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Better co-ordination crucial to help reduce maternal and child illness and death

The first of a series of articles looking at public health in complex emergencies (such as famine, population movement arising from civil conflicts and associated health problems) is published in this week’s issue of THE LANCET.

14 Nov 2004

Uncoupling proteins in the human heart

Results of a study in this week’s issue of THE LANCET suggest that respiratory uncoupling and reduced substrate availability might lead to energy deficiency in heart failure.

14 Nov 2004

Vaccine against human papillomavirus infection could reduce the global incidence of cervical cancer

A randomised trial in this week’s issue of THE LANCET shows how a vaccine against human papillomavirus (HPV) infection could potentially reduce the global incidence of cervical cancer.

14 Nov 2004

Heart bypass gets new source for replacement blood vessels

The search for a stable, renewable source of blood vessels, especially for potential use in heart bypass surgery, has reached a milestone at the State University of New York at Buffalo.

11 Nov 2004

HIV drugs known as protease inhibitors also protect against Malaria

Scientists from The Queensland Institute of Medical Research (QIMR) have found that a group of HIV drugs known as protease inhibitors may also be effective for treating or preventing malaria.

11 Nov 2004

Hospital admissions for diabetes on the rise

The number of hospital admissions for diabetes increased by almost 12 percent between 1999 and 2003, according to a new report released by the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council (PHC4) in conjunction with American Diabetes Month.

11 Nov 2004

Canada puts in place a national plan to ensure an adequate flu vaccine supply

Per capita, more Canadians receive the flu shot than residents of any other country. The flu vaccine is the best protection against the flu virus, so it is encouraging to see that even more Canadians are getting the flu shot this season than ever before.

11 Nov 2004

Ireland is reporting its first case of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease

The man in his early 20's was admitted to hospital as a suspected case 4 weeks ago. Recent tests on the patient's tonsils have detected the presence of the protein which causes vCJD.

11 Nov 2004

Effective research could prevent half of the world's deaths

Health systems research has the potential to produce dramatic improvements in health worldwide and to meet some of the major development challenges in the new millennium.

11 Nov 2004

Important advance in understanding the structure of phage viruses

An important advance in understanding the structure of phage viruses, which infect and destroy bacteria, has been made by a team of scientists from Oxford and Finland, which could help develop new strategies to combat bacterial infections.

11 Nov 2004

Enzyme that normally alters the activity of other protein molecules in cells may also help prevent cancer

The enzyme is known as PTPRO (for “protein tyrosine phosphatase receptor-type O”). When the gene responsible for producing PTPRO is silenced, as can happen in lung cancer, for example, the amount of the enzyme drops, allowing the cells to grow when they shouldn’t.

11 Nov 2004

Scientists and clinicians are pioneering the diagnosis and treatment of children's brain tumours

The University of Birmingham, England, is working with Birmingham Children's Hospital to use high-tech science to make a difference to children's lives.

11 Nov 2004

New insight into how our body cells block the development of cancer

Scientists at the Medical Research Council (MRC) Cancer Cell Unit, at the University of Cambridge, have revealed a new insight into how our body cells block the development of cancer.

11 Nov 2004

Sirolimus drug-coated stent causes less inflammation than bare metal stents

In the treatment of coronary artery disease, a sirolimus drug-coated stent causes less inflammation than bare metal stents, according to preliminary research presented at the American Heart Association annual meeting by Loyola University Health System, Maywood, Ill.

11 Nov 2004

Kids who outgrow peanut allergy need to eat peanut products at least once a month in order to maintain tolerance

Kids who outgrow peanut allergy have a slight chance of recurrence, but researchers from the Johns Hopkins Children's Center report that the risk is much lower in children who frequently eat peanuts or peanut products.

11 Nov 2004

All patients in study clear parasite that causes African sleeping sickness

Immtech International has announced that all 30 patients participating in the concluded Phase IIb extended dose regimen arm of its clinical trial of DB289 for treating African sleeping sickness cleared the parasite that causes African sleeping sickness within the treatment period, with no significant adverse results reported.

11 Nov 2004

Millions of people threatened by the diabetes time bomb

Millions of lives are threatened by the dual epidemics of diabetes and obesity that are bound to explode in this century, international diabetes and obesity organizations said today in the run up to World Diabetes Day.

11 Nov 2004

Research aims to understand how genetic information translates into biological activity

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has launched a new $6.25 million, five-year program to explore and address challenges in measurement, validation and quality control for the rapidly growing field of gene expression profiling.

11 Nov 2004

Washington to get 160,000 additional doses of influenza vaccine

About 160,000 additional doses of influenza vaccine will be sent to Washington over the next two months. That is our state’s share under a formula used by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to distribute the remaining vaccine around the nation.

11 Nov 2004

Shp2 protein plays a critical role in obesity

A team of researchers led by The Burnham Institute's Gen-Sheng Feng, Ph.D. has discovered that a protein called Shp2 plays a critical role in obesity.

11 Nov 2004