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New guidelines for tolerable daily intake of melamine

International experts have established a tolerable daily intake (TDI) for melamine, the chemical found recently in contaminated milk products. The TDI is the outcome of a meeting organized by WHO held this week in Ottawa, Canada. The TDI is lower than previous TDIs suggested for melamine by some national food safety authorities.

5 Dec 2008

Clinical study shows that drug improves endothelial function in sickle cell disease patients

Itamar Medical, an international medical technology company developing noninvasive diagnostic technology using the Peripheral Arterial Tone (PAT) Signal, announced today the use of the company's patented Endo-PAT2000 in BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc.'s phase 2 study of patients with Sickle Cell Disease (SCD). The Endo-PAT2000 was used to measure endothelial function in a study designed to evaluate whether the drug 6R-BH4 can improve endothelial function in SCD patients

5 Dec 2008

Sage tests high-tech solution for nursing shortage

One of the reasons for the shortage of nurses that continues to plague the heath care industry is too few clinical spaces where students can practice nursing care, but that's about to change with the increased use of high-tech mannequins that simulate real patient conditions including childbirth, trauma and many other real-world nursing situations.

5 Dec 2008

Zinc key to formation of hospital-acquired infections

Hospital-acquired infections that are resistant to traditional antibiotic treatment have become increasingly common in recent years, confounding health care professionals and killing thousands of Americans.

5 Dec 2008

Well-armed immune cells help long-term non-progressors contain HIV

To help develop an effective HIV vaccine, researchers are trying to better understand how the immune systems of a small minority of HIV-infected people known as long-term non-progressors (LTNPs) contain the virus naturally.

5 Dec 2008

Vitamin E supplementation may reduce inflammation in the brain

With up to half of a person's body mass consisting of skeletal muscle, chronic inflammation of those muscles - which include those found in the limbs - can result in significant physical impairment.

5 Dec 2008

To heal our ailing health care system, we need to stop thinking like Americans

That's the message of two articles by UCLA's Dr. Marc Nuwer, a leading expert on national health care reform, published this week in Neurology, the journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

5 Dec 2008

Treatment fails to improve common form of heart failure

A medication used for high blood pressure does not improve a common form of heart failure, according to new results from a large, international study.

5 Dec 2008

Cartilage transplants used to repair damaged shoulder joints

Rush University Medical Center is the only hospital in Illinois - and one of only a few nationwide - using cartilage transplants to repair damaged shoulder joints.

5 Dec 2008

Environmental tobacco smoke linked to behavioral problems in boys with asthma

Boys with asthma who are exposed to environmental tobacco smoke have higher degrees of hyperactivity, aggression, depression and other behavioral problems, according to researchers at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.

5 Dec 2008

Study finds medication fails to improve common form of heart failure

A medication used for high blood pressure does not improve a common form of heart failure, according to new results from a large, international study.

5 Dec 2008

New insights into development of the human immune system

A UCSF study has found that a surprisingly high number of maternal cells enters the fetus during pregnancy, prompting the generation of special immune cells in the fetus that suppress a response against the mother.

5 Dec 2008

Breakthrough in understanding the phenomenon of nucleolar dominance

Since the machinery involved in nucleolar dominance is some of the same machinery that can go haywire in diseases such as cancer, Pikaard and his collaborators' research may have important implications for applied medical research.

5 Dec 2008

Discovery of groundbreaking technique for body to accept gene therapy

Researchers at Columbia University Medical Center and the State University of New York at Stony Brook (SUNY) have developed a groundbreaking technique to sneak therapeutic genes past the body's defenses, possibly clearing one of the largest hurdles to realizing the potentials of medically altering a patient's DNA.

5 Dec 2008