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Access to rheumatoid arthritis drugs 'curbed' for sufferers in the UK

Sufferers of rheumatoid arthritis in Britain have been warned that their access to a particularly effective class of drug will in future be limited.

20 Jul 2008

Class action over lead in lipstick

Class action against a top manufacturer of women's perfumes and makeup has been given the green light to proceed in the United States.

20 Jul 2008

Reduced dose anthracycline post-breast cancer surgery has no effect on outcome

Canadian researchers have discovered that there is a low risk of adverse effect from reducing post-op chemo by up to 25%, according to findings published in the online journal ecancermedicalscience.

20 Jul 2008

Oxytocin may inhibit social phobia

Swedish and British scientists have shown using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) that the hormone oxytocin can inhibit feelings of anxiety in specific individuals. Their discovery might lead to a better understanding and the improved treatment of psychiatric affections in which people feel distressed when meeting others, such as in cases of autism and social phobia.

20 Jul 2008

Fluoroquinolones can enhance gene-silencing tool

A way to turn off one gene at a time has earned acceptance in biology laboratories over the last decade. Doctors envision the technique, called RNA interference, as a tool to treat a variety of diseases if it can be adapted to humans.

20 Jul 2008

Stem cell chicken and egg debate moves to unlikely arena: the testes

Logic says it has to be the niche. As air and water preceded life, so the niche, that hospitable environment that shelters adult stem cells in many tissues and provides factors necessary to keep them young and vital, must have emerged before its stem cell dependents.

20 Jul 2008

Alan Jones' surgery for prostate cancer a success

The veteran radio broadcaster Alan Jones has reportedly had successful surgery for prostate cancer.

20 Jul 2008

Outbreak of potentially deadly Hendra virus in Queensland still a cause for concern

An outbreak of Hendra virus at a Brisbane veterinary clinic has resulted in the deaths of two horses, one died from the virus, another was put down and a third horse has recovered.

20 Jul 2008

Sleep patterns and ischemic risk in postmenopausal women

Postmenopausal women who regularly sleep more than nine hours a night may have an increased risk of ischemic stroke, researchers reported in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association.

19 Jul 2008

Study looks at UK's controversial choice of HPV vaccine

The UK government may save up to £18.6 million a year by deciding to use the HPV vaccine Cervarix, given that it is equally effective as the more expensive Gardasil in preventing cervical abnormalities, according to a study published on BMJ.com.

19 Jul 2008

Obsessive compulsive disorder linked to activity in lateral orbitofrontal cortex

Cambridge researchers have discovered that measuring activity in a region of the brain could help to identify people at risk of developing obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD).

19 Jul 2008

A glimpse of ancient RNA

Some bacterial cells can swim, morph into new forms and even become dangerously virulent - all without initial involvement of DNA. Yale University researchers describe Friday in the journal Science how bacteria accomplish this amazing feat - and in doing so provide a glimpse of what the earliest forms of life on Earth may have looked like.

19 Jul 2008

Coffee and smoking notorious at Alcoholics Anonymous meetings

More than one million Americans currently participate in the Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) program. While AA participants are reportedly notorious for their coffee drinking and cigarette smoking, very little research has quantified their consumption of these two products. Recent findings confirm that coffee and cigarette use among this population is greater than among the general U.S. population: most AA members drink coffee and more than half smoke.

19 Jul 2008

Loud music leads to more drinking in less time

Commercial venues are very aware of the effects that the environment - in this case, music - can have on in-store traffic flow, sales volumes, product choices, and consumer time spent in the immediate vicinity. A study of the effects of music levels on drinking in a bar setting has found that loud music leads to more drinking in less time.

19 Jul 2008

Functional human blood vessels grown in mice using cells from adult human donors

For the first time, researchers have successfully grown functional human blood vessels in mice using cells from adult human donors - an important step in developing clinical strategies to grow tissue, researchers report in Circulation Research: Journal of the American Heart Association.

19 Jul 2008

Potentially new biomarkers for Alzheimer's

Every aging baby boomer listens for the footsteps of Alzheimer's, and for good reason: It's estimated that 10 million American boomers will develop the disease. The need to develop preventative strategies, ideally long before Alzheimer's destructive, clinical symptoms appear, is critical.

19 Jul 2008

Common stereotypes about obese workers dismissed in new study

New research led by a Michigan State University scholar refutes commonly held stereotypes that overweight workers are lazier, more emotionally unstable and harder to get along with than their "normal weight" colleagues.

19 Jul 2008

HIV-I damages the immune system early than originally thought

New research into the earliest events occurring immediately upon infection with HIV-I shows that the virus deals a stunning blow to the immune system earlier than was previously understood. According to scientists at Duke University Medical Center, this suggests the window of opportunity for successful intervention may be only a matter of days - not weeks - after transmission, as researchers had previously believed.

19 Jul 2008

Early exposure to tobacco smoke causes asthma and allergy

Babies exposed to cigarette smoke before birth or during the first months afterwards run a greater risk of developing asthma and allergy. This according to a doctoral thesis from the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet.

19 Jul 2008

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries to buy Barr Pharmaceuticals

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd and Barr Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today that they have signed a definitive agreement under which Teva will acquire Barr, the fourth largest generic drug company worldwide.

18 Jul 2008