Medical School News and Research

RSS

Wake Forest University launches major initiatives in bioethics

Responding to a looming 'bioethics crisis,' Wake Forest University is launching several initiatives in bioethics to address the ethical and social aspects of medical care and technology.

18 Aug 2008

Antibodies to 1918 flu pandemic may provide means to tackle bird flu threat

Scientists in the United States have discovered that elderly survivors of the original 1918 flu pandemic, still have immunity to the virus.

18 Aug 2008

About 1% of HIV-positive people worldwide have been tested for tuberculosis

Only 1% of people living with HIV/AIDS worldwide have been screened for tuberculosis, according to a report recently released by the coalition Advocacy To Control TB Internationally, or ACTION, Reuters reports.

13 Aug 2008

Prostatectomy improves outcome of some men with prostate cancer over watchful waiting

Men with early prostate cancer who undergo radical prostatectomy have a lower rate of death due to prostate cancer than men who are followed without treatment, known as watchful waiting, according to a randomized controlled trial published in the August 12 online issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

12 Aug 2008

Medulloblastoma originates in normal brain "stem" cells that turn malignant

An aggressive childhood brain tumor known as medulloblastoma originates in normal brain "stem" cells that turn malignant when acted on by a known mutant, cancer-causing oncogene, say researchers from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF).

11 Aug 2008

Convenience, cost driving more kids to retail clinics for care

Convenience and lower costs are driving even more parents to seek routine health care for their children - including vaccinations and physicals - at retail clinics in their communities.

11 Aug 2008

Aspirin, acid-blocker a-day keeps GI bleeding at bay

For patients with clogged heart arteries who take long-term, low-dose aspirin to prevent a cardiac event, adding a stomach acid-blocking drug to their daily routine has been shown to reduce their risk for upper gastrointestinal bleeding - an infrequent, but serious side-effect of regular aspirin use.

11 Aug 2008

RNAi used to dramatically suppress HIV infection in an organism

Hopes languished last September when a promising candidate HIV vaccine failed to work. Despite this setback, many researchers still believe immunization is possible, and a new study suggests they're correct-at least at the cellular level.

10 Aug 2008

Research finds a role for the GABA neurotransmitter in maintaining energy balance

Controlling body weight is a complicated process, as any frustrated dieter might attest. But as scientists continue to investigate the brain's intricate neurocircuitry and its role in maintaining energy balance, they are forming a clearer picture of the myriad events that lead to weight gain and weight loss.

10 Aug 2008

First cigarette "buzz", addiction linked to gene

Anyone who has ever tried smoking probably remembers that first cigarette vividly. For some, it brought a wave of nausea or a nasty coughing fit. For others, those first puffs also came with a rush of pleasure or "buzz."

10 Aug 2008

How short RNAs influence many proteins

During the last decade, microRNAs have emerged somewhat surprisingly as key players in the way genes are regulated. These short snippets of RNA do their work by interacting with messenger RNAs, which act as blueprints for protein creation.

6 Aug 2008

Bionor Immuno trials new innovative therapeutic immunization designed to help existing HIV and AIDS patients

Bionor Immuno today announced that it has advanced its efforts to develop the first HIV therapeutic immunization with the dosing of patients in a global Phase 2b clinical trial of the company's lead candidate (Vacc-4x).

4 Aug 2008

Dartmouth researchers question effectiveness of current movie-rating system

In a paper published in the August issue of the journal Pediatrics, Dartmouth researchers document the alarming numbers of young adolescents age 10-14 who are exposed to graphic violence in movies rated R for violence.

4 Aug 2008

Epilepsy drug gabapentin may reduce insomnia in recovering alcoholics

It's a Catch-22 of the highest order. People with alcohol problems often use alcohol to get to sleep -- but it actually keeps them from getting good-quality sleep all night long.

4 Aug 2008

Inherited form of hearing loss stems from gene mutation

Pat Phalin learned she had hearing loss at 30, when she volunteered to give hearing tests at her local school. The pupils heard sounds she could not hear.

31 Jul 2008

Commonly used diabetes monitoring test could identify millions of people with undiagnosed diabetes

A blood test currently used as the gold standard for monitoring people already under care for diabetes may have far wider use in identifying millions with undetected diabetes, a team led by a Johns Hopkins physician suggests.

31 Jul 2008

microRNA may influence development of alcohol tolerance

In recent years, a class of small molecules known as microRNAs have been found to play an important role in regulating gene products in most animal and plant species.

30 Jul 2008

Stanford Medicine explores the complex world of clinical trials

Back just 100 years ago, the notion of testing treatments and drugs through randomized clinical trials was unheard of. Clinical trials began to proliferate only in 1800, placebos were first used in 1863 and randomization wasn't introduced until 1923.

30 Jul 2008

Minorities less likely to know about breast cancer treatment options

Nearly half of women treated for breast cancer did not know that their odds of being alive after five years are roughly the same whether they undergo mastectomy or breast conserving surgery. Minority women were even less likely to be aware of this important factor of their treatment decision, according to a study from the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center.

30 Jul 2008

Rheumatoid arthritis doubles a person's risk of heart attack

People coping with rheumatoid arthritis or lupus already have a lot to deal with. Even so, paying attention to heart health may be especially important for this group.

29 Jul 2008