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Alternatives needed to inaccurate blood tests used to diagnose active TB

A guest post in PLoS Medicine's "Speaking of Medicine" blog, written by tuberculosis (TB) researchers Madhukar Pai of McGill University, David Dowdy of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and Karen Steingart of the University of Washington School of Public Health, examines the medical, public health and economic consequences of the widespread use of inaccurate antibody-based serological diagnostic tests for active TB.

12 Aug 2011

CPAP withdrawal leads to return of obstructive sleep apnea

The benefits of continuous positive airway pressure machines (CPAP) for patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) are quickly reversed when the therapy is withdrawn, according to Swiss research.

12 Aug 2011

G-CSF therapy does not induce chromosomal instability in healthy stem cell donors

According to a study published in Blood, the Journal of the American Society of Hematology (ASH), researchers have reported that administration of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF), a drug that releases stem cells from the bone marrow into the blood, is unlikely to put healthy stem cell donors at risk for later development of abnormalities involving loss or gains of chromosomes that have been linked to hematologic disorders such as myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) and acute myeloid leukemia.

12 Aug 2011

Endothelial progenitor cells may repair leaky blood-brain barrier

University of South Florida Department of Neurosurgery and Brain Repair faculty members have received a $2.6 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to investigate the potential for cells derived from human bone marrow to benefit post-stroke patients by repairing the blood-brain barrier.

12 Aug 2011

Pregnant women lack enough vitamin D despite use of prenatal supplements

Pregnant women taking prenatal supplements may not be getting enough vitamin D, shows a new Vancouver-based study led by the Child & Family Research Institute at BC Children's Hospital that was published in the Canadian Journal of Public Health.

12 Aug 2011

Leading dental and pharmacy organizations to raise awareness on xerostomia

Leading dental and pharmacy organizations are teaming up to promote oral health and raise public awareness of dry mouth, a side effect commonly caused by taking prescription and over-the-counter medications.

12 Aug 2011

Female sex hormone oestrogen could fight against cardiovascular disease

The sex hormone oestrogen could help protect women from cardiovascular disease by keeping the body's immune system in check, new research from Queen Mary, University of London has revealed.

12 Aug 2011

Study links low vitamin D with early menstruation in young girls

A study links low vitamin D in young girls with early menstruation, which is a risk factor for a host of health problems for teen girls as well as women later in life.

12 Aug 2011

Single engineered protein blocks two related angiogenic receptors

Cancer needs blood. In fact, some cancer medications work solely to slow or prevent cancer cells from creating new capillaries, choking off their much-needed blood and nutrient supply to halt the growth of tumors.

12 Aug 2011

Blood test early in pregnancy to detect baby’s gender

While carrying the child, a mother's blood has cell-free fetal DNA floating around in it, and it's possible to use this to test for the baby's sex. In a meta-analysis that covered more, the test was found to be 95% efficient in guessing the sex of the fetus — and it works from as early as seven weeks. As the fetus and the placenta develop, the amount of DNA present in the mother increases, boosting the accuracy of the test, which hits its peak at 20 weeks.

12 Aug 2011

Study examines link between spirit consumption and risk of acute pancreatitis

A study on the effect of different alcoholic beverages and drinking behaviour on the risk of acute pancreatitis was conducted, using the Swedish Mammography Cohort and Cohort of Swedish Men, to study the association between consumption of spirits, wine and beer and the risk of acute pancreatitis.

12 Aug 2011

Women with depression at higher risk of stroke

A new study published this week shows that depression puts middle-aged and older women at significant risk of suffering potentially debilitating strokes.

12 Aug 2011

Researchers identify unknown link between migration of WBCs to infected tissues, immune memory

Researchers from Dr. Woodland's lab at the Trudeau Institute have now identified a previously unknown link between the migration of white blood cells to infected tissues and the ability of these cells to survive and become long-lived memory cells after the infection has been cleared.

11 Aug 2011

Blocking type 2 receptor reduces PDA cell growth with the activation of AMPK enzyme

Pancreatic cancer researchers at Thomas Jefferson University have shown, for the first time, that blocking a receptor of a key hormone in the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) reduces cancer cell growth by activating the enzyme AMPK to inhibit fatty acid synthase, the ingredients to support cell division.

11 Aug 2011

Anticoagulation service improves quality of care for patients treated with warfarin

A pharmacist-directed anticoagulation service improves the coordination of care from the hospital to an outpatient clinic for patients treated with the anticoagulant drug warfarin, according to a Henry Ford Hospital study.

11 Aug 2011

Spices may reduce oxidative stress and risk of chronic disease

Eating a diet rich in spices, like turmeric and cinnamon, reduces the body's negative responses to eating high-fat meals, according to Penn State researchers.

11 Aug 2011

BCG vaccine can help immune system recognise cancer cells as 'foreign'

Scientists have found a potential new mechanism to stimulate the body's own ability to fight cancer using Baculillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) - the germ commonly used to inoculate against tuberculosis.

11 Aug 2011

Althea hosts Health and Wellness Fair for employees

Althea Technologies, Inc., a leading provider of development and manufacturing services for biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, held its inaugural Health and Wellness Fair today.

11 Aug 2011

Commercial blood serum antibody tests cost-effective, not accurate for active TB

Commercial blood serum antibody tests—widely used in India and other developing countries to diagnose active tuberculosis—are not accurate or cost-effective, according to an analysis by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, the University of Washington School of Public Health and McGill University.

11 Aug 2011

Study: AAKG supplementation has no significant impact on increased blood flow

A Baylor University study has found that a popular nutritional supplement that is marketed to lead to greater muscle strength through increasing blood flow to the muscle does not increase blood flow as claimed on the bottle.

11 Aug 2011