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Anti-aging supplement: A fountain of hope for would-be mothers

According to the American Pregnancy Association, six million women a year deal with infertility. Now, a Tel Aviv University study is giving new hope to women who want to conceive ― in the form of a pill they can find on their drugstore shelves right now.

2 Jul 2010

UCLA study highlights traffic-related asthma flares in urban areas

A new academic study led by UCLA scientists has found that even brief exposure to ultrafine pollution particles near a Los Angeles freeway is potent enough to boost the allergic inflammation that exacerbates asthma.

2 Jul 2010

BIDMC calls for new training program for personalized healthcare

The Department of Pathology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) have issued "A Call to Action" for the medical profession to catch up with the technology and business communities in the application of genomics to personalized health care.

2 Jul 2010

DNA damage caused by UVA radiation leads to melanoma

A new study by researchers at NYU School of Medicine found that UVA radiation damages the DNA in human melanocyte cells, causing mutations that can lead to melanoma. Melanocytes, which contain a substance called melanin that darkens the skin to protect it from the ultraviolet rays of the sun, are more vulnerable to UVA radiation than normal skin cells because they are unable to repair themselves as efficiently.

2 Jul 2010

Allogeneic stem cell transplant holds promise for treatment-resistant chronic lymphocytic leukemia

Allogeneic (donor-derived) stem cell transplant (alloSCT) may be a promising option for patients with treatment-resistant chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), regardless of the patient's underlying genetic abnormalities, according to the results of a study published online today in Blood, the journal of the American Society of Hematology.

2 Jul 2010

Researchers identify gene abnormality for most common congenital birth defect, clubfoot

Although clubfoot is one of the most common congenital birth defects, few genetic causes have been found. Now, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found what they believe to be the most common cause of inherited clubfoot yet discovered.

2 Jul 2010

Amedica, SUNY Upstate Medical University partner in comparative study of biomaterials

Amedica Corporation, a spinal and orthopaedic implant and instrument manufacturer focused on unique silicon nitride (SiN) ceramic technologies, announced that it has entered into an agreement with SUNY Upstate Medical University to conduct an additional research study that evaluates the company's SiN ceramic technology compared to PEEK interbody fusion devices. The two-year study will measure the fusion performance of the two biomaterials.

2 Jul 2010

New formula may speed up organ allocation process, improve transplant outcomes

Only a small fraction of transplant centers nationwide are willing to accept and transplant deceased-donor kidneys that they perceive as less than perfect, leading to lengthy, organ-damaging delays as officials use a one-by-one approach to find a willing taker.

2 Jul 2010

New device could improve conventional cochlear implants

More electrodes and a thinner, more flexible wire inserted further into the inner ear could improve conventional cochlear implants, a team of Medical College of Georgia and Georgia Institute of Technology researchers say.

2 Jul 2010

Cancer stem cells may vary from tumor to tumor, say researchers

Cancer stem cells have enticed scientists because of the potential to provide more durable and widespread cancer cures by identifying and targeting the tumor's most voracious cells.

2 Jul 2010

Malnutrition during childhood diminishes brain function in late life

Malnutrition early in life appears to diminish brain function in older adulthood, according to a study led by a Michigan State University researcher that has implications for many poor, developing nations.

2 Jul 2010

Pay-for-performance program may cause inequalities among healthcare providers

Pay-for-performance is an increasingly popular approach to improving health care quality. But the planned nationwide implementation of institutional bonuses mandated under federal health care reform threatens to act as a "reverse Robin Hood," potentially causing hospitals in less-advantaged regions to lose funds to health care facilities in more affluent areas of the country, according to a study published in the academic journal PLoS Medicine.

2 Jul 2010

Draft Guidance on judicious use of antimicrobials in food-producing animals

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today issued draft guidance intended to help reduce the development of resistance to medically important antimicrobial drugs used in food-producing animals.

2 Jul 2010

Haitian President rejects U.S. Senate's recommendations for upcoming elections

A day after Haitian President Rene Preval signed a decree authorizing a date for November elections, he rebuffed other recommendations issued by the U.S. Senate, which include "holding an election for his successor, brushing off criticism that the current process will leave the shattered country without a credible leader," the Associated Press reports.

2 Jul 2010

Mice study may provide new insight on human pregnancies

The concept of pregnancy makes no sense-at least not from an immunological point of view. After all, a fetus, carrying half of its father's genome, is biologically distinct from its mother. The fetus is thus made of cells and tissues that are very much not "self"-and not-self is precisely what the immune system is meant to search out and destroy.

2 Jul 2010

Clinical study proves effectiveness of acupuncture for heart patients

Acupuncture can improve exercise tolerance in patients suffering from chronic heart failure. This was determined in a clinical pilot study by the team headed by Dr. Johannes Backs, physician and study director at the Department of Internal Medicine III (Cardiology, Angiology, and Pneumology - Medical Director: Professor Dr. Hugo Katus) of Heidelberg University Hospital.

2 Jul 2010

Genes can predict longevity with 77% accuracy: Study

In an analysis of genes of more than 1,000 centenarians, American researchers have come to the conclusion that genes play a large role in completing a century in life. The research team studied 1,055 Caucasians born between 1890 and 1910 and compared them with 1,267 people born later. They claim that there are signatures in the genetic makeup of these people that have a possible link with their longevity.

2 Jul 2010

Research shows promising targeted therapies for type 2 diabetes patients

Named for the furballs whose astonishing fecundity made them stars in early Star Trek episodes, the tribbles protein, first identified in fruit flies, aids in regulating many cell processes in humans. Joslin Diabetes Center researchers now have identified mechanisms triggered by a variant of the tribbles gene that cause trouble in insulin-producing pancreatic beta cells—and that offer a promising target for therapies for people with type 2 diabetes, even if they don't carry that gene variant.

2 Jul 2010

CPMC launches new innovative program to help poor families

For any parent the birth of a new child is a cause for celebration, a magical, unforgettable moment. Now parents who give birth at California Pacific Medical Center will be able to mark that moment, and help families less fortunate than themselves, through a new program called Tiny Treasure Tributes.

2 Jul 2010

Study finds increased neonatal mortality among planned home births

About 1 in 200 women in the US delivers her baby at home, with approximately 75% of these low-risk, single-baby births planned in advance as home deliveries. In a study published online today by the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology (AJOG), researchers from Maine Medical Center, Portland, Maine, analyzed the results of multiple studies from around the world.

1 Jul 2010