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Racial disparities in colorectal cancer screening persist

Colorectal cancer screening among patients with Medicare coverage is increasing, but a persistent gap remains between whites - who are screened most frequently - and all other racial and ethnic groups, according to a new study by researchers at UC Davis and the University of Washington.

20 Feb 2009

FDA approves humanitarian device exemption for deep brain stimulator

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a humanitarian device exemption for the first implantable device that delivers intermittent electrical therapy deep within the brain to suppress the symptoms associated with severe obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).

20 Feb 2009

FDA issues warning on psoriasis drug Raptiva (efalizumab)

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued a public health advisory concerning three confirmed, and one possible report of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML), a rare brain infection, in patients using the psoriasis drug Raptiva (efalizumab).

20 Feb 2009

Echoes discovered in early visual brain areas play role in working memory

Vanderbilt University researchers have discovered that early visual areas, long believed to play no role in higher cognitive functions such as memory, retain information previously hidden from brain studies.

20 Feb 2009

Optimizing dosage of blood-thinning drug warfarin

In a large-scale study and an upcoming clinical trial, scientists supported by the National Institutes of Health address one of the trickiest issues in prescribing medicine - how to quickly optimize each patient's dosage of the common blood-thinning drug warfarin.

20 Feb 2009

Collective religious rituals, not religious devotion, spur support for suicide attacks

In a new study in Psychological Science , a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, psychologists Jeremy Ginges and Ian Hansen from the New School for Social Research along with psychologist Ara Norenzayan from the University of British Columbia conducted a series of experiments investigating the relationship between religion and support for acts of parochial altruism, including suicide attacks.

20 Feb 2009

Childhood Varicella zoster could affect oral health years later

You may recall as a child catching the itchy red rash, chicken pox.

20 Feb 2009

Cancer Research UK launches first super cancer centre in Birmingham

Birmingham will become the first link in a unique chain of Cancer Research UK Centres to be launched round the country.

20 Feb 2009

Cancer death rates fall among African Americans - survival rates still low

While death rates from cancer continue to drop among African Americans, the group continues to be diagnosed at more advanced stages and have lower survival rates at each stage of diagnosis compared to whites for most cancer sites.

20 Feb 2009

Can breastfeeding reduce multiple sclerosis relapses?

Women who have multiple sclerosis may reduce their risk of relapses after pregnancy if they breastfeed their babies, 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.

20 Feb 2009

Blood pressure drug losartan may benefit brain tumor patients

A widely used blood pressure medication may be the key to preventing brain function loss common after radiation treatment, according to a newly published study by researchers at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center.

20 Feb 2009

Researchers study Actin - a globular protein

Actin, a globular protein found in all eukaryotic cells, is a workhorse that varies remarkably little from baker's yeast to the human body.

20 Feb 2009

Drug sodium phenylbutyrate could improve the memory of those with Alzheimer's disease

The results of the project, developed by researchers of the Center for Applied Medical Research (CIMA) of the University of Navarra have been published in the journal Neuropsychopharmacology.

20 Feb 2009

Mutations in two genes linked to most common brain cancers

Scientists at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center and Duke University Medical Center have linked mutations in two genes, IDH1 and IDH2, to nearly three-quarters of several of the most common types of brain cancers known as gliomas.

20 Feb 2009

Dreams affect people's judgment, behavior

While science tries to understand the stuff dreams are made of, humans, from cultures all over the world, continue to believe that dreams contain important hidden truths, according to newly published research.

18 Feb 2009

Tumor suppressor may weaken fibrotic disease

New research reveals a critical cellular signaling pathway that is responsible for generating excess connective tissue in multiple organs, similar to what is seen in human patients with scleroderma.

18 Feb 2009

Traces of blood are eliminated completely when washed with detergents containing active oxygen

A team of scientists from the University of Valencia (UV) has proven that traces of blood in various materials are eliminated completely when they are washed with detergents containing active oxygen.

18 Feb 2009

Nano-sized laboratory detects pollutants, disease and biological weapons

For centuries, animals have been our first line of defense against toxins.

18 Feb 2009

Taurine: Key to the visual toxicity of an anti-epileptic drug for children?

Vigabatrin (Sabril), first intention molecule for the treatment of epilepsy in children, in many cases produces secondary effects that lead to an irreversible loss of vision.

18 Feb 2009

MRSA infections in ICU patients have been decreasing in recent years

In contrast to the perception that methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bloodstream infections associated with use of a catheter is an increasing problem in intensive care unit (ICU) patients, the incidence of this type of infection decreased by nearly 50 percent from 1997 - 2007, according to a study in the February 18 issue of JAMA.

18 Feb 2009