Medical News

RSS

Study shows how malaria parasite changes into banana form before sexual reproduction

New research from the University of Melbourne shows how the malaria parasite (Plasmodium falciparum) changes into a banana shape before sexual reproduction, a finding that could provide targets for vaccine or drug development and may explain how the parasite evades the human immune system.

14 Feb 2012

Scientists identify and describe molecular mechanism behind holoprosencephaly

Researchers of the Max Delbr-ck Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch have now identified and described a molecular mechanism underlying the most common malformation of the brain in humans. In holoprosencephaly (HPE), the forebrain (prosencephalon) is only incompletely formed.

14 Feb 2012

American Physical Society commends President's 2013 budget

The American Physical Society (APS) commends President Obama's Fiscal Year 2013 budget, which prioritizes scientific research, spurs innovation and keeps the nation on a path toward economic prosperity.

14 Feb 2012

First large-scale investigation into diabetes risk among young people in South Asia

Scientists at King's College London and the National Diabetes Centre (Sri Lanka) have found evidence of a high number of risk factors for type 2 diabetes among the young urban population in Sri Lanka. The study is the first large-scale investigation into diabetes risk among children and young people in South Asia, and provides further evidence that the region is rapidly becoming a hotspot in the growing international diabetes epidemic.

14 Feb 2012

Cartilage graft can stimulate bone regeneration

A person has a tumor removed from her femur. A soldier is struck by an improvised explosive device and loses a portion of his tibia. A child undergoes chemotherapy for osteosarcoma but part of the bone dies as a result.

14 Feb 2012

Diffusion-weighted MRI may effectively indicate response to ovarian cancer treatment

Cancer Research UK-funded scientists have determined that a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technique, which measures the movement of water molecules within the tumour, may be the best way to monitor how women with late-stage ovarian cancer are responding to treatment. The study is published in the journal Radiology today.

14 Feb 2012

Nilvadipine phase III trial for Alzheimer's launches in Europe

A research team today announced the launch of a European large-scale clinical trial of Nilvadipine, an Alzheimer's disease drug developed at the Roskamp Institute in Sarasota.

14 Feb 2012

State roundup: Mass. small biz co-ops start, Miss. Medicaid changes, R.I. hospital overbilling Medicare

Thousands of small businesses will be offered discounts of at least 20 percent on health insurance rates under a new group purchasing cooperative, formed by the Retailers Association of Massachusetts, that will begin enrolling members this week. The co-op is the first permitted to do business under a 2010 Massachusetts law that allows small employers to band together in large groups and negotiate for better-priced health coverage.

14 Feb 2012

Canada organ donation rates plateau

A report released Monday by the Canadian Institute for Health Information reveals that public awareness campaigns and stories of grateful organ recipients have not done much to improve the number of organ donations in Canada. Donor rates have stagnated in the country since 2006 while thousands of Canadians continue to languish on wait lists for organs, the report adds.

14 Feb 2012

Brain tissue created from human skin cells

British scientists have successfully generated brain tissue from human skin. The team has for the first time generated a crucial type of brain cells in the laboratory by reprogramming skin cells. They say it could speed up the hunt for new treatments for conditions such as Alzheimer's disease, epilepsy and stroke.

14 Feb 2012

Babies could be understanding more than we think: Study

New research shows that although babies do not more than babble for the first six to nine months of life, they understand the meaning of many spoken words. The finding by American psychologists overturns conventional thinking that young infants can only process the sound patterns of their native language, such as vowels and consonants.

14 Feb 2012

Aspirin-like drugs help prevent spread of tumors in the body

Australian scientists have made a breakthrough which could help in the fight against cancer. The team from Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Melbourne has found a link between non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as aspirin, and the ability of tumours to spread in the body. They say that doctors have been aware of the benefits of NSAIDs for many years, but did not fully understand the biological processes involved.

14 Feb 2012

Postoperative radiotherapy does not really help elderly lung cancer patients

A controversial radiation treatment for patients who've had lung cancer surgery may not help elderly people live longer, U.S. researchers have found. Postoperative radiotherapy, or PORT, is thought to cut the chances that a tumor will return. But it can damage the heart and lungs, which might cancel out any potential benefits -- particularly in the elderly.

14 Feb 2012

Gene sequencing could identify genetic variants of lung cancer and colorectal cancer

Foundation Medicine Inc., a molecular information company that brings comprehensive cancer gene analysis to routine clinical care, and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have come up with the results from their collaborative next-generation sequencing (NGS) study to assay cancer-relevant genes in 24 non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and 40 colorectal cancer (CRC) cases.

14 Feb 2012

Juvenile arthritis affected kids are at a high risk of cancer: Study

A new study shows that kids with juvenile idiopathic arthritis develop cancer four times more often than children without the disease, but the treatments they receive - including biologic treatments like Enbrel - may not explain their increased risk. If confirmed, researchers say the findings should ease fears that biologic treatments known as TNF inhibitors cause cancer in children and young adults.

14 Feb 2012

What is the optimum amount of sleep for kids?

New research shows that children are getting less sleep than they need. According to an article published online Monday by the journal Pediatrics, 32 sets of sleep guidelines for kids – containing 360 distinct recommendations for children of specific ages – were published between 1897 and 2009. During that time, the amount of recommended sleep fell by an average of 0.71 minutes per year. That added up to about 70 fewer minutes of suggested nightly sleep over the course of the 20th century.

14 Feb 2012

Epigenetic mechanisms maintain tolerance in T cells specific for self antigens

At the most basic level, the immune system must distinguish self from non-self, that is, it must discriminate between the molecular signatures of invading pathogens (non-self antigens) and cellular constituents that usually pose no risk to health (self-antigens).

14 Feb 2012

Scientific conference on considerations for NBCD regulatory approval pathway

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is currently working toward implementing the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act (BPCI) of 2009, which establishes an abbreviated approval pathway for biological products that are demonstrated to be "highly similar" to or "interchangeable" with a drug regulated under the Public Health Service Act.

14 Feb 2012

National Library of Medicine acquires papers of sickle cell disease expert

The National Library of Medicine of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the world's largest medical library, announced recently the acquisition of the papers of Charles F. Whitten, M.D., distinguished professor of pediatrics and associate dean of medicine emeritus at Wayne State University. Whitten passed away in 2008.

14 Feb 2012

Gaming and technology may help control weight and promote health in children

Children are naturally drawn toward gaming and other types of technology, creating an ideal opportunity to design interactive media tools to encourage physical activity and promote healthy eating habits, according to an article in a special issue of the journal Childhood Obesity celebrating the second anniversary of First Lady Michelle Obama's Let's Move! initiative.

14 Feb 2012