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Closing in on lethal arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia in young athletes

Johns Hopkins experts on the genetics of a potentially lethal heart rhythm defect that runs in families and targets young athletes report they have greatly narrowed the hunt for the specific genetic mutations that contribute to the problem.

7 Sep 2006

Prospective Huntington At Risk Observational Study

Doctors have completed the first step of a unique medical research study, evaluating 1,001 individuals at risk of developing Huntington's disease who do not know - nor do they want to know - whether they carry the genetic defect that causes the condition.

8 Aug 2006

New blood test picks up early breast cancer

A new blood test has been developed by an international team of scientists which can detect the very early stage of breast cancer.

7 Aug 2006

FDA approves fully automated screening tests for hepatitis B surface antigen

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced the approval of the first fully automated product that combines both screening and confirmatory tests for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg).

18 Jul 2006

Simple blood test detects lung cancer before it's too late

Researchers in the United States have developed a blood test that is able to correctly predict non-small-cell lung cancer in patients years before any CT scan (computed tomography) can trace it.

17 Jul 2006

Importance of T cells in the prevention of autoimmune diseases

Centenary scientist Associate Professor Barbara Fazekas de St. Groth, a leader in inflammatory bowel disease research, has demonstrated for the first time the important role of T cells in the prevention of autoimmune diseases in humans.

9 Jul 2006

When it comes to diabetes doctors failing to follow 'doctors orders'

According to the latest reports when it comes to diabetes and following doctors orders, doctors are failing their patients.

12 Jun 2006

How cow warts, clergy sex surveys moved along cervical cancer vaccine

The creation of a successful vaccine against cervical cancer, approved today by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, is the culmination of research that occurred thanks not only to scientists and physicians, but also to generous farmers and veterinarians, priests and nuns willing to tell all - and some very patient cows.

9 Jun 2006

Syphilis on the rise in L.A. County

Following a level off in 2004, early syphilis cases (infections contracted within the past year) in L.A. County climbed steeply in 2005.

9 Jun 2006

Patients not receiving follow-up tests after positive screening for colon cancer

Study shows that more than 40 percent of patients who initially had received a positive result on a fecal occult blood test (FOBT) did not receive appropriate diagnostic follow-up tests such as a colonoscopy or barium enema in 2002.

6 Jun 2006

Control your diabetes for life

The prevalence of diagnosed diabetes in U.S. adults age 20 and older has risen from about 5.1 percent to 6.5 percent.

31 May 2006

Genetic testing helps diagnose Long QT syndrome

Long QT syndrome is an uncommon, and sometimes fatal, heart rhythm disorder that is often present from birth. It gets its name from the peculiar pattern of the electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG) seen in people with the disease. It affects one in every 3,000 people in the United States.

16 Apr 2006

Genetic variants in estrogen-related genes linked to Parkinson's disease in women

Mayo Clinic researchers have discovered a possible connection between increased risk for Parkinson's disease and variants in three genes that control estrogen production and activity in the body.

11 Apr 2006

Discovery of new human retrovirus

Howard Hughes Medical Institute researchers and their colleagues have discovered a new retrovirus in humans that is closely related to a cancer-causing virus found in mice. Their findings describe the first documented cases of human infection with a retrovirus that is native to rodents.

10 Apr 2006

Protein in urine may point to more sensitive screening tests for women with ovarian cancer

According to the National Cancer Institute, ovarian cancer causes more deaths than any other cancer of the female reproductive system. An estimated 20,180 new cases of ovarian cancer are expected in the United States this year.

4 Apr 2006

Responding to AIDS, TB, Malaria and emerging infectious diseases in Burma

Government policies in Burma that restrict public health and humanitarian aid have created an environment where AIDS, drug-resistant tuberculosis, malaria and bird flu (H5N1) are spreading unchecked, according to a report by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

4 Apr 2006

AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and bird flu spread unchecked in Burma

28 Mar 2006

Low PSA score after radiation can predict prostate cancer return

A consortium of prostate cancer experts have discovered, through a clinical investigation, that prostate cancer patients who have a lower prostate specific antigen (PSA) score after radiation therapy to treat their cancer are less likely to have their prostate cancer return or spread to other parts of their body than patients with a higher PSA score.

15 Mar 2006

One stent may be as good as two

Cardiologists increasingly use non-invasive methods to treat patients with diseased arteries that previously required open-heart surgery.

15 Mar 2006

Test for LDH enzyme may help determine risk factors in sickle cell disease

Researchers have found that a simple test for an enzyme called LDH may have significant importance for determining major risk factors in adults with sickle cell disease.

9 Mar 2006