Researchers have demonstrated a technique that has the potential to reduce the toxicity of vaccines and to make smaller doses more effective, according to a study published in PLoS Pathogens.
Developing vaccines is fraught with challenges, particularly because many candidates carry a high risk of toxic side effects. For example, twenty percent of people immunized against smallpox will suffer side effects.
Wilfred Jefferies, a researcher at the University of British Colum
The abortion drug mifepristone (Mifeprex,TM RU-486), initially touted as a more convenient alternative to surgical abortion, has been linked to serious adverse reactions, including several deaths in otherwise healthy women. In “Analysis of Severe Adverse Events Related to the Use of Mifepristone as an Abortifacient,” researchers Margaret M Gary MD and Donna J Harrison MD provide an in-depth study of mifepristone adverse event data gathered through the FDA’s Adverse Event Reporting System. Their
Stopping regular blood transfusions in children with sickle cell disease who are at risk for a stroke means their stroke risk likely will return, researchers have found.
A study of children whose stroke risk was reduced by blood transfusions found that within a few months of halting transfusion, 14 of the 41 children resumed at-risk status and two children had strokes, says Dr. Robert J. Adams, neurologist and stroke specialist at the Medical College of Georgia who authored the ar
A new procedure for the imaging of coronary veins proves to be “less invasive, have less complications, and improves the quality of diagnosis and treatment ” for individuals undergoing surgical procedures on the heart and particularly the coronary veins, a recent study found.
The study, the first of its kind, compared ECG-gated cardiac MDCT angiography to conventional angiography. “MDCT angiography is a reliable alternative to invasive conventional coronary angiography, and sho
If heart disease and diabetes aren’t bad enough, now comes another reason to watch your weight. According to a study just released, packing on too many pounds can increase the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.
A team led by researchers at the Farber Institute for Neurosciences at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia and Edith Cowan University in Joondalup, Western Australia has shown that being extremely overweight or obese increases the likelihood of developing Alzh
Because of inaccuracies in prescribing, 42 percent of patients rushed to emergency rooms with symptoms of a heart attack received doses of powerful drugs intended stop clotting in coronary arteries outside of the recommended range, a new analysis by Duke Clinical Research Institute (DCRI) cardiologists has found.
While numerous clinical trials have proven that these drugs can save lives, correct dosing is crucial, the researchers said, since the therapeutic window is narr
Taking 1,000 international units (IU) of vitamin D3 daily appears to lower an individual’s risk of developing certain cancers – including colon, breast, and ovarian cancer – by up to 50 percent, according to cancer prevention specialists at the Moores Cancer Center at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) Medical Center. The researchers call for prompt public health action to increase intake of vitamin D3 as an inexpensive tool for prevention of diseases that claim millions of lives
A compound isolated from a cyanobacterium, a type of blue-green algae known as Nostoc, shows promise of becoming a natural drug candidate for fighting Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases, according to an in vitro study by researchers in Switzerland. It is believed to be the first time that a potent agent against Alzheimer’s has been isolated from cyanobacteria, commonly known as ’pond scum.’ The study was published in the Dec. 26 issue of the Journal of Natural
Howard Hughes Medical Institute researchers have discovered a molecular link between a high-fat, Western-style diet, and the onset of type 2 diabetes. In studies in mice, the scientists showed that a high-fat diet disrupts insulin production, resulting in the classic signs of type 2 diabetes.
In an article published in the December 29, 2005, issue of the journal Cell, the researchers report that knocking out a single gene encoding the enzyme GnT-4a glycosyltransferase (GnT-4a
One in five teens needing inpatient psychiatric care may be manic-depressive
Clinicians at Bradley Hospital, the nation’s first psychiatric hospital for children and adolescents, have found that bipolar disorder is more common than expected in teens in a psychiatric inpatient setting.
“In the past, mental health professionals thought that about one percent of teens was bipolar – our research indicates that if a strict definition of the illness is applied, up to twen
A perspective article by Stephen Soumerai, professor in the Department of Ambulatory Care and Prevention (of Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care), suggests that the new Medicare Drug Benefit may be harmful to the health of the poor, elderly, and disabled, the so-called “dually eligible” beneficiaries enrolled in both Medicare and Medicaid. This article appears in the Dec. 29 New England Journal of Medicine, and was lead by Rachel Elliott, a Commonwealth Fund Harkness Fellow at
For the first time, researchers compared dosing regimens of an antiepileptic drug (AED) used for treatment of partial epilepsy in adults, in conjunction with other AEDs. They looked at dosing used in clinical everyday life (flexible dosing) and that used in classical clinical trials (fixed dose) and discovered that the flexible dosing method was superior. The study is published in Epilepsia, the official journal of the International League Against Epilepsy.
Researchers observed how pati
On the one hand, farmed salmon has more heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids than wild salmon. On the other hand, it also tends to have much higher levels of chemical contaminants that are known to cause cancer, memory impairment and neurobehavioral changes in children. What’s a consumer to do?
In general, a new study shows that the net benefits of eating wild Pacific salmon outweigh those of eating farmed Atlantic salmon, when the risks of chemical contaminants are considered
A deficiency in vitamin B1 can be a serious complication following a popular surgery to treat obesity, according to a case study published in the December 27, 2005 issue of Neurology, the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology. If untreated, vitamin B1 deficiency can lead to Wernicke encephalopathy, a severe neurological condition.
In the study, a 35-year-old woman developed many difficulties after gastric bypass (bariatric) surgery for obesity. Difficulties included
Specialists of the Gamalei Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology, Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, and the Botkin Clinical Hospital have developed the method that allows to significantly simplify examination of patients suffering from stomach and duodenal diseases caused by the Helicobacter pylori bacteria. The researchers have created immunological test-system capable to discover the pathogene toxin in the patients’ saliva and faeces without resorting to traditional complicate
A sensor developed by a team of analytical chemists of the Voronezh Technological Academy allows you to determine the quality of meat, to learn whether it is fresh, and how long it has been kept. Researchers headed by Professor Yakov Korenman and Tatiana Kuchmenko, Doctor of Science (Chemistry), have produced a sensor which helps to quickly and accurately analyse the scent of meat; to identify the adipose and muscular tissue oxidation products through the piesoelectric microweighing method.
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