart attacks. In the two hours after sex, the chances of having a heart attack are dramatically higher than normal, warned the study from two researchers associated with the Tufts University Medical Center in Boston.

23 Mar 2011