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Study indicates the number of people in the UK who could be incubating vCJD

The Journal of Pathology recently published a paper entitled Prevalence of lymphoreticular prion protein accumulation in UK tissue samples. The study looked at 12,674 stored appendix and tonsil samples, and found that 3 of them showed evidence of the prion protein associated with variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD).

25 May 2004

UK Research and teaching in medical schools under threat

The way medical research is funded has led to an exodus of academic staff from medical schools, the chairman of the BMA's Medical Academic Committee said today (Tuesday 25 May).

25 May 2004

19 cases, including 4 deaths, of Ebola haemorrhagic fever southern Sudan

As of 24 May 2004, the health authorities of Yambio County have reported a total of 19 cases, including 4 deaths, of Ebola haemorrhagic fever (EHF) in Yambio, Western Equatoria, south Sudan.

24 May 2004

Diet is responsible for up to 80,000 cases of cancer each year in the UK

Dr Tim Key, a principal scientist on the European diet study EPIC, says that around a third of these can be put down to alcohol and obesity alone. However, Dr Key says that the exact causes of the remaining two thirds are largely unknown.

24 May 2004

Cancer Research UK's views on national bowel screening programme

The Government needs to resolve a number of issues to ensure the health service can cope with a national bowel screening programme, a leading Cancer Research UK scientist will tell conference delegates today (Tuesday).

24 May 2004

Reversing medical brain drain in New Zealand

A University of Otago fellowship is helping to reverse the brain drain by offering incentives to attract medical graduates back to New Zealand following postgraduate overseas study.

24 May 2004

Prostate Robotic System that will improve the diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer

The Singapore General Hospital and Nanyang Technological University (NTU) have jointly developed a Prostate Robotic System that will improve the diagnosis and treatment of prostrate cancer, the fifth most common cancer in Singaporean men.

21 May 2004

Centre for Life opens with the UK’s first two human embryonic stem cell lines

The UK’s first two human embryonic stem cell lines, developed separately by researchers at King’s College London and the Centre for Life in Newcastle, are to be deposited in the UK Stem Cell Bank. The deposit coincides with the official opening of the Bank by Health Minister, Lord Warner, today (Wednesday 19 May 2004).

19 May 2004

Benitec acquires Avocel to focus on rapid development of hepatitis C therapeutics

Benitec Ltd. today announced the acquisition of Avocel, Inc. of Sunnyvale, CA, a leading RNAi therapeutics company, and the establishment of its wholly-owned US subsidiary, Benitec, Inc. Through the acquisition, Benitec gains its first in-house advanced therapeutic development program using DNA-directed RNAi (ddRNAi) to target the Hepatitis C virus.

18 May 2004

1.3 million Hispanics will have Alzheimer’s disease by 2050

Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias are projected to increase more than six-fold among Hispanics in the U.S. during the first half of the 21st century, according to a new report released today by the Alzheimer’s Association. This increase means that 1.3 million Hispanics will have Alzheimer’s disease by 2050, compared to fewer than 200,000 currently living with the disease.

17 May 2004

Genetically engineered viruses may create new class of cancer therapies

A genetically engineered virus can selectively kill cancerous cells in the lung and colon while leaving healthy cells intact, according to new research published today in Cancer Research by William Wold and colleagues at Saint Louis University School of Medicine.

15 May 2004

Study to find the best diet to reduce heart disease and diabetes

The Medical Research Council has announced the launch of a landmark study to identify the best dietary strategies to reduce heart disease and Type 2 diabetes.

15 May 2004

Faster growing babies are at greater risk of heart disease and stroke

Medical Research Council (MRC) and Institute of Child Health scientists say that babies who grow fast are at greater risk of heart disease and stroke in later life. Because breast-fed babies grow less rapidly than those fed formula milk, the work strongly reinforces the message that breast feeding is best.

14 May 2004

The Stroke Association have found that surgery can halve the risk of a stroke

Scientists funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC) and The Stroke Association have found that surgery can halve the risk of a stroke for people who have significant narrowing of the main artery carrying blood to the brain. Their findings, published in this week’s The Lancet, are the result of a large-scale international clinical trial.

14 May 2004

Father's sperm packs more than just a fertilizer

The major function of a man's sperm was fertilization, scientists once thought. True, sperm contains the father's chromosomes; but new studies from Wayne State University show that RNAs critically important to early growth of an embryo are also delivered.

13 May 2004

Australian researchers are working on a vaccine to prevent rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease

The Queensland Institute of Medical Research (QIMR) Australia, is working on a vaccine to prevent rheumatic fever (RF) and rheumatic heart disease (RHD). Rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease are a secondary complication of a bacterial infection.

12 May 2004