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Method by which Caspase-12 shuts down the body's immune system discovered

Caspase-12 is a molecule with a death-wish. Found only in people of African descent, this protein shuts down our body's immune system, opening the door to potentially lethal infections. In a groundbreaking new study published in the prestigious journal Nature this week, the team that first discovered the role of caspase-12 in humans has now uncovered the mechanism by which it sabotages us, allowing researchers to develop methods to counter its damaging effects.

28 Apr 2006

Caspase-12 antagonists could potentially be useful in the treatment of sepsis and other inflammatory and immune disorders

According to the new study, the presence of caspase-12, which appears to modulate inflammation and innate immunity in humans, increases the body's "vulnerability to bacterial infection and septic shock" while a deficiency confers strong resistance to sepsis. This new discovery suggests that caspase-12 antagonists could be a potentially useful in the treatment of sepsis and other inflammatory and immune disorders.

26 Apr 2006

Corticosteroids do not improve survival in patients with late-stage acute respiratory distress syndrome

The study is the first multi-center randomized clinical trial to evaluate the effects of moderate doses of steroids in ARDS patients when treatment is started 7 days or more after the onset of the condition.

20 Apr 2006

New guidelines for treating severely injured patients

If someone is injured in an automobile collision or is severely burned, emergency room physicians across the country would probably take similar steps to stabilize each condition. But subsequent treatment in the intensive care unit or operating room is less well established and may vary significantly.

19 Apr 2006

Hormone brain natriuretic peptide can predict pulmonary hypertension

Measuring levels of a hormone called brain natriuretic peptide in individuals with serious lung disease can predict the presence of pulmonary hypertension and a patient's potential death or survival, regardless of clinical severity or the cause of illness.

4 Apr 2006

Combination of salmeterol and fluticasone propionate cuts inflammatory cells in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

The combination of two existing clinical treatments, salmeterol and fluticasone propionate, can significantly reduce inflammatory cells in the airways of current and former smokers being treated for moderate to severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

4 Apr 2006

Two released from hospital after drug trial horror

According to staff at Northwick Park Hospital, two of the volunteers being treated there following an extreme reaction during a drug trial, have been released.

31 Mar 2006

Researchers combat tuberculosis - help may come from protective protein

Most Americans think of tuberculosis as a disease of the past, but with HIV and drug-resistant strains fueling epidemics in India and Africa, TB kills someone every six seconds across the world.

23 Mar 2006

Cleaner air equates to a longer life

Researchers in the U.S. say reductions in fine particulate air pollution appears to have an affect on mortality.

16 Mar 2006

Association between levels of fine particulate matter pollution and mortality risk

Investigators who extended the Harvard Six Cities fine particulate air pollution study by eight years found that reduced levels of tiny particle pollution during this period lowered mortality risk for participants.

15 Mar 2006

Drug trial goes wrong and six end up intensive care

After taking part in a clinical trial of a new drug six men are now seriously ill in a north London hospital in the UK.

15 Mar 2006

Hospitalized schizophrenics more likely to have complications

A Johns Hopkins study of more than 1,700 patients with schizophrenia hospitalized for medical or surgical care unrelated to their mental disorder shows they are at least twice as likely as similar patients without schizophrenia to suffer dangerous and expensive adverse events.

15 Mar 2006

Emergency departments score poorly in child-saving drills

A mock-drill study conducted in a third of North Carolina's hospital emergency departments (EDs) revealed that nearly all failed to properly stabilize seriously injured children during trauma simulations, according to a team of researchers at the Johns Hopkins Children's Center and Duke University Medical Center.

13 Mar 2006

C-reactive protein helps identify progressive precancerous lesions in the lung

C-reactive protein (CRP), a biomarker for inflammation in the blood, can help to identify individuals whose abnormal precancerous lesions will advance closer to invasive lung cancer.

1 Mar 2006

The incidence, distribution, and control of tuberculosis

A reduction in tuberculosis (TB) incidence, prevalence and death rate can be achieved by 2015 in most parts of the world, with the greatest challenges occurring in Africa and Eastern Europe, according to a projection by the Stop TB Department of the World Health Organization.

1 Mar 2006

Research highlights importance of detecting anthrax early

When spores sent through the mail in 2001 caused 11 people to contract anthrax - ultimately killing five of them - infectious disease specialists noted that the death rate was substantially lower than the historical mortality rate, which approached 100 percent.

24 Feb 2006

Singulair pill shows more promise for obese people

As the nation's collective waistline has swelled in recent decades, rates of asthma diagnoses also have accelerated. Indeed, much research has affirmed a link between the two conditions.

23 Feb 2006

Certain chemicals in the blood may indicate brain injury

Researchers at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh have found that increased levels of certain proteins in the blood or spinal fluid may signal brain injury in infants with vomiting, fussiness and several other common symptoms.

20 Feb 2006

Metabolic acidosis increases mortality rate

Critically ill patients with metabolic acidosis are twice as likely to die as patients who do not have metabolic acidosis.

19 Feb 2006

Healthy preterm infants younger than 12 weeks show reduced lung function

Tests of healthy preterm infants younger than 12 weeks of age show prematurity to be independently associated with reduced lung function. Predictors of this reduced expiratory flow during the first months of life include male sex, low gestational age and increased weight gain.

19 Feb 2006