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Causes of heart failure

In most cases, heart failure is due to the impaired ability of the heart muscle to pump blood through the body. However, in some cases, the heart no longer functions normally because it is not filled properly. This process is largely determined by the elastic scaffold protein titin.

12 Feb 2007

Researchers discover how to fight iron disorders with a drug against hypertension

We all know that iron deficiencies are dangerous, but also too much iron is bad for our health. Our body stores excess iron in various tissues, where it can lead to organ failure and even death if not treated before irreversible damage has occurred.

12 Feb 2007

New approach to nerve repair with novel silk-based products

A new company, Neurotex Ltd, has been established to develop novel silk-based products that have the potential to provide a new generation of nerve repair materials and treatments.

12 Feb 2007

Siestas good for your heart!

Siestas could be the latest way of avoiding stress and protecting the heart from disease.

12 Feb 2007

After age 40 pregnant mums have three times the risk of stillbirth

According to researchers at Yale School of Medicine in the United States, women who have a baby when they are aged 40 or over are three times more likely to experience a stillbirth.

12 Feb 2007

Expanded endonasal approach surgery removes tumors once deemed to be inoperable

A first-of-its-kind study published in the February issue of the Journal of Neurosurgery: Pediatrics suggests endoscopic brain surgery, pioneered by surgeons at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, has the potential to be safer and often more effective than conventional surgery in children with life-threatening conditions.

12 Feb 2007

Some physicians criticize health insurer rating programs based on quality and cost-effectiveness

Health insurers increasingly are rating providers based on quality and cost-effectiveness, but some physicians say that the rating systems rely too heavily on patient claims data and that insurers give favorable ratings to doctors who charge the least amount of money, the AP/Washington Examiner reports.

12 Feb 2007

Congress likely to approve FDA prescription drug safety reforms in 2007

The Baltimore Sun on Friday examined how Democrats' takeover of Congress and the expiration of a law that requires drug manufacturers to pay user fees to FDA "is driving a flurry of activity that could lead to major changes" in the agency's drug safety policies.

12 Feb 2007

Determinants of disease presentation and outcome during cryptococcosis

CRNS and the Institut Pasteur conducted research in France on patients diagnosed with cryptococcosis which ranks second among fatal opportunistic infections in patients infected by HIV and who are profoundly immunosuppressed.

12 Feb 2007

Type-2 diabetes genes identified

The most important genes associated with a risk of developing type-2 diabetes have been identified, scientists report today in a new study.

11 Feb 2007

High-dose progesterone treatment helps at-risk pregnant women avoid premature delivery

In this study, 45 women who experienced premature labor (before 37 weeks gestation) were randomly divided into treatment and observation groups. The treatment group received twice-weekly 341-mg doses of progesterone until week 36.

11 Feb 2007

Rate of stem cell transplants among African-Americans lower

Lower transplant rates in ethnic communities may be explained somewhat by a lack of suitable anonymous donors, a problem the medical community has long known and been working to address. Surprisingly, the study found the discrepancy in treatment held true even when the transplant was autologous (e.g. self-donated stem cells were used) or when the cells were donated by a relative, typically a sibling.

11 Feb 2007

What's the best way to treat twin-twin transfusion syndrome?

It's one of the biggest controversies in fetal surgery and the cause of heated debate among surgeons and maternal-fetal medicine physicians around the world: What's the best way to treat twin-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS), one of the most common conditions requiring fetal surgery and the leading cause of mortality in twins?

11 Feb 2007

Back regions of the brain, which control vision, grow significantly faster than prefrontal region in newborns

The regions of the brain that control vision and other sensory information grow dramatically in the first few months following birth, while the area that controls abstract thought experiences very little growth during the same period, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill researchers have found.

11 Feb 2007

Prospective cardiac monitoring in fetuses at risk of congenital heart block

There is an increased risk of fetal heart problems when mothers carry particular antibodies associated with rheumatic diseases, according to an abstract presented by Yale School of Medicine researchers at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine Conference in San Francisco.

11 Feb 2007

South Africa starts major HIV/AIDS vaccine trial

The launch of the first large-scale study to evaluate a candidate HIV vaccine on the African continent was announced today by study collaborators in the United States and South Africa. The trial will involve up to 3,000 participants at five sites throughout South Africa and is expected to continue for four years.

11 Feb 2007

African-American women three times more likely to deliver babies prematurely

African-American women are three times more likely to deliver babies three to 17 weeks prematurely than Caucasian women, according to a review of Missouri birth statistics by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

11 Feb 2007

Children with parents in the military have higher blood pressure

Researchers looked at 121 adolescents - including 48 with civilian parents, 20 with a parent deployed to Iraq and 53 with a parent in the military but not deployed - days after Operation Iraqi Freedom was launched in March 2003 and nearly three months later when President Bush announced major hostilities had ceased.

11 Feb 2007

Pregnancy at 40 and beyond is an independent risk factor for stillbirth

Pregnant patients of advanced maternal age (AMA) are at increased risk for a multitude of pregnancy complications, including gestational diabetes mellitus, preeclampsia, placenta previa and intrauterine growth restriction.

11 Feb 2007

New method of screening tumors for cancer-related gene abnormalities

A study led by researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Broad Institute of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University provides the first demonstration of a practical method of screening tumors for cancer-related gene abnormalities that might be treated with "targeted" drugs.

11 Feb 2007