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Depression and smoking link

Ever wonder why smoking and depression seem to go together? A Saint Louis University School of Public Health researcher finds the connection is genetic.

17 Jul 2007

Insights into side effects of HIV protease inhibitors

UCLA scientists, along with collaborators from Purdue University, have demonstrated that HIV protease inhibitors, crucial drugs for HIV treatment block a cellular enzyme important for generating the structural scaffolding for the cell nucleus.

17 Jul 2007

COPD patients taking inhaled steroids are at greater risk for severe pneumonia

Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) are increasingly being prescribed inhaled corticosteroids to control exacerbations of the disease, but a new study finds that the anti-inflammatory drugs increase the chances that these patients will be hospitalized for pneumonia.

17 Jul 2007

Curry chemical bisdemethoxycurcumin may clear amyloid beta plaques

FINDINGS: Researchers isolated bisdemethoxycurcumin, the active ingredient of curcuminoids – a natural substance found in turmeric root – that may help boost the immune system in clearing amyloid beta, a peptide that forms the plaques found in Alzheimer's disease.

17 Jul 2007

Protein km23 - potential target for ovarian cancer treatment

A traffic cop protein in the cell may have an even more important role: transporting a messenger protein that tells components in the nucleus to stop cell growth.

17 Jul 2007

Biota and MedImmune announce clinical trial for respiratory syncytial virus antiviral drug

Biota Holdings Limited and MedImmune Inc. today announced the start of a Phase Ia clinical trial for their respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) antiviral drug, BTA9881, with the goal of providing a treatment for RSV-infected infants and adults.

17 Jul 2007

Pediatricians say advice to obese kids and families falls on deaf ears

Pediatricians who talk to obese patients and their families about losing weight feel their conversation makes little difference in encouraging a lifestyle change, a small Saint Louis University study finds.

17 Jul 2007

Researchers identify new combination therapy that promotes cancer cell death

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine identified a combination therapy as a way to sensitize resistant human cancer cells to a treatment currently being tested in clinical trials They propose that the therapy may help to selectively eliminate cancer cells while leaving healthy cells intact, providing a cancer treatment with fewer side effects.

17 Jul 2007

Latest in HIV/TB research

With HIV infection driving a deadly resurgence of tuberculosis (TB), a new publication provides up-to-date recommendations for clinicians facing the many challenges of treating patients with both of these two complex diseases.

17 Jul 2007

Nasal insufflation for sufferers of sleep apnea

Researchers at Johns Hopkins University have found that symptoms in patients with obstructive sleep apnea and hypopnea can be significantly reduced through treatment with nasal insufflation (TNI), using a nasal cannula to deliver warm, humidified air at a high flow rate.

17 Jul 2007

Analysis of diabetes drugs

Most oral medications prescribed for type 2 diabetes are similarly effective for reducing blood glucose, but the drug metformin is less likely to cause weight gain and may be more likely than other treatments to decrease so-called bad cholesterol, according to a report funded by HHS Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

17 Jul 2007

Insulin resistance in skeletal muscle can be countered through exercise

Abdominal fat, the spare tire that many of us carry, has long been implicated as a primary suspect in causing the metabolic syndrome, a cluster of conditions that includes the most dangerous heart attack risk factors: prediabetes, diabetes, high blood pressure, and changes in cholesterol.

17 Jul 2007

C-reactive protein may indicate cognitive impairment in children with obstructive sleep apnea

C-reactive protein, a marker of inflammation that is often used to detect cardiovascular disease, may also indicate cognitive impairment in children with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), according to a new study of children ages 5 to 7.

17 Jul 2007

Parkinson's and manganese air pollution link

A University of Toronto study is the first in North America to draw a link between Parkinson's and manganese air pollution, and suggests industry-generated pollutants poses a greater health risk than traffic-generated manganese.

17 Jul 2007

Myeloid-derived suppressor cells suppress anti-tumor response to cancer

Scientists at Johns Hopkins and elsewhere say they have mapped out an escape route that cancers use to evade the body's immune system, allowing the disease to spread unchecked.

17 Jul 2007

Novel type of communication between nerve cells in the brain discovered

The findings may have relevance for the prevention and treatment of epilepsy, and possibly in the exploration of other aspects of brain functions, from creative thought processes to mental illnesses such as schizophrenia.

17 Jul 2007

Diabetics experience more complications during hospitalization for trauma

Individuals with diabetes appear to spend more days in the intensive care unit, use more ventilator support and have more complications during hospitalization for trauma than non-diabetics, according to a report in the July issue of Archives of Surgery.

17 Jul 2007

Scientists link brain function to knee injuries

A torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is among an athlete's most-dreaded injuries, often requiring surgery and months of rehab, as has been the case with Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb.

17 Jul 2007

Experts in Britain wholeheartedly back MMR jab

A disciplinary hearing due to begin this week in the UK may well settle the debate over any link between the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine (MMR) and autism.

16 Jul 2007

Women have poorer short-term recovery than men from arthroscopic knee surgery

The factors associated with poor short-term recovery from knee surgery appear to be different than those found to mar long-term outcome from the same surgery, according to new research released at the 2007 Annual Meeting of the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine at the Telus Convention Center.

16 Jul 2007