Possible implications for some anti-inflammatory drugs used in fighting cardiovascular disease
Very little is known about how aortic aneurysms initially form and progress. Now, researchers from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have shown in an atherosclerotic animal model that susceptibility for developing aneurysms increases significantly when an inflammation pathway important in asthma is activated. Mice without the inflammation gene were protected from aneurysm
Ohio State University researchers are working on developing a multi-purpose cancer drug that might one day scale back the number of medications some cancer patients need to take.
In laboratory tests, a dual-action compound called OSU 111 has shown promise in killing prostate cancer cells. “It had a direct toxic effect on cancer cells, and also prevented angiogenesis – the formation of new blood vessels from pre-existing ones,” said Tom Li, the study’s lead investigator and an a
The ever-slowing capacity to clear the build-up of such toxins as isoprostanes and misfolded proteins that accumulate in the brains of Alzheimer’s disease patients causes the death of cells involved in memory and language. Domenico Pratico, MD, Associate Professor of Pharmacology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, and colleagues have shown in a preliminary study that reducing the levels of isoprostanes, which specifically reflect oxidative damage in the brain, by draining c
Greater use of e-mail consultations could be beneficial to patients according to research from Imperial College London and the University of Edinburgh.
The research, published today in the British Medical Journal, looked at the extent of e-mail consultations already occurring, and measured the opinions of doctors and patients on their effectiveness.
Dr Josip Car from Imperial College London, based at Charing Cross Hospital, and co-author of the research, comments: “With such
Imported resistance has rendered ineffective the two affordable malaria drugs which have been the mainstay of malaria treatment in Africa for forty years, according to experts writing today in the journal Science.
Scientists from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and colleagues from institutions in the USA, South Africa and Thailand believe that mutations causing drug resistance in Plasmodium falciparum (the parasite which causes the most deadly form of malaria) origi
Navarre doctor Rosa María Alás Brun has shown, in her PhD thesis defended at the Public University of Navarre, that, despite contamination rates in Pamplona being very low, these still have an influence on death rates.
After analysing the development, between 1991 and 1999, of the levels of five of the most representative contaminants in Pamplona – particles in suspension, sulphur dioxide, oxides of nitrogen, carbon monoxide and ozone -, Rosa María Alás Brun holds that this level o
Bacteriophages – the friendly viruses that can wreak havoc on harmful bacteria – are being harnessed to beat back Salmonella in livestock. A phage invented and recently patented by food safety researchers at Iowa State University is the first phage to control the spread of Salmonella in swine and to prevent the bacterium from developing into a vehicle of foodborne illness.
“The pen isn’t the only place pigs get Salmonella,” said D.L. (Hank) Harris, an animal science researcher at ISU.
Researchers in London are to explore the effectiveness of gingko, a complementary medicine traditionally used to treat circulatory problems, as a treatment for early dementia.
The study of 250 patients aged over 55 will seek to find out whether GPs can help patients by prescribing the supplement to those with memory loss, one of the early symptoms of dementia.
It will be the first to test gingko as a treatment for those who are still living in the community and are being t
A room where people smoke contains dozens or hundreds of times higher air concentrations of endotoxins than smoke-free indoor air. This has been shown by a research team from Lund University. Endotoxin is the name of a group of poisonous substances produced by bacteria and naturally occurring in the air and elsewhere. In normal low concentrations, endotoxins are not dangerous; indeed, they might play a role in protecting us against allergies. But at higher levels of concentration they induce seri
A new type of artificial hip, more robust and longer lasting than conventional artificial joints, is to undergo clinical trials and could be available for patients within five years.
These ‘ceramic-on-metal’ joints cause less damage to the surrounding bone than conventional artificial hips, therefore many recipients will avoid the need for further surgery. They could also lower the age at which it is practical for patients to undergo hip replacement, helping them to continue to lead
A group of researchers at the Public University of Navarre, led by Senior Lecturer in Zoology, Elena Urdaneta Artola, have studied both the mechanisms whereby foodstuffs known as functional act at a gastrointestinal level as well as their possible beneficial effects on the health of individuals.
The study, which will continue until 2006, has received the Ortiz de Landazuri Scholarship for 2004. This is an annual award by the Department of Health of the Navarre Government in reco
Most of the million-plus people having LASIK each year to correct their vision are happy with the results, according to a 15-year literature review that indicates most reasons for discontent could be resolved with more patient education before surgery.
“Basically this confirms our own clinical experience: patients are happy, patients turn out well,” said Dr. Balamurali Ambati, ophthalmologist and corneal specialist at the Medical College of Georgia.
Dr. Ambati was asked
In this retrospective study, eighty-eight patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) were treated with long-term chemotherapy infusion into the hepatic artery, the main artery that supplies the liver. Known as hepatic arterial chemotherapy, this treatment requires a reservoir/pump system to supply the drug directly to the liver and the liver cancer. The reservoir port systems currently available have to be surgically implanted, making this treatment unavailable to many patients who were u
New Model Can Aid In Understanding Immune System Diseases Researchers trying to understand diseases and develop new treatments can’t always depend on existing tools or organisms to make discoveries; sometimes they first must create models of the problems they want to study.
Such is the case with Epstein-Barr, a common virus that is often harmless but likely contributes to malignancies and autoimmnune disease in people with compromised immunity. A University of Iowa team has enginee
Teenagers suffering from depression improved more with a combination of an antidepressant and cognitive-behavior therapy than they did when treated with either separately, a multicenter study published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association shows.
Results of a national, yearlong government-funded study in which UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas researchers participated also showed that depressed teens treated only with cognitive-behavior therapy did little bet
But talk therapy alone is no better than placebo
A new study from the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center and 12 other medical centers shows the most effective treatment for adolescents with major depressive disorder is a combination of antidepressants and psychotherapy. Researchers say the study’s findings indicate this combination treatment may be best for both improving depression and reducing the level of suicidal thinking in adolescents.
The multicenter Treatment for
Feedback
