Treatment for Restless LegsA TV commercial lauded the power of Requip (ropinirole), the first drug approved to treat restless leg syndrome, a condition whose signature feature is creepy-crawly leg sensations that interfere with sleep and rest in nearly 1 of every 10 adults.
But if taken too long, the drug can actually backfire, causing symptoms to worsen, say doctors who specialize in treating the condition. They say that therapy that rotates through different types........Go to the Health-blog (Added on 12/20/2006 7:07:08 PM)
Are Drug-eluting Stents Worth The Cost?Over the past 3 decades, percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI, or balloon angioplasty) has significantly changed the treatment of coronary artery disease (narrowing of the arteries supplying the heart muscle). Unlike the more invasive coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery, angioplasty is a nonsurgical procedure in which a tiny catheter with a balloon is inserted into the coronary artery. The balloon is then inflated to push aside the........Go to the Health-blog (Added on 12/20/2006 4:38:31 AM)
Many Ulcerative Colitis Patients Are Not CompliantA large survey supported by the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America (CCFA) shows that 65 percent of ulcerative colitis (UC) patients are less than fully compliant with first-line therapies to treat their disease. The findings are significant because an earlier study observed that patients less than fully compliant experience five times the number of disease flare-ups.
Respondents to the CCFA survey were taking a variety of........Go to the Health-blog (Added on 12/20/2006 4:10:17 AM)
Brain Can Recover From Alcoholic DamageThe findings, published recently (18 December 2006) in the online edition of the journal Brain [1], used sophisticated scanning technology and computer software to measure how brain volume, form and function changed over six to seven weeks of abstinence from alcohol in 15 alcohol dependent patients (ten men, five women).
The researchers from Germany, the UK, Switzerland and Italy measured the patients' brain volume at the beginning of the........Go to the Health-articles (Added on 12/17/2006 9:36:30 PM)
Punishment May Be Reduced To The Extreme CasesMany current problems in human societies or states, such as the overexploitation of fish stock or the abuse of social welfare systems, represent a failure of co-operation. Such conflicts between social and individual interests over the use of resources, a phenomenon known as the "tragedy of the commons", could conceivably become a threat to the actual survival of humanity. One example of such a danger in our time is the unrestricted use of........Go to the Health-articles (Added on 12/15/2006 5:06:12 AM)
Cancer Growth and NSAIDsWhat is the key mechanism behind the anti-cancer potential of the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents? Researchers have been pondering this question for some time. Now researchers have discovered that, induction of a gene called MDA-7/IL-24 is the molecular mechanism that enables non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) to halt the growth of cancer cells, a finding that could eventually lead to the development of targeted cancer........Go to the Cancer-blog (Added on 12/15/2006 4:35:37 AM)
Positive Reults For Investigational Thrombocytopenia AgentAKR-501 is a promising member of a new class of agents called, "TPO receptor agonists" that is now in Phase II clinical development. It is an investigational orally administered drug being developed by AkaRx, Inc. intended to mimic the biologic effect of thrombopoietin, a growth factor that stimulates production of platelets.
At the American Society of Hematology meeting, results from two Phase I clinical research trials were presented.........Go to the Health-blog (Added on 12/13/2006 4:58:44 AM)
Older Men With Early Prostate Cancer Should Be TreatedMany cancer experts till now believed that early prostate cancer in older men need not be treated, but recent findings from an observational study by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine suggest that men between 65 and 80 years of age who received treatment for early stage, localized prostate cancer lived significantly longer than men who did not receive treatment. The study would be published in the December 13th........Go to the Cancer-blog (Added on 12/13/2006 4:42:49 AM)
Cutting Back On Cigarettes May Not WorkHeavy smokers who have reduced their number of daily cigarettes still experience significantly greater exposure to toxins per cigarette than light smokers, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Minnesota.
Even when smokers in the two groups smoked as few as five cigarettes a day, heavy smokers who reduced their cigarette intake experienced two to three times the amount of total toxin exposure per cigarette when........Go to the Health-blog (Added on 12/11/2006 9:19:07 PM)
Viagra Against Cancer?Sildenafil and other "impotence drugs" that boost the production of a gassy chemical messenger to dilate blood vessels and produce an erection now also show promise in unmasking cancer cells so that the immune system can recognize and attack them, say scientists at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center.
Tests at Hopkins on mice with implanted colon and breast tumors showed that tumor size decreased two- and threefold in sildenafil-treated........Go to the Cancer-blog (Added on 12/8/2006 5:08:19 AM)
Statin Users Risk Heart Attacks By Dropping TreatmentThousands of statin users worldwide are suffering preventable heart attacks, simply because they are not complying with their treatment or are taking too low a dose, according to new research published on-line (Thursday 7 December) in European Heart Journal[1].
