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Steroids significantly reduce heart damage in children with Kawasaki's disease

When added to standard treatment, steroids significantly reduce the odds of developing heart damage in children with Kawasaki's disease, according to a study in the October issue of Pediatrics. These findings address a gap in knowledge.

3 Oct 2005

PSA doubling time is an important indicator of how well a patient will recover from prostate cancer

The clinical outcome for prostate cancer patients who have been treated with hormone therapy and radiation therapy can usually be determined by how rapidly their prostate specific antigen level rises following treatment

3 Oct 2005

Training for health workers improves the quality of tuberculosis care and control without requiring extra staff

Tuberculosis is a growing problem in lower and middle income countries, including South Africa. The World Health Organization estimates that about two thirds of people with tuberculosis are never diagnosed and so cannot benefit from treatment, leaving the epidemic unchecked despite global treatment programmes.

3 Oct 2005

Plant-derived compounds appear to block the activity of an enzyme that triggers inflammation in joints

The findings came to light while the researchers were studying the wildly different ways in which cells in human blood vessels and joints respond to pressure gradients generated from liquid moving along their surface, a force called shear stress.

3 Oct 2005

Risk of acquiring HIV rises during pregnancy

The risk of acquiring HIV rises during pregnancy, according to a study of women in Uganda's Rakai District led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The increased risk for acquiring HIV remained even after researchers controlled for behavior and other factors that contribute to HIV risk.

3 Oct 2005

Computer model shows biochemical variations, or noise, leads to oscillations in gene regulation that couldn't otherwise be predicted

Geneticists have debated for decades the relative importance of nature versus nurture in determining how an animal looks and behaves, and now University of California, San Diego (UCSD) scientists report that noise could also be an important factor in determining phenotype.

3 Oct 2005

Rise in oxygen content corresponds exactly to a really rapid rise of large, placental mammals

The first, high resolution continuous record of oxygen concentration in the earth's atmosphere shows that a sharp rise in oxygen about 50 million years ago gave mammals the evolutionary boost they needed to dominate the planet, according to Paul Falkowski, Rutgers professor of marine science and lead author of a paper published Sept. 30 in the journal Science.

3 Oct 2005

Survey highlights the need to increase folic acid fortification of the grain supply

Only one-third of childbearing age women are taking a multivitamin containing the B vitamin folic acid daily to prevent serious birth defects of the brain and spine in their future babies, according to a decade of March of Dimes surveys.

3 Oct 2005

Discovery establishes a role for the gene Rsf-1 in ovarian cancer

Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center researchers have linked alterations in a gene, called Rsf-1, to the most deadly ovarian cancers. The scientists say the discovery is the first to establish a role for the gene in ovarian cancer and may lead to a test that can predict, early on, which patients will develop aggressive disease.

3 Oct 2005

Misoprostol could play an important part in reducing complications of delivery in developing countries

A relatively cheap and easy to use drug could save the lives of thousands of women in the developing world, according to a study in this week's British Medical Journal.

3 Oct 2005

New genes tied to lifespan extension

Drastically reducing calorie intake, or caloric restriction, is known to extend the lifespan of species including yeast, worms and rodents. Previous research linked a gene called Sir2 with lifespan extension due to caloric restriction, but worms and yeast that lack Sir2 also live longer when put on a tough diet, showing that some other genes must be at work.

3 Oct 2005

Organosilicon compounds help improve lithium battery technology

With the help of new silicon-based compounds, scientists -- and patients -- are getting a significant new charge out of the tiny lithium batteries used in implantable devices to help treat nervous system and other disorders.

3 Oct 2005

First identification of the genetic basis of disease in a patient with a complex I assembly defect

Mitochondrial complex I deficiency is one of the most common defects in patients with mitochondrial disease. The deficiency results from a failure to assemble the enzyme properly, but the nature of the molecular chaperones that are necessary for this process in mammals have remained obscure.

3 Oct 2005

Microarray technology may help tailor breast cancer therapy

Microarray technology could be used to tailor therapy according to the individual, and prevent breast cancer patients from having to undergo painful unsuccessful therapies.

3 Oct 2005

Research may help create drugs to target the molecule-binding pathway, beneficial for treating arthritis and reducing inflammation

The first close-up look at a pro-inflammatory signaling molecule involved in immune response in mammals suggests that researchers "should rethink what they are doing" in creating drugs based on a fruit-fly model, scientists say.

3 Oct 2005

Speeding up fetal MRIs

A modified technique that uses the eyes as the line of reference means a 50 percent reduction in the time necessary to take MRI images of the fetal brain.

3 Oct 2005

Concerta, a once-daily form of the drug methylphenidate, successfully controlled ADHD symptoms

A new study has found that an all-day, extended-release stimulant for treating attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) remains effective for up to two years without significant side effects.

3 Oct 2005

Children enrolled in fitness-oriented gym classes showed greater loss of body fat

Overweight children who took part in lifestyle-focused, fitness-oriented gym classes showed significant improvement in body composition, fitness, and insulin levels, according to a study in the October issue of Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine.

3 Oct 2005

Giving infants preventive treatment for malaria can reduce malaria and anaemia even in seasonal, high transmission areas

The study followed over 2,400 infants in Ghana who were given a preventive treatment for malaria or a placebo (dummy pill) when they received routine vaccinations and at 12 months of age.

3 Oct 2005

Development of aggressive forms of prostate cancer may be influenced by environmental effects that occur early in life

How heavy a man is at the time he is diagnosed with prostate cancer, as well as his history of weight gain, appear to play significant roles in how aggressive his cancer may become, say researchers at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.

3 Oct 2005

Medical News

Steroids significantly reduce heart damage in children with Kawasaki's disease

PSA doubling time is an important indicator of how well a patient will recover from prostate cancer

Training for health workers improves the quality of tuberculosis care and control without requiring extra staff

Plant-derived compounds appear to block the activity of an enzyme that triggers inflammation in joints

Risk of acquiring HIV rises during pregnancy

Computer model shows biochemical variations, or noise, leads to oscillations in gene regulation that couldn't otherwise be predicted

Rise in oxygen content corresponds exactly to a really rapid rise of large, placental mammals

Survey highlights the need to increase folic acid fortification of the grain supply

Discovery establishes a role for the gene Rsf-1 in ovarian cancer

Misoprostol could play an important part in reducing complications of delivery in developing countries

New genes tied to lifespan extension

Organosilicon compounds help improve lithium battery technology

First identification of the genetic basis of disease in a patient with a complex I assembly defect

Microarray technology may help tailor breast cancer therapy

Research may help create drugs to target the molecule-binding pathway, beneficial for treating arthritis and reducing inflammation

Speeding up fetal MRIs

Concerta, a once-daily form of the drug methylphenidate, successfully controlled ADHD symptoms

Children enrolled in fitness-oriented gym classes showed greater loss of body fat

Giving infants preventive treatment for malaria can reduce malaria and anaemia even in seasonal, high transmission areas

Development of aggressive forms of prostate cancer may be influenced by environmental effects that occur early in life

From street to lab: Advancing controlled substance testing with handheld Raman and FTIR

Reimagining light scattering for biotherapeutics

Empowering genomics research with cloud-based innovation

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