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Understanding what causes narcolepsy

Results of a preliminary study in this week’s issue of THE LANCET suggest a step forward in our understanding of the processes behind narcolepsy; there appears to be an underlying autoimmune process for people with a certain genetic profile. Future diagnostic testing of people with this profile should lead to substantial improvements in disease treatment.

13 Dec 2004

Childhood cancer slowly increasing over the past 3 decades

Research from 19 European countries in this week’s issue of THE LANCET documents how childhood cancer, while still rare, has been slowly increasing over the past 3 decades.

13 Dec 2004

A decade of neglect has weakened UNICEF and threatened the future of child survival

As a high-level forum assessing the progress on global health in relation to the millennium development goals concluded in Abuja, Nigeria, last week, the rhetoric of success repeated by those charged with ending the needless deaths of millions of the world's children masks their own deep-seated failure to grapple with critical institutional weaknesses in their own ranks.

13 Dec 2004

Model may explain how alcohol stimulates tumor growth

The investigators found that compared to the saline control group, the embryos exposed to ethanol experienced increases in tumor size, tumor blood vessel density, cancer cell infiltration of blood vessels, and VEGF levels.

13 Dec 2004

Silent risk of osteoporosis in men with prostate cancer

Men being treated for prostate cancer using hormone therapy maybe under-recognized for their risk of developing osteoporosis, according to a new study.

13 Dec 2004

PCT waste fears as patients shun new treatment centre

Patients prefer to wait nine months for orthopaedic operations rather than be treated within ten weeks by a new independent treatment centre, a referral centre has found.

13 Dec 2004

Cell replacement therapy offers a novel and powerful medical technology

Cell replacement therapy offers a novel and powerful medical technology. A type of embryonic stem cell, called a neural crest stem cell, that persists into adulthood in hair follicles was recently discovered by Maya Sieber-Blum, Ph.D., of the Medical College of Wisconsin, Milos Grim, MD Ph.D., of Charles University Prague, and their collaborators.

13 Dec 2004

Migraine sufferers are twice as likely to suffer a stroke than those who don't experience migraines

In the first review of its kind, researchers in Canada and the US looked at 14 studies which investigated an association between stroke and migraine. They found that the risk of stroke for migraine sufferers was 2.16 times that for non-sufferers.

13 Dec 2004

Labelling unhappy children as depressed may be harmful

Unhappiness among children seems to be rising, but labelling it as depression and prescribing antidepressants is ineffective and possibly harmful, warns a child psychiatrist in the BMJ.

13 Dec 2004

Folate supplementation during pregnancy may increase a mother's long-term risk of breast cancer

Preliminary data published in the BMJ suggest that folate supplementation during pregnancy may increase a mother's long-term risk of breast cancer. Although this may be a chance finding, the results require confirmation, say the authors.

13 Dec 2004

Pharmaceutical, biotechnology and drug discovery companies are increasingly turning their attention to cell-based assays

Pharmaceutical, biotechnology and drug discovery companies are increasingly turning their attention to cell-based assays, as these assays offer a more accurate representation of the real-life cell model than the traditional enzyme- or antibody-based assays.

13 Dec 2004

Discovery of key immune system molecules that helps determine how effectively a person resists HIV infection

A team of researchers based partly in South Africa has identified a key set of immune system molecules that helps determine how effectively a person resists infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

8 Dec 2004

Excellent news for the many people who suffer from high blood pressure

An international trial comparing blood-pressure lowering treatments has been stopped early due to the significantly better performance of one of the treatments in the trial.

8 Dec 2004

Chronic stress may speed up the onset of skin cancer

Does stress speed up the onset of skin cancer? The answer, in mice anyway, appears to be "yes." Scientists at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center say that chronic stress may speed up the process in those at high-risk for the disease.

8 Dec 2004

Wide angle X-ray scattering (WAXS) could help produce lead drugs for disease therapy

Structural changes in proteins can now be seen in increased detail, using a new application of an existing technique. The application, developed at the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory, could help produce lead drugs for disease therapy.

8 Dec 2004

Need to correct racial disparities in health

The number of lives saved by medical advances over the last 10 years is far outdistanced by the number of lives lost to racial disparities in health status, according to a Virginia Commonwealth University family medicine and public health physician.

8 Dec 2004

Study of safety issues surrounding the medical use of cannabis has just been launched

A first-of-its-kind study of safety issues surrounding the medical use of cannabis has just been launched. Known as the COMPASS study (Cannabis for the management of pain: assessment of safety study), the research initiative will follow 1400 chronic pain patients, 350 of whom use cannabis as part of their pain management strategy, for a one-year period.

8 Dec 2004

Shorter hospice enrollment was linked to elevated depression among family caregivers

Delayed enrollment in hospice can result in increased depression among family members after the death of their loved one, according to a study by Yale researchers published in the American Journal of Psychiatry.

8 Dec 2004

Clinical care of community-dwelling older adults with advanced chronic diseases would be enhanced by identifying and alleviating the range of symptoms they experience

In a study to determine the prevalence of a range of symptoms among older persons living independently with advanced chronic diseases, researchers at Yale have found that the majority experienced multiple moderate or severe symptoms.

8 Dec 2004

New technology will advance our understanding of role of complex sugar chains decorating the surface of cells in the body

An international consortium of scientists lead by Dr. James Paulson of The Scripps Research Institute has created a technology that will advance our understanding of the role of complex sugar chains (glycans or carbohydrates) that decorate the surface of cells in the body.

8 Dec 2004

Medical News

Understanding what causes narcolepsy

Childhood cancer slowly increasing over the past 3 decades

A decade of neglect has weakened UNICEF and threatened the future of child survival

Model may explain how alcohol stimulates tumor growth

Silent risk of osteoporosis in men with prostate cancer

PCT waste fears as patients shun new treatment centre

Cell replacement therapy offers a novel and powerful medical technology

Migraine sufferers are twice as likely to suffer a stroke than those who don't experience migraines

Labelling unhappy children as depressed may be harmful

Folate supplementation during pregnancy may increase a mother's long-term risk of breast cancer

Pharmaceutical, biotechnology and drug discovery companies are increasingly turning their attention to cell-based assays

Discovery of key immune system molecules that helps determine how effectively a person resists HIV infection

Excellent news for the many people who suffer from high blood pressure

Chronic stress may speed up the onset of skin cancer

Wide angle X-ray scattering (WAXS) could help produce lead drugs for disease therapy

Need to correct racial disparities in health

Study of safety issues surrounding the medical use of cannabis has just been launched

Shorter hospice enrollment was linked to elevated depression among family caregivers

Clinical care of community-dwelling older adults with advanced chronic diseases would be enhanced by identifying and alleviating the range of symptoms they experience

New technology will advance our understanding of role of complex sugar chains decorating the surface of cells in the body

How does norepinephrine influence anxiety-related behaviours?

Transforming Lab Workflows with Cell Culture Automation

Building Bridges to Scalable Allogeneic Cell Therapy

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