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Coffee reduces risk of alcohol-induced pancreatitis

Pancreatitis is a condition in which the pancreas becomes inflamed, causing severe abdominal pain. It is often triggered by alcohol consumption which causes digestive enzymes to digest part of the pancreas.

15 Mar 2006

Researchers identify new form of superior memory syndrome

Researchers at UC Irvine have identified the first known case of a new memory syndrome -- a woman with the ability to perfectly and instantly recall details of her past.

15 Mar 2006

Salt substitution in rural China would cut hypertension rates

A salt substitute specially formulated to be flavourful and effective has significantly reduced blood pressure among high-risk residents of northern, rural China, where home-pickled foods are a dietary mainstay and hypertension is rampant.

15 Mar 2006

Profound alterations in the brain mechanisms that regulate motivated behavior with addiction

Rats that have a strong craving for cocaine have a different biochemical response to the drug than their less-addicted counterparts, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found.

15 Mar 2006

Researchers to investigate links between asthma and genes

Professor Bill Cookson and Dr Miriam Moffatt, formerly at the University of Oxford, have joined Imperial's National Heart and Lung Institute to further develop the genetic research there, particularly focusing on how genes influence the development of asthma.

14 Mar 2006

Researchers find viable new sources for stem cell transplants to the heart

Stem cell transplantation is among one of the most exciting and hotly debated areas of medical research today. While the promise of personalized medicine and effective treatments for debilitating diseases drive progress in this area, moral and ethical dilemmas about embryonic cells continues to cloud the field.

14 Mar 2006

Yale researchers identifiy a gene that protects the body against kidney stones

The research identifies a transporter, encoded by the gene, as a potential target for drugs to boost oxalate secretion in the gut and help prevent kidney stones, said Peter Aronson, M.D., professor of internal medicine and physiology and senior author of the research.

14 Mar 2006

Antiretroviral therapy (ART) drugs unlikely to stop HIV spread

Researchers believe antiretroviral therapy (ART) will not be effective in stopping HIV epidemics even if it is made universally available in poorer countries, and that widespread use could even lead to an increase in the numbers infected with HIV.

14 Mar 2006

Psychological wellbeing has biological consequences

An experimental investigation by Carol Ryff and associates (University of Wisconsin), published in the March issue of the journal of Psychotherapy & Psychosomatics, underscores the biological consequences of psychological well-being.

13 Mar 2006

Hormone C-type natriuretic peptide protects the heart muscle from thickening abnormally

When the heart is weakened, it tries to compensate for its impaired pumping function through an enlargement of the heart muscle cells. Physicians speak in this case of cardiac hypertrophy, abnormal enlargement of the heart.

13 Mar 2006

Evidence grows about low number getting medical help for bladder problems

As few as four per cent of US adults with overactive bladders (OAB) seek medical treatment, despite the condition affecting an estimated 34 million Americans over the age of 18, according to research in the March issue of the UK-based urology journal BJU International.

13 Mar 2006

Link between learning results and working memory

This three-year project has concentrated on basic research into the essence of memory and learning, and its results can be applied to such things as predicting learning difficulties or successes and understanding their related factors, which within working memory hinder or promote learning at an individual level.

13 Mar 2006

Low pressure and low oxygen factors in DVT and long flights

Researchers say that the risk of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) during flights may not be due simply to sitting still; they say the low pressure and low oxygen environment during air travel may also contribute to the development of deep vein thrombosis in some susceptible individuals.

13 Mar 2006

Australian researchers find key 'go-betweeen' in heart disease

Medical researchers at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) - Australia, have shed light on a little-known mechanism involved in the thickening of arteries, a process associated with heart disease.

13 Mar 2006

Researchers find a way to make plants produce more antigens needed for vaccines

Scientists have developed a new kind of molecule which they believe could ultimately lead to the development of a vaccine against HIV using genetically modified tobacco.

13 Mar 2006

Liverpool scientists discover how coffee can reduce the risk of alcohol-induced pancreatitis

13 Mar 2006

New method to increase the efficiency of contrast radiology

A new method to increase the efficiency of contrast radiology may open the way to earlier and more reliable diagnosis of, for example, breast cancer. With new integrated electronics and signal processing, the image quality can be improved sharply.

13 Mar 2006

Filter more effective than diuretics for heart failure

Researchers in the U.S. say that filtering the blood works better than diuretic drugs to remove excess fluid in patients admitted to hospital for heart failure.

13 Mar 2006

Emergency departments score poorly in child-saving drills

A mock-drill study conducted in a third of North Carolina's hospital emergency departments (EDs) revealed that nearly all failed to properly stabilize seriously injured children during trauma simulations, according to a team of researchers at the Johns Hopkins Children's Center and Duke University Medical Center.

13 Mar 2006

Researchers test system at Cleveland-area hospitals that address family decision-making

A growing population of chronically critically ill (CCI) patients use approximately half of all hospital intensive care unit (ICU) resources at a cost of an estimated $50 billion annually. In turn, health care providers pass those costs onto the consumer.

13 Mar 2006