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New hope for Batten disease sufferers

Investigators at the University of Rochester Medical Center have uncovered a promising drug therapy that offers a ray of hope for children with Batten disease – a rare neurodegenerative disease that strikes seemingly healthy kids, progressively robs them of their abilities to see, reason and move, and ultimately kills them in their young twenties.

3 Jan 2008

New understanding of hydrogen peroxide's role in cell health

Hydrogen peroxide, the same mild acid that many people use to disinfectant their kitchens or treat cuts and abrasions, is also produced by the body to keep cells healthy.

3 Jan 2008

Protein's new role discovered in autoimmune disease

Investigators at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) have identified the previously unknown role of a chemical 'messenger' leading to autoimmune disorders like rheumatoid arthritis and lupus.

3 Jan 2008

Protein clue could stop cancer 'creep'

Cancer Research UK scientists have unlocked the secrets of proteins involved in tumour cells creeping away from the original tumour and spreading around the body. Their findings are published in Molecular Cell.

3 Jan 2008

Protein a possible key to allergy and asthma control

Activating a protein found on some immune cells seems to halt the cells' typical job of spewing out substances that launch allergic reactions, a study by Johns Hopkins researchers suggests.

3 Jan 2008

Avoiding overuse, misuse, and underuse of medications

Adverse drug events are more common in older adults because they are prescribed more drugs and are effected differently by these drugs than their younger counterparts.

3 Jan 2008

Bisphosphonates appear to reduce the risk of jaw degradation

Athanasios Zavras began receiving messages from distraught patients in 2005 after case reports linked oral osteoporosis meds to bone death in the jaw.

3 Jan 2008

Elderly patients at greater risk for developing cognitive problems after surgery

Patients over the age of 60 who have elective surgeries such as joint replacements, hysterectomies and other non-emergency, inpatient procedures, are at an increased risk for long-term cognitive problems, according to a new study led by Duke University Medical Center researchers.

3 Jan 2008

Obese people less likely to use seatbelts

Obese people are less likely to use their seatbelts than the rest of the population, adding to the public health risks associated with this rapidly growing problem.

3 Jan 2008

No excess cardiovascular risk from HRT for most patients

An American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE) analysis of several studies monitoring the impact of Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) shows young women in early menopause may not only have no increased cardiovascular risk from the therapy, but may indeed show benefit in the future.

3 Jan 2008

New polyphenol study could reduce the health risk of high-fat foods

Just as additives help gasoline burn cleaner, a research report published in the January 2008 print issue of The FASEB Journal shows that the food industry could take a similar approach toward reducing health risks associated with fatty foods.

3 Jan 2008

MRI techniques evolving towards better assessment of liver fibrosis

MRI imagery is emerging as a non-invasive way to determine the existence and extent of hepatic fibrosis.

3 Jan 2008

The benefits of 30 minutes of exercise

What's the key to looking and feeling better and enhancing your health Exercise.

3 Jan 2008

Live operators crucial factor for public health department disease-reporting hotlines

Public health departments that staff disease-reporting hotlines with live operators at all times are more likely to meet federal guidelines designed to help stop the spread of infectious diseases, according to a RAND Corporation study.

3 Jan 2008

Forgiveness may be good for your health

Forgiveness may be good for your health, according to the January issue of Mayo Clinic Women's HealthSource .

3 Jan 2008

Study to look at effect of high dose vitamin C on non-Hodgkin lymphoma patients

Scientists at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital and Jefferson's Kimmel Cancer Center have received approval for a first-of-its kind study on the effect high dose vitamin C has on non-Hodgkin lymphoma patients.

3 Jan 2008

Il-22 gene delivers the goods and decreases intestinal inflammation

There are two major types of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), Crohn disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC).

3 Jan 2008

If you're going to experience a period of helplessness, it's best to be alone

New research at the University of Haifa found that laboratory rats that were on their own when exposed to uncontrollable conditions, which create a feeling of helplessness, learned to avoid situations which create such feelings better than rats that were exposed to uncontrollable conditions in pairs.

3 Jan 2008

For hospital patients, defibrillation delays mean lower survival

An estimated 750,000 hospitalized patients experience cardiac arrest and undergo CPR annually, and less than 30 percent of those leave the hospital alive.

3 Jan 2008

FDA clears first rapid blood test for MRSA

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced it has cleared for marketing the first rapid blood test for the drug-resistant staph bacterium known as MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus), which can cause potentially deadly infections.

3 Jan 2008