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Compound is key coordinator of clock and metabolism

Our circadian clock, or biological timing system, governs our daily cycles of feeding, activity and sleep.

20 Mar 2009

Ultra-detailed 3-D images of eyes reveal details of age-related macular degeneration

To get a better look at the abnormalities that cause age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the leading cause of vision loss in Americans and Europeans over 50, the research groups of James Fujimoto at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and collaborators Jay Duker of the Tufts University School of Medicine, and Joel Schuman of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine have created ultra-detailed 3-D images of the eyes of more than 2,000 people from different ethnic groups, 400 of whom have AMD.

20 Mar 2009

Millions could benefit from statins to prevent heart attacks, strokes

Millions more patients could benefit from taking statins, drugs typically used to prevent heart attacks and strokes, than current prescribing guidelines suggest, Johns Hopkins doctors report in a new study.

19 Mar 2009

Experimental vaccine shows promise in preventing cytomegalovirus infection

Each year, approximately 8,000 infants in the United States develop severe hearing, mental or movement impairments after becoming infected with cytomegalovirus (CMV), a common virus passed onto them while still in the womb.

19 Mar 2009

Spinal taps carry higher risks for infants and elderly, study shows

An X-ray-guided spinal tap procedure fails more than half of the time in young infants and should be used sparingly, if at all, for those patients, according to a new study done by researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine.

19 Mar 2009

Happy pills in America -- Our complex love affair with designer consciousness

The spectacular increase in the use of psychiatric drugs over the past 50 years involved what a University at Buffalo historian calls "a massive break with what we consider 'normal' mental health," one linked to myriad social and cultural changes in America.

19 Mar 2009

Groundbreaking study into depression

Medical researchers from Sydney University's Brain Dynamics Centre have launched a world-first study that could lead to a dramatic improvement in how people are treated medically for depression.

19 Mar 2009

Study tracks increasing use of CT on pregnant women

Researchers have found that over a 10-year period radiologic exams on pregnant women have more than doubled, according to a study published in the online edition of Radiology.

17 Mar 2009

Study shows moderate intensity walking means 100 steps per minute

The benefits of moderate physical activity to general health and well-being are well known.

17 Mar 2009

A silicone ear

To look at Matthew Houdek, you could never tell he was born with virtually no left ear.

17 Mar 2009

Researchers clone key sperm-binding proteins

New treatments for infertility could be closer to reality, thanks to a discovery from scientists at the Université de Montréal and Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital Research Centre.

17 Mar 2009

New tumor markers determine therapy intensity

Characteristic changes in the DNA of medulloblastoma, the most frequent malignant brain tumor in childhood, indicate precisely how aggressively the tumor will continue to spread and what the chances of disease relapse are.

17 Mar 2009

New strategy to weaken traumatic memories

Imagine that you have been in combat and that you have watched your closest friend die in front of you.

17 Mar 2009

Medical costs for one premature baby could cover a dozen healthy births

The medical costs that businesses pay to care for one premature baby for a year could cover the costs for nearly a dozen healthy, full-term infants, according to new statistics from the March of Dimes.

17 Mar 2009

Alzheimer's mechanism suggests combination therapy needed

Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine have discovered a mode of action for mysterious but diagnostic protein snarls found in the brains of Alzheimer's patients that suggests a one-two punch of therapy may be needed to combat the neurodegenerative disease.

17 Mar 2009

Link between religious coping and aggressive treatment in terminally ill cancer patients

In a new study of terminally ill cancer patients, researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute found that those who draw on religion to cope with their illness are more likely to receive intensive, life-prolonging medical care as death approaches –– treatment that often entails a lower quality of life in patients' final days.

17 Mar 2009

Frankincense oil may be an inexpensive alternative therapy for bladder cancer

Originating from Africa, India, and the Middle East, frankincense oil has been found to have many medicinal benefits.

17 Mar 2009

Alba Therapeutics announces next clinical trial of lead compound, Larazotide Acetate

Alba Therapeutics Corporation announced today it will initiate further clinical studies for patients diagnosed with celiac disease with their lead compound, larazotide acetate.

17 Mar 2009

1 in 4 Americans lacks timely access to optimal care during time-sensitive medical emergencies

Although most Americans live close to some type of emergency room, as many as one in four Americans are more than an hour away from the type of hospital that's most prepared to save their life during a time-sensitive medical emergency, according to a new University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine study published in the journal Annals of Emergency Medicine.

17 Mar 2009

Telemedicine expansion gives parents more options

Parents who need after-hours healthcare for their children don't need to turn to the Emergency Department (ED) for common childhood illnesses, such as ear infections and sore throats.

17 Mar 2009