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Key discovery toward understanding mechanism associated with uncontrollable muscular movements

Neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Lou Gehrig's and Huntington's exhibit loss of nerve function in different ways, from memory lapses to uncontrollable muscular movements, but it is now believed that these diseases share many common molecular mechanisms.

22 Oct 2004

Deep brain stimulation could help alleviate Parkinson’s symptoms on both sides of the body

For many patients with advanced Parkinson’s disease, deep brain stimulation can mean the difference between having difficulty walking and being able to run.

22 Oct 2004

Estrogen treatment had less beneficial effect on memory in active female mice

Estrogen treatment had less beneficial effect on memory in female mice that raced on running wheels and played with other toys than in mice raised in non-stimulating environments, according to a Yale study published this month.

22 Oct 2004

Genes affect how asthma patients respond to albuterol

While a few weeks of regular use of albuterol improved overall asthma control in individuals with one form of the gene, stopping all use of albuterol eventually improved asthma control in those with another form of the gene. Albuterol is the most commonly used drug for relief of acute asthma symptoms, or “attacks.”

22 Oct 2004

Gene mutation causes Parkinson's disease in some families

An international research team, led by scientists at the National Institute on Aging (NIA), has discovered a gene, which when mutated, causes Parkinson's disease in some families.

22 Oct 2004

New Center for Space Medicine

The Cleveland Clinic is launching a Center for Space Medicine that will coordinate its efforts to research medical problems experienced by humans during long-term space flight. The center will work closely with engineers and scientists at Cleveland’s NASA Glenn Research Center.

22 Oct 2004

Microcrustaceans defeat dengue fever

Dengue fever causes 50 million infections annually in more than 90 countries; however this may soon become a thing of the past, as QIMR broadens its successful and totally environmentally-friendly mosquito-breeding control programs against dengue fever.

22 Oct 2004

A new general medical journal launched this week with a non-traditional publishing model

A new general medical journal launched this week with a non-traditional publishing model is the latest top-tier venue for publishing important, peer-reviewed biomedical research, and is being called the first major, international journal to be introduced in more than 70 years.

22 Oct 2004

Neuroimaging initiative to track early signs of Alzheimer’s disease

Researchers are looking for ways to spot early warning signs in the brain of developing Alzheimer’s disease.

22 Oct 2004

New evidence supports value of fruits and vegetables in reducing breast cancer risk

Fruits and vegetables are known to reduce the risk of some cancers. Their antioxidant properties have been found to inhibit the generation of reactive oxidant species (ROS) that can damage and change DNA and lead to cancer.

22 Oct 2004

Home defibrillators now being sold on Amazon.com

Royal Philips Electronics has announced that the Philips HeartStart Home Defibrillator is now available over-the-counter (OTC) to consumers at Amazon.com, the largest online retailer to offer the product.

22 Oct 2004

The aging American population means that more people are at risk for stroke

A leading stroke researcher says the aging of the American population means that more people are at risk for stroke, and unless new approaches are developed to reduce stroke incidence, it will surpass heart attacks and cancer as the major cause of long-term disability and premature death.

22 Oct 2004

New advice on prescribing anti-depressants

New Zealands's Medsafe has sent a letter to all prescribers informing them about new advice relating to the known risks and benefits associated with prescribing medications to treat depression in young people and in adults.

22 Oct 2004

First public healthcare and HIV/AIDS programme in Kibera, Kenya

On October 21, in collaboration with the Kenyan Ministry of Health, the international humanitarian organization Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) opened a health centre providing public healthcare, including treatment for HIV/AIDS, for the residents of Kibera slum in Nairobi.

22 Oct 2004

New method for determining the presence of a type of strep that can cause fatal meningitis or pneumonia

Research at Michigan State University found that a new test that provides a new, quicker method for determining the presence of a type of strep that can cause fatal meningitis or pneumonia in newborns is effective more than 90 percent of the time.

22 Oct 2004

MedImmune initiates clinical trial comparing intranasal influenza vaccine with injectable flu vaccine

MedImmune announced that it has initiated a pivotal head-to-head Phase 3 clinical trial designed to compare its next-generation, refrigerator- stable intranasal influenza vaccine (CAIV-T: cold adapted intranasal influenza vaccine, trivalent) with the injectable flu shot (TIV: trivalent influenza vaccine).

22 Oct 2004

Lag-3 gene dampens immune responses by controlling regulatory T-cell function

The discovery that the Lag-3 gene acts as a brake to prevent immune system responses from running out of control solves a mystery that has puzzled researchers since the gene was discovered 14 years ago.

22 Oct 2004

Telling the truth about donor insemination

A new book based on 27 years of research work emphasises the importance of families who use donor insemination being open and honest with their children about their origins.

22 Oct 2004

Mild pulses of electrical energy just as effective as more powerful and painful shocks to interrupt life-threatening rapid heartbeats

Ventricular tachycardia (VT) is a fast heartbeat originating in the heart’s ventricle chamber and can be life-threatening. VT is often treated with an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD), a device that delivers an electrical shock to restore an irregular heart rhythm.

22 Oct 2004

New Yorkers' use of mental health services rose only slightly after 9//11

New Yorkers' use of mental health services rose only slightly during the year after the September 11, 2001, World Trade Center attacks compared with the year before the attacks, a recent study suggests. But the number of mental health visits among people already receiving treatment increased after the attacks.

22 Oct 2004