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Researchers discover genes linked to increased gout risk

A team of researchers from the United States and the Netherlands has identified mutations in three genes that are associated with high levels of uric acid in the blood, which is a risk factor for gout.

5 Oct 2008

Cancer treatment by linear accelerator is a reality now in India

The first patient was successfully treated by the state-of-the-art technology in radiotherapy - linear accelerator, which began functioning last week at RR Cancer Institute and Research Centre, Sri Ram Murti Smarak Institute of Medical Sciences (SRMSIMS), Bareilly in India.

5 Oct 2008

Sea birds' DNA may hold keys to aging and cancer, Bucknell researcher says

Chances are, a mouse in the wild will live less than a year before stumbling upon a hungry falcon or feline.

5 Oct 2008

Advanced Life Sciences submits NDA for cethromycin in mild-to-moderate community acquired pneumonia

Advanced Life Sciences Holdings, Inc. has announced the submission of a new drug application (NDA) for cethromycin in mild-to-moderate community acquired pneumonia (CAP). Advanced Life Sciences also entered into debt and equity financing agreements to strengthen its balance sheet and help fund commitments associated with the NDA submission and pre-commercialization activities.

2 Oct 2008

Eli Lilly starts second global phase III trial of investigational Alzheimer's disease compound

Eli Lilly and Company today announced it will begin enrolling patients in a second Phase III study of LY450139, a gamma-secretase inhibitor being investigated as a potential treatment to delay the progression of mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease.

2 Oct 2008

Bayer's new oral anticoagulant Xarelto (Rivaroxaban) gets European licence

A new drug launched today could help in the fight against what experts and campaigners are calling a 'major patient safety issue' - the prevention of hospital-acquired DVT (deep vein thrombosis).

2 Oct 2008

Will patients stick to physical therapy? Questionnaire can help doctors predict

Patients' responses to a simple questionnaire can reliably predict whether they will adhere to physical therapy after spine surgery, Johns Hopkins researchers suggest in a new study. The findings could help physicians identify patients who might benefit from additional preoperative preparation to ensure they attend therapy sessions and follow through with prescribed exercise, a factor that can greatly affect their long-term recovery.

2 Oct 2008

Most young adults under 50 unlikely need colorectal screening

Young adults without a family history of bowel disease are unlikely to develop adenomas, the colorectal polyps most likely to lead to cancer, according to new research directed by scientists at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center. The finding supports current cancer screening guidelines recommending adults in general undergo screening colonoscopies starting at age 50.

2 Oct 2008

Research reveals strong link between music and cardiovascular exercise performance

Brunel University's School of Sport and Education today reveals that, according to Dr Costas Karageorghis's latest research, carefully selected music can significantly increase a person's physical endurance and make the experience of cardiovascular exercise far more positive.

2 Oct 2008

Research shows how cornea uses stem cells to repair itself

A group of researchers in Lausanne, Switzerland has published a study appearing in the Oct 1 advance online edition of the Journal Nature that shows how the cornea uses stem cells to repair itself.

2 Oct 2008

New advance in robotic prostate surgery

To ease the pain of recovery following prostate cancer surgery, physician-scientists have developed an innovative and patient-friendly approach that eliminates the use of a penile urinary catheter. The new patentable technique, used in conjunction with robotic prostatectomy -- the surgical removal of the prostate -- eliminates the pain and discomfort associated with the standard catheter.

2 Oct 2008

Mammograms read by computers will boost cancer detection and reduce doctors' workload

A computer can safely replace a medical expert in a revolutionary way of interpreting a breast X-ray - according to a Cancer Research UK funded study.

2 Oct 2008

Merck ditches taranabant for obesity

Merck & Co., Inc. will not seek regulatory approval for taranabant, an investigational medicine, to treat obesity and is discontinuing its Phase III clinical development program for taranabant for obesity.

2 Oct 2008

Exelixis files investigational new drug application for anticancer compound

Exelixis, Inc. announced today that it has submitted an investigational new drug (IND) application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for XL888, a novel anticancer compound. XL888 is an orally available small molecule inhibitor of HSP90, which is a chaperone protein that promotes the activity and stability of a range of key regulatory proteins, including kinases.

2 Oct 2008

Birth size a marker of susceptibility to breast cancer later in life

The findings from a study by a team based at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) are published in PLoS Medicine.

2 Oct 2008

7 million pregnant women in sub-Saharan Africa infected with hookworms

A study published by PLoS reveals that between a quarter and a third of pregnant women in sub-Saharan Africa, or almost 7 million, are infected with hookworms, putting them at risk of anaemia.

2 Oct 2008

DNA of good bacteria drives intestinal response to infection

A new study shows that the DNA of so-called "good bacteria" that normally live in the intestines may help defend the body against infection.

2 Oct 2008

Research suggests doctors should consider kidney-sparing surgery

A study of almost 1,500 kidney cancer patients treated at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center suggests that surgery to spare as much kidney tissue as possible may improve overall survival in patients who also have reduced kidney function at the time their cancer is diagnosed. The finding is significant because both kidney cancer and decreased kidney function appear to be increasing.

2 Oct 2008

Scientists identify a molecule that coordinates the movement of cells

Even cells commute. To get from their birthplace to their work site, they sequentially attach to and detach from an elaborate track of exceptionally strong proteins known as the extracellular matrix. Now, in research to appear in the October 3 issue of Cell, scientists at Rockefeller University show that a molecule, called ACF7, helps regulate and power this movement from the inside - findings that could have implications for understanding how cancer cells metastasize.

2 Oct 2008