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Northwestern University researchers find drug reactions six years earlier than the FDA and drug companies

Northwestern University's Charles Bennett, M.D., is a super sleuth of potentially deadly prescription drug reactions.

30 May 2007

Rapid syphilis testing prevents congenital disease and stillbirths

Congenital syphilis is a major preventable public health problem in many developing countries, frequently causing stillbirths or neonatal death and disabling children who survive.

30 May 2007

Pharmacists play critical role in reducing medication discrepancies

Involving pharmacists in obtaining and assessing a patient's medication history before elective surgery can significantly reduce medication discrepancies upon hospital admission.

30 May 2007

Personality test could help doctors detect dementia with Lewy bodies

The study found that even before diagnosis, people with dementia with Lewy bodies displayed passive personality changes, such as diminished emotional response, disinterest in hobbies, repetitive behaviors, and growing apathy, or lack of interest, more often than those with Alzheimer's.

30 May 2007

Office of Fair Trading's value-based pricing scheme is well-founded, but could increase overall NHS drug spend

A report by the Office of Fair Trading has recommended that pricing of drugs is based not on how much the drug costs to develop, but on the benefit that the drug can bring.

30 May 2007

WHO calls for indoor public places and workplaces 100% smoke-free

The World Health Organization (WHO) signalled the urgent need for countries to make all indoor public places and workplaces 100% smoke-free with the release of its new policy recommendations on protection from exposure to second-hand tobacco smoke in advance of World No Tobacco Day (31 May), which focuses this year on this theme.

30 May 2007

Nurse cells play important role in deciding which T cells live and which die

"Nurse cells" play an important role in deciding which developing infection-fighting cells, called T cells, live and which die, according to research funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and reported in the June issue of the journal Experimental Biology and Medicine.

30 May 2007

3-D plasma coating technique keeps veins and arteries open

Scientists at the University of Ulster are working on a new method of coating stents – the medical devices used to keep veins and arteries open – to prevent them blocking up.

30 May 2007

Study suggests potential for a broadly-protective HIV vaccine

New research conducted at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) suggests that it may be possible to develop a vaccine that protects against the myriad strains of the HIV virus.

30 May 2007

Scientists study glutamate system in the brains of living people

A newly started research collaboration between Karolinska Institutet and AstraZeneca has already generated results.

30 May 2007

Designer lipid-like peptides to play a key role in improving drug delivery systems

Scientists from Institute of Biophysics and Nanosystems Research (IBN), Austrian Academy of Sciences and of Centre for Biomedical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, USA report the study of Tuning Curvature and Stability of Monoolein Bilayers by Designer Lipid-Like Peptide Surfactants in the May 30th issue of the online, open-access journal PLoS ONE.

30 May 2007

New class of compounds shows promise for cancer treatment

A new class of compounds developed by two University of Kentucky researchers shows promise as a nontoxic treatment of some cancers previously treated with toxic chemotherapy, the researchers report.

30 May 2007

Simple tool to improve compliance with diabetes medications

Though diabetes contributes to nearly a quarter million deaths in the United States annually, patients with chronic ailments don't always take their medication as prescribed.

30 May 2007

Natural chemical with memory-enhancing effects

A natural compound found in blueberries, tea, grapes, and cocoa enhances memory in mice, according to newly published research.

30 May 2007

Interventions for Pediatricians only partially successful

Continuing medical education, newsletters and resource guides were only partially successful in changing the way that pediatricians handled behavioral health problems, according to a follow-up study at Wake Forest University School of Medicine.

30 May 2007

Baby's learning to walk affects his play skills

Your baby, who used to play so nicely, suddenly seems less attentive and appears to have difficulty concentrating.

30 May 2007

Vitamin D and calcium lower risk of premenopausal breast cancer

Women who consume higher amounts of calcium and vitamin D may have a lower risk of developing premenopausal breast cancer, according to a report in the May 28 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.

30 May 2007

Good news for women who choose mastectomy over lumpectomy

Radiation therapy after lumpectomy for early-stage breast cancer can be safely delivered in higher daily doses to greatly reduce treatment time.

30 May 2007

Investigational device to treat brain cancer shows promise in early studies

New early data showed that an investigational device that specifically targets rapidly growing cancer cells with intermediate frequency electrical fields -- called Tumor-Treating Fields (TTFields) -- more than doubled the median overall survival rates in patients with recurrent glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), the most common and aggressive type of malignant brain tumor.

30 May 2007

Physical inactivity among children today at epidemic levels

A new University of Leicester study funded by the British Heart Foundation reveals that the level of physical inactivity among children today has reached epidemic levels.

30 May 2007