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Tax on alcohol has a clear effect on drinking

With many local and national governments currently debating proposals to raise alcohol taxes, a timely new study published online in the February edition of Addiction journal finds that the more alcoholic beverages cost, the less likely people are to drink.

19 Jan 2009

Defects in critical DNA repair genes may predict pancreatic cancer risk

Abnormalities in genes that repair mistakes in DNA replication may help identify people who are at high risk of developing pancreatic cancer, a research team from The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center reports in the Jan. 15 issue of Clinical Cancer Research .

19 Jan 2009

New approach to treat advanced melanoma

Skin cancer patient Debra Gardocki receives an injection from oncologist Dr. Sanjiv Agarwala as part of a study exploring a new approach to treat advanced melanoma -- an often fatal form of cancer for which there are limited effective treatment options.

19 Jan 2009

FDA approves RiaSTAP for bleeding in patients with congenital fibrinogen deficiency

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has licensed RiaSTAP, an orphan drug for the treatment of bleeding in patients with a rare genetic defect known as congenital fibrinogen deficiency. Without treatment, these patients are at risk of potentially life-threatening bleeding.

18 Jan 2009

Nanotubes sniff out cancer agents in living cells

A multidisciplinary team at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has developed carbon nanotubes that can be used as sensors for cancer drugs and other DNA-damaging agents inside living cells. The sensors, made of carbon nanotubes wrapped in DNA, can detect chemotherapy drugs such as cisplatin as well as environmental toxins and free radicals that damage DNA.

18 Jan 2009

Artificial antibody delivers nanoparticles to tumors

Antibodies that target epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) have proven themselves as potent anticancer drugs. Now, a team of investigators led by Shuming Nie, Ph.D., and Lily Yang, Ph.D., both at the Emory University School of Medicine and members of the Emory-Georgia Tech Nanotechnology Center for Personalized and Predictive Oncology, is aiming to capitalize on this targeting ability, using a modified anti-EGFR antibody to delivery nanoparticles into tumor cells.

18 Jan 2009

Toxin-nanoparticle combo inhibits brain cancer invasion while imaging tumors

Working with a nanoparticle designed to target and image glioblastoma, a form of brain cancer, investigators at the University of Washington in Seattle have found that these same nanoparticles inhibit tumor cell invasion, one of the key events that leads to the metastatic spread of cancer. The investigators have also determined how the nanoparticles exert this potentially beneficial effect.

18 Jan 2009

Microfluidic devices capture and analyze single cancer cells

One of the grand goals in nanotechnology is to develop a single microfluidic device that integrates all of the components needed to perform polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based nucleic acid analyses. Experts predict that such a device would enable researchers to develop rapid assays for cancer and other life-threatening diseases while a patient is in the doctor's office.

18 Jan 2009

Biodegradable nanoprobe images new blood vessel growth

Angiogenesis, the growth of new blood vessels, plays a critical role in several chronic human diseases, including metastatic cancer. In fact, several new anticancer therapies are designed to starve tumors by shutting down angiogenesis, but the lack of a good assay for quantifying angiogenesis in the body has hampered the development of effective antiangiogenesis therapies.

18 Jan 2009

Polymer nanoparticle for oral anticancer drug delivery

One of the problems that cancer patients face is that many of the most potent anticancer therapies can be administered only by injection, which means that cancer patients must travel to receive their medication. But thanks to a new type of nanoparticle developed by researchers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, future cancer patients may be able to receive their medication in pill form.

18 Jan 2009

Healthcare Bill threatens to undermine NHS principles

Giving patients money to buy their own healthcare paves the way for top-up payments and undermines the founding principles of the NHS, UNISON has warned as the Government published its Healthcare Bill.

18 Jan 2009

Warning on too much TV for kids

A team of researchers from the New South Wales Centre for Overweight and Obesity has determined that children and young teenagers who spend more than two hours a day in front of computers or televisions are significantly less likely to be fit.

18 Jan 2009

Hormones make pretty women serial monogamists

American researchers say women with high levels of estrogen feel more attractive and are far more likely to indulge in affairs.

18 Jan 2009

Too much coffee can lead to hallucinations

According to a study by researchers at Durham University people with a higher caffeine intake, from coffee, tea and caffeinated energy drinks, are more likely to experience hallucinatory experiences such as hearing voices and seeing things that are not there.

18 Jan 2009

Fish oil helps premmie baby girls avoid learning disabilities

According to a study by Australian researchers premature babies who were given high doses of omega-3 fatty acid were less likely to have developmental delays - but this only applied to baby girls.

18 Jan 2009

Breakthrough in treating premature babies at risk of developmental disorders

A six-year study led by Dr Maria Makrides from the Women's and Children's Health Research Institute and Professor Bob Gibson from the University of Adelaide has demonstrated that high doses of fatty acids administered to pre-term infants via their mother's breast milk or infant formula can help their mental development.

15 Jan 2009

The retina reveals deadly secrets of malaria

Looking at the retina in the eyes of patients with cerebral malaria has provided scientists with a vital insight into why malaria infection in the brain is so deadly.

15 Jan 2009

FDA issues complete response letter for SAPHRIS (asenapine) sublingual tablets in acute treatment of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder

Schering-Plough Corporation has announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a complete response letter for SAPHRIS (asenapine) sublingual tablets in the acute treatment of schizophrenia in adults and in the acute treatment of manic or mixed episodes associated with bipolar I disorder in adults as monotherapy.

15 Jan 2009

Telephone support after traffic accidents reduces problems and improves quality of life

People who were injured in road accidents had fewer problems and a much higher quality of life if they received a simple follow-up call from a nurse three weeks after being discharged from hospital, according to research in the January issue of the Journal of Clinical Nursing.

15 Jan 2009