Medical News

RSS

Project to explore aspects of music for cochlear implant users

Researchers from the University of Southampton are investigating how to help deaf people, who have received a cochlear implant, to get more enjoyment from music.

24 Jun 2011

Genetics may fuel women's prejudice against male strangers during menstrual cycle

Women's bias against male strangers increases when women are fertile, suggesting prejudice may be partly fueled by genetics, according to a study by Michigan State University psychology researchers.

24 Jun 2011

Congo's cholera outbreak spreads to crowded capital city

Three cases of cholera have been confirmed in the Democratic Republic of Congo capital of Kinshasa, "home to at least 9 million people, many of whom live in cramped, unsanitary conditions," Reuters reports.

24 Jun 2011

InVasc commences INV-144 Phase IIa trial in chronic kidney disease

InVasc Therapeutics, Inc., announced today that it has initiated a Phase IIa, proof of concept (POC), clinical trial with INV-144, a combination drug of losartan with alpha Lipoic Acid (ALA), to slow the progression of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in hypertensive diabetic patients.

24 Jun 2011

Scientists develop new NO delivery system to fortify effects of Viagra in the body

Scientists are reporting development and successful initial tests of a potential new delivery system for the biological signaling agent responsible for the effects of Viagra.

24 Jun 2011

Hormone ghrelin mediates stress-induced food-reward behavior

Many people when stressed turn to high calorie "comfort foods". Despite the contribution this behavior makes to the current obesity epidemic, little is known about the molecules and nervous system circuits that control it. Insight into this could provide new targets for the development of therapeutics to curb this potentially detrimental behavior.

24 Jun 2011

Groups join forces to research new diarrheal therapies

The Center for World Health and Medicine, the University of Missouri-St. Louis Medicinal Chemistry Group, and the Institute for One World Health have joined forces "to develop safe and effective anti-diarrhea drugs …

24 Jun 2011

HDL in CAD patients different from HDL in healthy individuals

High levels of "good" cholesterol (HDL cholesterol) are associated with a decreased risk of coronary artery disease (CAD) - a disease of the major arterial blood vessels that is one of the major causes of heart attack and stroke. This suggests that therapeutics that increase HDL levels could be clinically useful.

24 Jun 2011

RIKEN researchers reveal mechanism for stress-induced epigenetic change

Researchers at RIKEN have uncovered a mechanism by which the effects of stress in the fly species Drosophila are inherited epigenetically over many generations through changes to the structure of chromatin, the material that makes up the cell nucleus.

24 Jun 2011

CHW interventions linked to increased rates of mammography screening

Education, referrals, support and other interventions by community health workers improve rates of screening mammography in the United States - especially in medical and urban settings and among women whose race and ethnicity is similar to that of the community health workers serving them.

24 Jun 2011

Tensions rise in bipartisan debt-ceiling negotiations

Both Democrats and Republicans appear to be increasingly entrenched on key issues, including changes to entitlement programs like Medicare. Meanwhile, the Congressional Budget Office issued a daunting report, warning that the national debt will exceed the size of the national economy by 2021.

24 Jun 2011

New strategy to prevent amputations

Blood vessels and supporting cells appear to be pivotal partners in repairing nerves ravaged by diabetic neuropathy, and nurturing their partnership with nerve cells might make the difference between success and failure in experimental efforts to regrow damaged nerves, Johns Hopkins researchers report in a new study.

24 Jun 2011

Scientists uncover new therapeutic target for Huntington's disease

UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have identified compounds that appear to inhibit a signaling pathway in Huntington's disease, a finding that may eventually lead to a potential drug therapy to help slow the progression of degenerative nerve disorders.

24 Jun 2011

Scientists assess phytoremediation potential in 86 plant species

Formaldehyde is a major contaminant of indoor air, originating from particle board, carpet, window coverings, paper products, tobacco smoke, and other sources. Indoor volatile organic compounds (VOCs) such as formaldehyde can contribute to allergies, asthma, headaches, and a condition known as ''sick building syndrome".

24 Jun 2011

Governments should consider social impacts of austerity measures, U.N. report says

In the wake of the 2008-09 financial crisis, many country's governments could be undermining economic recovery by implementing austerity measures such as cuts in spending on health, education and other social programs, which "threaten to turn back decades of social progress, block new job creation and derail efforts to eradicate poverty" in both developed and developing nations, according to a United Nations report published Wednesday, Reuters reports.

24 Jun 2011

Birth defects more prevalent in mountaintop coal mining areas

Birth defects are significantly more common in areas of mountaintop coal mining and are on the rise as the practice becomes more common, according to a study by researchers at Washington State University and West Virginia University.

24 Jun 2011

Study traces precursor of deadly esophageal cancers to leftover embryonic cells

The ultimate source of some cancers is embryonic cells. Research published in the June 24th Cell, a Cell Press publication, traces the precursor of deadly esophageal cancers to leftover embryonic cells found in all adults.

24 Jun 2011

Growth-braking tumor-suppressor gene slows growth of childhood brain tumors

Johns Hopkins researchers have found a likely explanation for the slow growth of the most common childhood brain tumor, pilocytic astrocytoma. Using tests on a new cell-based model of the tumor, they concluded that the initial process of tumor formation switches on a growth-braking tumor-suppressor gene, in a process similar to that seen in skin moles.

24 Jun 2011

GTRI develops novel iPhone application for patients with Parkinson's

Researchers at the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) have developed a novel iPhone application that may enable persons with Parkinson's disease and certain other neurological conditions to use the ubiquitous devices to collect data on hand and arm tremors and relay the results to medical personnel.

24 Jun 2011

Clinical trial management systems market to reach over $1.76B by 2017

It is expected that the clinical trial management systems (CTMS) market will achieve a value of $1.76 billion by 2017, according to a new report on companiesandmarkets.com.

24 Jun 2011