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Researchers discover new mechanism that regulates blood pressure

Analyzing all the genes of dozens of people suffering from a rare form of hypertension, Yale University researchers have discovered a new mechanism that regulates the blood pressure of all humans.

23 Jan 2012

Scientists use metabolomics to discover DMS linked with neuropathic pain

Millions of people worldwide suffer from a type of chronic pain called neuropathic pain, which is triggered by nerve damage. Precisely how this pain persists has been a mystery, and current treatments are largely ineffective. But a team led by scientists from The Scripps Research Institute, using a new approach known as metabolomics, has now discovered a major clue: dimethylsphingosine (DMS), a small-molecule byproduct of cellular membranes in the nervous system.

23 Jan 2012

Study describes new pharmacological resistance to colon cancer

Doctors and researchers of Hospital del Mar and its research institute, the IMIM, have lead a study describing a new pharmacological resistance to cancer. This new mechanism is a mutation in an oncogene called EGFR (epidermal growth factor receptor) causing resistance to treatment using a drug called cetuximab, a monoclonal antibody which specifically attacks the EGFR.

23 Jan 2012

Labor union to launch ad seeking to link Romney to Medicare fraud

Voters in South Carolina go to the polls today, but meanwhile, The Los Angeles Times reports that AFSCME has purchased airtime for an ad that raises questions about the Republican presidential contender's work as a member of the board of directors of a medical testing company that paid a fine to Medicare.

23 Jan 2012

Scientists discover finely tuned mechanism associated with CHD

Scientists at the Gladstone Institutes have identified a finely tuned mechanism by which fetal heart muscle develops into a healthy and fully formed beating heart-offering new insight into the genetic causes of congenital heart disease and opening the door to one day developing therapies to fight this chronic and potentially fatal disorder.

23 Jan 2012

Chronic inflammation combines with DNA methylation to promote development of colorectal cancer

Chronic inflammation combines with DNA methylation, a process that shuts down cancer-fighting genes, to promote development of colorectal cancer, scientists at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center report today in the advance online publication of the journal Nature Medicine.

23 Jan 2012

Planned NHS reforms face opposition

According to Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg the NHS reforms that have been chalked out must go ahead, despite fresh criticism from MPs. The Commons health select committee is expected to say that plans to scrap primary care trusts and other changes are hampering efforts to save billions.

23 Jan 2012

Elderly and ill patients connect to their doctors via broadband: Pilot Australian project

Now elderly patients and severely ill cancer patients will be able to see their specialist or GP with the click of a mouse, even if they are hundreds of kilometres away. This will be possible with a $20.6 million pilot program that starts this July. The program will use the national broadband network to deliver telehealth services to older Australians, cancer patients and those in palliative care.

23 Jan 2012

Multiple sclerosis drug Gilenya under investigation by FDA and EMA

The US Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) and European Medicines Agency (EMA) are looking at the pros and cons of using Gilenya (fingolimod) in treating the neurological autoimmune disease Multiple Sclerosis (MS).

23 Jan 2012

Birth control pill coverage for church-affiliated institutions sparks outrage

The Obama administration announced Friday that many church-affiliated institutions will have to cover free birth control for employees. This has sparked debate and invited criticism.

23 Jan 2012

Alexithymia associated with depression in de novo PD patients

Alexithymia has been found to be strongly associated with depression in both general and clinical populations. Alexithymic and depressive symptoms may be partially overlapping, but not all are correlated with depressive symptoms, thus underlining the relative independence of the two disorders. Parkinson's disease (PD) is a clinical condition often characterized by depression and an altered emotional processing. In medicated PD patients alexithymia has a prevalence of 21% and is related to depression.

23 Jan 2012

Researchers create first 3D structure of key cancer protein

Cancer Research UK scientists have created the first 3D structure of a key protein that protects against the development of cancer, according to research published in Nature Structural & Molecular Biology today.

22 Jan 2012

A*STAR, GE Global Research join forces in integrated advanced medical imaging technologies

GE Global Research, the central technology development arm for GE Healthcare and all of GE's businesses, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Singapore's Agency of Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR). This agreement will focus on advancing current medical imaging technologies and diagnostics to enable more accurate, earlier and faster clinical diagnoses of cancer and other diseases. The partnership between A*STAR and GE Global Research brings together two world-class research institutions, integrating their deep domain expertise in biomedical, science, and engineering capabilities to support this effort.

22 Jan 2012

Genes may predict maintenance of intelligence over lifetime: Study

A Scottish study that began 80 years ago has shown that genes may play a role in maintaining intelligence till old age. The study participants joined when they were 11 years old. Researchers have long been interested in understanding how cognition changes with age, and why these changes are more rapid in some people than in others. But, in the past, studies of age-related intelligence changes were often performed when the subjects were already elderly.

22 Jan 2012

Three-parent children may be born in near future in an effort to combat mitochondrial diseases

In the next couple of years the scientific community may witness creation of children with genetic material from three parents. British scientists want to start testing a new IVF technique to try to eradicate incurable genetic diseases such as muscular dystrophy. The concept took a leap forward yesterday after the Government announced a public consultation on whether the law should be changed to allow the technique.

22 Jan 2012

SSRI use raises risk of fall among elderly with dementia: Study

A new study reveals that nursing home residents with dementia who use selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) have an increased risk of having a fall that causes injury compared with those who do not use SSRIs. Additionally those using average doses have 3 times the risk compared with nonusers, the authors, led by Carolyn S. Sterke, from Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands, report. Authors write, “Even at low doses, SSRIs are associated with increased risk of an injurious fall in nursing home residents with dementia.”

22 Jan 2012

Artificial testes being developed to help infertile men produce sperm

Californian researchers are trying to create an artificial testicle that will produce human sperm. Dr. Paul Turek, director of the Turek Clinic in San Francisco, which specializes in male infertility, said the goal is not to create a testicular implant for men, but a “sperm-making biological machine” that will help scientists learn more about just what causes male infertility. “We’re trying to recreate the process of sperm production in a three-dimensional system,” Turek said. “Simple laboratory conditions can’t get it done in humans. Our concept is to actually recreate the testicle itself.”

22 Jan 2012

Sex declared safe for heart patients

A doctors’ group on Thursday suggested that sex may be safe for most heart patients. The American Heart Association added that having sex only slightly raises the chance for a heart attack. And that’s true for people with and without heart disease. Despite the higher risk for a heart patient to have a second attack, there’s no evidence that they have more sex-related heart attacks than people without cardiac disease. The updated advice was released online Thursday in the heart association journal, Circulation.

22 Jan 2012

Number of unsafe abortions soars worldwide: Report

A new worldwide analysis by the Guttmacher Institute and the World Health Organization shows that unsafe abortions are on the rise across the world. After a period of significant decline in the global abortion rate as a whole, researchers found that those numbers had begun to plateau. The report was published in the Lancet.

22 Jan 2012

President to push Congress to revisit ambitious effort to cut the deficit

And, House and Senate negotiators will hold a rare public meeting Tuesday about the payroll tax cut and the Medicare reimbursement rate for physicians.

21 Jan 2012