Medical News

RSS

Childhood swimming lessons appropriate as part of a comprehensive drowning prevention strategy

Providing very young children with swimming lessons appears to have a protective effect against drowning and does not increase children's risk of drowning, reported researchers at the National Institutes of Health.

2 Mar 2009

Study predicts when invasive species can travel more readily by air

A new study forecasts when climate factors such as temperature, humidity and rainfall will match at geographically distant airline departure and destination points, which could help to shuffle invasive species, and the diseases they may carry, across the globe along existing flight routes.

2 Mar 2009

Influenza A's resistance to drug Tamiflu increasing

Influenza A viruses (H1N1 subtype) that are resistant to the drug oseltamivir circulated widely in the U.S. during the 2007-2008 influenza season, with an even higher prevalence of drug resistance during the current 2008-2009 influenza season, according to a study to be published in the March 11 issue of JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association.

2 Mar 2009

What role does the brain play in some women's lack of sexual desire?

More than 40 percent of women ages 18-59 experience sexual dysfunction, with lack of sexual interest - hypoactive sexual desire disorder, or HSDD - being the most commonly reported complaint, according to medical researchers.

2 Mar 2009

Instant immunity through chemically programmable vaccination and covalent self-assembly

The experiments, thus far performed only in mice, appear to overcome a major drawback of vaccinations - the lag time of days, or even weeks, that it normally takes for immunity to build against a pathogen.

2 Mar 2009

A new monkey model for HIV

By altering just one gene in HIV-1, scientists have succeeded in infecting pig-tailed macaque monkeys with a human version of the virus that has until now been impossible to study directly in animals.

2 Mar 2009

New treatment target for chronic abdominal pain

High levels of a protein linked to the way pain signals are sent to the brain led to a decrease in abdominal pain in a recent study in mice.

2 Mar 2009

Researchers discover gene variation linked to cocaine addiction and cocaine-induced paranoia

Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and Yale University School of Medicine and the University of Connecticut School of Medicine, have discovered that variants in the á-endomannosidase (MANEA) gene are associated with cocaine addiction and cocaine-induced paranoia in European American and African American populations.

2 Mar 2009

Protein complex shown to play pivotal role in stem cell development

Scientists at the Stanford University School of Medicine have identified a protein complex important in controlling whether embryonic stem cells retain their ability to become any cell in the body - a quality called pluripotency - or instead embark on a pathway of maturation and specialization.

2 Mar 2009

Prenatal molecular diagnosis for tuberous sclerosis complex

Geneticists from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have reported the world's first series of cases of prenatal diagnosis for women at risk of having a child with tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC).

2 Mar 2009

Alcohol-branded merchandise associated with drinking behaviors among teens

Between 11 percent and 20 percent of U.S. teens are estimated to own T-shirts or other merchandise featuring an alcohol brand, and those who do appear more likely to transition through the stages of drinking from susceptibility to beginning drinking to binge drinking, according to a report in the March issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.

2 Mar 2009

Noninvasive optical device monitors brain blood flow and metabolism in stroke victims

A University of Pennsylvania team has completed the first successful demonstration of a noninvasive optical device to monitor cerebral blood flow in patients with acute stroke, a leading cause of disability and death.

2 Mar 2009

New optical technology shows promise in detecting pancreatic cancer

Optical technology developed by a Northwestern University professor of biomedical engineering has been shown to be effective in detecting the presence of pancreatic cancer through analysis of neighboring tissue in the duodenum, according to clinical trial results published in the journal Disease Markers.

2 Mar 2009

One-third of Americans losing sleep over the state of the U.S. economy

One-third of Americans are losing sleep over the state of the U.S. economy and other personal financial concerns, according to a new poll released today by the National Sleep Foundation (NSF).

2 Mar 2009

New study finds increased prevalence of left-handedness in children with facial development disorder

A new study by physician researchers from Hasbro Children's Hospital and Children's Hospital Boston has identified an increased prevalence in left-handedness in children with a congenital disorder known as hemifacial microsomia (HFM).

2 Mar 2009

Newly discovered protein points to new treatment for serious lung disease

The discovery by Uppsala University researchers of a previously unknown protein in the cells of the lower air ways brings new potential for early diagnosis of a serious lung disease.

2 Mar 2009

Discovery of new potential therapeutic target for Barth Syndrome

Researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center may have discovered a new targeted intervention for Barth Syndrome (BTHS).

2 Mar 2009

New clues about mitochondrial 'growth spurts'

Mitochondria are restless, continually merging and splitting. But contrary to conventional wisdom, the size of these organelles depends on more than fusion and fission, as Berman et al. show. Mitochondrial growth and degradation are also part of the equation.

2 Mar 2009

New mechanistic explanation of how the brain interprets stress signals

Chronic stress takes a physical and emotional toll on our bodies and scientists are working on piecing together a medical puzzle to understand how we respond to stress at the cellular level in the brain.

2 Mar 2009