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Growth hormone helps children with sleep apnea

Growth hormone helps hundreds of children with a rare disorder that causes them to gorge on food, but for some, starting treatment can worsen a dangerous nighttime breathing problem, University of Florida researchers have found.

18 Jan 2006

Coffee may impair peak heart function

In healthy volunteers, the equivalent of two cups of coffee reduced the body's ability to boost blood flow to the heart muscle in response to exercise, and the effect was stronger when the participants were in a chamber simulating high altitude, according to a new study in the Jan. 17, 2006, issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

16 Jan 2006

Scientists design a fluorescent sensor capable of measuring intracellular acidity

The colouring agents traditionally used to stain organic tissues are no longer sufficient to meet today’s needs. The study of cell metabolism can only advance with better tools than those currently available.

16 Jan 2006

Giant protein titin helps build muscles

Imagine grabbing two snakes by the tail so that they can't wriggle off in opposite directions. Scientists at the Hamburg Outstation of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) and collaborators from King's College in London have now discovered that something similar happens to a protein that is crucial in the formation of muscle tissue.

11 Jan 2006

Traditional neck muscle resistance training may not protect athletes from head injuries

"We did see a change in the player's neck muscle strength but these changes made absolutely no difference in their ability to stabilize their heads when force was applied," said Tierney.

10 Jan 2006

Approval of first immune globulin for use beneath the skin

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced the approval of the first immune globulin product for subcutaneous injection for the prevention of serious infections in patients with Primary Immune Deficiency Diseases (PIDD).

10 Jan 2006

Administering stem cells to patients with myocardial infarction leads to a reduction of the size of the infarct

This week, doctors at the Catholic University of Leuven, connected with the University Hospital - Gasthuisberg, the Stem Cell Institute Leuven (SCIL), and the Flanders Interuniversity Institute for Biotechnology (VIB), are publishing a major breakthrough in the treatment of patients with acute myocardial infarction.

9 Jan 2006

Polyphosphate speeds blood clotting and helps clots last longer

A serendipitous comparison prompted by an old scientific image and involving an ancient but understudied molecule may lead to a new treatment strategy for injuries or illnesses in which blood clotting is paramount to survival.

9 Jan 2006

rhTSH combined with radiation therapy successfully destroys remaining thyroid tissue

A multicenter international study, including Johns Hopkins, has found that after surgery for thyroid cancer, giving genetically engineered human thyroid-stimulating hormone (rhTSH) before radioiodine treatment avoids the previous need to stop thyroid replacement therapy and the miserable side effects that go with it.

9 Jan 2006

Researchers uncover new toxic mechanism in ALS - Lou Gehrig's disease

Exactly how ALS - Lou Gehrig's disease - damages motor neurons is one of medical science's lingering mysteries. At least six mishaps within cells appear to contribute to the death of the nerves that enable muscle movement, but nothing stands out as the key problem.

6 Jan 2006

Gulf War Syndrome more prevalent in first Persian Gulf War veterans

Comparing veterans deployed in the first Persian Gulf War and veterans deployed elsewhere at the same time has revealed veterans who served in the Persian Gulf have nearly twice the prevalence of chronic multi-symptom illness (CMI), a cluster of symptoms similar to a set of conditions often called Gulf War Syndrome.

5 Jan 2006

Study finds two genes that are essential for the proper development of muscle

Scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have found two genes that are essential for the proper development of muscle.

30 Dec 2005

Study finds two genes that are essential for the proper development of muscle

Scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have found two genes that are essential for the proper development of muscle.

30 Dec 2005

New gene therapy maybe useful for treating muscular dystrophy

A new gene therapy technique that has shown promise in skin disease and hemophilia might one day be useful for treating muscular dystrophy, according to a new study by researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine.

29 Dec 2005

Implantable defibrillators benefit women as much as men after heart attack

Women who have had a heart attack get as much survival benefit as men from implanted cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs), devices designed to monitor the heart's pumping rhythm and shock it back to normal when needed, according to a study published in the December edition of the Journal of Cardiovascular Electrophysiology.

22 Dec 2005

Scientists discover how to integrate new neurons into the brain

In experiments with mice, scientists from Johns Hopkins' Institute for Cell Engineering have discovered the steps required to integrate new neurons into the brain's existing operations.

22 Dec 2005

Aquaporin related to obesity

Dr. Gema Fruhbeck, director of the Metabolic Research Laboratory of the University Hospital of the University of Navarra, has published a commentary in the latest issue of Nature. The article presents aquaporin as a new modulator of the biology of the adipocyte.

21 Dec 2005

Online patient monitoring

Drivers know whether or not their cars are running properly by observing the dashboard. Physicians can check vital parameters such as the pulse even when their patients are at home. The data can be recorded with the wireless monitoring device VitaSENS.

15 Dec 2005

Gene therapy tackles hereditary spastic paraplegia

Elena Rugarli and colleagues from the National Neurological Institute in Milan have used gene therapy to save sensory and skeletal muscle nerve fibers from degeneration in mice with hereditary spastic paraplegia (HSP).

15 Dec 2005

SPARC promotes heart muscle formation from stem cells

The protein SPARC plays a key role in the development of heart muscle in the embryo. An Austrian Science Fund FWF project has discovered this previously unknown role of SPARC.

12 Dec 2005