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Feeling puffed? could be a sign of serious heart problem

Most people know that chest pain can indicate the presence of heart disease, but less well known apparently is that shortness of breath can also be a symptom of serious cardiac problems

3 Nov 2005

Protein called CHIP helps untangle protein misfolding in brain disease

Keeping the body and mind healthy depends on keeping cells healthy and functioning. This means that cells need a very robust quality-control system to repair or remove damaged or misshapen proteins. Protein handling is especially important in neurons because damage or death of brain cells causes neurological disease.

1 Nov 2005

New way to generate genetically altered influenza virus

In the event of an influenza pandemic, the world's vaccine manufacturers will be in a race against time to forestall calamity.

1 Nov 2005

Researchers determine how Tsg101 gene controls cellular growth

Researchers at Emory University School of Medicine and their colleagues have discovered a genetic mechanism that controls cellular growth in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, and believe it likely that a similar system may be at work in normal and cancerous human cells.

1 Nov 2005

Strong association between physical and mental health problems and restless legs syndrome

Adults with restless legs syndrome (RLS), a common debilitating condition, may be affected physically, mentally, and socially by their disease.

1 Nov 2005

Dendritic cells tricked into action against cancer

A new type of immunotherapy in which dendritic cells are tricked into action against cancer when they are exposed to harmless pieces of viruses and bacteria is described in the November issue of Cancer Research.

1 Nov 2005

Haddon matrix could help public health officials tackle an influenza pandemic

A tool developed in the 1960s for preventing road traffic injuries could help in preparing for the next influenza pandemic, say researchers in the open access journal PLoS Medicine.

1 Nov 2005

Pediatricians ignoring hearing test results

Pediatricians are not referring more than half of the children who fail hearing screenings for further tests, according to new research by a Saint Louis University physician. The study was published in the October issue of the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine.

1 Nov 2005

Paclitaxel may help treat scleroderma

Using a novel model for scleroderma, researchers from Duke University Medical Center have discovered two important insights into this devastating disorder - the anti-cancer drug paclitaxel (Taxol) may prevent the skin thickening and small blood vessel destruction that characterizes the disease.

1 Nov 2005

Mirrors to trick the brain could help people with persistent pain

Looking in a mirror at a reflection of their healthy hand could help people with persistent pain ease their symptoms and eventually overcome their problem, say scientists in the latest edition of the journal Clinical Medicine.

1 Nov 2005

Stereotactic body radiation therapy safe and effective way to treat early stage lung cancer in medically inoperable patients

Lung cancer patients with extenuating health problems may have an alternative to traditional radiation therapy through a lung-sparing procedure pioneered at the Indiana University School of Medicine.

1 Nov 2005

Regular use of ibuprofen may increase gastrointestinal bleeding

People who take high doses of ibuprofen on a regular basis are three times more likely to experience gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding than those who do not take painkillers.

1 Nov 2005

Discovery of signaling mechanism may help prevent metastatic melanoma

Researchers at Northwestern University have discovered a key signaling mechanism that may promote the ability of highly aggressive malignant melanoma cells to metastasize, or spread from a primary tumor to distant sites within the body.

1 Nov 2005

iNOS inhibitors may be effective therapies for Alzheimer's disease

A noxious gas speeds up brain degeneration in Alzheimer's disease, according to a study in the November 7 issue of The Journal of Experimental Medicine.

1 Nov 2005

INTERACT trial to look at effects of early intensive blood pressure lowering on death and disability in stroke patients

A large clinical trial called INTERACT, launched in China this month, will determine the effects of early intensive blood pressure lowering on death and disability in stroke patients.

1 Nov 2005

Bumetanide may help treat seizures in newborns

A diuretic drug called bumetanide may serendipitously help treat seizures in newborns, which are difficult to control with existing anticonvulsants, according to a study in the November Nature Medicine.

1 Nov 2005

Unique approach to enhance the immune system in patients with breast or colorectal cancer

The study uses a potent immune-enhancing gene delivered directly into the cancer cells to make them look foreign to the body's immune system, which will then attack and destroy the cancer.

1 Nov 2005

Better understanding of T cell response

Swedish and U.K. researchers report that an apparently "acute" human viral infection can cause a persistent, activated CD8+ T cell response a long time after patients have recovered.

1 Nov 2005

Treatment for Leber Congenital Amaurosis

U.S. researchers have taken the first steps in treating an eye disease that causes irreversible blindness in humans by successfully testing two novel treatments in mice.

1 Nov 2005

At least two "diabetes genes" predict the risk of Type 2 diabete

Scandinavian researchers have confirmed that at least two "diabetes genes" predict the risk of Type 2 diabetes (T2D) when combined with lifestyle factors, in the largest study of its kind to date.

1 Nov 2005