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Research into anesthesia neurotoxicity in the developing brain

Several studies have found evidence that children who undergo repeated surgical operations with general anesthesia before the age of 4 may be at an increased risk for learning disabilities.

28 Jan 2013

Study sheds new light on why certain people are more likely to suffer from RA

University of Michigan research sheds new light on why certain people are more likely to suffer from rheumatoid arthritis - paving the way to explore new treatments for both arthritis and other autoimmune diseases.

28 Jan 2013

IRHOM2-targeted drugs can effectively treat patients with rheumatoid arthritis

Researchers at Hospital for Special Surgery have identified a potential new target for drugs to treat patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), a protein known as IRHOM2. The finding could provide an effective and potentially less toxic alternative therapy to tumor necrosis factor-alpha blockers (TNF-blockers), the mainstay of treatment for rheumatoid arthritis, and could help patients who do not respond to this treatment. Efforts to develop drugs that hone in on this new target are underway.

28 Jan 2013

Study shows how GATA3 protein acts downstream biochemically to prevent breast cancer metastasis

The spread of breast cancer to distant organs within the body, an event that often leads to death, appears in many cases to involve the loss of a key protein, according to UC San Francisco researchers, whose new discoveries point to possible targets for therapy.

28 Jan 2013

Periodontal health influences stem cell transplant success

Periodontal infection can increase the risk for developing bacteremia during the neutropenic phase of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, research suggests.

25 Jan 2013

Prenatal inflammation associated with increased risk of autism in children

Maternal inflammation during early pregnancy may be related to an increased risk of autism in children, according to new findings supported by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), part of the National Institutes of Health. Researchers found this in children of mothers with elevated C-reactive protein (CRP), a well-established marker of systemic inflammation.

25 Jan 2013

Yoga has positive effects on major psychiatric disorders

Yoga has positive effects on mild depression and sleep complaints, even in the absence of drug treatments, and improves symptoms associated with schizophrenia and ADHD in patients on medication, according to a systematic review of the exercise on major clinical psychiatric disorders.

25 Jan 2013

Effective therapy needed for chronic fatigue syndrome patients

Ampligen, the first drug ever seeking approval to treat chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME), recently hit another roadblock with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

25 Jan 2013

Snoring may indicate future health risks

Here's a wake-up call for snorers: Snoring may put you at a greater risk than those who are overweight, smoke or have high cholesterol to have thickening or abnormalities in the carotid artery, according to researchers at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit.

25 Jan 2013

Tofacitinib improves disease activity and inhibits progression of joint damage in RA patients

A Phase 3 clinical trial demonstrates that tofacitinib improves disease activity and inhibits progression of joint damage in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients who did not respond to methotrexate (MTX).

24 Jan 2013

Biomedical engineers identify natural switch that controls breast cancer metastasis

With a desire to inhibit metastasis, Cornell biomedical engineers have found the natural switch between the body's inflammatory response and how malignant breast cancer cells use the bloodstream to spread.

24 Jan 2013

Boosting estrogen levels may help reduce urinary infections in menopausal women

Estrogen levels drop dramatically in menopause, a time when the risk of urinary tract infections increases significantly.

24 Jan 2013

Normalizing p62 protein levels in immune system cells could reduce infection in CF patients

New research suggests that lowering excessive levels of a protein in immune system cells could be a strategy to clear an infection that is deadly to patients with cystic fibrosis (CF).

23 Jan 2013

Salk Institute to establish Helmsley Center for Genomic Medicine

The Salk Institute for Biological Studies has received a $42 million gift-the largest in the Institute's history-to establish the Helmsley Center for Genomic Medicine (HCGM), a research center dedicated to decoding the common genetic factors underlying many complex chronic human diseases.

23 Jan 2013

Strong link between mortality and reduced innate immune responsiveness in critically ill patients

Investigators from 15 children's medical centers, including Nationwide Children's Hospital, observed and evaluated critically ill children with influenza to evaluate the relationships between levels of systemic inflammation, immune function and likelihood to die from the illness. The study appears in the January issue of Critical Care Medicine.

23 Jan 2013

EBV reactivation can increase risk of heart disease

A new study could provide the link that scientists have been looking for to confirm that reactivation of a latent herpes virus is a cause of some heart problems.

23 Jan 2013

New special issue explores link between evolution and the body's fight against cancer

Over 500 billion cells in our bodies will be replaced daily, yet natural selection has enabled us to develop defenses against the cellular mutations which could cause cancer. It is this relationship between evolution and the body's fight against cancer which is explored in a new special issue of the Open Access journal Evolutionary Applications.

22 Jan 2013

Suppression of immune system function can occur in influenza patients

22 Jan 2013

FDA approves Ampio’s IND for Optina for treatment of diabetic macular edema

Ampio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today that the FDA has accepted the Company's IND for Optina™ for the treatment of diabetic macular edema (DME). Ampio plans to commence enrollment in a clinical trial in the first quarter of 2013. The FDA granted Optina™ 505(b)(2) status in July, 2012. Drugs designated under this pathway can be approved on a single trial.

22 Jan 2013

Itch-specific nerve cells: an interview with Associate Professor Xinzhong Dong

Itch was actually defined by a German physician more than 350 years ago. His name was Samuel Hafenreffer. He defined itch as an unpleasant sensation that makes people want to scratch. You probably think this is a very simple definition but itch is really a very complex sensory modality.

21 Jan 2013