These life-saving drugs, used to lower cholesterol levels in people at risk of coronary heart disease (CHD), can only be optimally effective if patients use them properly - and many........Go to the Health-blog (Added on 12/6/2006 8:47:14 PM)
Sticky Proteins And Drug ActionHow drugs such as adrenalin do primarily one thing - in this case, increase the heart rate - now makes more sense to scientists.
"Any time you get a sudden jolt, adrenaline (a.k.a. epinephrine) is why your heart rate goes up," says Dr. Nevin A. Lambert, a biophysicist at the Medical College of Georgia. "If your heart is about to stop and the doctor administers epinephrine, that is what he or she is trying to do".
New research, would be........Go to the Health-blog (Added on 12/6/2006 8:20:28 PM)
Exposures to the insecticide chlorpyrifos in pregnancyChildren who were exposed prenatally to the insecticide chlorpyrifos had significantly poorer mental and motor development by three years of age and increased risk for behavior problems, as per a peer-evaluated study published recently by the American Academy of Pediatrics in its journal, Pediatrics. Chlorpyrifos, which was banned for residential use in 2001, is still widely applied to agricultural crops in the U.S. and abroad, including a........Go to the Health-articles (Added on 12/5/2006 4:56:10 AM)
Arsenic Have Broad Impact On Hormone ActivityDartmouth Medical School researchers are learning more about how low doses of arsenic, such as the levels found in drinking water in a number of areas of the United States, affect human physiology. In a paper published online on Dec. 2 in the journal Chemical Research in Toxicology, the scientists report that three different steroid hormones all show similar responses to arsenic, suggesting a broader effect and a common mechanism of arsenic on........Go to the Health-blog (Added on 12/5/2006 4:15:55 AM)
Molecular 'marker' On Stem Cells Aids ResearchA sugar molecule present on embryonic stem cells also has been found on the surface of a type of adult stem cell, a discovery that may help scientists isolate and purify adult stem cells for use in therapies aimed at bone healing, tendon repair and cartilage regeneration, scientists at UT Southwestern Medical Center report.
The molecule, called SSEA-4, was found on the surface of certain stem cells in bone marrow that give rise to fat,........Go to the Health-articles (Added on 12/4/2006 5:12:37 AM)
Finding Cause And Cure For AsthmaA $7.7 million grant will establish a new center for asthma research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Directed by Michael J. Holtzman, M.D., the Selma and Herman Seldin Professor of Medicine, the center will investigate the causes of asthma to develop new therapys for the disease. The center's funding comes from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), one of the National Institutes of Health.
........Go to the Health-blog (Added on 11/30/2006 4:50:01 AM)
New Drug Will Help SmokersScientists in the Oregon Health & Science University Smoking Cessation Center are studying whether the newly FDA-approved drug varenicline (Chantix) - a drug they recently showed to be more effective than the smoking cessation drug bupropion (Zyban) in helping generally healthy smokers quit - also can help smokers with the devastating lung disease known as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
COPD is the fourth leading cause of........Go to the Health-articles (Added on 11/30/2006 4:20:17 AM)
Predicting Outcome of Child Heart SurgeryGeorgia Tech and Emory University researchers have developed an innovative new technology that will help pediatric cardiac surgeons design and test a customized surgical procedure before they ever pick up a scalpel. With a better understanding of each child's unique heart defect, surgeons could greatly improve the likelihood that children with complex defects requiring multiple surgeries over a period of several years could have smoother........Go to the Health-blog (Added on 11/29/2006 5:03:20 AM)
Night Of The Living EnzymeInactive enzymes entombed in tiny honeycomb-shaped holes in silica can spring to life, researchers at the Department of Energys Pacific Northwest National Laboratory have found.
The discovery came after salvaging enzymes that had been in a refrigerator long past their expiration date. Enzymes are proteins that are not actually alive but come from living cells and perform chemical conversions.
To the research teams surprise, enzymes that........Go to the Health-articles (Added on 11/29/2006 4:42:14 AM)
The impact of immunosuppressive medicationsPatients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have an increased risk of heart attack and stroke. According to extensive evidence, the key driver for this increased risk of cardiovascular disease is the increased systemic inflammation characteristic of RA. Studies are less clear on whether medications that work to reduce RA's inflammatory symptoms provide protective benefits against cardiovascular events. Some data have suggested that the most........Go to the Health-blog (Added on 11/29/2006 4:34:51 AM)
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Glimpses Of Light From NeutronsScientists from the Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and four universities have made the first experimental observation of rare particles of light emitted during the radioactive decay of the neutron, a key building block of matter. This work confirms theoretical predictions of this type of decay of the neutron and sets the stage for a new class of tests of basic theories in particle physics.
