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Low-cost Parkinson's disease diagnostic test a world first

Scientists at Melbourne's Howard Florey Institute have developed a cost-effective diagnostic test for Parkinson's disease (PD), which will also assist researchers to understand the genetic basis of PD and to undertake large-scale studies to identify the genes that cause this debilitating condition.

21 Feb 2007

Don't advertise during sexy programmes - the viewer won't remember

People are less able to recall the brand of products advertised during programmes with a lot of sexual content, than if the advert is placed in similar programme that has no sexual content.

21 Feb 2007

FDA wants warning label on omalizumab (Xolair)

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that it has requested Genentech, Inc. add a boxed warning to the product label for omalizumab, marketed as Xolair.

21 Feb 2007

Anorexia nervosa may be genetic

A researcher in the United States says a ten year study into the eating disorder anorexia nervosa suggests that sufferers may have a genetic predisposition for it.

21 Feb 2007

Woman awarded millions in Prempro HRT breast cancer trial

A woman in the United States has been awarded damages to the tune of $3 million after taking drug manufacturer Wyeth to court over it's postmenopausal hormone replacement therapy Prempro.

21 Feb 2007

More Moscow suburbs affected by bird flu

Russian officials say two more localities near Moscow have reported what appears to be the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain of bird flu.

21 Feb 2007

Yearning and not depression the most common response after a loved one dies

A new study has found that after the death of a loved one from natural causes, the normal responses from most people are acceptance and yearning for the deceased.

21 Feb 2007

Spearmint tea - natural treatment for hirsutism

Turkish researchers say women who suffer from excessive hair growth (hirsutism) may be helped by drinking spearmint tea.

21 Feb 2007

Experts condemn the sexualisation of girls in the media

Experts in the United States are warning about the way young women are portrayed by the media.

21 Feb 2007

Health care professionals should focus on women's lifetime heart disease risk

The 2007 Guidelines for Preventing Cardiovascular Disease in Women -- published today in a special women's health issue of Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association -- also include new directions for using aspirin, hormone therapy and vitamin and mineral supplements in heart disease and stroke prevention in women.

20 Feb 2007

New test identifies suitable lymphoma patients likely to respond to new therapy

Researchers at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have discovered a genetic signature identifying cases of lymphoma that are uniquely susceptible to a newly developed molecular targeted therapy. As a result, physicians organizing clinical trials of the new therapy will be able to enroll patients who'll be most likely to benefit from it.

20 Feb 2007

Surgical improvements for Crohn's disease sufferers

Decades of painstaking research has yielded the most in-depth look ever at the management of bowel stricture recurrence in patients who undergo surgery for Crohn's disease. The findings should provide much-needed guidance to surgeons and gastroenterologists battling this tough-to-manage intestinal disorder.

20 Feb 2007

Cancer cells 100 times more likely to genetically mutate

When cells become cancerous, they also become 100 times more likely to genetically mutate than regular cells, researchers have found. The findings may explain why cells in a tumor have so many genetic mutations, but could also be bad news for cancer treatments that target a particular gene controlling cancer malignancy.

20 Feb 2007

Hormone prolactin key to repairing nerve cell damage

The mystery of why multiple sclerosis (MS) tends to go into remission while women are pregnant may be the secret to overcoming the devastating neurodegenerative disease, according to University of Calgary researchers who have shown that a pregnancy-related hormone is responsible for rebuilding the protective coating around nerve cells.

20 Feb 2007

Translationally controlled tumor protein key to organ growth

When amounts of a small protein called TCTP (translationally controlled tumor protein) are reduced in the cells of fruit flies, they are smaller than normal, indicating that the protein plays a major role in the growth and proliferation of cells, said researchers at Baylor College of Medicine in a report in current issue of the journal Nature.

20 Feb 2007

Survivors of childhood cancers have a ninefold increased risk of developing a secondary sarcoma

Treatments for childhood cancer have resulted in a current overall cure rate of over 70 percent. However, long-term survivors of childhood cancer are at a higher risk of developing a secondary cancer than the general population.

20 Feb 2007

Tamoxifen offers long-term benefits for breast cancer prevention among women at high risk

The trials found that the breast cancer risk reduction persists long after women stop taking tamoxifen.

20 Feb 2007

Chemotherapy drug bortezomib packs a one-two punch

Cancer can be wily, and those who treat the disease have amassed a wide array of weapons with which to fight it and kill tumors.

20 Feb 2007

Study looks at mental and physical health of caregivers

Having positive cultural beliefs about caring for elders and strong religious beliefs can ward off depression and other mental health difficulties for female caregivers of spouses and parents with dementia, but sustained elevated levels of the stress hormone, cortisol, puts these women at risk for physical health problems, according to a study published in the American Journal of Geriatric Psychology.

20 Feb 2007

Low levels of RANTES protein in the blood is a predictor of cardiac death

Researchers at SUNY Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn have determined that low levels of a protein in the blood is a predictor of cardiac death in patients with coronary artery disease.

20 Feb 2007