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Research on pre-eclampsia in mice may have important implications for humans

In a new March of Dimes-funded study of pre-eclampsia, a serious and potentially deadly disorder that affects about 5 percent of pregnancies, researchers have found results in mice that may have important implications for diagnosis and treatment in humans.

27 Jul 2008

End of life physician-patient communication

Although a growing body of research supports a link between effective communication and patient, family and physician satisfaction, doctors, including oncologists and other specialists who frequently care for terminal patients, do not routinely receive training in end-of-life conversations during medical school, residency training, or after they start to practice medicine.

22 Jul 2008

CUPID cannabinoid MS study reaches milestone

The CUPID (Cannabinoid Use in Progressive Inflammatory brain Disease) study at the Peninsula Medical School in Plymouth has reached an important milestone with the news that the full cohort of 493 people with multiple sclerosis (MS) has been recruited to the study.

21 Jul 2008

Viral recombination another way HIV fools the immune system

When individuals infected with HIV become infected with a second strain of the virus, the two viral strains can exchange genetic information, creating a third, recombinant strain of the virus. It is known that the presence of multiple viral strains, called superinfection, frequently leads to a loss of immune control of viral levels.

21 Jul 2008

Gene expression test could help determine who needs more aggressive treatment

Researchers from four leading cancer centers have confirmed that an analysis involving a panel of genes can be used to predict which lung cancer patients will have the worst survival. The finding could one day lead to a test that would help determine who needs more aggressive treatment.

21 Jul 2008

21 new genes found for Crohn's disease

A consortium of researchers from the United States, Canada, and Europe has identified 21 new genes for Crohn's disease, a chronic disease of the large and small intestines.

21 Jul 2008

Coffee and smoking notorious at Alcoholics Anonymous meetings

More than one million Americans currently participate in the Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) program. While AA participants are reportedly notorious for their coffee drinking and cigarette smoking, very little research has quantified their consumption of these two products. Recent findings confirm that coffee and cigarette use among this population is greater than among the general U.S. population: most AA members drink coffee and more than half smoke.

19 Jul 2008

Functional human blood vessels grown in mice using cells from adult human donors

For the first time, researchers have successfully grown functional human blood vessels in mice using cells from adult human donors - an important step in developing clinical strategies to grow tissue, researchers report in Circulation Research: Journal of the American Heart Association.

19 Jul 2008

The aorta is torn apart in Marfan syndrome

A severe complication of the Marfan syndrome is that the aorta may split and be torn apart. The patient can be protected if the syndrome is diagnosed and treated in good time.

17 Jul 2008

Diabetes could be a hidden condition for heart disease patients

Researchers at the University of Warwick have discovered diabetes could be a hidden condition for some patients with coronary heart disease.

15 Jul 2008

New technology revolutionizing drug discovery

The National Science Foundation has awarded Weill Cornell Medical College researcher Dr. Scott Blanchard its prestigious Career Award, recognizing his groundbreaking work in cell biology -- work that is poised to revolutionize research for the next generation of young scientists.

15 Jul 2008

Corneal transplant technique shows promise in children

For infants and children with blinding diseases of the cornea, a sophisticated new corneal transplantation technique offers the hope of improving vision while overcoming the technical difficulty and low success rate of traditional penetrating keratoplasty (PK) in children, according to reports in the current issue of the Journal of AAPOS (American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus).

15 Jul 2008

Certain communication skills can help physicians increase the efficiency of their time with patients during office visits

With their waiting rooms crowded and exam rooms full, many physicians say they are too busy to be good communicators. Those who study physician time-management think otherwise. Certain communication skills can foster efficiency and effectiveness during an office visit without sacrificing rapport with patients, according to researchers at the University of Washington (UW) and the University of Rochester.

14 Jul 2008

FA imaging, invented at U-M, measures metabolic stress in retina - serves as early warning of diabetes

A new vision screening device, already shown to give an early warning of eye disease, could give doctors and patients a head start on treating diabetes and its vision complications, a new study shows.

14 Jul 2008

Obesity ranks as top health concern for kids, poll finds

As children's waistlines continue to grow, so have concerns about childhood obesity. According to a report released today by the University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health, childhood obesity is now the No. 1 health concern for kids in 2008, topping smoking and drug abuse. In 2007, childhood obesity ranked third among parents' top 10 overall health concerns for kids.

14 Jul 2008

Susceptibility to pain is affected by premature birth and also genetics

Scientists in US and UK laboratories have made key discoveries into the elusive nature of pain in children and adults. The results, presented at the Forum of European Neurosciences Monday will help guide the future management and treatment of pain.

14 Jul 2008

Talking about sex to teenagers

Sex is one of the most difficult topics a parent can bring up with an adolescent, but a new study finds that parents who are taught specific communication skills can more readily tackle these conversations and sustain them over time.

10 Jul 2008

Potential new way to prevent graft-versus-host disease

A new University of Michigan study in mice suggests that a drug recently approved to fight cancer tumors is also able to reduce the effects of graft-versus-host disease, a common and sometimes fatal complication for people who have had bone marrow transplants.

10 Jul 2008

Medical students say bullying in the profession must stop

The Australian Medical Students Association's (AMSA) says that suicide rates for medical students are significantly higher than the average rate for students and has called for an end to bullying in the profession.

10 Jul 2008

Nanomaterials key to new strategies for blocking metastasis

A new treatment strategy using targeted nanoparticles to block metastasis with anti-cancer drugs leads to good results using significantly lower doses of toxic chemotherapy, with less collateral damage to surrounding tissue, according to a collaborative team of researchers at the Center of Nanotechnology for Treatment, Understanding, and Monitoring of Cancer at the University of California, San Diego. In designing this system, the investigators, led by David Cheresh, Ph.D., have identified what may become a generic method for using nanotechnology to target metastasis.

9 Jul 2008