Engineers have found a way to pinpoint and identify the tiny iron oxide particles associated with Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases in the brain.
The technique is likely to accelerate research on the cause of the diseases and could lead to the first diagnostic procedure for Alzheimer’s in patients while they are alive.
“We’re the first to be able to tell you both the location of the particles and what kind of particles they are,” said Mark Davidson, a Unive
A team of scientists has identified a cellular mechanism that may help explain the puzzle of why people of African descent are more susceptible to tuberculosis infection and why, once infected, they develop more severe states of the disease than whites. The team includes researchers from University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH). The paper will appear online in the February 23 issue of Science Express.
Approximately eight million peopl
A team of researchers from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, working in partnership with colleagues from Senegal, has found that intermittent preventive malaria treatment of children under five has a dramatic impact on malaria frequency.
In a randomised, placebo-controlled trial, 1,136 children aged between two months and five years received either intermittent preventive treatment, consisting of one dose of artesunate plus one dose of sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine, or t
Melanoma is the most common cancer amongst us. It is the cutaneous tumour with the worst prognosis and its incidence is growing. Although possible overdiagnosis has been criticised, the reality is that, the death rate has gone up from 6,000 to 9,000 cases in ten years. In the USA, in concrete, it is the main cause of death amongst women between 19 and 50 years of age. According to specialists from the University Hospital and from the USA, early diagnosis guarantees cure in 99% of patients with melan
New report suggests promising areas for intervention
With the rapid aging of the population, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is intensifying the search for strategies to preserve brain health as people grow older. The effort moved an important step forward today with a report by an expert panel to the NIH, suggesting a number of promising avenues for maintaining or enhancing cognitive and emotional function. Specifically, the group said, education, cardiovascular health, p
A Phase II clinical trial is under way at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in conjunction with the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine to determine if bevacizumab (also referred to as Avastin®, an anti-angiogenesis drug that is designed to inhibit the growth of blood vessels in tumors) in combination with abdominal radiation therapy and chemotherapy can reduce localized pancreatic tumors that have not metastasized or spread to other systems or organs in the body. Northwestern Memor
Mount Sinai School of Medicine researchers have identified three proteins that may be first tools for confirming diagnosis of ALS
Claire Collier went to see her doctor shortly after she started experiencing cramping and other symptoms. This started a series of referrals and seemingly endless stream of tests. Finally, nine months later after test after test had come back negative, she received the diagnosis of ALS. Only then could she begin to receive the treatment needed to trea
Arthritis can be treated with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) but the incidence of gastrointestinal problems is significant, resulting in approximately 103,000 hospitalizations and 16,500 deaths per year in the United States. The alternative COX-2 inhibitors may reduce these adverse events, but some have been withdrawn from the market due to cardiovascular complications and other adverse effects. Several questions remain about the safety advantage of COX-2 inhibitors compared with no
“About 40 percent of the American public is considered to be at moderate risk for heart disease,” says Iftikhar Kullo, M.D., of Mayo Clinic, the lead author of the study. “Nearly half the heart attacks come without warning, which means we need to do a better job of screening people. This test has that potential.”
The test, aortic pulse wave velocity (aPWV), measures how fast the pulse wave travels down the aorta, the major artery arising from the heart. It is a potential screening
It is widely believed by the public that replacing sugars with artificial sweeteners will help reduce calorie (energy) intake and aid weight loss. As a result sales of foods and drinks sweetened with artificially sweeteners are at an all time high, as are rates of overweight and obesity. However, while appropriate use of artificial sweeteners may help control energy intake and bodyweight in the short-term, little is known about the long-term impact of artificial sweetener consumption on energy inta
Initiatives aimed at cutting the number of errors made when prescribing medicines to children are the focus of a project being led by researchers at The University of Nottingham and The School of Pharmacy, University of London.
The COSMIC (Cooperative of Safety of Medicines in Children) study is surveying hospitals around the country to find out more about the practices they use to try to reduce mistakes in the doses of medicines given to children.
The 18-month project wil
From 1 March, the Osteopathy and Manual Medicine Service at the Policlínica San José in Vitoria-Gasteiz, administrative capital of the Basque Autonomous Community, will have the very first Vertebral Axial Decompression Table in Spain. Patented by the North American firm, Vax-D, this will be the third table in Europe (they have just acquired two more in Great Britain).
The new table enables the treatment of problems of the spinal column, in the lumbar region, where there is acute and/o
CIHR researchers say MRIs can make surgical treatment an option for more patients
As Epilepsy Awareness Month approaches, researchers have found a way to use magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to detect minute brain lesions in people with severe epilepsy, making surgical treatment potentially available to many more patients.
Epilepsy affects about 1% of the general population. In many patients with epilepsy, seizures cannot be controlled with medication but surgery can he
Research into the condition and composition of cells in the marrow and blood vessels.
The hematopoietic system always reacts keenly to external actions, especially to penetrating radiation. The number of hematopoietic cells of all types (both dividing and ripening) increased in the marrow of all irradiated mice in this experiment. The researchers do not exclude the possibility that hematopoietic cells divide more rapidly and go quicker through all development stages under the
Scientists at Keele University in Staffordshire have discovered the first evidence of a link between human exposure to aluminium and multiple sclerosis.
Their research has demonstrated very high (up to 40 times the control level) urinary excretion of aluminium in MS, particularly so in the relapsing-remitting form of the disease. Urinary excretion of iron was also significantly elevated in MS and particularly so in the secondary progressive form of the disease.
Urinary ex
Scientists have identified a new compound called CDDO-Im that protects against the development of liver cancer in laboratory animals. Experiments, led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, show CDDO-Im to be effective at doses 100 times lower than other compounds known to prevent cancer in people. Because of its makeup, the researchers believe CDDO-Im could be particularly effective in preventing cancers with a strong link to inflammation, such as liver, colon, pro
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