Better Prevention; Evidence Does Not Support Links to Wider Array of Illnesses
Scientific evidence links mold and other factors related to damp conditions in homes and buildings to asthma symptoms in some people with the chronic disorder, as well as to coughing, wheezing, and upper respiratory tract symptoms in otherwise healthy people, says a new report from the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies. However, the available evidence does not support an association between ei
Volunteers now sought for Stanford trial
Doctors may someday have a new way to combat AIDS by going straight to the source: destroying the virus before it has a chance to wreak havoc on a patient’s immune system.
Thomas Merigan, MD, the George and Lucy Becker Professor of Medicine in infectious diseases at Stanford University School of Medicine, is seeking volunteers for a study to test a possible method of empowering an infected person’s own cells to destroy HIV a
High efficacy ratings further validate research on molecules anti-infective and anti-inflammatory properties
Zengen Inc. announced today positive phase I/II results for its proprietary molecule CZEN-002 for the treatment of vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC), commonly known as vaginal yeast infection. The open label, non-randomized study was designed to evaluate the safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics of CZEN-002 in patients with VVC.
The majority of subjects in the study
The American Thoracic Society (ATS) and the European Respiratory Society (ERS) announced the establishment of a set of unique, web-based guidelines to help physicians throughout the world treat chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The announcement came at the 2004 ATS International Conference in Orlando, Florida.
COPD usually involves severe emphysema and chronic bronchitis, which severely affect the alveoli of the lungs, leading to illness and death. Smoking is a leading cause of
With new technology that uses short strands of genetic material to shut down a specific gene, researchers have regulated immune system proteins to boost production of cells that seek and destroy cancer cells. This approach may improve the effectiveness of vaccines in the treatment of tumors, including malignant brain tumors.
Results of the study appear in the June issue of the European Journal of Immunology, and the research was conducted at Cedars-Sinai’s Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical I
Jülicher Wissenschaftler messen Wassergehalt im lebenden Gehirn
Bei vielen Krankheiten des Gehirns, beispielsweise bei einem Hirntumor, sammelt sich Wasser um das kranke Gewebe an. Ein Ödem entsteht und der Wassergehalt im Hirn steigt an. Wissenschaftler des Forschungszentrums Jülich haben ein neues Messverfahren entwickelt, mit dem sie quantitativ den Wassergehalt in unterschiedlichen Bereichen des lebenden Gehirn bis auf etwa ein Prozent genau bestimmen können. Damit können sie j
UK researchers writing in Europe’s leading reproductive medicine journal Human Reproduction[1], today (Tuesday 25 May) report what they believe to be a world record – a baby born using sperm that had been frozen for 21 years.
“We believe this is the longest period of sperm cryopreservation resulting in a live birth so far reported in the scientific literature,” according to one of the authors, Dr Elizabeth Pease, Consultant in Reproductive Medicine at the Department of Reproductive Medicine
A revolutionary type of ‘self healing’ bandage that uses the patient’s own cells is being developed. The technique has already been tried successfully on patients with diabetic ulcers and in the long-term could offer a more effective, quicker and cost efficient way of treating many types of slow-healing wounds such as pressure ulcers. The bandages are already available for patients with severe burns.
The bandages have been developed by CellTran Ltd., a spin-out company from the University
A new charitable foundation that will improve cancer care in Europe and beyond is being created by the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO), the leading charity in the field of oncology education and training.
The new ESMO Foundation will officially come into existence during ESMO’s biennial congress, which is being held in Vienna this year. In the city where Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms, and the Strauss family did their most significant work, it is only fitting th
In an unusual paradox, smoking cigarettes-a deadly habit that contributes to the development of peripheral artery disease-actually helps arteries stay open following a procedure to repair clogged blood vessels in the legs, according to a study in the June issue of Radiology. The study found that habitual to heavy smokers who continued to smoke after angioplasty had a lower rate of restenosis, or re-narrowing of the arteries, than nonsmokers.
As expected, the researchers who conducted the st
Diagnosing heart attacks will become a more precise science thanks to the first of a new series of clinical standards just issued by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Standard Reference Material (SRM) 2921 (human cardiac troponin complex) will help manufacturers develop and calibrate assays that measure specific protein concentrations in patient blood samples to determine whether a heart attack has occurred.
The SRM is a solution containing certified concentrations
A small clinical trial of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) who did not respond to interferon alone found that adding the human antibody daclizumab improved patient outcome. Patients who received the combined therapy had a 78 percent reduction in new brain lesions and a 70 percent reduction in total lesions, along with other significant clinical improvements. The trial was led by investigators at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), a component of the National Inst
Lung transplantation increases the survival of patients with cystic fibrosis by almost 4.5 years on average, according to a study presented at the American Thoracic Society International Conference in Orlando on May 24.
“Initially the risks from lung transplantation for cystic fibrosis patients are quite high, but the risk drops over time, and it becomes worth the risk in the long run,” said study co-author Roger D. Yusen, MD, MPH, Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Divisions of Pulmona
Using a technique that enables them to study both early and advanced stages of arterial plaque buildup in the same mice, researchers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center found that an antioxidant compound found in green tea leaves does not clear established plaque but does inhibit the development of new deposits.
Results of the study are published in the May 25 issue of the American Heart Association journal Circulation.
Several components of green tea leaves are known to have natural pr
A Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center lung disease specialist reports that some smokers may be genetically predisposed to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
Jill Ohar, professor of pulmonology and critical care medicine at Wake Forest Baptist, presented her findings at the 100th International Conference of the American Thoracic Society in Orlando, Fla., today (May 25).
In her study, Ohar looked at more than 500 men and women age 40 and older who had smoked 20 ye
Men don’t recognize their disease until a late stage
The rate of male breast cancer is on the rise and the disease in men is usually detected when the tumors are bigger, have spread and may be more aggressive, compared to diagnosis of the disease in women, concludes the largest study ever conducted of male breast cancer.
The findings, published today in the online edition CANCER and will appear in the July 1 print issue of the publication, suggest both that breast cance
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