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Lithium commonly used to treat bi-polar disorder increases lifespan in Nematode worms

Nematode worms treated with lithium show a 46 percent increase in lifespan, raising the tantalizing question of whether humans taking the mood affecting drug are also taking an anti-aging medication.

31 Oct 2007

Lessons learned from Marburg and Ebola outbreaks

Outbreaks of filovirus haemorrhagic fevers (FHFs) such as those caused by the Ebola and Marburg viruses can only be controlled if agencies have the support and trust of local communities, according to two papers just published in the online edition of the Journal of Infectious Diseases as part of a special supplement on filovirusues.

29 Oct 2007

Quality-of-life yardstick needed for children with serious urologic conditions

A small but revealing study from the Johns Hopkins Children's Center suggests that a widely used tool to measure physical, emotional and psychological functioning and well-being in children may fail to accurately gauge these quality-of-life indicators in the children with some of the most severe bladder conditions, such as spina bifida and bladder exstrophies.

28 Oct 2007

Shire announces data from a 12-month study of Daytrana for ADHD

Shire plc has announced that data from a 12-month study of DAYTRANATM (methylphenidate transdermal system), the Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) patch, demonstrated that DAYTRANA provided significant ADHD tolerability and symptom control improvement in children aged 6 to 12 years.

28 Oct 2007

Emerging cancer therapies and novel targets

What are the cancer drugs of tomorrow and how will they be developed? At the AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics, researchers will present some answers to these and other pressing questions regarding emerging cancer therapeutics.

25 Oct 2007

Blood markers can help choose best dose for antiangiogenic drugs

Scientists at Sunnybrook have new information that may help to improve the use of anti-cancer drugs designed to block the growth of new blood vessels in tumors, a process called angiogenesis that is critical to tumor growth.

25 Oct 2007

Research sheds new light on how diseases jump across species

Researchers at the University of Leeds have made a breakthrough in understanding a virus which poses one of the greatest global disease threats to wild carnivores including lions, African wild dogs and several types of seal.

25 Oct 2007

Lower frequency deep brain stimulation effective treatment for dystonia

A Mount Sinai Medical Center study has found that lower frequency deep brain stimulation in young patients with primary torsion dystonia is as effective as higher frequency stimulation, which has been commonly used.

25 Oct 2007

Infliximab scheduled treatment has proven to be an effective strategy in IBD patients

Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) are chronic-relapsing diseases, the clinical courses of which are characterized by periods of remission and periods of acute flare up, determining clinical symptoms which have a strong impact on the quality of life for patients.

25 Oct 2007

Positive results for novel anti-cancer drug ECO-4601

Researchers report positive results from a Phase I/II clinical trial of a novel anti-cancer drug which offers two modes of action.

24 Oct 2007

Nicotine reduces levodopa-induced dyskinesias

The Parkinson's Institute and Clinical Center today announced research showing that intermittent nicotine treatment reduces medication-induced dyskinesias by as much as 50 percent in models of Parkinson's disease.

24 Oct 2007

Genetics of alcoholism

While both environmental and genetic factors contribute to the risk of developing alcohol dependence, it is believed to be a largely heritable – 52 to 64 percent – disease.

24 Oct 2007

Safety of nebulized Formoterol in COPD

Data from two Phase III clinical trials were presented today in Chicago at CHEST 2007, the annual scientific assembly of the American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP), supporting the use of Perforomist (formoterol fumarate) Inhalation Solution as a safe and effective maintenance treatment for COPD patients.

24 Oct 2007

Physical therapy in ICU can reduce hospital stays

The results of the first study to show the effectiveness of early physical therapy in a medical intensive care unit (ICU) were presented by a researcher from Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center at the national meeting of the American College of Chest Physicians in Chicago.

24 Oct 2007

Review of percutaneous valve therapy

Researchers at TCT 2007, the annual scientific symposium of the Cardiovascular Research Foundation (CRF), will present new studies evaluating a rapidly advancing field within interventional cardiology: percutaneous procedures to repair and replace defective heart valves.

24 Oct 2007

One out of three patients with asthma or COPD use inhalers incorrectly

One out of three patients with asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) use their inhalers incorrectly, a new study shows.

23 Oct 2007

Anti-tuberculosis program in South Africa may have inadvertently helped create new strain of XDR TB

In a new study published in the December 1 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases, currently available online, researchers tracked the developing drug resistance of one particular strain of Mycobacterium tuberculosis over 12 years.

22 Oct 2007

Hispanics and African Americans are less likely to use commercial weight loss programs

A new analysis of a landmark weight loss survey suggests that Hispanics and African Americans are more likely than whites to use unproven dietary supplements for weight loss.

22 Oct 2007

The biomedical and sociological effects of sleep restriction

In spring 2005 a large European research and training network was established to investigate the causes and implications of poor sleep from a medical as well as from a social point of view. This EU-financed sleep research project, “The biomedical and sociological effects of sleep restriction”, is coordinated by Dr. Tarja Porkka-Heiskanen (Stenberg) MD, PhD, at the University of Helsinki, Institute of Biomedicine.

22 Oct 2007

FDA approves approved Ixempra (ixabepilone) for advanced breast cancer

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Ixempra (ixabepilone), a new anti-cancer treatment, for use in patients with metastatic or locally advanced breast cancer who have not responded to certain other cancer drugs.

22 Oct 2007