Malaria vaccine candidate has promising safetyThe first study to test GlaxoSmithKline's (GSK) investigational RTS,S/AS02 malaria vaccine in African infants serves as the first proof of concept in this population that the vaccine has a promising safety and tolerability profile and reduces malaria parasite infection and clinical illness due to malaria, as per a paper published recently online in The Lancet.
The study reports that vaccine efficacy against new infections was 65 percent over........Go to the Health-blog (Added on 10/17/2007 9:28:22 PM)
Why We Don't Help Others: Bystander ApathyIn the next nomination for the best social psychology study I need your help as I'm in two minds. On one hand this study, inspired by the highly publicised murder of Kitty Genovese in 1964, is mentioned in every textbook and often dubbed 'seminal'. On the other, I'm not sure how original it is. So I'll explain the study then ask you to vote on whether it should be included in my top ten social psychology studies. Get your critical faculties........Go to the Health-articles (Added on 10/17/2007 6:04:48 PM)
Genetic journey of HIV from birth to deathUniversity of Florida researchers have discovered how HIV evolves over the course of a persons lifetime into a more deadly form that heralds the onset of full-blown AIDS. The findings could pave the way for new therapeutic agents that target the virus earlier in the disease process, before it takes a lethal turn, scientists say.
We were very interested in understanding how the virus mutates from the beginning of the infection until the end,........Go to the Health-blog (Added on 10/16/2007 7:39:49 PM)
Mortality rates 71 percent lower at top-rated hospitalsPatients have on average a 71 percent lower chance of dying at the nations top-rated hospitals compared with the lowest-rated hospitals across 18 procedures and conditions analyzed in the tenth annual HealthGrades Hospital Quality in America Study, issued today by HealthGrades, the healthcare ratings company. The study, which documents a wide variation in the quality of care between the highest-performing hospitals and all others, also observed........Go to the Health-blog (Added on 10/15/2007 6:29:06 PM)
Racial and ethnic differences in colorectal cancerNew research presented at the 72nd Annual Scientific Meeting of the American College of Gastroenterology emphasizes the importance of colorectal cancer (CRC) screening among racial and ethnic minorities, who have a higher occurence rate of colorectal cancer in comparison to Caucasians. Two studies found more African-Americans had advanced polyps on the right side of the colon than Caucasians, while results from colonoscopy screenings of Latin........Go to the Cancer-blog (Added on 10/15/2007 4:47:53 PM)
Key to lower drug development costsImprovements to the technology infrastructure for researching and developing new biopharmaceuticals would be expected to save the industry hundreds of millions of dollars annually, as per a new economic study* sponsored by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
Prepared by RTI International for NIST, the studys authors observed that over the last two decades emphasis in new drug development has shifted from small-molecule........Go to the Health-blog (Added on 10/11/2007 10:49:27 PM)
How stem cells decideScientists have discovered a key protein that controls how stem cells choose to become either skeletal muscle cells that move limbs, or smooth muscle cells that support blood vessels, as per a research studypublished recently in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). The results not only provide insight into the development of muscle types in the human fetus, but also suggest new ways to treat atherosclerosis and cancer,........Go to the Health-articles (Added on 10/10/2007 4:56:37 PM)
Substance Abuse and ViolenceApproximately 50 percent of Americans over the age of 12 currently drink alcohol, as per a 2003 report by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. While the majority of people who drink alcohol do not become violent, overwhelming evidence implicates alcohol in the expression of violence.
"By far the greatest support for a link between substance use and violent behavior involves alcohol," says Dr. Jeff Kretschmar, a........Go to the Health-blog (Added on 10/10/2007 4:52:14 AM)
Potential breast cancer susceptibility geneLike a crossword-puzzle solver who uses the letters in some answers to figure out others, scientists at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and an international group of collaborators have used data on genes involved in inherited forms of breast cancer to identify a gene associated with non-hereditary cases of the disease.
Their approach, described in a study posted online by the journal Nature Genetics, didnt require any new experiments or lab........Go to the Cancer-blog (Added on 10/10/2007 4:45:20 AM)
How To Reverse The Memory Problems?Irvine researchers have discovered how to reverse the learning and memory problems inherent in the most common form of mental impairment.
Neurobiologist Julie Lauterborn and her colleagues identified how a mutated gene associated with fragile X syndrome blocks brain cells from locking new memories into lasting ones. The gene - called fragile X mental retardation 1 (Fmr1) - is turned off in people with fragile X syndrome. This genetic........Go to the Health-blog (Added on 10/8/2007 11:05:46 AM)
Nurses play a key role in police custody suitesNurses are now playing a valuable role in assessing people held in police custody, complementing the traditional role of the police doctor and improving response times, as per research reported in the latest Journal of Advanced Nursing.
