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High zinc status in lung cells slows growth and induces DNA

Researchers at the University of Maryland at College Park have discovered that Normal Human Bronchial Epithelial (NHBE) cells cultured in medium with elevated zinc level, at the high end of plasma zinc attainable by oral supplementation, demonstrated inhibition of cell growth, up-regulation of growth arrest and DNA damage-induced gene (Gadd45) mRNA and protein expression, and blockage of G2/M cell cycle progression.

26 Feb 2008

Experimental anti-HIV gel is safe for women to use on a daily basis

An experimental anti-HIV gel is safe for women to use on a daily basis, according to researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) and the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

26 Feb 2008

Questions over use of antibiotics in 'end of life' care

Antibiotics appear to be frequently prescribed to individuals with advanced dementia in nursing homes, especially in the two weeks before death, according to a report in the February 25 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

26 Feb 2008

Heart failure declining among the very elderly

Conventional wisdom holds that as the U.S. population ages, the incidence of heart failure will continue to rise.

26 Feb 2008

SSRI anti-depressants found to offer little clinical benefit

According to new research from Britain, new generation anti-depressants could be for many patients a waste of time and money and offer little clinical benefit.

26 Feb 2008

Patients who prefer to be highly involved don't always see better health outcomes

Patients who prefer to be highly involved in their treatment don't necessarily have better luck managing chronic health conditions, a new study suggests.

26 Feb 2008

Surgery for spinal stenosis yields greater benefits over nonsurgical treatments

A research study by orthopedic spine, back and neck surgeon at Rush University Medical Center Dr. Howard An and colleagues found that patients who underwent surgery for spinal stenosis showed significantly more improvement in all primary outcomes than did patients who were treated nonsurgically.

26 Feb 2008

Small protein discovered that specifically recognizes tumors responding to chemotherapy

A technique that specifically "tags" tumors responding to chemotherapy may offer a new strategy for determining a cancer treatment's effectiveness within days of starting treatment, according to a new study by Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center investigators.

26 Feb 2008

Notch protein plays a critical role in bone formation

Notch, a protein known to govern the determination of cell differentiation into different kinds of tissues in embryos, plays a critical role in bone formation and strength later in life, said researchers from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston in a report that appears online today in the journal Nature Medicine.

26 Feb 2008

Hair loss breakthrough

A healthy individual loses around a hundred hairs a day. Nothing to worry about as long as they are constantly replaced and the losses occur evenly around the whole scalp.

26 Feb 2008

Genetic mutation linked to peripheral artery disease

The finding, appearing online in the journal Circulation, is the first to document a genetic mutation linked to PAD. Although the work was done in mice, researchers say it is likely to give them new insight into how PAD develops and progresses in humans.

26 Feb 2008

Quality of care for inflammatory bowel disease patients can be improved

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic recurrent gastrointestinal disease.

26 Feb 2008

Team set up to perform 'radical surgery' on the Australian health system

A commission set up by the Federal government to tackle problems in Australia's health system is already being criticised.

25 Feb 2008

Worm defecation holds clues to widespread cell-to-cell communication process

The focus of two recent Nobel prizes, a species of roundworm has made possible another advance in the understanding of how cells talk to one another, according to a study published online Feb. 21 in the journal Current Biology.

22 Feb 2008

Vitamin E may increase tuberculosis risk in male smokers with high vitamin C intake

Six-year vitamin E supplementation increased tuberculosis risk by 72% in male smokers who had high dietary vitamin C intake, but vitamin E had no effect on those who had low dietary vitamin C intake, according to a study published in the British Journal of Nutrition.

22 Feb 2008

Researchers explore the antidepressant effects of ketamine

Drug treatments for depression can take many weeks for the beneficial effects to emerge.

22 Feb 2008

Involved patients not always the healthiest

Patients who say they want to take an active role in their health care could be unhealthier in some respects than patients who prefer to let their doctors lead the way, according to new research published in the Annals of Behavioral Medicine.

22 Feb 2008

Curcumin reduces heart enlargement and may prevent heart failure

Eating curcumin, a natural ingredient in the spice turmeric, may dramatically reduce the chance of developing heart failure, researchers at the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre of the Toronto General Hospital have discovered.

22 Feb 2008

Guidelines for evaluation of psychological side-effects of brain injury

In her PhD, defended at the University of the Basque Country, Maria Luisa de Francisco Maiz provided a clinical-forensic evaluation of brain injuries and also a study on the variables that influence the length of "legal time periods".

21 Feb 2008

New proof-of-principle findings that thymic involution can be reversed in humans

Scientists at the Gladstone Institute of Virology and Immunology (GIVI) and the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) have found that therapy can be used to stimulate the production of vital immune cells, called "T- cells," in adults with HIV infection.

21 Feb 2008