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Polyethylene laxative safe for patients suffering from chronic constipation

A clinical trial including 50 medical centers and 304 patients has confirmed that polyethylene (PEG) laxative is safe for patients suffering from chronic constipation.

23 Jun 2007

Experimental Alzheimer's drug begins clinical trials

A drug based on the design of a Purdue University researcher to treat Alzheimer's disease began the first phase of human clinical trials this week.

23 Jun 2007

Racial disparities in the U.S.

How much do white Americans think it “costs” to be black in our society, given the problems associated with racial bias and prejudice?

23 Jun 2007

Parents of chronically ill kids are helped by better access to federal and employer leave

Working parents are more able to care for their chronically ill children when given greater access to federal and employer-provided time off from their jobs, according to a RAND Corporation study.

23 Jun 2007

Omega-3 supplements can help reduce Alzheimer's symptoms in some cases

Omega-3 supplements can, in certain cases, help combat the depression and agitation symptoms associated with Alzheimer's disease, according to a clinical study conducted at the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet.

23 Jun 2007

Study to investigate how dietary iron is used by cells

A four-year study on iron metabolism within cells, an essential process that impacts both iron deficiency and iron toxicity, conditions responsible for a multitude of human diseases, is underway at the University at Buffalo funded by a $1.16 million grant from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK).

23 Jun 2007

Link between levels of urate in the blood and risk of Parkinson's disease

In a new, large-scale, prospective study exploring the link between levels of urate in the blood and risk of Parkinson's disease, researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) have found that high levels of urate are strongly associated with a reduced risk of the disease.

23 Jun 2007

DNA repair by Brca2 prevents medulloblastoma

St. Jude investigators have gained some of the first major insights into how certain genes known to prevent cancer also guide the nervous system's normal development before birth and during infancy by repairing DNA damage.

23 Jun 2007

Blind people tend to have excellent memories

Compared to people with normal vision, those who were blind at birth tend to have excellent memories.

23 Jun 2007

Arpida receives FDA approval to initiate Phase II trial with intravenous iclaprim

Arpida Ltd. has announced that it has received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration for a Phase II trial with intravenous iclaprim in the treatment of patients with hospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP), ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) or healthcare-associated pneumonia (HCAP) suspected or confirmed to be due to Gram-positive pathogens.

23 Jun 2007

Irish Smokefree law reduces smoking in the home

Around one in five Irish smokers are lighting up less at home since the introduction of the smoking ban in 2004, new research has revealed.

23 Jun 2007

Scientists show protein accelerates breast cancer progression in animal models

The study is being published in an advanced online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

23 Jun 2007

Strong work ethic and sense of place delays elderly heart patients from seeking care

A strong work ethic and sense of place appear to influence how elderly rural Albertans with congestive heart failure manage their illness, in that these values may delay them from seeking help at critical times, a University of Alberta study shows.

23 Jun 2007

Entecavir can compromise HIV treatment

Treating hepatitis B patients with the drug entecavir can cause those who are also infected with HIV to become resistant to two of the most important drugs in the anti-HIV arsenal, according to a new report in the New England Journal of Medicine.

23 Jun 2007

Drug warning prompts treatment changes for those infected with hepatitis B and HIV

Cross-resistance alarms raised earlier this year by Johns Hopkins researchers about a widely used antiviral therapy for hepatitis B liver infections have prompted swift treatment revisions by the drug's maker and governmental agencies.

23 Jun 2007

Smoking affects ligament healing

The list of reasons you shouldn't smoke has gotten longer. Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis are reporting that smoking interferes with ligament healing.

23 Jun 2007

Sea-squirt derived drug trabectedin shows promise as cancer treatment

The sea-squirt derived drug trabectedin (ecteinascidinin-743) shows anti-tumour activity in more than half of patients with a specific type of cancer, conclude authors of an article published early Online and in the July edition of The Lancet Oncology.

22 Jun 2007

Estrogen HRT can limit plaque accumulation in arteries

Estrogen can limit significantly the accumulation of plaque in the arteries of women in their 50s, according to a study published on Thursday in the New England Journal of Medicine, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports (Newson, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 6/20).

22 Jun 2007

Gay pride events offer opportunity to identify new HIV cases among MSM

Gay pride events provide opportunities outside of health care settings to identify new HIV cases among men who have sex with men, particularly among MSM in racial and ethnic minorities, according to a study published in the June 22 edition of CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, Reuters Health reports (Reuters Health, 6/21).

22 Jun 2007

Diabetes care accounts for one of every eight health care dollars in 2005

About one of every eight federal health care dollars in fiscal year 2005, or nearly $80 billion, was spent treating people with diabetes, according to a study released on Tuesday by the National Changing Diabetes Program and the Congressional Diabetes Caucus, CQ HealthBeat reports.

22 Jun 2007