Scientists from the University of Wolverhampton, UK, analysed just under 9,000 calls for medical assistance from five police stations and interviewed 31 custody nurses, custody officers and Forensic Medical........Go to the Health-blog (Added on 10/4/2007 9:50:21 PM)
New York City's infant mortality rate declined in 2006New York Citys infant mortality rate widely regarded as a barometer of a populations general health fell slightly in 2006, the Health Department reported today. The rate in 2006 was 5.9 infant deaths for every 1,000 births, down from 6.0 the prior year. The City has made major progress in reducing infant deaths since the early part of 1990s, when the rate was double what it is today, but the decline has leveled off in recent years. The Health........Go to the Health-blog (Added on 10/4/2007 4:59:07 AM)
New Treatment Guidelines For Low Back PainA summary of evidence on the diagnosis and therapy of low-back pain has prompted the American Pain Society (ASP) and the American College of Physicians (ACP) to issue a new therapy guideline. The guideline is based on a thorough analysis of published research conducted by researchers at the Oregon Evidence-Based Practice Center at Oregon Health & Science University.
Among the recommendations issued by a panel of experts convened by the ACP........Go to the Health-blog (Added on 10/2/2007 9:18:02 PM)
Pregnancy Without Multiple BirthsAn in vitro fertilization technique that can avoid multiple births appears to be effective for women older than 35, as per scientists at the Stanford University School of Medicine.
More than half the women in a retrospective study became pregnant after undergoing the procedure, called a single blastocyst transfer, which transferred just one embryo into the womb.
Nearly 60 percent of IVF procedures in the United States are performed on........Go to the Health-blog (Added on 10/1/2007 9:58:40 PM)
Initial reaction to nicotine can dictate addictionFollowing up on studies that have indicated the speed with which adolescents can get hooked on cigarettes, scientists at the University of Massachusetts Medical School have conducted the first study to determine why some adolescents who try smoking get addicted while others do not.
We know that nicotine can have an immediate impact on the brain, and yet we also know that not every adolescent who tries a cigarette gets hooked, said the studys........Go to the Cancer-blog (Added on 10/1/2007 5:43:53 AM)
Disturbed sleep linked to poorer daytime functionOne of the first large-scale studies to examine the association of sleep behaviors, neuromuscular performance and daytime function in a community dwelling of older women finds that poorer sleep is linked to worse physical function in older women during the daytime, as per a research studyreported in the October 1 issue of the journal SLEEP.
The study, authored by Suzanne E. Goldman, PhD, of the University of Pittsburgh, was based on a total........Go to the Health-blog (Added on 10/1/2007 5:32:44 AM)
R rating and teens exposure to smoking in moviesSeveral recent research studies reported in the United States have determined that young adolescents who see smoking scenes in movies are more likely to smoke. To combat smoking among youth, public health groups have called for Restricted (R) ratings for movies that depict smoking. A new study from New Zealand, however, calls that strategy into question, noting that the R rating may not have the intended effect of putting such movies out of........Go to the Health-blog (Added on 9/27/2007 10:13:47 PM)
ZD4054 and HRPC patients with bone metastasesNew Phase II data presented today suggest that ZD4054, a novel compound in development for the therapy of men with Hormone Resistant Prostate Cancer (HRPC), could offer a promising improvement in overall survival in men with metastatic HRPC who were asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic for pain.1 Patients who received ZD4054 10mg once-daily experienced a 45 percent reduction in the risk of death in comparison to placebo (HR 0.55; 80 percent CI........Go to the Cancer-blog (Added on 9/25/2007 9:54:55 PM)
Smoking can harm oral surgery proceduresA study in the recent issue of the Journal of Periodontology (JOP) observed that smokers had less desirable long term results following periodontal plastic surgery than non-smokers.
