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Stem cells and leukemia battle for marrow microenvironment

Learning how leukemia takes over privileged "niches" within the bone marrow is helping researchers develop treatment strategies that could protect healthy blood-forming stem cells and improve the outcomes of bone marrow transplantation for leukemia and other types of cancer.

18 Dec 2008

Updated guidelines for irritable bowel syndrome

Although irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is the most common disease diagnosed by gastroenterologists, it's also one of the most misunderstood.

18 Dec 2008

SRS microscopy helps track molecules and drugs in live cells

A new type of highly sensitive microscopy developed by researchers at Harvard University could greatly expand the limits of modern biomedical imaging, allowing scientists to track the location of minuscule metabolites and drugs in living cells and tissues without the use of any kind of fluorescent labeling.

18 Dec 2008

MRI brain scans provide valuable diagnostic information about Alzheimer's

MRI scans that detect shrinkage in specific regions of the mid-brain attacked by Alzheimer's disease accurately diagnose the neurodegenerative disease, even before symptoms interfere with daily function, a study by the Florida Alzheimer's Disease Research Center (ADRC) in Miami and Tampa found.

18 Dec 2008

First nanomedicine textbook published

Formalizing progress in nanoscience and nanotechnology, engineering researchers at the University of Arkansas have published the first textbook on the emerging field of nanomedicine.

18 Dec 2008

Does sugar make kids hyperactive? and six other myths debunked

Does sugar make kids hyperactive?

18 Dec 2008

Battlefield acupuncture

Medical acupuncture, which is acupuncture performed by a licensed physician trained at a conventional medical school, is being used increasingly for pain control.

18 Dec 2008

Most frequent cause of death among firefighters is not flames, it's their hearts

Forty-four percent of U.S. firefighters who died on duty in 2007 succumbed to a heart attack, based on data from the U.S. Fire Administration. That figure is twice the number of cardiovascular deaths among on-duty police officers.

18 Dec 2008

Alfuzosin fails to reduce symptoms in chronic prostatitis

Alfuzosin, a drug commonly prescribed for men with chronic prostatitis, a painful disorder of the prostate and surrounding pelvic area, failed to significantly reduce symptoms in recently diagnosed men who had not been previously treated with this drug, according to a clinical trial sponsored by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

18 Dec 2008

Trial tests adult stems cells to treat congestive heart failure

The University of California, San Diego Medical Center is the first hospital in California to enroll patients in a multi-center clinical trial, sponsored by Angioblast Systems Inc., to examine the safety and feasibility of administering adult stems cells to treat congestive heart failure.

18 Dec 2008

Compound from olive-skin pomace protects against colon-cancer

Researchers from the University of Granada and the University of Barcelona have shown that treatment with maslinic acid, a triterpenoid compound isolated from olive-skin pomace, results in a significant inhibition of cell proliferation and causes apoptotic death in colon-cancer cells.

18 Dec 2008

Stem cell research will boom under Obama

Embryonic stem cells could provide a new way of testing drugs for dangerous side effects, according to a leading British researcher.

From The University of Manchester 18 Dec 2008

Women double fruit and vegetable intakes with switch to Mediterranean diet

In a new study led by the University of Michigan Health System, women more than doubled their fruit and vegetable intakes and dramatically increased their consumption of "good" fats when they were counseled by registered dietitians and provided with a list of guidelines on the amount of certain foods they should eat each day.

17 Dec 2008

Levels of two proteins impact survival in ovarian cancer

Levels of two proteins in a woman's ovarian cancer are strongly associated with her likelihood of survival, a research team led by scientists at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center reports in the Dec. 18 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

17 Dec 2008

Research highlights recognized disease risks associated with vitamin D deficiency

Once believed to be important only for bone health, vitamin D is now seen as having a critical function in maintaining the immune system throughout life.

17 Dec 2008

Surgeons perform first simultaneous double-lung, kidney transplant in Illinois, Wisconsin

Eric McCabe of Wausau, Wis., had no earth-shaking plans for the future as he began his recovery from the rare double-lung and kidney transplant surgery he had at Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, Ill.

17 Dec 2008

Likely shortage of emergency physicians in foreseeable future

The number of physicians with board certification in emergency medicine is unlikely to meet the staffing needs of U.S. emergency departments in the foreseeable future, if ever; according to a study from a research team based at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH).

17 Dec 2008