Uncontrolled use of antiretroviral drugs in developing countries could accelerate HIV resistance, warn researchers in this week’s BMJ.
Most people in developing countries who suspect they have a sexually transmitted infection seek care in the private sector because of the stigma attached, and evidence of uncontrolled use is already emerging among largely unregulated private providers, says Ruairi Brugha of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
These treatm
For patients with eczema, applying fluticasone propionate cream twice a week, alongside daily emollient treatment, significantly reduces the risk of relapse, say researchers in this week’s BMJ.
The study involved 376 patients with moderate to severe eczema from 39 dermatology clinics in six countries. All patients were experiencing a ’flare’ of their condition.
Patients applied fluticasone propionate (cream or ointment; once or twice daily) for four weeks to s
Evaluation of WHO criteria for identifying patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome out of hospital: prospective observational study BMJ Volume 326, pp 1354-8
Current World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines for diagnosing suspected SARS may not be sufficiently sensitive in assessing patients before admission to hospital, suggest researchers from Hong Kong in this week’s BMJ.
The study took place in a newly opened SARS screening clinic at the Prince of Wales Hos
Researchers at the Fritz-Haber Institute in Berlin have recently discovered chemical-thermal-mechanical oscillations that show, indirectly, the rate of certain reactions.
The pattern formation of a catalytic surface reaction is influenced by the temperature at which the reaction takes place. If the temperature of the surface is changed, then the course of the chemical processes changes as well. In extreme cases this change can lead to front formation, i.e. patterns, or, for example,
A new analysis showed that increases in bone mineral density (BMD) only accounted for 6 to 12 percent of the reduction in non-vertebral fracture risk that resulted from osteoporosis treatment over three years in postmenopausal women.
Previously, analyses of clinical trial data for three major osteoporosis therapies have shown that increases in BMD account for only a fraction (
Protein could provide clues for understanding type two diabetes
Along the multifaceted insulin pathway, Dartmouth Medical School biochemists have found a missing link that may spark the connection for glucose to move into cells. The discovery is another strand in the remarkable web of molecular signals that regulate traffic through cells and helps elucidate crucial aspects of how the hormone insulin regulates a membrane movement process.
The work is being discussed June 21 at
MGH imaging study finds differences in brain area responsible for vigilance
A key area in the brains of people who displayed an inhibited temperament as toddlers shows a greater response to new faces than does the same brain area in adults who were uninhibited early in life, according to a study by researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). The imaging studies of the amygdala – a part of the brain that responds to events requiring extra vigilance – appear in the June 20 i
New study presented today at Image-guided Therapies media briefing
Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) combined with chemotherapy is currently being used to treat malignant liver tumors at a Boston hospital on the basis of results from a new study appearing in the July issue of the journal Radiology. The minimally invasive, outpatient procedure is performed on primary liver cancer or colon cancer tumors that have spread to the liver of patients at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.
Minimally invasive treatment of disease, a revolutionary alternative to larger surgical incisions and longer recovery times, is undergoing its own transformation. Interventional radiologists are fusing imaging technologies with the accuracy of robots and automated instruments to help physicians target cancerous tumors and diseases with exquisite precision.
Three major categories of technology are at the forefront: robotics, global positioning systems (GPS) and next-generation image di
People who brush their teeth for longer and harder than is necessary may not be making them any cleaner, and could be causing permanent damage, according to new research.
A study using electric toothbrushes by the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, UK, found that when researchers increased the length of people’s brushing regime and the pressure they applied to their teeth, the removal of harmful bacteria was only improved up to a point.
Beyond that point, say experts from Newcastl
Policies like the London Plan, which are designed to shape the cities of the future, are based on outdated assumptions about the way people live and work, according to research funded by the Economic & Social Research Council.
“There is a great deal of talk about ‘joined-up thinking’’ about transport, housing and other policies,” says project leader Dr Helen Jarvis, “but in practice householders are having to fire-fight in a climate where planners and policymakers are not up to date.”
Clearest-Ever Evidence from VLT Spectra of Powerful Event
A very bright burst of gamma-rays was observed on March 29, 2003 by NASA’’s High Energy Transient Explorer (HETE-II), in a sky region within the constellation Leo.
Within 90 min, a new, very bright light source (the “optical afterglow”) was detected in the same direction by means of a 40-inch telescope at the Siding Spring Observatory (Australia) and also in Japan. The gamma-ray burst was designated GRB 030329, acco
Transplant research takes a hopeful step
Researchers at Kansas State University have successfully transplanted cells from one species to another without triggering an immune system rejection response or requiring drugs to suppress the immune system.
This hopeful news for transplant medicine is reported in the online edition of the journal Experimental Neurology, published by Elsevier.
Researchers transplanted umbilical cord matrix stem cells from a pig into the bra
Fifteen days after the launch of Mars Express, Europe has reaffirmed its trust in Soyuz: next stop Venus in 2005!
Just two weeks after the flawless launch of Mars Express on its way towards the Red Planet, ESA and the European-Russian company Starsem reinforced their relationship with the signature of the Venus Express launch services agreement.
The contract was signed at Le Bourget (Paris) Air Show, Tuesday, 17 June 2003, by David Southwood, Director of Science for the European Sp
Acrylamide, a possible human carcinogen that has been found in a variety of fried and starch-based foods, appears to exert its mutagenicity (the capacity to induce mutations) by forming DNA adducts and introducing genetic mutations, according to a study in the June 18 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. DNA adducts can interfere with the DNA replication process and lead to mutations and, in theory, to tumor formation.
Exposure to acrylamide has been shown to increase the
Mayo Clinic researchers have identified a new member of the important B7 family of immune system “co-stimulators.” Co-stimulators are molecules that are capable of turning the immune system on or off — and in the process, profoundly affecting human health.
Mayo Clinic researchers named this newest molecule B7-H4. It inhibits the action of T cells, the immune system warriors whose basic job is to attack invaders. Turning off T cells helps transplant patients accept foreign organs. But turni
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