The study followed 10 smokers and 10 non-smokers for two years to evaluate the effects of cigarette smoke on the long term outcomes of a therapy to help soft tissue reattach to the root surface of the teeth. After two years, residual gum recession around the........Go to the Health-blog (Added on 9/18/2007 10:12:29 PM)
Women more depressed and men more impulsiveWomen and men appear to respond differently to the same biochemical manipulation. Major depressive disorder (MDD) is one of the most common mental disorders, and it is also one of the most studied. It is already known that reduced serotonin transmission contributes to the pathophysiology, or functional changes, linked to MDD and most of todays most popular antidepressants block the serotonin uptake site, also known as the transporter, in the........Go to the Health-articles (Added on 9/18/2007 5:28:09 AM)
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New model predicts more virulent microbesMicrobes and humans interact in myriad ways, sharing a long history. A number of of the most successful microbes are those that inhabit but do not kill their host. Cheaters lose. Tuberculosis settles into the lungs. Helicobacter pylori, the microbe causing ulcers, burrows into the stomach where it thrives on acids. And Salmonella typhi takes up residence in the gallbladder. All of these organisms can persist in our bodies for decades. What........Go to the Health-blog (Added on 10/17/2007 9:37:04 PM)
Team to study psychosocial stressScientists from Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh, led by Pitt Psychology Professor Thomas Kamarck, are studying the effectiveness of a wrist-mounted instrument for measuring psychosocial stress exposure during the course of daily life.
Kamarck and colleagues have received a $426,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for the first year of their four-year project, which is part of a larger NIH........Go to the Health-blog (Added on 10/17/2007 4:40:25 AM)
Clostridium Difficile : more diarrhoeaRose GibbBloodied gowns left on trolleys, clinical waste bags dumped in corridors and blood stains are not what you want in a hospital. (Undercover reporter working as cleaner) The official Healthcare Commission on Maidstone and Kent NHS Hospital trust does not not provide happier reading.Shambolic mis-management or, to be more precise, lack of management of infection in a Kent NHS Trust. A depressing catalogue of incompetence. Lack of........Go to the Health-blog (Added on 10/16/2007 6:56:07 PM)
Once-a-day epilepsy drug is effective for partial seizuresThe epilepsy drug lamotrigine is effective in controlling partial seizures when taken once a day as an added treatment, as per a research studyreported in the October 16, 2007, issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
These results are important because maintaining stable blood levels of epilepsy drugs and good control of seizures depends on people taking their medications reliably and consistently, said........Go to the Health-blog (Added on 10/15/2007 6:26:39 PM)
Risks of NSAIDs injuryPatients underreported their use of common but potentially dangerous over-the-counter pain medications known as NSAIDs, as per research presented at the Annual Scientific Meeting of the American College of Gastroenterology. This is a serious issue given what we know about the significant risk of injury and bleeding in the GI tract in patients using NSAIDs, said David Johnson, M.D., FACG, one of the scientists and President of the America........Go to the Health-blog (Added on 10/15/2007 4:58:35 PM)
Genome update defines landscape of breast and colon cancersOne year after completing the first large-scale report sequencing breast and colon cancer genes, Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center researchers have studied the vast majority of protein-coding genes which now suggest a landscape dominated by genes that each are mutated in relatively few cancers.
Their report, published online in the October 11 issue of Science Express, indicates that while little is known about these less-usually mutated........Go to the Cancer-blog (Added on 10/12/2007 5:01:56 AM)
Tooth loss, dementia may be linkedTooth loss may predict the development of dementia late in life, as per research reported in the recent issue of The Journal of the American Dental Association (JADA).
Numerous past studies have shown that patients with dementia are more likely than patients without the condition to have poor oral health. Few researchers, however, have examined the relationship from the opposite direction, to determine whether poor oral health actually may........Go to the Health-blog (Added on 10/10/2007 7:11:42 PM)
Positive results for airway bypassMountain View, CA, October 9, 2007 - Broncus Technologies, Inc., a medical device company investigating the airway bypass procedure for the therapy of emphysema, today announced that the results of its open-label Exhale Drug-Eluting Stent feasibility study have been reported in the recent issue of the Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery. Positive results include a statistically significant reduction in the amount of air trapped in........Go to the Health-blog (Added on 10/10/2007 4:50:27 AM)
Model to study age-related macular degenerationScientists at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have created the first animal model of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) caused by a mutation known to produce disease in people, an important first step in developing therapys. The study appears in the recent issue of Human Molecular Genetics.
Age-related macular degeneration is the most common cause of vision loss in elderly people, affecting more than 10 million people........Go to the Health-blog (Added on 10/10/2007 4:38:56 AM)
Race and use of breast cancer therapyA new study finds therapy for breast cancer differs between African-American women and white women, though the differences are partly dependent on insurance type. The study appears in the November 15, 2007 issue of CANCER, a peer-evaluated journal of the American Cancer Society.
