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Serum fibrosis markers correlate with liver fibrosis stage in patients with advanced chronic hep C

A prospective study of patients with advanced chronic hepatitis C (CHC) revealed that a 3-variable model of serum fibrosis markers, including serum HA, TIMP-1 and platelet count, could identify cirrhosis with better accuracy than other published models.

4 Mar 2008

Guidelines for von Willebrand disease diagnosis and management

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health today issued the first clinical guidelines in the United States for the diagnosis and management of von Willebrand Disease (VWD), the most common inherited bleeding disorder.

4 Mar 2008

Tiny RNA molecule found to help create skin's protective barrier

Every minute, 30,000 of our outermost skin cells die so that we can live. When they do, new cells migrate from the inner layer of the skin to the surface of it, where they form a tough protective barrier.

4 Mar 2008

New lazy eye treatment shows promise

New evidence from a laboratory study and a pilot clinical trial confirms the promise of a simple treatment for amblyopia, or "lazy eye," according to researchers from the U.S. and China.

4 Mar 2008

New inexpensive test for malaria detection

ETH Zurich professor Peter Seeberger has been working on a sugar-based malaria vaccine for years.

4 Mar 2008

Device allows scientists to control gene activity across generations of cells

Just as cells inherit genes, they also inherit a set of instructions that tell genes when to become active, in which tissues and to what extent.

4 Mar 2008

Short RNA strand helps exposed skin cells protect body from bacteria, dehydration and even cancer

Every minute, 30,000 of our outermost skin cells die so that we can live.

3 Mar 2008

Novel mechanism found that may boost impaired function of leukemia protein

A new study led by researchers at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) reports on a novel mechanism that can enhance the function of a protein that is frequently impaired in patients with acute forms of leukemia.

3 Mar 2008

Mouse model tightly matches pediatric tumor syndrome, will speed drug hunt

Frustrated by the slow pace of new drug development for a condition that causes pediatric brain tumors, a neurologist at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis decided to try to fine-tune the animal models used to test new drugs.

3 Mar 2008

Treatment with methylphenidate helps adults with ADHD sleep

Treatment with methylphenidate (MPH) appears to have beneficial effects on sleep parameters in adults with ADHD, including increased sleep efficiency and a feeling of improved restorative value of sleep, according to a study published in the March 1 issue of the journal SLEEP.

3 Mar 2008

Indoor allergen exposure a great importance in relation to asthma

Results from a new national survey demonstrate that elevated allergen levels in the home are associated with asthma symptoms in allergic individuals.

3 Mar 2008

Adult stem cell changes underlie Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria syndrome associated with accelerated aging

Adult stem cells may provide an explanation for the cause of a Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome (HGPS), a rare disease that causes premature aging in children, according to researchers at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

3 Mar 2008

New super technology to detect food-borne pathogens, toxins

Researchers have developed a new technology that can simultaneously screen thousands of samples of food or water for several dangerous food-borne pathogens in one to two hours.

1 Mar 2008

Researchers measure field strength and density of ICF implosions

Scientists have identified for the first time two distinctly different types of electromagnetic configurations in inertial confinement fusion implosions that have substantial effects on implosion dynamics and diagnosis.

1 Mar 2008

Turmeric for psoriasis performs no better than placebo

Anecdotal evidence touting the healing power of the Indian spice turmeric for psoriasis received a setback in a prospective study published this month by a leading dermatology journal stating that the low response rate of patients who ingested the active ingredient of the exotic spice was probably a result of the placebo effect.

1 Mar 2008

New guidelines for von Willebrand disease

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health, has issued the first clinical guidelines in the United States for the diagnosis and management of von Willebrand Disease (VWD), the most common inherited bleeding disorder.

1 Mar 2008

Real-time imaging device may improve surgery for congenital colon disease

Researchers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center are developing a spectral imaging system that could result in shorter operating times for infants undergoing surgery for Hirschsprung's disease, according to a mouse study reported in the Journal of Biophotonics.

1 Mar 2008

Statistical modeling improves quality of laboratory data

Many areas of research and medicine rely critically upon knowing a person's individual immune system proteins, as they determine an individual's ability to fight disease or mistakenly attack their own tissues.

1 Mar 2008

Virtual peers being used to help kids with autism

Using "virtual peers" - animated life-sized children that simulate the behaviors and conversation of typically developing children - Northwestern University researchers are developing interventions designed to prepare children with autism for interactions with real-life children.

1 Mar 2008

Abilify (aripiprazole) approved for acute treatment of bipolar I disorder in adolescents

Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. and Bristol-Myers Squibb Company has announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the supplemental New Drug Application for ABILIFY (aripiprazole) for the acute treatment of manic and mixed episodes associated with Bipolar I Disorder, with or without psychotic features in pediatric patients (10 to 17 years old).

1 Mar 2008