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OPHN1 protein mediates mGluR-dependent longterm depression at synapses

Scientists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) have solved part of a puzzle concerning the relationship between changes in the strength of synapses - the tiny gaps across which nerve cells in the brain communicate - and dysfunctions in neural circuits that have been linked with drug addiction, mental retardation and other cognitive disorders.

20 Oct 2011

Kenya aims to reduce preventable deaths by 50% by December 2012

GlobalPost's "Global Pulse" blog examines how Kenya is working to decrease the number of preventable deaths under a "recently launched ... campaign called 'Let's Live,' which sets a target of reducing preventable deaths in Kenya by 50 percent by December 2012."

20 Oct 2011

Three factors appear to correlate with mortality for a patient after surgery

Duke University Medical Center researchers have verified data that suggest three medical factors appear to correlate with mortality for a patient who has been under anesthesia for an operation.

20 Oct 2011

USAID funding PATH projects to improve health in resource-poor settings

USAID this week announced investments in two new projects to be led by the Program for Appropriate Technology in Health (PATH), according to a USAID press release.

20 Oct 2011

Tenofovir gel shows promise against HSV infection

HIV infection is commonly associated with other sexual infections, such as herpes simplex virus (HSV). Infection with HSV facilitates the risk of HIV infection and negatively impacts the clinical course of HIV disease. Therefore, it would be highly beneficial to identify multi-faceted microbicide compounds that are efficient against HIV-1 and other sexually transmitted infections.

20 Oct 2011

JAMA study: Heart failure hospitalization rates fall

The rate of hospital admissions for elderly patients in the U.S. fell by nearly 30 percent in the past decade, based on an analysis of Medicare data. This finding, being published today, is viewed as progress against cardiovascular disease and the costs associated with this illness.

20 Oct 2011

Rituximab may alleviate chronic fatigue syndrome through B-lymphocyte depletion

Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) may be alleviated by the anti-cancer drug Rituximab, suggesting that the source of the disease could lie in the immune system, according to a new study published Oct. 19 in the online journal PLoS ONE.

20 Oct 2011

Commonwealth Fund: U.S. weak on health care quality, access, affordability

The report concluded that these weaknesses in the American health system are having a "profound effect" on the overall health of the nation's population.

20 Oct 2011

Estrogen regulates energy expenditure, appetite and body weight

A recent UT Southwestern Medical Center study found that estrogen regulates energy expenditure, appetite and body weight, while insufficient estrogen receptors in specific parts of the brain may lead to obesity.

20 Oct 2011

IRIN examines improvements in maternal, infant mortality indicators in Myanmar

IRIN examines maternal and child health in "conflict-afflicted eastern Myanmar, [where] until recently obstetric care was often crude, unsterile and dangerous for both mother and child, health experts say." To address high rates of maternal and infant mortality in the region, "in 2005 several CBOs, the Center for Public Health and Human Rights at Johns Hopkins University, and the Global Health Access Program launched the Mobile Obstetric Medics (MOM) project -- dramatically boosting access to care," IRIN writes.

20 Oct 2011

Future-Directed Therapy for patients with major depression

Patients with major depression do better by learning to create a more positive outlook about the future, rather than by focusing on negative thoughts about their past experiences, researchers at Cedars-Sinai say after developing a new treatment that helps patients do this.

20 Oct 2011

Scientists discover complex cell mechanism that becomes an obstacle for radiation effectiveness

Researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School and CIC bioGUNE discover a complex cell mechanism activated by a protein —HOXB9— that becomes an obstacle for radiation effectiveness.

20 Oct 2011

Bill, Melinda Gates speak at Malaria Forum, laud progress in fight against disease

"Eradicating malaria is not a vague, unrealistic aspiration but a tough, ambitious goal that can be reached within the next few decades," Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, said on Tuesday at the international Malaria Forum in Seattle, Reuters reports.

20 Oct 2011

Ipsen, Syntaxin collaborate to develop new botulinum toxins

Ipsen and Syntaxin, a biotechnology company specialising in innovative biopharmaceutical therapies targeting cell secretion pathways, announced today a global strategic collaboration to explore the discovery and development of new compounds in the field of botulinum toxins.

20 Oct 2011

New, more effective DBS paradigm may manage Parkinson's symptoms

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a devastating and incurable disease that causes abnormal poverty of movement, involuntary tremor, and lack of coordination. A technique called deep brain stimulation (DBS) is sometimes used to improve motor symptoms in patients with advanced disease. Now, a study published by Cell Press in the October 20 issue of the journal Neuron describes a new and more effective DBS paradigm that makes real-time adjustments in response to disease dynamics and progression and may be better for managing symptoms of advanced PD.

20 Oct 2011

Haiti has highest rate of cholera worldwide one year after disease outbreak began

Paul Farmer, a founder of Partners in Health (PIH) and U.N. deputy special envoy to Haiti, in an interview with the Associated Press/Washington Post "said cholera has sickened more than 450,000 people in a nation of 10 million, or nearly five percent of the population, and killed more than 6,000," giving the Caribbean nation "the highest rate of cholera in the world a mere year after the disease first arrived."

20 Oct 2011

Breakthrough in development of effective therapy against Hendra virus

A team of Federal and university scientists reports a breakthrough in the development of an effective therapy against a deadly virus, Hendra virus. The results of their study, "A Neutralizing Human Monoclonal Antibody Protects African Green Monkeys from Hendra Virus Challenge," will appear in Science Translational Medicine online.

20 Oct 2011

Link between neighborhood poverty and low-income women's health

Low-income women with children who move from high-poverty to lower-poverty neighborhoods experience notable long-term improvements in some aspects of their health, namely reductions in diabetes and extreme obesity, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Chicago and partner institutions.

20 Oct 2011

Lancet series revisits issue of global mental health four years after first examination

Four years after the Lancet "published a special series on global mental health, highlighting the gap in provision between rich countries and the rest of the world," the journal has published a new series, including an "editorial accompanying the series, welcoming the initiatives in global mental health in the past four years, but saying 'there is still a long way to go and many challenges to face,'" IRIN reports.

20 Oct 2011

Immdal sells its subsidiary Newport to Ewopharma

Immdal Limited ('Immdal'), a privately held Irish pharmaceutical healthcare group, today announced the sale of its subsidiary Newport Pharmaceuticals Limited ('Newport') to Swiss pharmaceutical company Ewopharma AG.

20 Oct 2011