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Smoking habits during pregnancy may cause genetic instability in the foetus

The Spanish Pediatrics Association has recently awarded the Pediatrics laboratory at the University of Navarre for a research into tobacco and foetal genetic instability.

2 Dec 2004

Rates of HIV/AIDS diagnoses steady in the U.S

Rates of HIV/AIDS diagnoses in the United States stayed steady for the years 2000-2003, but sharp racial disparities remain, according to an analysis of data from 32 states, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced today.

1 Dec 2004

Student nurses need better understanding of people living in poverty

Nursing students need a broader understanding of how social conditions influence the health of people living in poverty if they are to provide sensitive care, and more importantly, work toward community and policy solutions to poverty, says a new study done in part by the University of Alberta.

1 Dec 2004

Cancer Research Technology grants AstraZeneca an exclusive license to a key patent

Cancer Research Technology Limited has announced that AstraZeneca has licensed exclusive worldwide rights to a patent family relating to a nuclear receptor/co-activator binding motif.

1 Dec 2004

UK is well on the way to having the best healthcare system in the world

The UK is well on the way to having the best healthcare system in the world, surpassing that of the US, says leading health strategist, Dr Donald Berwick of the US Institute of Healthcare Improvement.

1 Dec 2004

Small social circles tied to heart disease death in women

Women with suspected coronary artery disease and smaller social networks die at twice the rate of those who have a larger circle of social contacts, according to a new study.

1 Dec 2004

African Americans more likely to carry genetic variants known to stimulate inflammatory response

Specific variants in genes that encode proteins regulating inflammation may hold a key to explaining a host of disease processes known to cause increased risk of illness and death among African Americans, according to a study from the University of Pittsburgh's Graduate School of Public Health (GSPH).

1 Dec 2004

Frequent cannabis use increases the risk of psychotic symptoms

Frequent cannabis use during adolescence and young adulthood increases the risk of psychotic symptoms later in life, according to a new study published on bmj.com.

1 Dec 2004

Drinking water could help people suffering from low blood pressure who faint while standing

Ordinary tap or bottled water could help people suffering from low blood pressure who faint while standing, claim researchers from Imperial College London and St Mary's Hospital.

1 Dec 2004

Higher incidence of rejection following early steroid withdrawal

A new study on early steroid withdrawal following liver transplantation found that there was a higher incidence of rejection and a lower incidence of glucose intolerance necessitating treatment for diabetes.

1 Dec 2004

Peripheral neuropathy in a patient with alcoholic cirrhosis is reversible

Organ damage that goes beyond the liver due to alcoholism is often seen as a barrier to liver transplantation, despite a lack of data on how a transplant affects these complications.

1 Dec 2004

Toxic proteins explain memory loss in Alzheimer's patients

Researchers at Northwestern University have discovered a molecular mechanism -- a tiny protein attacking nerve cells -- that could explain why the brain damage in early Alzheimer's disease results in memory loss and not other symptoms such as loss of balance or tremors.

1 Dec 2004

Call for new focus on women and HIV in Latin America and the Caribbean

Women represent the fastest growing segment of the population living with HIV in Latin America and the Caribbean, and new efforts are urgently needed to halt the spread of the epidemic in the female population, representatives of ten United Nations agencies said today.

1 Dec 2004

World Health Organization is reinstating two antiretrovirals manufactured by Cipla Ltd

The two medicines (which are used in the treatment of AIDS) had been delisted by WHO in May this year due to non-compliance with international standards at the contract research organizations (CROs) hired by Cipla to conduct bioequivalence tests on the products.

30 Nov 2004

Radiologists step closer to solving a mysterious condition affecting World Trade Center rescue workers

Air trapping, a manifestation of obstructed lung airways often seen in smokers and the elderly, was identified in 25 of 29 rescue and recovery workers suffering from "WTC cough," according to early research results presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).

30 Nov 2004

Surfing injuries - Wipin’ out wipe out

Much as surfers have their own peculiar lingo, they also incur an array of injuries from the sport that can be just as peculiar to physicians, according to research presented at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).

30 Nov 2004

Thyroid treatments can set off radiation detectors

Medical procedures such as iodine therapy, a popular thyroid treatment, can result in patients triggering radiation detectors for up to three months after treatment, according to a study presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).

30 Nov 2004

Imatinib mesylate (Gleevec) inhibits important pathways that spur cancer growth

A new clinical study has shown that imatinib mesylate (Gleevec) has activity in AIDS-related Kaposi's sarcoma (KS). Imatinib inhibits important pathways that spur cancer growth, resulting in the regression of KS tumors within 4 weeks in some patients. The study will be published November 30 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology (JCO).

30 Nov 2004

Novel anti-obesity compound shows promise for treatment of obesity

Arena Pharmaceuticals announced today results from the dosing phase of its Phase 1b clinical trial of APD356, an orally administered small molecule designed to regulate satiety (and perhaps metabolism) for the treatment of obesity.

30 Nov 2004

Rimonabant could be safer for treating obesity than previous weight-loss drugs

ECRI, a nonprofit health services research agency, recently published a Health Technology Forecast profile on a novel pharmaceutical agent that is in development for the treatment of obesity.

30 Nov 2004