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New TB vaccines could protect all strains

New tuberculosis (TB) vaccines in development have the potential to provide protection against all strains of TB, including multidrug-resistant (MDR) and extensively drug- resistant (XDR) TB, Dr. Jerald C.

1 Jun 2007

How cells breathe

Inhaling oxygen is only the first step in a long journey through the nooks and crannies of the body.

1 Jun 2007

Study looks at brain damage that occurs after stroke

Brain damage that occurs even days after a stroke, increasing stroke size and devastation, is the focus of researchers trying to identify new treatments.

1 Jun 2007

Interventions for pediatricians only partially successful

Continuing medical education, newsletters and resource guides were only partially successful in changing the way that pediatricians handled behavioral health problems, according to a follow-up study at Wake Forest University School of Medicine.

1 Jun 2007

New tests for leishmaniasis and leprosy

The Seattle-based Infectious Disease Research Institute (IDRI) and Chembio Diagnostics, Inc. have entered into two research and development agreements for the development of rapid diagnostic tests for Leishmaniasis and Leprosy, two "neglected diseases" targeted by IDRI.

1 Jun 2007

Diagnosis of aspirin hypersensitivity

A position paper on the diagnosis of aspirin hypersensitivity by a team of European scientists from the Global Allergy and Asthma European Network (GA2LEN) has just been published on the Allergy Journal website.

1 Jun 2007

Drug use increasing among young American Indians

Researchers at the University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center have completed a study that compared the age of first-time drug users across the nation to the age of first-time drug users on and near two different American Indian reservations.

1 Jun 2007

Temsirolimus, effective new treatment for advanced renal cell carcinoma

The results of a phase III, randomized clinical study involving patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma and poor prognostic features show temsirolimus improved overall survival when compared to the current treatment for this stage of disease.

1 Jun 2007

Treatment for urea cycle disorders proves its worth 25 years later

The simple notion of copying the body's own natural "waste disposal" chemistry to mop up potentially toxic nitrogen has saved an estimated 80 percent of patients with urea cycle disorders --- most of them children, according to a report in the New England Journal of Medicine summarizing a quarter century of experience with the treatment.

1 Jun 2007

Major breakthrough for people with AIDS is on the horizon

Three new drugs are predicted to help transform the long-term prognosis for people with the AIDS virus, says an editorial in the journal, which points towards highly promising results from trials of three new drugs.

1 Jun 2007

Overdiagnosis of congenital long QT syndrome (LQTS)

Congenital long QT syndrome (LQTS) can be lethal if not diagnosed -- yet recent increased awareness of the disorder may lead to diagnosing patients when they don't have the syndrome and then prescribing treatments that restrict patients' lifestyles, a new Mayo Clinic study shows.

1 Jun 2007

Existence of muscle-building stem cells points to regenerative therapies for muscular disease

A new report in the June 1 issue of the journal Cell, a publication of Cell Press, confirms the existence of some apparently uncommitted stem cells amongst cells responsible for generating the bulging biceps of body builders and the rippling abs of fitness buffs.

1 Jun 2007

Advances in epilepsy treatment

Epilepsy and seizures affect 2.5 million Americans, 181,000 new cases of epilepsy are diagnosed every year, and the disorder incurs an estimated $12.5 billion in annual direct and indirect costs.

1 Jun 2007

Trans-Atlantic air traveler in quarantine with dangerous TB

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the United States have placed a trans-Atlantic air traveler under quarantine because he has a rare and dangerous form of tuberculosis.

31 May 2007

Stop TB Partnership aims to treat 50 million patients between 2006 and 2015

Securing its place as an indispensable defence against the development and spread of drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB), the Stop TB Partnership announced that its drug supply arm, the Global Drug Facility, has provided anti-TB drug treatments for 10 million people to 78 countries in the past six years.

30 May 2007

Northwestern University researchers find drug reactions six years earlier than the FDA and drug companies

Northwestern University's Charles Bennett, M.D., is a super sleuth of potentially deadly prescription drug reactions.

30 May 2007

Pharmacists play critical role in reducing medication discrepancies

Involving pharmacists in obtaining and assessing a patient's medication history before elective surgery can significantly reduce medication discrepancies upon hospital admission.

30 May 2007

Office of Fair Trading's value-based pricing scheme is well-founded, but could increase overall NHS drug spend

A report by the Office of Fair Trading has recommended that pricing of drugs is based not on how much the drug costs to develop, but on the benefit that the drug can bring.

30 May 2007

Designer lipid-like peptides to play a key role in improving drug delivery systems

Scientists from Institute of Biophysics and Nanosystems Research (IBN), Austrian Academy of Sciences and of Centre for Biomedical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, USA report the study of Tuning Curvature and Stability of Monoolein Bilayers by Designer Lipid-Like Peptide Surfactants in the May 30th issue of the online, open-access journal PLoS ONE.

30 May 2007