The........Go to the Health-articles (Added on 12/20/2006 7:14:28 PM)
Androgen Therapy To Slow Progress Of Alzheimer's DiseaseExperiments on mouse models of Alzheimer's disease (AD) suggest that treatment with male sex hormones might slow its progression. The findings, published in the December 20 issue of The Journal of Neuroscience, provide new insight into the relationship between testosterone loss and AD, which affects 4.5 million Americans.
Senior author Christian Pike, PhD, of the University of Southern California (USC), with colleagues at USC and the........Go to the Health-articles (Added on 12/20/2006 5:06:48 AM)
Black Women And Breast Cancer SurvivalMany previous studies have shown that African-American women generally perform worse when it comes to breast cancer survival. This is true even after taking into consideration such factors as tumor size and socioeconomic differences, as per a new study.
"I think it's due to biological factors in the actual cancer, and this means that race may be a surrogate for a more adverse molecular profile within the cancer," said Dr. Kathy Albain, the........Go to the Cancer-blog (Added on 12/18/2006 8:16:46 PM)
Estrogen Use And Colon CancerIn a number of prior studies scientists have found that estrogen intake by elderly women would decrease the risk of colon cancer. A new study conducted by Dana-Farber cancer institute gone from this finding. This study showed that postmenopausal women with colon cancer would live longer if they have been taking estrogen supplements within five years of their diagnosis. This becomes an interesting finding given the fact that postmenopausal........Go to the Cancer-blog (Added on 12/18/2006 7:35:22 PM)
Learning During Sleep?The question of how the brain stores or discards memories still remains largely unexplained. Many brain researchers regard the consolidation theory as the best approach so far. This states that fresh impressions are first stored as short-term memories in the hippocampus. They are then said to move within hours or a few days - usually during deep sleep - into the cerebral cortex where they enter long-term memory. Investigations by Thomas Hahn,........Go to the Health-blog (Added on 12/15/2006 5:14:14 AM)
Elimination Of Menstrual Cycles SafeResearchers for the first time have demonstrated the safety and effectiveness of continuous-use oral contraceptives that can eliminate menstrual cycles, according to a study published in the recent issue of Contraception.
While low-dose oral contraceptives reducing the number of menstrual periods to four are on the market, this study marks the first time researchers have shown that it's safe to eliminate them, said lead investigator David F.........Go to the Health-blog (Added on 12/13/2006 8:06:54 PM)
International Tykerb Clinical TrialA clinical trial of a new targeted breast cancer drug, led by physicians at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Cancer Center, has begun enrolling patients. The TEACH (Tykerb Evaluation After CHemotherapy) trial will investigate the experimental drug Tykerb (lapatinib) in patients with early-stage, HER2-positive breast cancer who have not been treated with Herceptin, another targeted drug used for the same type of tumor. The MGH is the lead........Go to the Cancer-blog (Added on 12/13/2006 6:35:16 PM)
It Gives Much More To Quitting Than ExerciseA study of more than 36,000 women by scientists from the Universities of Minnesota and Pennsylvania observed that a high level of physical activity in women who smoked reduced their risk of developing lung cancer by nearly three quarters, compared with smokers who did no exercise.
Reported in the recent issue of Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention, the study also found 'moderate' activity among smokers was linked to a 65 per cent........Go to the Cancer-blog (Added on 12/12/2006 5:07:40 AM)
Enzyme That Aids Tumor GrowthUsing an innovative profiling strategy, researchers at The Scripps Research Institute have characterized an enzyme that is "highly elevated" in aggressive human tumor cells. When the enzyme, KIAA1363, was inactivated, it impaired tumor growth and migration in both ovarian and breast cancer cells, suggesting that inhibitors of this enzyme may prove valuable in the therapy of multiple types of cancer.
The study is the cover story of the........Go to the Cancer-blog (Added on 12/10/2006 9:20:26 PM)
Drug Trials May Become ObsoleteImmunologists studying what went wrong in the fateful Northwick Park drug trial in London in March 2006 have developed a test that they say may have spotted the near-deadly effects of the 'superantibody' drug TGN1412.
