Brazilian scientists claim to have restored feeling to patients paralysed for two years or more, reports Marina Murphy in this issue of Chemistry & Industry Magazine.
The report previews research carried out at the University of San Paulo, Brazil. Scientists lead by Tarciscio Barros at the University’s School of Medicine harvested stem cells from the blood of 30 patients with spinal cord injury and reintroduced them via injection into the artery supplying the damaged area. After a few month
The system developed by the Moscow scientists with the financial assistance of the Russian Foundation for Basic Research and the Foundation for Assistance to Small Innovative Enterprises will instantly allow to detect and measure gas micro-bubbles being formed in blood inside the pump oxygenator. A small device which looks like some kind of a bracelet on the arterial line of the pump oxygenator and is connected to the computer will be recording all bubbles, searching for potentially dangerous ones an
Reduction of agitation leads to less stress for caregiver; better care for patient
Results from a Phase II, multi-center study found dronabinol, a synthetic version of the active ingredient in marijuana, reduces agitation in patients with Alzheimer’s disease. In addition, the research concluded that reduced agitation may contribute to the relief of caregiver burden associated with the condition. The findings were presented at the American Society of Consultant Pharmacists’ 3
Curing human diseases using gene transfer into human hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) remains a promising avenue for development. In the November 14 issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, two independent studies – the first by Stanton Gerson and colleagues at Case Western University and the second by Hans-Peter Kiem and colleagues at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center – have accomplished, for the first time, the selection and expansion of gene-corrected HSCs from large animals (dogs a
With an estimated 170 million people around the world already infected with hepatitis C, Saint Louis University is testing, for the first time in humans, an investigational vaccine that researchers hope will prevent infection with the virus. The successful development of such a vaccine would represent a major step in combating this growing health problem.
Saint Louis University is the only site in the country conducting this pilot study.
“There is currently no licensed vaccine to
Proteomic signature for ALS identified
Detection of protein abnormalities in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) may allow physicians to more rapidly diagnose and better monitor drug efficacy in clinical trials for the disease, according to a novel study presented by a University of Pittsburgh researcher in Milan, Italy, today.
These findings may lead to the first test for early stage ALS, also know as Lou Gehrig’s disease.
Many diagnostic tests and tests used to monitor disease are not supported by high quality evidence, finds a study in this week’s BMJ.
Researchers examined how many common clinical tests used in one respiratory medicine clinic in the UK were based on high quality evidence (evidence was graded according to a recognised quality scale).
Only half the tests that were used to make or exclude a diagnosis and a fifth of the tests used to assess a known condition were supported by high
On the occasion of World Diabetes Day, 14 November 2003, the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) highlights the need for improved diagnosis of diabetes in coronary artery disease patients
France, 14 November 2003: Preliminary findings from the ESC Euro Heart Survey entitled ‘Diabetes and the Heart’ suggest that diabetes is not only grossly under-diagnosed in coronary artery disease patients, but these individuals also receive sub-standard care of their underlying cardiovascular disease.
Researchers at Jefferson Medical College and Duke University have used gene therapy to help damaged heart cells regain strength and beat normally again in the laboratory. The work takes the scientists one step closer to eventual clinical trials in humans.
Walter Koch, Ph.D., director of the Center for Translational Medicine of the Department of Medicine at Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, and his colleagues at Duke used a virus to carry a gene into t
Findings hold promise for developing new botulism therapies
Scientists have identified several key molecules that block the activity of a toxin that causes botulism–an important first step in developing therapeutics to counter the disease.
Botulinum neurotoxins (BoNT) are useful as therapeutic agents for treating a wide variety of muscle dysfunctions in humans, and are used cosmetically to reduce wrinkles. Paradoxically, the seven serotypes of BoNT, designated A through G,
First-ever blood test for mesothelioma being developed
Researchers at the Pacific Northwest Research Institute (PNRI) have reported the development of a blood test for mesothelioma, a highly aggressive lung cancer caused by asbestos exposure.
A PNRI team led by Dr. Ingegerd Hellstrom, and an Australian team, led by Dr. Bruce Robinson, of the University of Western Australia, conducted the research, which appears in the November 15th issue of Lancet. The new test promises a si
Breast cancer is the most common and the second-most fatal malignant tumour amongst women who live in industrialised countries. Moreover, when present in young women, it would appear that a genetic predisposition is involved. This predisposition can be due to a number of causes and, amongst the most common, lie the alterations in the gene suppressors of the tumours. The lack of efficiency in these genes may be due to the fact that they are altered (mutated), they are not expressed, or they do not fun
Endoscopic fetal treatment increases survival to 73 percent for a severe defect that hampers lung growth — comparison group in a randomized trial increases survival to 77 percent with standard care in an expert neonatal intensive care unit
Newborns with a severe birth defect that hampers lung growth have an equal chance of survival whether they are treated with maternal/fetal surgery or receive their first operation after birth — if the infant receives life support from the moment o
In women, the risk of coronary heart disease increases significantly after menopause. Estrogen therapy, however, reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease in healthy postmenopausal women. Estrogen enhances endothelial function of the coronary arteries, and this may contribute to the cardioprotective effects of the female hormone.
The precise mechanisms that mediate the beneficial effects of estrogen on arterial endothelial function are incompletely understood. What is known is that the long
Radio waves ’zap’ tiny areas of heart muscle
An innovative procedure completely cures the overwhelming majority of patients with the most common form of irregular heartbeat, by stopping haywire electrical signals in areas of heart muscle and some of the veins that connect to it.
In several presentations at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2003, and in a new paper in the Nov. 12 issue of the AHA journal Circulation, heart rhythm specialists
A new signaling pathway appears to play a critical role in the development of heart disease, according to researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine. Now that this marker of cardiac dysfunction, known as the APJ-apelin pathway, has been identified, it could lead to better diagnosis of heart problems, perhaps even allowing doctors to intervene in heart disease by blocking or boosting levels of critical proteins.
“The thing that’s clear is that apelin is increased in heart failure
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