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Drugs that enhance the activity of calcineurin or NFAT could become a new treatment for type-2

Certain immune-suppressing drugs, such as those taken by patients who have had organ transplants, greatly increase the risk of developing diabetes. These drugs are known to put a stranglehold on a protein called calcineurin.

21 Sep 2006

Leptin could combat type 2 diabetes

University of Florida researchers have discovered the appetite-controlling hormone leptin could also combat type 2 diabetes, a disease that has become a growing problem in the United States as more Americans pack on extra pounds.

21 Sep 2006

Walking may not provide significant health benefits

Walking is a popular form of exercise, but may not be enough to experience significant health benefits, a University of Alberta study shows.

21 Sep 2006

Here's egg in your eye: a prospective study of blunt ocular trauma resulting from thrown eggs

As the party conference season gets under way in the UK, research in Emergency Medicine Journal shows that lobbing raw eggs at people as a harmless form of protest or prank can actually result in serious eye injury.

21 Sep 2006

High hourly air pollution levels more than double stroke risk

High hourly levels of air pollution, more than double the risk of one type of stroke, suggests research published ahead of print in Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

21 Sep 2006

Study reveals white blood cells can both hurt and help transplanted kidneys

In an example of biological irony, the same white blood cell chemistry known to damage kidneys used for transplants may also help prevent such damage, according to a federally funded study in genetically engineered mice at Johns Hopkins.

21 Sep 2006

Researchers patent novel method for measuring blood pressure in the heart

Researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center have developed and patented a new, noninvasive means of measuring blood pressure inside the heart.

21 Sep 2006

Risks of gastrointestinal ulcers linked to aspirin use might outweigh its benefits for the heart in certain patients

Doctors should consider whether patients are at high risk of stomach ulcers before prescribing aspirin treatment.

20 Sep 2006

Cabernet Sauvignon may reduce incidence of Alzheimer's Disease

A new study directed by Mount Sinai School of Medicine has found that moderate red wine consumption in a form of Cabernet Sauvignon may help reduce the incidence of Alzheimer's Disease (AD).

20 Sep 2006

Carbon monoxide shown to reverse symptoms of pulmonary hypertension

In a medical case of Jekyll and Hyde, carbon monoxide - the highly toxic gas emitted from auto exhausts and faulty heating systems - has proven effective in treating the symptoms of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), an extremely debilitating condition that typically leads to right heart failure and eventual death.

20 Sep 2006

M. D. Anderson targets asthma and allergic diseases

A new research alliance focuses on a molecular master switch suspected of igniting the inflammatory immune response that drives asthma and other allergic diseases.

20 Sep 2006

Regenerative Medicine wins award for best new journal

The journal Regenerative Medicine has been recognized by The Association of Learned and Professional Society Publishers as joint winner of the 2006 ALPSP/Charlesworth Award for Best New Journal. This prestigious international award is presented annually to the best new journal across a wide range of disciplines.

20 Sep 2006

Women who quit smoking during pregnancy less likely to remain nonsmokers because of concerns about weight

Women who quit smoking before pregnancy are less likely to remain nonsmokers after giving birth largely because of concerns about gaining weight, according to a study to be published in the October issue of the Annals of Behavioral Medicine, the Los Angeles Times reports.

20 Sep 2006

Five countries to tax airline travel to raise money for HIV/AIDS

Brazil, Chile, France, Norway and the United Kingdom on Tuesday at the 61st session of the U.N. General Assembly are expected to announce a plan to impose an airline ticket tax to fund an international drug purchase facility and HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria treatment and prevention programs, a French official said Monday, the New York Times reports.

20 Sep 2006

Health IT legislation should allow portability for electronic health records

"Steps are now under way to bring ... lifesaving" electronic health records to all hospitals and physician offices in the U.S., but "Congress is considering a bill that would make it harder to allow your information to follow you throughout your health care treatment," former National Coordinator for Health Information Technology David Brailer writes in a New York Times opinion piece.

20 Sep 2006

Aromatase inhibitors improve survival of advanced breast cancer patients compared to tamoxifen

Aromatase inhibitors improve the survival of advanced breast cancer patients compared to standard hormone therapies like tamoxifen, a researchers report in the September 20 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

19 Sep 2006

Having breast implants does not increase mortality risk

A study conducted among 24,600 women by two Universiti Laval Faculty of Medicine researchers and their colleagues from the Canadian Public Health Agency and Cancer Care Ontario concludes that having breast implants does not increase mortality risk.

19 Sep 2006

Curcumin useful in the fight against colorectal cancer

Looking for a cancer cure? Try the spice rack. In the last few years, that tactic has proved productive for researchers investigating turmeric, a curry spice used for centuries in Indian traditional medicine.

19 Sep 2006

1.6 million American adults use some form of complementary medicine to treat insomnia

A recent analysis of national survey data reveals that over 1.6 million American adults use some form of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) to treat insomnia or trouble sleeping according to scientists at the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), part of the National Institutes of Health.

19 Sep 2006

Researchers create roadmap to integrin activation

Calling it an important technical advance in the study of the complex receptors and pathways of the body's cellular system, researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine have reconstructed the signaling pathways that impact activation of a receptor that is critical to the control of bleeding and to the thrombosis that occurs in heart attacks and strokes.

18 Sep 2006