Scientists at Karolinska Institutet have discovered a previously unknown virus that has been found to affect children. The virus, called human bocavirus, was identified by the team using a new method for virus discovery on respiratory tract samples drawn from children at Karolinska University Hospital in Stockholm. Their findings are published in the latest issue of PNAS (the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA).
Respiratory problems caused by infection of the l
Higher doses needed to produce effect, more research needed to clarify risks
A new report from the Nurse’s Health Study finds that regular, long-term aspirin use can significantly reduce the risk of colorectal cancer, as suggested by several earlier studies. However, the benefit appears to require more than a decade and is strongest at dose levels associated with a greater risk of side effects such as bleeding. Similar results were found for non-steroidal anti-inflammatory dr
Earlier detection and treatment could prevent impaired mental development
A unique blood test detects iron deficiency in infants earlier and more accurately than the commonly used hemoglobin screening test, according to a study in the August 24/31 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Iron deficiency is estimated to affect nearly 10 percent of American children one to two years of age. Early detection and treatment are critical because iron deficiency
A team of scientists at UCL (University College London) has discovered why we often miss major changes in our surroundings – such as a traffic light turning green when we’re listening to the radio. Our inability to notice large changes in a visual scene is a phenomenon often exploited by magicians – but only now can scientists put their finger on the exact part of the brain that is so often deceived.
The UCL team shows, in a research paper published in the September issue of
FA class of drugs known as MAO-B inhibitors may be effective in improving motor symptoms in people with early Parkinson’s disease and may delay the need for treatment with other drugs, according to a new systematic review of current evidence.
However, contrary to results from other studies, the researchers found that MAO-B (monoamine oxidase B) inhibitors do not appear to slow the disease’s progression.
“ The benefits of MAO-B inhibitors are small but may be worthwhile i
Patients with primary biliary cirrhosis who are treated with methotrexate have an increased risk of death, according to a new systematic review of studies.
In five randomized controlled trials involving 457 people, the authors report that for patients treated with methotrexate, as a single therapy or in combination with other drug treatment, pooled data showed a tendency toward an increased risk of death or liver transplantation. The brand names for methotrexate are Rheumatre
A new study by NYU dental researchers suggests that women with dental caries (cavities) who deliver Caesarean-section babies should pay special attention to their newborns’ oral health.
The NYU researchers focused on a caries-causing bacterium that mothers with caries transmit to their newborns. Known as Streptococcus mutans, the bacterium grows on tooth surfaces and in crannies between teeth just above the gum line, where it multiplies and converts foods, especially those co
Because of the very high costs in developing drugs for rare genetic diseases, and the low return on investment, the pharmaceutical industry has rarely developed specific treatments for many of these diseases. But a new public-private partnership, called the European Rare Diseases Therapeutic Initiative (ERDITI), could provide an important new mechanism for developing new drugs.
In an article in this month’s open access international medical journal PLoS Medicine, Ala
Changes in heart mass and volume linked to early signs of left ventricle problems
Using magnetic resonance imaging technology, or MRI, to tag the work of millions of individual strands of heart muscle fibers, researchers at Johns Hopkins have successfully mapped the smallest deformations inside the beating hearts of 441 middle-aged and elderly men and women who have either silently developed heart disease or remained healthy. The novel use of the MRI allowed the researchers to creat
Heart healthy habits are good for oral health, too, according to a new study published in the current issue of the Journal of Periodontology, the official publication of the American Academy of Periodontology.
Researchers from Case Western Reserve University examined data from 12,110 individuals who participated in the third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III) and found that individuals who exercised, had healthy eating habits and maintained a normal weigh
New breast cancer research shows for the first time that even women with large breast tumors can benefit from a less invasive biopsy method that has been reserved until now for women with small breast cancers.
Lymphatic mapping and sentinel node biopsy, when used to determine how far the cancer has progressed into the lymph nodes, can help some patients avoid the pain and discomfort of full armpit node removal, which often causes swelling, numbness and infection.
The su
Sacha Nelson of Brandeis University in Waltham, MA and Rudolf Jaenisch of the Whitehead Institute of Biomedical Research in Cambridge, MA and their colleagues report online today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Early Edition that spontaneous neuronal activity is reduced in the cortex of a knockout mouse model for the childhood neurodevelopmental disorder, Rett Syndrome. The Rett Syndrome Research Foundation (RSRF) and the McKnight Foundation funded this project.
R
The largest trial so far conducted using Butterbur extract to treat intermittent allergic rhinitis (hay fever) shows that this plant extract is as effective as a commonly used antihistamine (Telfast 180).
In recent years there have been a few reports of small research trials that give a mixed view about the effectiveness of Butterbur extract for treating intermittent allergic rhinitis (IAR). Now researchers from Germany and Switzerland have published results from a randomised, double-b
Every eight adults in Sweden suffer from migraine. Using a new method, researchers at Göteborg have managed for the first time ever to provide a detailed picture of an untreated attack. This will be of great significance for the development of new forms of treatment. The findings are reported in a dissertation at the Sahgrenska Academy.
In the first nation-wide study of migraine in Sweden, it is shown that one million individuals, more than 13 percent of the adult population, suffer fr
Kentucky study indicates combination of surgery and radiation yields better mobility, lower death rates in patients suffering from spinal cord compression
Cancer patients and their physicians have new answers as they seek the best treatment for the immobilizing trauma of spinal cord compression in metastatic cancer, thanks to Roy Patchell and colleagues at the University of Kentucky.
In this week’s Lancet, Patchell’s UK research team evaluate traditional surgic
Researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center and the National Cancer Institute have found that an experimental vaccine can prime the immune system to help fight an aggressive form of lymphoma, even though prior therapy had eliminated virtually all of the B cells thought necessary to mount such a defense.
Their study, published in the September issue of Nature Medicine, has both important basic science and clinical implications, researchers say. It demon
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