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Celebrity chef extends support to prevent malnutrition in older people

Pioneering research from the University of Reading is being used to enhance the taste of hospital food to help prevent or treat malnutrition in older people.

7 May 2010

DNA sequence of amphibian genome sheds light on the study of embryonic development

A pair of University of Houston researchers contributed to the assembly of the first comprehensive DNA sequence of an amphibian genome, which will shed light on the study of embryonic development, with implications for preventing birth defects and more effectively treating many human diseases.

7 May 2010

Advances in genetic research could help develop personalized pain medications

In the not too distant future, it may be possible to discern an individual's genetic predisposition to chronic pain conditions and treat them proactively to prevent lifetime afflictions, according to research presented today at the American Pain Society's (www.ampainsoc.org) annual scientific meeting.

7 May 2010

New measurement technique can lead to better treatment strategies for malaria and sickle-cell disease

Thanks to an interdisciplinary team of researchers, scientists now have a more complete understanding of one of the human body's most vital structures: the red blood cell.

7 May 2010

HealthMap's H1N1 survey identifies disparities in international public health systems

As H1N1 began to emerge in April 2009, HealthMap - an automated online disease tracking and mapping tool created by researchers in the Informatics Program at Children's Hospital Boston - was already collecting information about the virus and plotting that information on a map of the globe, creating a freely available, real-time, digestible display of the outbreak.

7 May 2010

New study may help design better vaccines for dengue fever

Some of the human immune system's defences against the virus that causes dengue fever actually help the virus to infect more cells, according to new research published today in the journal Science.

7 May 2010

54% of liver cirrhosis patients experience neurocognitive impairments

More than half of patients who have cirrhosis of the liver also display neurocognitive impairments such as short term memory loss, a study led by a Loyola University Health System researcher has found.

7 May 2010

Children living near highway and railroad intersections more likely to develop asthma

Mayo Clinic researchers recently released study data showing children who lived near major highway or railroad intersections have higher diagnoses of asthma.

7 May 2010

DXA testing can prevent osteoporosis in at-risk women

Geisinger has exceeded the national benchmark for testing women who are at risk for developing osteoporosis - a silent and serious disease.

7 May 2010

The emerging science of epigenetics

Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) possess remarkable properties of self-renewal and pluripotency, the ability to become almost any kind of cell within the body. And yet they share the same genome or set of genes with lineage-committed cells, cells fated to be or do one thing.

7 May 2010

NHLBI grants MU $8.47 million for research on cardiovascular diseases

One of the largest medical research grants ever awarded to the University of Missouri was announced today by MU scientists and administrators. The National Institutes of Health grant will help answer important questions about such prevalent health problems as high blood pressure, diabetes and stroke. The conditions are closely associated with cardiovascular disease, which is the leading cause of death in Missouri and the nation.

7 May 2010

Researchers study effects of dark chocolates in reducing heart disease

Volunteers are to have chocolate delivered to their homes and be encouraged to eat 50g of it every day for eight weeks as part of a new research study.

7 May 2010

A checklist to stay healthy at every age

Shantanu Nundy, MD, a second-year resident in internal medicine at the University of Chicago Medical Center may soon find out. Driven by his mother's health questions and the difficulty of providing simple, reliable answers, Nundy collected all of the "generally accepted truths" about preventing disease, organized them into checklists based on age, and persuaded the Johns Hopkins University Press to publish them as Stay Healthy at Every Age: What Your Doctor Wants you to Know.

7 May 2010

Pfizer presents data on in vivo activity of PF-04523655 siRNA drug candidate at ARVO annual meeting

Quark Pharmaceuticals, Inc., the world leader in clinical development of RNAi-based therapeutics, announced today that researchers from Pfizer, Inc. presented data on in vivo activity of PF-04523655 at the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) annual meeting, being held May 2-6, 2010 in Fort Lauderdale.

7 May 2010

Swedish researchers present a new principle for inhibiting atherosclerosis

A new study by researchers at the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet shows that the immune defence's T cells can attack the "bad" LDL cholesterol and thereby cause an inflammation that leads to atherosclerosis.

7 May 2010

Mouse study may lead to new therapies for Parkinson's disease

Endometrial stem cells injected into the brains of mice with a laboratory-induced form of Parkinson's disease appeared to take over the functioning of brain cells eradicated by the disease.

7 May 2010

WHO publishes comprehensive report on H1N1

"A year after the H1N1 [swine] flu first appeared, the World Health Organization has issued perhaps the most comprehensive report on the pandemic's activity to date," HealthDay News/Bloomberg BusinessWeek reports (Gardner, 5/5).

7 May 2010

Vitamin A supplements shown not to reduce maternal mortality

A new trial undertaken in Ghana has shown that vitamin A supplements do not reduce maternal mortality-contradicting previous findings from a trial in Nepal which showed a 44% decrease.

6 May 2010

Keryx Biopharmaceuticals commences Phase 3 registration program for Zerenex

Keryx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today the initiation of its short-term Phase 3 study of Zerenex™ (ferric citrate), the Company's iron-based phosphate binder for the treatment of elevated serum phosphorous levels, or hyperphosphatemia, in patients with end-stage renal disease on dialysis.

6 May 2010