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Bilirubin can inhibit clogging of arteries and prevent deadly consequences

Each year, about 610,000 Americans suffer their first heart attack, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Heart attacks and other symptoms of cardiovascular disease can be caused when blockage occurs in the arteries. In a new study from the University of Missouri, a scientist has discovered a natural defense against arterial blockage: bilirubin.

6 Dec 2012

Scientists identify key molecular pathway that leads to depression

Scientists have identified the key molecular pathway leading to depression, revealing potential new targets for drug discovery, according to research led by King's College London's Institute of Psychiatry. The study, published today in Neuropsychopharmacology, reveals for the first time that the 'Hedgehog pathway' regulates how stress hormones, usually elevated during depression, reduce the number of brain cells.

6 Dec 2012

Researchers unlock mechanisms of how the body converts dietary carbohydrates into fat

A gene that helps the body convert that big plate of holiday cookies you just polished off into fat could provide a new target for potential treatments for fatty liver disease, diabetes and obesity.

6 Dec 2012

Viewpoints: Lame duck Congress shouldn't take on entitlement changes; New legal challenge to health law; 'Irrational vote' on disability pact

What we need in order to address this fiscal abyss is a Grand Bargain that addresses the two main drivers of our structural deficits: unsustainable social insurance programs, especially health care programs, and a complex, unfair, uncompetitive and inadequate tax system. But a lame duck Congress cannot and should not tackle comprehensive tax and social insurance reforms.

6 Dec 2012

Bio-Path to initiate BP-100-1.01 Phase I trial for treatment of two types of breast cancer

Bio-Path Holdings, Inc., a biotechnology company developing a liposomal delivery technology for nucleic acid cancer drugs, today announced it is initiating development of its lead cancer drug BP-100-1.01 (Liposomal Grb-2) to treat triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) and inflammatory breast cancer (IBC), two cancers characterized by formation of aggressive tumors and relatively high mortality rates.

6 Dec 2012

Study catalogs genetic variation of microbes that live in the gut

Our bodies contain far more microbial genes than human genes. And a new study suggests that just as human DNA varies from person to person, so too does the massive collection of microbial DNA in the intestine.

6 Dec 2012

Political cartoon: '3-2-1 Liftoff?'

Kaiser Health News provides a fresh take on health policy developments with '3-2-1 Liftoff?' By Lisa Benson.

6 Dec 2012

First Edition: December 6, 2012

Today's headlines include a report that some in the GOP are urging lawmakers to support the idea of trading tax breaks for changes in safety-net programs.

6 Dec 2012

C-reactive protein levels increased in schizophrenia

Patients with schizophrenia have elevated levels of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein compared with mentally healthy individuals, US researchers report.

6 Dec 2012

Prenatal stress linked to affective disorders in offspring

Individuals born to women who experience major stress during early pregnancy are at increased risk for developing affective disorders, study results suggest.

6 Dec 2012

C-reactive protein levels increased in schizophrenia

Patients with schizophrenia have elevated levels of high sensitivity C-reactive protein compared with mentally healthy individuals, US researchers report.

6 Dec 2012

Elderly cope better with oral cancer

Older individuals with oral squamous cell carcinoma report better health-related quality of life at one year after curative surgical treatment than do their younger counterparts, indicate UK study results.

6 Dec 2012

Targeted therapy as common as chemotherapy at end of life

Targeted therapies are used as often as chemotherapy at the end of advanced cancer patients' lives, according to study results using US data.

6 Dec 2012

Less is more when it comes to antibiotics for UTI in men

Research suggests that standard antibiotic prescribing for urinary tract infections in male patients may need to be reviewed, as currently recommended 7–14-day courses appear to be no more effective than shorter ones, and may increase the risk for antimicrobial resistant or Clostridium difficile infection.

6 Dec 2012

Few new doctors choose primary care

Less than a quarter of new doctors are choosing primary care as their specialty, even after finishing residency programs focused on internal medicine, a new study reports.

6 Dec 2012

Fexinidazole enters Phase II/III clinical study to treat sleeping sickness

A new oral-only treatment for sleeping sickness has entered Phase II/III clinical study in patients with late-stage sleeping sickness in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and soon in Central African Republic (CAR).

6 Dec 2012

Examining the definition of neglected diseases

"There's no generally accepted definition" for what characterizes a neglected disease, Kaitlin Christenson, coalition director for the Global Health Technologies Coalition (GHTC), writes in the Results for Development Institute's "Center for Global Health R&D Policy Assessment" blog.

6 Dec 2012

Using Nanoparticles to Target Cancer

An interview with John Stroh, discussing the development of nanoparticles that can target and treat cancer, without damaging nearby tissues.

6 Dec 2012

Health stocks embraced amid market uncertainty

The Wall Street Journal reports that following President Barack Obama's re-election, health stocks are viewed as a port in the storm. Other news outlets explore how the markets have remained stable during the 'fiscal cliff' negotiations as investors count on an eleventh-hour deal.

6 Dec 2012

Scientific exploration important on earth, in space

In the New York Times' "Scientist At Work" blog, Alexander Kumar, a physician and researcher at Concordia Station in Antarctica, examines the question of "why humans should venture out to other planets, and perhaps in the process create new problems, when we have so many problems on our own planet," including HIV, malaria, tuberculosis and other "largely preventable and treatable" conditions.

6 Dec 2012