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Handheld device provides on-the-spot DNA analysis to test tolerance to prescription drugs

A handheld device to predict whether patients will respond adversely to medication is one step closer to the market, thanks to a new partnership.

18 Feb 2009

One-quarter of California adolescent girls has had HPV vaccine

Less than two years after the HPV vaccine was approved as a routine vaccination for girls aged 11 and older, one-quarter of California adolescent girls have started the series of shots that protect against human papillomavirus, which is strongly linked to cervical cancer.

18 Feb 2009

NASA scientists predict outbreak of deadly Rift Valley fever

An early warning system, more than a decade in development, successfully predicted the 2006-2007 outbreak of the deadly Rift Valley fever in northeast Africa, according to a new study led by NASA scientists.

18 Feb 2009

Medical prescription of heroin does not pose neighborhood risk

Providing heroin to drug addicts at medically supervised clinics does not pose risks to surrounding neighbourhoods, according to a new study by Serge Brochu, a researcher at the Université de Montréal School of Criminology.

18 Feb 2009

GlaxoSmithKline starts phase III trial of Syncria (albiglutide) type 2 diabetes medication

GlaxoSmithKline has announced initiation and dosing of the first patient of the Phase III clinical trial programme to evaluate the efficacy, safety and tolerability of the investigational GLP-1 (Glucagon-like peptide 1) agonist Syncria (albiglutide) in men and women with type 2 diabetes.

18 Feb 2009

Opportunities for the health system in a sick economy

With the interim report of the National Health and Hospitals Reform Commission published yesterday the time for implementing reform could hardly be better.

18 Feb 2009

Genetic ID of marker in lymph nodes may be linked to colorectal cancer recurrence risk

A preliminary report suggests that genetic testing may help identify a marker in lymph nodes that is associated with an increased risk of colorectal cancer recurrence among patients in whom conventional testing indicates that those lymph nodes show no evidence of cancer spread, according to a study in the February 18 issue of JAMA.

18 Feb 2009

GABAergic system shows promise as molecular target for liver cancer therapy

Although GABA and GABA receptors function as an inhibitory neurotransmitter in the mature CNS, abnormal levels of gene and protein expression of some GABA receptor subunits have been detected in many malignant tumors, such as ð subunit in pancreatic cancer.

18 Feb 2009

Forgotten and lost -- when proteins 'shut down' our brain

Which modules of the tau protein, in neurons of Alzheimer disease patients, may act in a destructive manner were investigated by researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry (Göttingen) and the Max Planck Unit for Structural Molecular Biology (Hamburg) with the help of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy ( PLoS Biology , February 17, 2009).

18 Feb 2009

Researchers cast doubt on role of free radicals in aging

For more than 40 years, the prevailing explanation of why we get old has been tied to what is called oxidative stress.

18 Feb 2009

FDA clears new immune response claim for CryoValve SG pulmonary human heart valve

CryoLife, Inc. has announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared a new claim for the CryoValve(R) SG pulmonary human heart valve.

18 Feb 2009

Experts predict 20 per cent drop in lung cancer rate

Cancer Reserach UK experts are predicting that lung cancer rates will drop by nearly a fifth over the next 20 years, according to new figures.

18 Feb 2009

Enzyme activates stress response and hypertrophy of the heart

An enzyme makes the mouse heart prone to chronic cardiac insufficiency – if it is suppressed, the heart remains strong despite increased stress.

18 Feb 2009

Differences in language-related brain activity affected by sex?

Men show greater activation than women in the brain regions connected to language, according to researchers from CNRS, Université de Montpellier I and Montpellier III.

18 Feb 2009

Cells with double vision

In comparison to many other living creatures, flies tend to be small and their brains, despite their complexity, are quite manageable.

18 Feb 2009

Do brain exercises prevent memory loss?

Participating in certain mental activities, like reading magazines or crafting in middle age or later in life, may delay or prevent memory loss, according to a study released today that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 61st Annual Meeting in Seattle, April 25 to May 2, 2009.

18 Feb 2009

Biochemical markers for non-invasive assessment of primary biliary cirrhosis

Needle liver biopsy has been used as the "gold standard" for the assessment of liver fibrosis and disease stage of PBC.

18 Feb 2009

Presence of a biomarker in regional lymph nodes predicts disease recurrence in colorectal cancer

Findings published in the Journal of the American Medical Association by researchers at Thomas Jefferson University show that the presence of a biomarker in regional lymph nodes is an independent predictor of disease recurrence in patients with colorectal cancer.

18 Feb 2009

Asthma drugs need to be maintained for continued benefit

Children whose asthma improved while taking steroid drugs for several years did not see those improvements continue after stopping the drugs, new results from a comprehensive childhood asthma study show.

18 Feb 2009

Anti-social behavior in girls predicts adolescent depression seven years later

Past behavior is generally considered to be a good predictor of future behavior, but new research indicates that may not be the case in the development of depression, particularly among adolescent girls.

18 Feb 2009