The announcement came at the unveiling of a report by the expert scientific group convened to provide guidelines to the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), which governs UK clinical trials. The group has........Go to the Health-blog (Added on 12/8/2006 4:56:49 AM)
children with Attention-Deficit-Hyperactivity DisorderMany children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder suffer through a range of problems, from poor grades to poor relations with parents and teachers. But more than half of these children also have serious problems making friends. Too often they live lonely lives, never learning to develop the social skills they need to make friends as children or as adults.
"Children with ADHD often are peer-rejected, and their difficulties multiply........Go to the Health-blog (Added on 12/7/2006 9:43:16 PM)
Steps In The Development Of TasteOf the five senses, taste is one of the least understood, but now scientists at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have come one step closer to understanding how the sense of taste develops. They have pinpointed a molecular pathway that regulates the development of taste buds. Using genetically engineered mice, they discovered that a signaling pathway activated by small proteins called Wnts is mandatory for initiating taste-bud........Go to the Health-blog (Added on 12/5/2006 8:32:36 PM)
Why Cancer Drug Causes Side EffectI broken pump can mean lots of trouble, particularly when it occurs in the micro-world of cells. A broken "pump" in the liver may fail to push these medicines into a "drain," as per researchers at St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital. The finding offers clinicians a way to identify patients who are likely to develop diarrhea as a side effect from taking these drugs, the scientists said.
The discovery also has implications for people taking........Go to the Cancer-blog (Added on 12/5/2006 8:13:37 PM)
PTSD Drug Is No More Effective Than PlaceboGuanfacine, a medicine usually prescribed to alleviate symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, is no more effective than a placebo, as per a research studyled by scientists at the San Francisco VA Medical Center.
There was no benefit at all, and there were several adverse side effects, says lead author Thomas Neylan, MD, medical director of the PTSD therapy program at SFVAMC. People with symptoms of PTSD should probably stay away from........Go to the Health-blog (Added on 12/1/2006 4:41:06 AM)
Huntington's And Abnormal Cholesterol Levels In BrainMayo Clinic scientists have discovered a protein interaction that may explain how the deadly Huntington's disease affects the brain. The findings, published in and featured on the cover of the current issue of Human Molecular Genetics, show how the mutated Huntington's protein interacts with another protein to cause dramatic accumulation of cholesterol in the brain.
"Cholesterol is essential for promoting the connection network among brain........Go to the Health-blog (Added on 12/1/2006 4:31:13 AM)
Metabolic Syndrome Could Be Treated With ChloroquineStudies of a rare genetic condition that increases cancer risk have unveiled a potential treatment for metabolic syndrome, a common disorder that afflicts as many as one in every four American adults and puts them at sharply increased risk of type 2 diabetes and clogged arteries.
Scientists know relatively little about metabolic syndrome, which is linked to a range of symptoms that include obesity, insulin resistance, high blood pressure,........Go to the Health-blog (Added on 11/30/2006 4:39:29 AM)
Risks Increase On Episodic Antiretroviral TherapyResults from one of the largest HIV/AIDS treatment trials ever conducted show that a specific strategy of interrupting antiretroviral therapy more than doubles the risk of AIDS or death from any cause. In the study, the scientists used two predetermined levels of CD4+ T cells, the primary immune cell targeted by HIV, to guide them in respectively suspending or restarting the study participants on antiretroviral therapy.
A report describing........Go to the Health-blog (Added on 11/29/2006 9:37:03 PM)
Health Inequalities Are A Growing ProblemGlobal health inequalities are substantial, growing, and influenced by economic, social and health-sector variables as well as geography, a study concludes in the recent issue of the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.
Especially disturbing findings from this study are that countries with high mortality in young children are making slow progress, gaps in adult mortality are becoming wider, and countries with the highest adult........Go to the Health-blog (Added on 11/29/2006 4:58:53 AM)
Painkillers May Weaken The Power Of VaccinesWith flu-shot season in full swing and widespread anticipation of the HPV vaccine to prevent cervical cancer, a new University of Rochester study suggests that using common painkillers around the time of vaccination might not be a good idea.
Scientists showed that certain nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), also known as cyclooxygenase inhibitors, react with the immune system in such a way that might reduce the effectiveness of........Go to the Health-blog (Added on 11/29/2006 4:57:17 AM)
Scientists Working In A 'Boundary-less' EnvironmentA cadre of world-renowned researchers working in the most promising areas of cancer research have come together to work as a team at one institution Memorial Health to accelerate findings for the prevention and therapy of cancer.
The new approach to making advances in cancer research is focused on a "boundary-less" environment which the researchers expect will stimulate faster, cross-disciplinary results and increased collaboration between........Go to the Health-blog (Added on 11/29/2006 4:37:51 AM)
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