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Depression associated with molecular-level disturbance in body's 24-hour clock

Depression appears to be associated with a molecular-level disturbance in the body's 24-hour clock, new research suggests.

11 Nov 2010

Study on zebrafish showcases neural basis of essential survival skill

A tiny, translucent juvenile zebrafish, on the hunt for even littler prey, has offered up a big insight into how a specific circuit of nerve cells functions in the brain. The technique used to illuminate this circuitry, and the fish model itself, provide one of the first insights into the way individual sets of neurons control a specific behavior.

11 Nov 2010

PolyMedix receives FDA regulatory clearance for PMX-30063 IND application

PolyMedix, Inc. an emerging biotechnology company focused on developing new therapeutic drugs to treat infectious diseases and acute cardiovascular disorders, has received regulatory clearance from the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its Investigational New Drug (IND) application for PMX-30063, a synthetic defensin-mimetic antibiotic.

11 Nov 2010

tDCS electric stimulation can improve motor function in stroke patients

A noninvasive electric stimulation technique administered to both sides of the brain can help stroke patients who have lost motor skills in their hands and arms, according to a new study led by researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC).

10 Nov 2010

Chocolates inhibit enzyme known to raise blood pressure

Numerous studies have shown that cocoa has a protective effect against cardiovascular diseases. The reason for this has now been uncovered by researchers at Linköping University in Sweden. When a group of volunteers devoured a good-sized piece of dark chocolate, it inhibited an enzyme in their bodies that is known to raise blood pressure.

10 Nov 2010

Researchers find text messages to HIV patients improve adherence, health outcomes in Kenya trial

Using mobile-phone text messages to remind HIV patients to take their dose of life-saving medications can give a major boost to drug adherence, according to an innovative trial in Kenya unveiled on Tuesday, Agence France-Presse reports.

10 Nov 2010

Epimutation in BRCA1 gene may cause early-onset of breast cancer

An Australian research team from the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, the University of Melbourne and the University of Queensland has identified a new risk factor for developing breast cancer. This has been published online in the journal Cancer Prevention Research.

10 Nov 2010

Egrifta receives FDA approval for treatment of HIV-lipodystrophy

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Egrifta (tesamorelin) to treat HIV patients with lipodystrophy, a condition in which excess fat develops in different areas of the body, most notably around the liver, stomach, and other abdominal organs. The condition is associated with many antiretroviral drugs used to treat HIV.

10 Nov 2010

Simple test and an MRI predicts future Alzheimer’s disease

Until now is has been believed that Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia could be diagnosed only when symptoms appear which almost always means when patients are in their 70s or 80s. Now the latest research shows that some brain lesions are characteristic of Alzheimer’s disease and can be detected in the brains of healthy people in their 40s. Along with this a simple mental skills test may be able to detect the problem many years sooner than previously thought.

10 Nov 2010

Statins benefit ‘at risk’ patients but are underused: Study

A look at some of the large clinical trials and studies has shown that thousands of deaths could be prevented a year if people at risk of heart attack or stroke are prescribed high doses of statins. The review involves data from 170,000 patients in 26 randomized trials. The paper is published in the journal The Lancet.

10 Nov 2010

Lung cancer in smokers versus non-smokers shows different genetic mutations

A group of scientists at B.C. Cancer Agency have found that lung cancers in smokers have different genetic mutations and look different than lung cancer in non-smokers. According to senior scientist at the BC Cancer Agency Research Centre Wan Lam, this finding is significant because it means that from now on, research, treatments and diagnostics should be tailored to the distinct genetic variations in the different lung cancers instead of expecting that a one-size fits all approach will work. He said, “At the current time, treatment does not distinguish between these different types. The subtypes are all grouped together. But with this work, we are beginning to tease out the subtypes.” The study was presented Tuesday at a conference in Philadelphia of the American Association of Cancer Research.

10 Nov 2010

Low levels of growth hormone may contribute to growth defects in cystic fibrosis

A new study using a pig model of cystic fibrosis (CF) suggests that low levels of a growth promoting hormone at or before birth may contribute to growth defects in patients with CF.

10 Nov 2010

Nine research projects awarded access to PRACE Research Infrastructure

Nine research projects, two from Germany, two from Spain and one each from France, Hungary, the Netherlands, Portugal and the UK, have been awarded access to the PRACE Research Infrastructure. In total 362.8 Million compute core hours were granted for the JUGENE, IBM BlueGene/P, hosted by the Gauss-Centre for Supercomputing member site in Jülich, Germany, which is the first Petascale HPC system available to researchers through PRACE.

10 Nov 2010

Preclinical data from Idera's autoimmune and inflammatory disease program presented at 74th ACR

Idera Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced two presentations of preclinical data from its autoimmune and inflammatory disease program at the 74th Annual Scientific Meeting of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) in Atlanta, Georgia. One presentation is entitled "IMO-3100, a Toll-like Receptor (TLR) Antagonist, Suppresses TLR7- and TLR9-mediated Immune Responses in Non-human Primates" (#856).

10 Nov 2010

Researchers study drug's ability to restore retinal health in eyes of diabetic patients

One drug's startling ability to restore retinal health in the eyes of diabetic mice has researchers wanting to learn more about how it works and whether it might do the same for people.

10 Nov 2010

Researcher awarded Sylvia and Charles Viertel Charitable Foundation Fellowship

Walter and Eliza Hall Institute researcher Dr Ross Dickins has been awarded a Sylvia and Charles Viertel Charitable Foundation Fellowship worth $AUD975,000 over five years.

10 Nov 2010

Researchers to determine levels of stroke risk in patients with narrowed brain arteries

Neurological researchers at Rush University Medical Center are part of a multicenter, National Institutes of Health (NIH) study to determine the levels of stroke risk and stroke recurrence in patients with narrowed brain arteries.

10 Nov 2010

18 partner consortium to develop lab-on-a-chip to detect brain diseases

A consortium of 18 partners embarks on the development of a lab-on-a-chip to detect Alzheimer´s disease and similar diseases in the brain. The project is funded by the EU´s 7th Framework programme for nanotechnology.

10 Nov 2010

Breast cancer patients more likely to have joint pain from taking AIs: Study

Breast cancer patients are more likely to have joint pain from taking aromatase inhibitors if they have advanced stage cancer, according to a study presented at the American College of Rheumatology's annual meeting, held Nov. 7-11, in Atlanta. The study is one of the first to identify factors that increase the likelihood that a patient will suffer joint pain from AI therapy.

10 Nov 2010

NHLBI launches new campaign to highlight common COPD symptoms

The number of Americans who report being aware of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, increased by 4 percentage points between 2008 and 2010, but many people at risk are still unaware of the disease, according to mailed survey results released today by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), part of the National Institutes of Health.

10 Nov 2010