Toxins News and Research

RSS

Integrative Medicine helps people heal faster

The body has an innate desire to heal itself. Encouraging self-healing is the focus of Greenwich Hospital's Integrative Medicine Program.

19 Oct 2012

Botulinum treatment benefits in BPH maybe down to placebo effect

Treatment with botulinum toxin has proved no more effective than placebo at reducing symptoms in men with lower urinary tract symptoms due to benign prostate hyperplasia, show study findings.

17 Oct 2012

Northwestern scientists to request EPA to update guidelines for reproductive health research

A team of Northwestern University scientists will meet with Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrators in Washington D.C. Oct. 18 to advocate for important changes in the agency's guidelines for reproductive health research.

17 Oct 2012

Multi-system exposure related illness (MERI)

The Global Health Network has released a new paper titled “Common Toxins in our Homes, Schools and Workplaces.” According to an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) spokesman, indoor air pollution causes 50% of illnesses globally. This statistic should catch the attention of every physician, every lawmaker and every layperson reading this paper. That’s more than all the cancers and all the heart disease combined. It is time we started to pay more attention to the indoor air we breathe. It is staggering to comprehend the enormous impact on our global society as literally millions of individuals and families are harmed by contaminants inside our homes, schools and workplaces.

16 Oct 2012

LRRK2 inhibitors may provide neuroprotection for patients with Parkinson's

For decades, patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) have had the same experience. Their hands start to shake uncontrollably, their limbs become rigid and they lose their balance. Years before those movement problems set in, many begin struggling with fainting, incontinence, sexual dysfunction, anxiety and depression. Many patients are still treated with a 42-year-old drug called L-DOPA, which temporarily staves off symptoms but can itself cause heart arrhythmias, stomach bleeding and hallucinations.

16 Oct 2012

Simple quiz could help doctors determine kidney dialysis patients at risk of death

A simple six-question quiz, typically used to assess disabilities in the elderly, could help doctors determine which kidney dialysis patients of any age are at the greatest risk of death, new Johns Hopkins research suggests.

12 Oct 2012

Chronic kidney disease changes the composition of intestinal bacterial microbes

Chronic kidney disease changes the composition of intestinal bacterial microbes that normally play a crucial role in staving off disease-causing pathogens and maintaining micronutrient balance, according to UC Irvine researchers.

10 Oct 2012

Scientists discover how protein deficiency may be linked to frontotemporal dementia

Using animal models, scientists at the Gladstone Institutes have discovered how a protein deficiency may be linked to frontotemporal dementia (FTD)-a form of early-onset dementia that is similar to Alzheimer's disease. These results lay the foundation for therapies that one day may benefit those who suffer from this and related diseases that wreak havoc on the brain.

9 Oct 2012

New mathematical formulas can evaluate kidney function with age

Within the framework of a Berlin cohort study, scientists from Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin have succeeded in developing new mathematical formulas that dependently assess kidney function with age.

4 Oct 2012

New understanding about function of MYC proteins

Scientists may have discovered why a protein called MYC can provoke a variety of cancers. Like many proteins associated with cancer, MYC helps regulate cell growth. A study carried out by researchers at the National Institutes of Health and colleagues found that, unlike many other cell growth regulators, MYC does not turn genes on or off, but instead boosts the expression of genes that are already turned on.

28 Sep 2012

Bruker introduces Toxtyper clinical mass spectrometry solution

At the annual conference of the DGKL, Bruker today announced the European launch of the novel, automated Toxtyper clinical mass spectrometry solution to meet the increasing demands for LC-MS/MS throughput and data quality in routine toxicology laboratories without the need for mass spectrometry expertise.

26 Sep 2012

Researchers identify mechanism that appears to underlie non-familial form of Parkinson's

Researchers in the Taub Institute at Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) have identified a mechanism that appears to underlie the common sporadic (non-familial) form of Parkinson's disease, the progressive movement disorder.

26 Sep 2012

New KSU molecule may deliver drugs inside the body to treat diseases

Kansas State University researchers have discovered a molecule that may be capable of delivering drugs inside the body to treat diseases.

25 Sep 2012

Study on epigenetics link of PTSD and respiratory disease in 9/11 responders

The "Epigenetics Link of PTSD and Respiratory Disease in 9/11 Responders" study is the first to investigate the association between genetic changes and the development of both conditions in the 9/11 responder patient population. Approximately 500 patients treated at the LI-CCE for both conditions will be evaluated during the two-year study.

24 Sep 2012

Case Western Reserve researcher discovers new antivirulence drugs against MRSA and strep

Menachem Shoham, PhD, associate professor of biochemistry at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, has discovered novel antivirulence drugs that, without killing the bacteria, render Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) and Streptococcus pyogenes, commonly referred to as strep, harmless by preventing the production of toxins that cause disease.

13 Sep 2012

New research offers ways in which investigators can reduce amount of Cd in foods

A number of environmental toxins pose considerable health threats to humans, and the heavy metal cadmium (Cd) ranks high on the list. Most of us are exposed to it through plant-derived foods such as grains and vegetables. Now, new research offers ways in which investigators can reduce the amount of Cd found in the food we eat, according to a review published online September 12th in the Cell Press journal Trends in Plant Science.

13 Sep 2012

Nano ‘velcro’ strip effective detector of water-borne contaminants

Researchers have developed a specialized glass strip covered in “hairy” nanoparticles that can detect pollution of water by toxic metals, such as mercury.

12 Sep 2012

New method can measure methyl mercury at unprecedentedly small concentrations

A strip of glass covered in hairy nanoparticles can cheaply and conveniently measure mercury, which attacks the nervous system, and other toxic metals in fluids.

11 Sep 2012

Longer looks: Insurers balk at price of new asthma relief; Despite health law, costs still overwhelming for some patients

For two decades, Patricia DiGiusto struggled with severe asthma. Powerful medications and frequent use of her inhaler could not prevent repeated trips to the emergency room. ... Two years ago, Ms. DiGiusto's doctor told her about a new procedure called bronchial thermoplasty, the first non-drug therapy approved by the Food and Drug Administration for patients with severe asthma.

7 Sep 2012

Cholera toxin binds differently to intestinal cells than previously thought

The likelihood of becoming seriously ill from cholera depends on your blood group. It is possible to find a new remedy for the feared illness by studying the molecular structure in the toxin in the cholera bacteria.

28 Aug 2012