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GHB binds to GABAA-receptor in the brain under physiologically relevant conditions

Researchers are closer to understanding the biology behind GHB, a transmitter substance in the brain, best known in its synthetic form as the illegal drug fantasy. These findings have just been published in the scientific journal PNAS.

3 Jul 2012

Researchers uncover series of biological events that implicate stem cells' surroundings

Stem cells are essential building blocks for all organisms, from plants to humans. They can divide and renew themselves throughout life, differentiating into the specialized tissues needed during development, as well as cells necessary to repair adult tissue.

25 May 2012

Nano-devices cross blood-brain barrier to deliver drug to treat cerebral palsy

A team of scientists from Johns Hopkins and elsewhere have developed nano-devices that successfully cross the brain-blood barrier and deliver a drug that tames brain-damaging inflammation in rabbits with cerebral palsy.

23 Apr 2012

New passive vaccine reverses dangerous symptoms of cocaine overdose

Scientists are reporting development and successful testing in laboratory mice of a substance that shows promise for becoming the first antidote for cocaine toxicity in humans. According to a report in ACS' journal Molecular Pharmaceutics, the new so-called "passive vaccine" reversed the motor impairment, seizures and other dangerous symptoms of a cocaine overdose, which claims thousands of lives each year among users of the illicit drug.

19 Apr 2012

First specific antidote for cocaine toxicity

Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have shown that an injectable solution can protect mice from an otherwise lethal overdose of cocaine. The findings could lead to human clinical trials of a treatment designed to reverse the effects of cocaine in case of emergency. Cocaine is involved in more than 400,000 emergency-room visits and about 5,000 overdose deaths each year in the United States.

19 Apr 2012

UCM to launch Medicine and Religion Faculty Scholars Program

Is a doctor's spirituality an obstacle or a benefit in the clinic? Does religious affiliation affect medical decision making? Can a spiritual calling protect doctors against career burnout? With a $2.5 million grant from the John Templeton Foundation, the University of Chicago Medicine will launch a new program to help faculty scholars study these questions and more about the role of spirituality in medical practice and education.

3 Apr 2012

New method can predict whether Tylenol-poisoning patients need liver transplant

University of Utah mathematicians developed a set of calculus equations to make it easier for doctors to save Tylenol overdose patients by quickly estimating how much painkiller they took, when they consumed it and whether they will require a liver transplant to survive.

27 Feb 2012

Vytacera Pharma to develop Sulfanegen for treatment of cyanide poisoning

Cyanide poisoning is often fatal and typically affects victims of industrial accidents, terrorist attacks, or structural fires. Based on research conducted at the Center for Drug Design at the University of Minnesota, startup Vytacera Pharma Inc. will develop and market Sulfanegen, a treatment for cyanide poisoning. Sulfanegen could be administered by first responders in the case of a mass casualty emergency, or to victims of smoke inhalation from a house fire.

10 Feb 2012

Researchers discover new biomarker for cyanide poisoning

Researchers have found a new biomarker for cyanide poisoning, which may extend its detection window in death investigations by weeks if not months.

2 Feb 2012

Viewpoints: Health law's consumer safeguards; Shredding Medicare's safety net; Georgia's trauma crisis

Requiring the makers of drugs and medical devices to disclose most payments and gifts to physicians will protect patients and reduce medical costs. ... [the federal health law] requires the makers of drugs and medical devices to disclose most payments and gifts to physicians (1/27).

30 Jan 2012

Heart-related deaths, other emergencies peak in holiday season

Steven Polevoi, MD, has seen it all. During his 23-year career, the medical director of the UCSF Emergency Department has done everything from treat traumatic injuries to deliver babies. While medical emergencies occur throughout the year, Polevoi sees the winter season and its related overindulgence as a pivotal time for preventing emergencies by listening to our bodies.

21 Dec 2011

Acupuncture for chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy

Acupuncture may help ease the severe nerve pain associated with certain cancer drugs, suggests a small preliminary study published in Acupuncture in Medicine.

5 Dec 2011

Dads may be helping out but Moms still multi-tasking and stressed: Study

A new study shows that in dual earning families, fathers and mothers are spending roughly equal amounts of time doing paid and unpaid work, but mothers are spending nine more hours a week multitasking.

4 Dec 2011

Acetaminophen over-use can lead to serious liver damage

Common pain and fever Acetaminophen (best known by the brand name Tylenol) taken over a long time can cause liver failure and death, according to a new study.

24 Nov 2011

Researchers get $7.5M grant to combat nerve agents

A $7.5 million award will help researchers harness the body’s own defenses to counteract nerve agents and create new types of antidotes for exposure to pesticides and other poisons.

14 Nov 2011

AMCs must make systematic changes to improve quality of life, productivity of their faculty

Academic medical centers (AMCs) must make systematic changes to improve quality of life—and thus productivity—of their faculty, according to a commentary that will appear in the October 12 issue of Science Translational Medicine.

14 Oct 2011

Viewing computer images causes long-term changes in nerve cell connections

Viewing two-dimensional images of the environment, as they occur in computer games, leads to sustained changes in the strength of nerve cell connections in the brain.

27 Sep 2011

Bristol Meyer Squibb’s new blood thinner drug for stroke prevention

Researchers find that an experimental anticlotting pill Eliquis is more effective than standard drug, warfarin, at preventing strokes in people with a heart condition that puts them at high risk of blood clots and stroke. The new drug also known as apixaban, cut the risk of stroke by 21% compared with warfarin in people with atrial fibrillation (AF). It lowered the risk of dying by 11%.

30 Aug 2011

Sending surplus medical supplies to developing country hospitals 'not the antidote' to poor conditions

"Every year, hospitals in America throw away thousands of tons of usable medical supplies and equipment - by some measures 7,000 tons a year, a value of $20 billion. … Yet every year, hospitals in developing countries around the world turn away patients or provide substandard care because they lack even the most basic medical equipment," journalist and author Tina Rosenberg writes in the New York Times' "Opinionator" blog.

6 Aug 2011

Tips to make family vacations less hazardous for kids and parents

Family vacations live in infamy. Sometimes it's for the lasting memories of family bonding and new wonders experienced together, and sometimes for the horrors of just trying to get to a destination.

29 Jul 2011