Medicine News and Research

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Misoprostol off-label use may have led to deaths

Preliminary U-M studies indicate that oral use of RU-486's companion drug misoprostol is safe, but vaginal use may undermine body's immune responses

16 Jun 2008

Nuclear medicine imaging test could aid children suffering from reflux disease

A nuclear medicine imaging test was used to confirm that children with respiratory problems may be more likely to develop gastroesophageal reflux disease, according to researchers at Society of Nuclear Medicine's 55th Annual Meeting.

16 Jun 2008

Breakthrough toxin delivery system could pave way for new antibiotic drugs

Researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have achieved a breakthrough in monitoring the toxin-delivery system of highly pathogenic bacteria - an accomplishment that could help pave the way for new drugs that will be capable of neutralizing those germs.

16 Jun 2008

Discovery of mechanisms that direct cholinergic synapse assembly between neurons in vivo

Rapid information processing in the nervous system requires synapses, specialized contact sites between nerve cells and their targets. One particular synapse type, cholinergic, uses the chemical transmitter acetylcholine to communicate between nerve cells. Cholinergic synapses are essential for normal learning and memory, arousal, attention, and all autonomic (involuntary) nervous system functions.

16 Jun 2008

Hearing loss twice as common in adults with diabetes

Hearing loss is about twice as common in adults with diabetes compared to those who do not have the disease, according to a new study funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

16 Jun 2008

Cymbalta approved for fibromyalgia

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Cymbalta (duloxetine HCl) for the management of fibromyalgia, a chronic widespread pain disorder, Eli Lilly and Company announced.

16 Jun 2008

VistaGen Therapeutics announces new broad composition of matter patent protection for its ES Cell-derived pluripotent precursor cells

VistaGen Therapeutics, Inc., a biotechnology company using leading-edge embryonic stem cell (ES Cell) technologies for predictive toxicology and drug discovery, has announced new broad composition of matter patent protection for its ES Cell-derived pluripotent precursor cells. VistaGen has exclusive rights for commercial use in its ES Cell-based tools platform for drug discovery and development.

16 Jun 2008

Diabetic women get less intense treatment of heart disease than men

Women with type 2 diabetes and heart disease have poorer control of both diseases and receive less intensive medical treatment than do men, a large new study found. The results have been presented Sunday, June 15, at The Endocrine Society’s 90th Annual Meeting in San Francisco.

16 Jun 2008

Antipsychotic drugs get FDA label changes

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today exercised its new authority under the Food and Drug Administration Amendments Act of 2007 (FDAAA) to require manufacturers of "conventional" antipsychotic drugs to make safety-related changes to prescribing information, or labeling, to warn about an increased risk of death associated with the off-label use of these drugs to treat behavioral problems in older people with dementia.

16 Jun 2008

Fluorescent-probe in worm creates real-time "view" of cellular stress

Scientists at the University at Buffalo have created a mutant worm that changes color when it moves. The color change is generated by an optical sensor called stFRET. The sensor is composed of a pair of fluorescent molecules connected by a molecular spring that is inserted into structural proteins in the worm's cells.

16 Jun 2008

Presidential candidates comment on causes of autism - Association says evidence-based approach should guide national autism

Noting that speech-language pathologists (SLPs) are often the first group of professionals to recognize that a child has autism and are central to providing treatment, the American Speech-Language Hearing Association (ASHA) sent letters this month to Presidential candidates Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama that advise taking an evidence-based approach to the vaccine controversy surrounding what causes autism and to policy development related to care.

16 Jun 2008

AOSSM partners with Presidential Council on physical fitness

The President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports (PCPFS) and the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine (AOSSM) are proud to announce that AOSSM will serve as a Science Partner to the PCPFS.

16 Jun 2008

Patient access, broadband connected, report says

Adoption of health information technology will help patients gain access to care; however, roadblocks such as the costs and expertise required to buy and operate the technology are making adoption in medical settings slower than desired. Further challenging some regions of Pennsylvania is limited access or affordable pricing for true high-speed broadband telecommunication networks to connect health care professionals.

16 Jun 2008

Study shows many Australian heart patients die needlessly

An extensive study of heart attack patients has found some patients in Australia are dying unnecessarily.

16 Jun 2008

Traffic pollution linked to childhood allergies

New research from Germany has found a link between traffic pollution and childhood allergies.

16 Jun 2008

Body piercing complications exposed

A survey carried out in the UK has found that one in ten adults in England have had somewhere other than their ear lobe pierced, a quarter experienced complications, and 1 in 100 piercings results in admission to hospital.

16 Jun 2008

Pomegranate extract may provide humans with relief of chronic inflammatory conditions

Oral ingestion of pomegranate extract reduces the production of chemicals that cause inflammation suggests a study published in BioMed Central's open access Journal of Inflammation. The findings indicate that pomegranate extract may provide humans with relief of chronic inflammatory conditions.

15 Jun 2008

Biological medicine helps more people with rheumatoid arthritis

Patients who have recently developed rheumatoid arthritis respond better to treatment with biological medicine in combination with conventional pharmacological medicine. This according to results of the Swefot national clinical study, which is to be presented at an international rheumatology congress in Paris by scientists from Swedish Karolinska Institutet and Karolinska University Hospital, who conducted the study in association with another 15 rheumatology units in Sweden.

15 Jun 2008

New medical equipment tested to extremes

New medical equipment recently delivered to the Antarctic station Concordia will help understand how our bodies physically adapt to this extreme environment - knowledge which could help prepare for a future human mission to Mars. ESA is currently looking for a candidate with a medical background to support projects at the research base.

15 Jun 2008