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Symptoms of fibromyalgia related to dysfunction in parts of brain where pain is processed

Using single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), researchers in France were able to detect functional abnormalities in certain regions in the brains of patients diagnosed with fibromyalgia, reinforcing the idea that symptoms of the disorder are related to a dysfunction in those parts of the brain where pain is processed.

4 Nov 2008

Diagnosis of pelvic inflammatory disease predicts high risk and rate of further infection in teenagers

A study among Baltimore inner-city teenage girls treated for pelvic inflammatory disease shows they are highly vulnerable to subsequent sexually transmitted infections (STI) - sometimes within a few weeks or months of their treatment.

4 Nov 2008

Bladder conditions - raising awareness

November is Bladder Health Month, and there's no better time to raise awareness of the bladder conditions that affect millions of patients, who often suffer in silence with common, treatable symptoms.

4 Nov 2008

Are Canadian physicians passing the test?

Canada is not keeping pace with countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom in revalidating the competence of its physicians, writes Dr. Wendy Levinson, chair of the University of Toronto's department of medicine.

4 Nov 2008

Parasites that live inside cells use loophole to thwart immune system

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientists have discovered a mechanism by which intracellular pathogens can shut down one of the body's key chemical weapons against them: nitric oxide. The researchers found that the microbes block nitric oxide production by subverting the biochemical machinery used by immune cells called macrophages to produce the chemical.

3 Nov 2008

MedImmune starts phase 1/2a clinical trial for respiratory syncytial virus vaccine

MedImmune today announced that it has initiated a Phase 1/2a clinical trial of a live, attenuated intranasal vaccine in healthy children one month to 12 months of age to help prevent severe respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infections. RSV is the most common respiratory infection in infants and can cause disease in otherwise healthy infants and children.

3 Nov 2008

Diagnosis of pelvic inflammatory disease predicts high risk and high rate of further infection in teenagers

3 Nov 2008

More family doctors desperately needed in U.S.

The U.S. desperately needs to increase its numbers of family doctors to improve patients' care and reduce their costs, particularly for those most vulnerable in society.

3 Nov 2008

Minor shift in vaccine schedule has potential to reduce infant illness, death

A new study by researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine and Vanderbilt University suggests that protecting infants from a common, highly contagious and even deadly disease may be as easy as administering a routine vaccine two weeks earlier than it is typically given.

3 Nov 2008

Researchers develop DNA vaccine for West Nile virus

Researchers are developing a DNA-based vaccine against the dreaded West Nile virus (WNV), which can be transmitted from animals to humans. The unique feature of this vaccine is that it is also effective after onset of the disease, for it has therapeutic properties.

3 Nov 2008

Flu shot protects kids - even with a suboptimal vaccine match

Children who receive all recommended flu vaccine doses are less likely to catch the respiratory virus that the CDC estimates hospitalizes 20,000 children under 5 years old every year.

3 Nov 2008

Experts say it is very important for all children to receive flu vaccinations

According to new research from the U.S., experts have found it is very important for all children to receive flu vaccinations for themselves and for the people around them.

3 Nov 2008

Lithium carbonate to be tested for motor neurone disease

Victims of motor neurone disease (MND) will find hope from British research which has found that lithium carbonate, a cheap off-patent drug, may offer a treatment for the disease.

3 Nov 2008

Insomnia linked to a neurochemical abnormality in the brain

Scientists at the American Academy of Sleep Medicine have linked insomnia to a neurochemical abnormality in the brain.

3 Nov 2008

Two pronged approach to melanomas shows promise

An international team of researchers have developed a new substance which uses a two pronged attack on malignant cells.

3 Nov 2008

New method provides panoramic view of protein-RNA interactions in living cells

DNA, it has turned out, isn't all it was cracked up to be. In recent years we learned that the molecule of life, the discovery of the 20th century, did not - could not - by itself explain the huge differences in complexity between a human and a worm.

2 Nov 2008

Double-barreled immune cell approach for neuroblastoma

Adding an artificial tumor-specific receptor to immune system cells called T-lymphocytes that target a particular virus extended and improved the cells' ability to fight a form of childhood cancer called neuroblastoma, said researchers form Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children's Hospital in a report that appears online in the journal Nature Medicine.

2 Nov 2008

Scientists develop genome-wide platform to study how specialized proteins regulate RNA in living, intact cells

DNA, it has turned out, isn't all it was cracked up to be. In recent years we learned that the molecule of life, the discovery of the 20th century, did not -- could not -- by itself explain the huge differences in complexity between a human and a worm.

2 Nov 2008

Current hospital tests for Clostridium difficile not accurate enough

Current hospital tests for the bacterium Clostridium difficile (C difficile) are not accurate enough and a new two-stage process should be introduced to avoid misdiagnosis and its consequences.

2 Nov 2008

Malaria falls significantly in the Gambia in last 5 years - raises possibility of elimination in other parts of Africa

The incidence of malaria has fallen significantly in The Gambia in the last 5 years, according to a study carried out by experts there with support from scientists based in London.

31 Oct 2008