When Viagra was introduced in 1999, the drug’s manufacturer warned of a number of visual side effects, including possible nerve damage to the eyes. But a UC Irvine College of Medicine study rules out some of these risks — even when the drug is taken in high doses.
According to Dr. Tim McCulley, assistant professor of ophthalmology, blood flow in the eye does not seem to be reduced by even high doses of the popular erectile dysfunction drug. Since Viagra lowers blood pressure overall,
Significant reduction in severity and duration of cold symptoms
New research confirms the efficacy of zincum gluconicum nasal gel in reducing the severity and duration of common cold symptoms when treatment is started as late as the second day of illness. The study, which appears in the January issue of QJM: An International Journal of Medicine, was the first trial on the naturally acquired common cold to extend initiation of treatment beyond the first 24 hours of illness.
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A potential new weapon in the fight against hospital acquired infections has been discovered by researchers at the University of Leeds.
The scientists studied the effect of negative air ionisers on infections caused by acinetobacter; a pathogen responsible for increasing numbers of sometimes fatal infections amongst hospital patients. Ionisers were placed in the intensive care unit at St James’s University Hospital, which, like similar wards across the UK, has had recurrent probl
INASMET Foundation, a member of the TECNALIA Corporation from the Basque Country, is currently carrying out research on intraocular lenses. In fact, INASMET presented two projects at the 17th European Congress on Biomaterials held in Barcelona. Apart from publishing the results of a comparative study on intraocular lenses, they presented a project, currently under development, on intracorneal lenses.
This project started three years ago in collaboration with the Hospital de Donostia, the De
Physicians have been concerned that relatively new prescription medications called statins, which are being increasingly prescribed to reduce blood cholesterol levels, might also decrease reproductive hormone levels and cause women of child-bearing age to be less fertile.
A study headed by researchers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles found that neither the use of statins nor low blood cholesterol levels significantly affected reproductive hormone levels in pre-, peri-, or postm
An experimental drug designed to cut off a tumor’s blood supply showed promising results in patients with advanced colorectal cancer when paired with standard chemotherapy, according to a UCLA Jonsson Cancer Center study published in the Jan. 1 issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
The results of this and subsequent studies of the experimental drug Avastin could change the way oncologists treat patients with this devastating form of cancer, said Dr. Fairooz Kabbinavar, a Jonsson C
For newly diagnosed multiple myeloma; Previously scorned thalidomide gives new option for patients with difficult-to-treat cancer
A recent study conducted at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center shows that patients with multiple myeloma, a cancer of the bone marrow, were more likely to achieve remission when treated with a combination of drugs that included thalidomide, a medicine that had previously been shelved for causing birth defects.
Donna Weber, M.D., a
A beer a day may help keep heart attacks away, according to a group of Israeli researchers. In preliminary clinical studies of a group of men with coronary artery disease, the researchers showed that drinking one beer (12 ounces) a day for a month produced changes in blood chemistry that are associated with a reduced risk of heart attack.
Their study adds to growing evidence that moderate alcohol consumption may reduce the risk of heart disease, the number one killer in the United States. T
Researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine have determined the molecular machinery that triggers normal cardiac muscle growth and survival, and have linked defects in this complex to an inherited form of human cardiomyopathy, a type of heart failure where an enlarged heart loses its ability to pump blood.
Published in the December 27, 2002 issue of the journal Cell, the study also identifies a subset of German cardiomyopathy patients with a specific gene
Unexplained and severe tinnitus–a ringing or buzzing in the ears–can be temporarily reduced in some patients by “jamming” the brain’s electrical activity with focused magnetic stimulation, according to a preliminary study to be published December 23, 2002 in the online edition of the Annals of Neurology. The results confirm that some phantom sounds are generated by abnormal activity in the brain itself.
“Controlled clinical trials are now necessary to evaluate whether this method can
Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have discovered a possible new mechanism for regulating large groups of genes. While conducting yeast research on a potential new anticancer drug, the team identified a mechanism that enables the genome to silence large numbers of genes simultaneously, rather than each gene individually.
The finding emerged during research studying the molecular action of the drug rapamycin. Rapamycin currently is used to suppress the immu
Selective Estrogen Receptor Modulators (SERMs) Eliminate Risk of Breast Cancer Associated with Hormone Replacement Therapy But Preserve Many Health Benefits of Estrogen
Tissue-Specific Estrogenic and Antiestrogenic Activity of SERMs Provide Opportunities for Individualized Treatment of Menopause-related Adverse Symptoms, Health Risks and Diseases
As scientific evidence mounts linking Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) to breast cancer and other illnesses, a class of d
Procedure could reduce side effects and enhance potency of anti-cancer drugs
Cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy often endure painful side effects caused by the powerful drugs as they course through their entire bodies, damaging healthy tissue and tumors alike.
Brigham Young University researchers are reporting in the December issue of the prestigious oncology journal “Cancer Research” that they have successfully tested a new method in laboratory animals that would conc
Southampton scientists are hoping to find out why some people benefit more than others from the effects of fruit and vegetables in battling conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, asthma and heart disease.
It is already known that a diet rich in fruit, vegetables, nuts and tea provides plenty of antioxidants such as vitamins E and C, beta-carotene and polyphenols. These help tackle an excess of free radicals and oxidants produced to help our immune system kill ha
People looking forward to eating raw oysters over the holidays will welcome news that scientists are making progress in the fight against a rare but deadly disease associated with the tasty bivalves.
Two University of Florida researchers report curing mice of the disease by using a virus to attack its bacterial source – Vibrio vulnificus. The scientists say the research may lead to techniques to purify oysters after harvest but before they reach raw bars and seafood markets – and might one
New Method Shown to be Effective for Detecting Down Syndrome at Mid-Trimester Scan
Looking at the nasal bones of fetuses at the mid-trimester scan could improve the detection of Down Syndrome during pregnancy, according to results to be published in the January 2003 issue of Ultrasound in Obstetrics & Gynecology, the official journal of the International Society of Ultrasound Obstetrics and Gynecology, which will be available online on 17 December 2002.
The most frequently oc
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