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Intensive insulin therapy reduces the risk of death in critically ill patients

For critically ill patients, intensive insulin therapy (IIT) to keep blood sugar (glucose) at normal levels reduces the risk of acute kidney injury, reports a study in the March Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.

4 Feb 2008

New liquid treatment for wide-neck brain aneurysm tested at Jefferson Hospital

Neurological surgeons at Jefferson Hospital for Neuroscience are among the first surgeons in the United States using an FDA-approved liquid system for treating wide-necked brain aneurysms, which could eventually replace current treatments.

4 Feb 2008

A possible H5N1 vaccine

A vaccine against the most common and deadliest strain of avian flu, H5N1, has been engineered and tested by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh's Center for Vaccine Research and Novavax Inc.

4 Feb 2008

Neurogenesis plays an important role in the acquisition and storage of spatial memory

Boosted by physical and mental exercise, neural stem cells continue to sprout new neurons throughout life, but the exact function of these newcomers has been the topic of much debate.

4 Feb 2008

microRNAs may help predict survival in liver cancer

Tiny molecules that help cells regulate which proteins they make might one day help doctors predict which liver-cancer patients are likely to live longer than others, new research suggests.

4 Feb 2008

New anti-HIV medication etravirine shows great promise

The AIDS Institute, a national public policy research, advocacy, and education organization, is encouraged with the FDA's approval of the first new non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI) in nearly a decade.

4 Feb 2008

Trabectome procedure for glaucoma

Glaucoma is a devastating disease that harms the eye without manifesting early signs or symptoms.

4 Feb 2008

Novel wound-healing peptide gel

First-String Research, Inc. (FSR), a spin-off biotechnology company from the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), has begun the human clinical trial process for its unique, wound-healing peptide gel.

4 Feb 2008

Enzyme released by mast cells in the lungs could be a new target for asthma

An enzyme released by mast cells in the lungs appears to play a key role in the tightening of airways that is a hallmark of asthma pointing to a potential new target for treatment against the illness.

4 Feb 2008

A loss in DNS repair function causes acute myeloid leukemia relapse

A University of Kentucky research team reports that loss of an important DNA repair function, called DNA mismatch repair (MMR), is responsible for refractory/relapsed Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML).

4 Feb 2008

Subconscious signals can trigger drug craving

Using a brain imaging technology called functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), scientists have discovered that cocaine-related images trigger the emotional centers of the brains of patients addicted to drugs even when the subjects are unaware they've seen anything.

4 Feb 2008

Porous structures help boost integration of host tissue with implants

Results published in FASEB (the journal of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology) by researchers at Columbia University, including Jeremy Mao of the Columbia College of Dental Medicine, demonstrate a novel way of using porous structures as a drug-delivery vehicle that can help boost the integration of host tissue with surgically implanted titanium.

4 Feb 2008

New target for flu prevention

Emerging subtypes of influenza A virus hold the potential to initiate a world-wide epidemic in the next few years, according to World Health Organization officials.

4 Feb 2008

Zinc may offer protection against cadmium exposure

Cadmium exposure is a known risk factor for prostate cancer, and a new University of Rochester study suggests that zinc may offer protection against cadmium.

4 Feb 2008

Researchers seek trial participants for experimental HIV vaccine called PENNVAX-B

University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine researchers are recruiting healthy, HIV-negative adults to participate in a phase I clinical trial of an experimental HIV vaccine called PENNVAX-B, a DNA-based vaccine which is made using synthetic DNA-based HIV genes.

4 Feb 2008

New understanding of ion channel regulation

A study at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago published this week in the online version of Biophysical Journal proposes that bubbles may control the opening and closing of ion channels.

4 Feb 2008

Best way to treat abdominal aortic aneurysms

Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) - a condition in which the large vessel that supplies blood to your abdomen, legs, and pelvis swells to over 50 percent its normal size -occurs in approximately 4 out of 100 adults.

4 Feb 2008

Advances in age-related macular degeneration treatment

A new study of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a disease that affects more than nine million Americans, will pave the way for the biopharmaceutical industry to develop better treatments and cures, according to the Foundation Fighting Blindness, which partially funded the research.

4 Feb 2008

Different approaches can help children overcome language problems

For children who struggle to learn language, the choice between various interventions may matter less than the intensity and format of the intervention, a new study sponsored by the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) suggests.

4 Feb 2008

Study looks at safe dosages of the isotope astatine-211 for brain tumors

In a study to determine safe dosages of the isotope astatine-211 for patients with recurring brain tumors, researchers were pleasantly surprised to find that not only was the isotope's potency sufficient to kill residual cancer cells without damaging sensitive healthy brain cells, but the patients experienced longer survival rates.

4 Feb 2008