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Molecular link between a viral infection and development of a common and fatal form of liver cancer

Researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center have uncovered a crucial molecular link between a viral infection and development of a common and fatal form of liver cancer. In the process, they have identified a possible way to treat this disease as well as a number of other cancers.

26 Jul 2005

Loyola researchers hope that zoledronic acid will be effective and safe for patients with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD)

Researchers at the Osteoporosis and Metabolic Bone Disease Center and the Division of Gastroenterology at Loyola University Health System are studying a once-yearly, 15-minute infusion of an intravenous (IV) medication in patients with osteopenia (low bone mass) and inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) that, if proven effective, may be considered the standard of treatment.

26 Jul 2005

Acetaminophen, when taken as directed, is safe for patients with liver disease

Contrary to common perception, clinical data demonstrate that acetaminophen is an appropriate pain relief choice for patients with chronic liver disease. According to a systematic literature review of the data, which is published in the current issue of the American Journal of Therapeutics, there is no evidence that acetaminophen at therapeutic doses aggravates liver disease.

26 Jul 2005

Bird flu could spread to Europe on wings of Asian wild geese

Migratory wild birds from China, which were found to have contracted bird flu from poultry, could potentially spread the disease to Europe, as well as Australia, Chinese scientists report.

26 Jul 2005

Leg strength gets a push from training technique

A pair of studies published recently in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise (MSSE), the official scientific journal of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), underscore the relevance of sports and exercise research to this year’s Tour de France. One study accurately predicted Lance Armstrong’s time in a stage of the 2004 race, while another points to an effective training technique for aspiring cyclists.

26 Jul 2005

Working class twins fare worse than their professional sibs on blood pressure, cholesterol and self-rated health

Nancy Krieger, professor of society, human development and health at the Harvard School of Public Health and colleagues, compared the health status, education levels and adult occupational class among women who were identical twins and who lived together through adolescence, to demonstrate that adult socioeconomic conditions affect adult health, above and beyond genetics and early life conditions.

26 Jul 2005

Does aspirin work equally well for everyone?

We all know that aspirin can help prevent a heart attack or stroke, but does aspirin work equally well for everyone? A growing amount of medical evidence says no. One reason emerging to explain this difference is that some people fail to achieve an adequate response to the drug.

26 Jul 2005

Eplerenone shows benefit for patients with damaged hearts

In the first thirty days following a heart attack, one in three deaths among patients with signs of heart failure may be preventable by early treatment with a drug called eplerenone (Inspra, Pfizer Ltd), according to new data published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology (JACC).

26 Jul 2005

Combination therapy based on artemisinins might not be the ideal treatment for malaria

If used alone, artemisinins will cure the most severe type of malaria - falciparum malaria - in seven days. However, when used on their own, they have a high risk of the malaria coming back and hence must be combined with other antimalarials to work best.

26 Jul 2005

Immigrants in the United States receive less than half the health-care services than do native-born Americans

Immigrant children get even lower levels of care, receiving 84 percent less than U.S.-born children, according to researchers at Harvard and Columbia universities and the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California.

26 Jul 2005

Models may risk making overly optimistic predictions about the levels of public health interventions needed to bring a disease under control

Mathematical models have become invaluable decision-making tools for public health officials. As demonstrated during the United Kingdom's foot-and-mouth epidemic of 2001, models can be useful in two ways: they can reveal the underlying characteristics of an infection and they can allow the comparison of alternative control measures.

26 Jul 2005

Virtual colonoscopy for colon cancer

Computed tomographic colonography (CTC) depicts cancers and other clinically important conditions that would be missed with standard colonoscopy and at very little additional cost, according to a study in the August issue of Radiology.

26 Jul 2005

U-M Health System study finds patient education video is excellent teaching tool but doctors are better at calming fears

In an age when people often learn health information from surfing the Web and watching television shows set in hospitals, researchers have found that showing patients an educational video about their condition teaches them the facts about their disease even better than when their doctor tells them about the condition.

26 Jul 2005

Decreased breast cancer survival associated with high TRAIL-R2 expression

High expression of TRAIL-R2, a cell surface receptor that triggers cell death, has been shown to be associated with a decrease the survival rates of breast cancer patients according to a study published by Yale Cancer Center researchers in Clinical Cancer Research.

25 Jul 2005

Scientists have identified the first genetic mutations that cause the aorta to widen, tear and rupture

Finding biological markers that flag aneurysm, a bulging of the aorta that leads to dissection, a lengthwise separation of tissues in the artery wall, is critically important for early diagnosis.

25 Jul 2005

Vitamin D supplementation does not appear to prevent bone loss in postmenopausal black women

Although there is general agreement on the optimal calcium intake recommended for reducing postmenopausal bone loss, and it is recognized that vitamin D is important in calcium maintenance, the optimal intake of vitamin D is controversial, according to background information in the article.

25 Jul 2005

Rates of breast biopsy remained stable over a 12 year period even as mammogram use increased

Rates of breast biopsy (removal of tissue for diagnostic evaluation) remained stable over a 12 year period even as mammogram use increased and new and less invasive biopsy techniques were introduced, according to a study in the July 25 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.

25 Jul 2005

Breathing in large quantities of salt particles has just the same effect on blood pressure as eating a salty diet

Workers in salt factories, who inhale large amounts of salt particles, are at risk of high blood pressure due to the increased salt intake.

25 Jul 2005

Testosterone patch may produce modest increases in sexual desire

A testosterone patch may produce modest increases in sexual desire and frequency of satisfying sexual experiences in women who develop distressful, low sexual desire following hysterectomy and removal of the fallopian tubes and ovaries, according to a study in the July 25 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.

25 Jul 2005

Stem cell therapy can be used effectively to treat heart attacks, or myocardial infarction, in pigs

In just two months, stem cells harvested from another pig's bone marrow and injected into the animal's damaged heart restored heart function and repaired damaged heart muscle by 50 percent to 75 percent.

25 Jul 2005

Medicine News and Research

Molecular link between a viral infection and development of a common and fatal form of liver cancer

Loyola researchers hope that zoledronic acid will be effective and safe for patients with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD)

Acetaminophen, when taken as directed, is safe for patients with liver disease

Bird flu could spread to Europe on wings of Asian wild geese

Leg strength gets a push from training technique

Working class twins fare worse than their professional sibs on blood pressure, cholesterol and self-rated health

Does aspirin work equally well for everyone?

Eplerenone shows benefit for patients with damaged hearts

Combination therapy based on artemisinins might not be the ideal treatment for malaria

Immigrants in the United States receive less than half the health-care services than do native-born Americans

Models may risk making overly optimistic predictions about the levels of public health interventions needed to bring a disease under control

Virtual colonoscopy for colon cancer

U-M Health System study finds patient education video is excellent teaching tool but doctors are better at calming fears

Decreased breast cancer survival associated with high TRAIL-R2 expression

Scientists have identified the first genetic mutations that cause the aorta to widen, tear and rupture

Vitamin D supplementation does not appear to prevent bone loss in postmenopausal black women

Rates of breast biopsy remained stable over a 12 year period even as mammogram use increased

Breathing in large quantities of salt particles has just the same effect on blood pressure as eating a salty diet

Testosterone patch may produce modest increases in sexual desire

Stem cell therapy can be used effectively to treat heart attacks, or myocardial infarction, in pigs

Everything there is to know about biosimilars eBook

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