Dr. Mousumi Banerjee of the University of Michigan and co-researchers Dr. Kendra Schwartz from Wayne State University and Dr. William Hryniuk from the Cancer........Go to the Cancer-blog (Added on 10/8/2007 8:52:00 AM)
Cancer Care Unaffected By Lower Medicare ReimbursementsPatients perceive no significant change in the quality of care for cancer since the United States government passed the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 (MMA) as per a research studyreported in the November 15, 2007 issue of CANCER, a peer-evaluated journal of the American Cancer Society. The new study, led by Jolle Friedman from the Duke Clinical Research Institute in Durham, North Carolina, reports that,........Go to the Cancer-blog (Added on 10/8/2007 8:50:51 AM)
What emotional memories are made ofBoth extensive psychological research and personal experiences confirm that events that happen during heightened states of emotion such as fear, anger and joy are far more memorable than less dramatic occurrences. In a report this week in Cell, Johns Hopkins scientists and their collaborators at Cold Spring Harbor and New York University have identified the likely biological basis for this: a hormone released during emotional arousal primes........Go to the Health-articles (Added on 10/4/2007 9:41:46 PM)
Cancer researchers seek safe reduction of radiotherapyUniversity of Manchester researchers will discuss their research aimed at reducing the side effects of radiotherapy without decreasing its effectiveness at the National Cancer Research Institute conference in Birmingham today (Tuesday 2 October 2007).
Around half of patients receive radiotherapy as part of their cancer therapy but the dose is limited by the possibility of causing side effects (toxicity) to the normal tissues and organs that........Go to the Cancer-blog (Added on 10/2/2007 10:31:16 PM)
10 future web trends including personalized medicineRichard MacManus at Read/WriteWeb recently highlighted 10 future web trends to look out for over the next 10 years
semantic we
artificial intelligenc
virtual worlds including Second Lif
mobile we
attention econom
web sites as web service........Go to the Health-blog (Added on 10/2/2007 8:30:53 PM)
Lower metabolism, eating behavior possible cause of overweight in narcolepsyA lower metabolism, as well as slight changes in eating behavior, could explain the positive energy balance leading to being overweight in narcolepsy, as per a research studyreported in the October 1 issue of the journal SLEEP.
The study, authored by Dorothe Chabas, MD, PhD, of the Fdration des Pathologies du Sommeil, Hpital Piti-Salptrire, Paris, France, focused on 13 patients with narcolepsy and nine healthy controls matched for age,........Go to the Health-blog (Added on 10/1/2007 5:38:52 AM)
Alcohol and sleep restriction can affect young men's alertnessCombining low-dose alcohol with moderate sleep restriction can have a significant adverse effect on young mens subjective alertness and performance behind the wheel, as per a research studyreported in the October 1 issue of the journal SLEEP.
The study, authored by Andrew Vakulin, of the Adelaide Institute for Sleep Health at Repatriation General Hospital in Australia, focused on 21 healthy young men, aged 18-30 years, who all had normal........Go to the Health-blog (Added on 10/1/2007 5:37:33 AM)
Drug Shows Promise In Advanced Kidney CancerA new drug has shown promise in patients with advanced kidney cancer whose options run out after their tumour fails to respond to the cutting edge treatment.
The study, presented today (Wednesday) at the European Cancer Conference (ECCO 14) in Barcelona, showed that the experimental drug, axitinib, shrank tumours and delayed progression of the disease in a group of patients who are among the toughest to treat.
In the study, researchers........Go to the Cancer-blog (Added on 9/26/2007 8:55:15 PM)
European directive will halt use of MRI scansBarcelona, Spain: Implementation of the Physical Agents (Electromagnetic Fields) Directive 2004/40/EC in all Member States could effectively halt the use of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), an important tool in cancer diagnosis, therapy, and research, a scientist told a press conference at the European Cancer Conference (ECCO 14) today (Monday September 24). The Directive is due to be implemented across Europe by April 2008.
The Directive........Go to the Health-blog (Added on 9/25/2007 5:11:14 AM)
Sexual function affected by stem cell transplantA long-term study observed that a type of stem cell transplant used for patients with life-threatening diseases, such as leukemia and lymphoma, results in decreased sexual function and activity for recipients. Further, males are likely to recover from these changes over time, while the sexuality of female patients remains compromised. In addition, neither male nor female long-term cancer survivors regained levels of sexual activity and function........Go to the Health-blog (Added on 9/18/2007 8:07:36 PM)
Initiative to increase participation in clinical trialsBefore a new therapy becomes available, scientists must recruit hundreds or thousands of patients to participate in clinical research trials. But finding these patients is often difficult. A number of potential candidates are unaware of the studies or unable to participate due do logistical hurdles. As a result, patients miss out on opportunities for novel therapy approaches -- and beneficial new therapies take longer to reach the public.
In........Go to the Cancer-blog (Added on 9/18/2007 5:16:31 AM)
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