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Researchers isolate causes of cognitive loss following coronary artery bypass surgery

Minimizing trauma to the body's largest artery - the aorta - during heart bypass surgery can significantly reduce cognitive loss that often follows the operation, a team from Wake Forest University School of Medicine reported in the Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery.

23 Jan 2006

Scientists discover method to multiply an adult stem cell 30-fold

Adult stem cells may be free of the ethical concerns that hamper embryonic stem cell research, but they still pose formidable scientific challenges.

23 Jan 2006

Low-level heat wrap therapy reduces acute low back pain

The use of continuous low-level heat wrap therapy (CLHT) significantly reduces acute low back pain and related disability and improves occupational performance of employees in physically demanding jobs suffering from acute low back pain

23 Jan 2006

Study examines incidence of melanoma rates among California Hispanics over time

For the first time, scientists have identified a significant increase in the incidence rate of melanoma--an invasive form of an already deadly skin cancer--among California Hispanics.

23 Jan 2006

Histidine may be key to new therapies for cardiovascular disease

It's just one little amino acid, but it makes all the difference in protecting the heart from the harmful effects of heart attack and cardiac failure. Researchers from the University of Michigan Medical School suggest this amino acid, called histidine, could be the key to a new therapy for cardiovascular disease

23 Jan 2006

Novel compound stops brain cell degeneration in Alzheimer's disease

Drug discovery researchers at Northwestern University have developed a novel orally administered compound specifically targeted to suppress brain cell inflammation and neuron loss associated with Alzheimer's disease.

22 Jan 2006

Malaria parasite plasmodium shown to develop in lymph nodes

In the first quantitative, real-time imaging study of the travels of the malaria parasite Plasmodium through mammalian tissue, researchers at the Pasteur Institute in Paris found the parasites developing in an unexpected place: the lymph nodes.

22 Jan 2006

Salt water treatment for cystic fibrosis both effective and cheap

Two teams of scientists working half a world apart, have identified what they believe is a simple, effective and inexpensive treatment to reduce lung problems associated with cystic fibrosis.

19 Jan 2006

Euthanasia in Britain

It is understood that euthanasia is extremely rare in the UK and few doctors want it legalised, but campaigners for euthanasia have long argued terminally-ill patients are helped to die in secret.

19 Jan 2006

New study gives insight into the dairy and weight loss link

A new clinical trial published today in Obesity Research (the journal of NAASO, the Obesity Society) provides more insight into why consuming dairy foods is linked to weight and fat loss.

18 Jan 2006

New initiative to transform US Public Health Service Commissioned Corps

HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt today announced an initiative to transform the United States Public Health Service (USPHS) Commissioned Corps, which will enable this critical emergency response resource to address public health challenges more quickly and efficiently.

18 Jan 2006

More monitoring needed for patients taking diuretics

One in five patients taking diuretics commonly prescribed for high blood pressure or heart conditions end up with reduced sodium and potassium levels, according to a study published in the January issue of the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology.

18 Jan 2006

Link between cat faeces and schizophrenia

Researchers have found stronger evidence for a link between a parasite in cat faeces and undercooked meat and an increased risk of schizophrenia.

18 Jan 2006

Nanocontainers show drug delivery potential

Tiny chemical cages created by researchers at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, show potential for delivering drugs to organs or tissues where they're needed without causing harm elsewhere.

18 Jan 2006

Study on medication error rates in radiology facilities inaccurate and irresponsible

The ACR works for the day when all medical errors are eliminated and welcomes input from all medical organizations. However, the recent United States Pharmacopeia (USP) study regarding medication error rates in medical imaging facilities is incomplete, inaccurate, may unnecessarily alarm patients, and may cause many patients who require imaging care to mistakenly avoid getting it

18 Jan 2006

Preparing for bird flu

When a new strain of flu infects people, the infection can spread around the world quickly. This is what could potentially happen with some new human flu viruses that come from bird flu viruses.

18 Jan 2006

Re-forming relationships in health care

Relationships among members of a medical team, between a patient and his caregivers, and between a medical team and a patient's family and social support network are crucial to the delivery of health care and to patient satisfaction with that care.

18 Jan 2006

Variation in IGF1 gene may play a role in prostate cancer risk

Two variations in the gene for insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-1) are linked to an increased risk of prostate cancer, according to research performed by scientists from the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California, the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, and the University of Hawaii.

18 Jan 2006

Bexarotene shows promise in cancer treatment.

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis now report that a compound related to vitamin A shows promise in preventing or slowing tumor growth in mice prone to lung cancer. The compound, called bexarotene, doesn't cause the severe skin irritations that have limited the use of other vitamin A derivatives in cancer therapies.

18 Jan 2006

Genetic risk factor for West Nile virus infection identified

People who lack a cell surface protein called CCR5 are highly resistant to infection by HIV but may be at increased risk of developing West Nile virus (WNV) illness when exposed to the mosquito-borne virus, report researchers from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

18 Jan 2006