Medicine News and Research

RSS

Early exposure to tobacco smoke causes asthma and allergy

Babies exposed to cigarette smoke before birth or during the first months afterwards run a greater risk of developing asthma and allergy. This according to a doctoral thesis from the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet.

19 Jul 2008

Regular walking protects the Masai against cardiovascular disease

Scientists have long been puzzled by how the Masai can avoid cardiovascular disease despite having a diet rich in animal fats. Researchers at Karolinska Institutet believe that their secret is in their regular walking.

18 Jul 2008

Could arthritis wonder drugs provide clues for all disease?

Drugs that have helped treat millions of rheumatoid arthritis sufferers may hold the key to many more medical conditions, including atherosclerosis - a leading cause of heart disease - says the researcher who jointly invented and developed them.

From The University of Manchester 17 Jul 2008

New ultrasound imaging system spots early evidence of peripheral arterial disease

Researchers at Oregon Health & Science University have devised an ultrasound imaging technique that picks up subtle early evidence of peripheral arterial disease (PAD) that current conventional tests miss.

17 Jul 2008

Ovulation blocking gene found

A group of Canadian and European researchers have unlocked the mystery of a gene with the potential to both regulate and block ovulation.

17 Jul 2008

Selective face processing abnormalities in parents of autistic children

Some parents of children with autism evaluate facial expressions differently than the rest of us - and in a way that is strikingly similar to autistic patients themselves, according to new research by psychiatrist Dr. Joe Piven of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and neuroscientist Ralph Adolphs, Ph.D., of the California Institute of Technology.

17 Jul 2008

Indiana health officials examine state's pandemic influenza ethics planning

Information relevant to Indiana's current pandemic influenza preparedness plan was presented July 16 during a symposium convened by the Indiana State Department of Health and the Indiana University Center for Bioethics, "The Ethics of Pandemic Influenza Planning in Indiana: What Have We Done and Where Are We Going?"

17 Jul 2008

China Medicine Corporation grated Australian patent for recombinant Aflatoxin Detoxifizyme

China Medicine Corporation announced today that it obtained a patent from Australia Patent Office for recombinant Aflatoxin Detoxifizyme (rADTZ). The patent is valid through January 13, 2025.

17 Jul 2008

Researchers find better way to distinguish melanoma from some benign moles

University of Rochester Medical Center researchers found a new protein produced excessively in malignant melanoma, a discovery that is particularly relevant as skin cancer rates climb dramatically among young women.

17 Jul 2008

Genetic resistance to HIV

Some people may be naturally resistant to infection with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. The results of a study conducted by Dr. Nicole Bernard of the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) bring us closer to a genetic explanation. Her study findings were published on July 16 in the journal AIDS.

17 Jul 2008

Using genetics to improve traditional psychiatric diagnoses

Psychiatry has begun the laborious effort of preparing the DSM-V, the new iteration of its diagnostic manual. In so doing, it once again wrestles with the task set by Carl Linnaeus, to "cleave nature at its joints." However, these "joints," the boundaries between psychiatric disorders, such as that between bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, are far from clear. Prior versions of DSM followed the path outlined by Emil Kraeplin in separating these disorders into distinct categories. Yet, we now know that symptoms of bipolar disorder may be seen in patients with schizophrenia and the reverse is true, as well.

17 Jul 2008

Shared gene expression alterations in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder

Both schizophrenia and bipolar disorder can be disabling conditions, and both present clinically with significant mood and psychotic symptoms. These two illnesses also share genetic variants that might be involved in the predisposition to both disorders.

17 Jul 2008

Superbug breakthrough

The week the government's chief medical officer for England, Sir Liam Donaldson, has announced that the NHS aims to create immunisation against two of the most common superbugs, MRSA and Clostridium difficile, within the next decade. But a research team led by University of Sunderland scientists has made a major breakthrough in the fight against a deadly hospital infection which kills tens of thousands of people every year, and it will be available within the next year.

17 Jul 2008

Drugs industry protecting 'morally unacceptable' patent system

Major drugs companies are using fierce lobbying tactics to protect a pharmaceutical patent system that is "simply morally unacceptable", a world-leading political philosopher will tell a major meeting of UK and European pharmacologists today (Thursday 17 July 2008).

From The University of Manchester 16 Jul 2008

Worldwide analysis of cancer survival finds wide variation between countries

Black men and women have substantially lower survival than white men and women in the United States, but US has the highest survival for prostate cancer of all 31 countries included.

16 Jul 2008

New British consortium to tackle healthcare associated infections

Just over 8% of all hospital inpatients in England develop a healthcare associated infection, with this figure rising to 23% in intensive care units. Preventing and controlling the transmission of infection is a key priority for those involved in healthcare.

16 Jul 2008