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Natural killer cells could lead to new Hepatitis treatments

Researchers have discovered that natural killer T (NKT) cells, the immune system's sentinels, patrol the labyrinthine blood vessels of the liver for invaders or signs of tissue damage and demonstrate a dogged behavior not seen before in other T cells.

4 Apr 2005

Immune cells in the liver travel in the liver's blood vessels with surprising speed and agility

Scientists at New York University School of Medicine viewing the actual journey of immune cells in the liver have found that these cells travel in the liver's blood vessels with surprising speed and agility.

4 Apr 2005

Method of gene therapy that can accurately and permanently correct mutations in disease-causing genes

Harnessing the strength of a natural process that repairs damage to the human genome, a researcher from UT Southwestern Medical Center has helped establish a method of gene therapy that can accurately and permanently correct mutations in disease-causing genes.

4 Apr 2005

Obesity may hinder body's ability to control influenza infection

Obesity apparently reduces laboratory mice’s ability to turn on elements of their immune systems needed for controlling influenza infection, a new University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine study shows.

4 Apr 2005

Research offers promise for people with learning disabilities

Learning disabilities such as dyslexia are believed to affect nearly one in 10 children. To better study them, a Northwestern University research team has developed a data-driven conceptual framework that links two well-established scientific concepts. In doing so, they also have developed a non-invasive diagnostic tool called BioMAP that can quickly identify children with learning disabilities.

4 Apr 2005

Australia gets a Jumbo online pharmacy

Australian Jumbo Corporation Limited (JUM) has announced an aggresive move into the online pharmacy business with the public release of the JumboPharmacy website.

4 Apr 2005

Dramatic evidence of the importance of visual cues in the control of food intake

The researchers served a free soup lunch to 54 adults, half of whom ate from normal 18-ounce soup bowls, while the other half ate from identical bowls that, unbeknownst to the participants, were slowly refilled through tubing connected to out-of-sight soup cauldrons.

4 Apr 2005

Bionic eyes from Stanford

Stanford physicists and eye doctors have teamed up to design a "bionic eye," of sorts. On Feb. 22 in the Journal of Neural Engineering, Daniel Palanker, Alexander Vankov and Phil Huie from the Department of Ophthalmology and the Hansen Experimental Physics Laboratory and Stephen Baccus from the Department of Neurobiology published a design of an optoelectronic retinal prosthesis system that can stimulate the retina with resolution corresponding to a visual acuity of 20/80

4 Apr 2005

Light therapy effectively treats mood disorders

A study commissioned by the American Psychiatric Association and led by a psychiatrist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine has found that light therapy effectively treats mood disorders, including seasonal affective disorder (SAD) and other depressive disorders.

4 Apr 2005

Effect of individualized diets on chronic disease risk

Today at the 2005 Experimental Biology Conference, the Dairy Council of California sponsored a thought-provoking symposium titled "Individualized nutrition as a tool to prevent and treat chronic disease."

4 Apr 2005

Step toward a potential treatment for Huntington's disease

Researchers at the University of Iowa Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine have taken another step toward a potential treatment for Huntington's disease (HD). Using an approach called RNA interference (RNAi), the scientists reduced levels of the disease-causing HD protein in mice and significantly improved the movement and neurological abnormalities normally associated with the disease.

4 Apr 2005

More exhaust inhaled by kids inside school buses than by others in the area

Children on school buses collectively inhale as much or more exhaust emitted from those buses as does the rest of the city's population, according to a new analysis by researchers at the University of California.

4 Apr 2005

Newer imaging technologies may lead to over treatment

Newer imaging technologies allow physicians to visualize more of the arteries in the lungs, including detecting small blood clots not previously seen, but seeing more may have little impact on the patient’s outcome, a new study suggests.

4 Apr 2005

Infants under one year of age can accept heart transplants from donors of different blood groups

A study showing that infants under one year of age can accept heart transplants from donors of different blood groups without the risk of organ rejection means a better chance of survival for infant patients and more efficient use of donor organs overall.

4 Apr 2005

Chronic inflammation caused by too little stomach acid leads to gastric cancer

When it comes to gastric cancer, too little stomach acid can be just as dangerous as too much, according to scientists at the University of Michigan Medical School. Both extremes create inflammatory changes in the stomach lining and a condition called chronic atrophic gastritis, which over time often leads to cancer.

4 Apr 2005

Peanuts back in fashion!

The peanut, has made a comeback and consumption has soared to its highest level in nearly two decades with more and more doctors recommending the nuts as part of a heart-healthy diet.

4 Apr 2005

Need for pediatricians to partner with community-based organizations

Pediatricians must look beyond the walls of the examining room and into their own communities to understand and confront the socioeconomic and environmental threats to the health of children and adolescents, such as poor nutrition, exposure to violence, and substance abuse.

4 Apr 2005

Number of sick days is influenced by neighborhood poverty

The number of days people stay home ill is influenced by neighborhood poverty and whether they receive subsidized health care, such as Medicaid, says a Purdue University urban sociologist.

4 Apr 2005

New antipsychotic drug prevents brain loss in schizophrenia

A new brain imaging study of recently diagnosed schizophrenia patients has found, for the first time, that the loss of gray matter typically experienced by patients can be prevented by one of the new atypical antipsychotic drugs, olanzapine, but not by haloperidol, an older, conventional drug.

4 Apr 2005

Discrimination against AIDS patients to be stopped in India

India's Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss has told an AIDS conference that his government plans to introduce a law to stop discrimination against people infected with the deadly virus.

4 Apr 2005