Steroid News and Research

RSS

Arsenic exposure linked to influenza A (H1N1) susceptibility

The ability to mount an immune response to influenza A (H1N1) infection is significantly compromised by a low level of arsenic exposure that commonly occurs through drinking contaminated well water, scientists at the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) and Dartmouth Medical School have found.

20 May 2009

DHEA supplement combined with vitamin D and calcium significantly improves spinal bone density in older women

"The results of our study are very promising. Similar studies have demonstrated much smaller benefits for bone than we found. However, calcium and vitamin D deficiencies, which are present in half of older adults, may have prevented DHEA from improving bone density in the earlier studies," said Edward Weiss, Ph.D., associate professor of nutrition and dietetics at Saint Louis University's Doisy College of Health Sciences and lead author of the study.

12 May 2009

New genetic clues to treatment of hypertension

An international research team has identified a number of unsuspected genetic variants associated with systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), and hypertension (high blood pressure), suggesting potential avenues of investigation for the prevention or treatment of hypertension.

12 May 2009

Benfotiamene, a fat-soluble form of vitamin B1, could treat common cause of blindness

University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston researchers have discovered that a form of vitamin B1 could become a new and effective treatment for one of the world's leading causes of blindness.

23 Apr 2009

Link found between vitamin D insufficiency and asthma severity

Serum levels of vitamin D in more than 600 Costa Rican children were inversely linked to several indicators of allergy and asthma severity, including hospitalizations for asthma, use of inhaled steroids and total IgE levels, according to a study that will appear in the first issue for May of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

23 Apr 2009

Scientists combine USB-based ultrasound probe technology with a smartphone

Computer engineers at Washington University in St. Louis are bringing the minimalist approach to medical care and computing by coupling USB-based ultrasound probe technology with a smartphone, enabling a compact, mobile computational platform and a medical imaging device that fits in the palm of a hand.

22 Apr 2009

Psoriasis increases risk for developing diabetes and hypertension in women

Women with psoriasis appear to have an increased risk for developing diabetes and hypertension (high blood pressure), according to a report in the April issue of Archives of Dermatology.

21 Apr 2009

Laughter improves health

The connection between the body, mind and spirit has been the subject of conventional scientific inquiry for some 20 years.

20 Apr 2009

Slow-release anesthetic drug-delivery could change pain management

Researchers at Children's Hospital Boston have developed a slow-release anesthetic drug-delivery system that could potentially revolutionize treatment of pain during and after surgery, and may also have a large impact on chronic pain management.

15 Apr 2009

Single injection could treat pain days, weeks, maybe even months

15 Apr 2009

Combination inhaler might simplify asthma treatment

People suffering from chronic asthma might have a new treatment option that allows them to manage their condition with a single prescribed inhaler that contains two medicines, according to a new review.

14 Apr 2009

PPI prescribed for asthma ineffective and too expensive

According to researchers in the U.S. millions of asthma patients taking the drug Nexium, (esomeprazole), or a similar drug are doing so unnecessarily.

13 Apr 2009

Avastin safe and effective at delaying tumor progression

The use of Avastin alone to treat a subgroup of recurrent Grade 3 brain tumors showed it was safe and effective at delaying tumor progression, according to a retrospective study of 22 patients conducted by a researcher at the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance.

6 Apr 2009

Varicella zoster infection causes severe autoimmune hepatitis

Autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) is a chronic liver inflammation of unknown etiology that is characterized by the presence of circulatory autoantibodies and ongoing liver tissue damage.

2 Apr 2009

Discovery of possible trigger for onset of labor

The relationship between two different types of estrogen and a hormone produced in the placenta may serve as the mechanism for signaling labor, according to a new study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM).

1 Apr 2009

Steroids and antihistamines alleviate clopidogrel-related allergic reaction symptoms

A clinical study of cardiac patients who suffered an allergic reaction to the widely-prescribed drug clopidogrel, also known by the pharmaceutical name Plavix, found that treatment with a combination of steroids and antihistamines can alleviate the allergic reaction symptoms thereby allowing patients to remain on the drug, say doctors from Thomas Jefferson University Hospital.

30 Mar 2009

Angiogenesis inhibitor improves glioblastoma survival by reducing edema

The beneficial effects of anti-angiogenesis drugs in the treatment of the deadly brain tumors called glioblastomas appear to result primarily from reduction of edema - the swelling of brain tissue - and not from any direct anti-tumor effect, according to a study from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers.

30 Mar 2009