Study among people with fibromyalgia suggests those with greater swings in pain hour-to-hour, day-to-day are more likely to respond to placebos

Studies involving people who suffer from chronic pain often give some of them placebos, “sugar pills” with no medicinal value, to show whether the treatment has real value. Little is known, however, about the types of people who tend to respond positively to placebos, a mystery that places a hurdle before researchers who want to learn the

Sweating during physical activity or in hot weather is healthy. But when individuals begin perspiring while experiencing discomfort in their chest, arm, neck or jaw — with little or no exertion — it could be the onset of a heart attack, according to a new study at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

“We can stop a heart attack during the process, but you have to get to the hospital first,” said Catherine Ryan, research assistant professor of medical surgical nursing. “T

Melatonin in cancer

The role of melatonin for the treatment of cancer is looking compelling, according to a new study published in the Journal of Pineal Research. Researchers say that the results are so compelling that cancer funding agencies should be eager to support clinical trials to evaluate its therapeutic role in a variety of cancers.

Melatonin is a hormone naturally found in humans. Its association with cancer has been shown in many studies assessing links between

Families gathered around the Thanksgiving dinner table might consider giving thanks for the bacteria-busting ability of cranberry juice, say dental researchers who have discovered that the beverage holds important clues for preventing cavities.

A team led by oral biologist Hyun (Michel) Koo, D.D.S., Ph.D., at the University of Rochester Medical Center has discovered that the same traits that make cranberry juice a powerful weapon against bladder infections also hold promise for p

Fruit flies can live significantly longer, and remain healthy, when activity of the fly version of the tumor-suppressing protein p53 is reduced in nerve cells. Published in Current Biology, the results shed important new light on the role this “protector of the genome” plays in aging and point to p53 as a viable target for anti-aging drugs.

The p53 gene plays a critical role in the body. It protects human cells by producing a protein that triggers apoptosis, or cell suicide, wh

By comparing foxes selected for tameness with others that have not been selected in this way, researchers have found evidence that dramatic behavioral and physiological changes accompanying tameness may be associated with only limited changes in gene activity in the brain.

The work is reported by Elena Jazin and colleagues at Uppsala University, the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, and the Norwegian University of Life Science.

The first step in the proces

The p53 protein is known to be a critical player in our body’s natural defense against cancer–it is absent in many types of tumor cells–but it also represents an intriguing paradox when it comes to the broader roles this protein plays in our well being. Past work has shown that in animal models, hyperactivation of the p53 protein is beneficial in terms of bestowing extra protection against tumor formation, but at the same time it has a significant negative effect: a shortening of lifespan

Imperial College London has received a £4.9 ($8.6) million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to develop a simple, affordable and rapid test to measure the health of the immune system in HIV/AIDS patients in developing countries.

The ‘CD4 Initiative’ will develop an easy to use device which can measure CD4+ T-lymphocytes in HIV+ patients. The CD4 cell count measures the number of these critical disease-fighting cells in the blood, a figure which health care workers need

Researchers at The University of Nottingham are joining forces with health protection specialists to study the spread of hospital ’superbugs’ such as MRSA and identify successful methods of prevention and treatment.

The results of the research project could be used to inform future best practice guidance for hospitals and health professionals.

The three-year project is being carried out by Dr Phil O’Neill in the University’s School of Mathematical

There is a wide variation in the use of laparoscopic surgery for gall bladder removal in Hong Kong hospitals, and use of this procedure is more likely at certain hospitals and among younger female patients operated on more recently, according to a study in the November issue of Archives of Surgery, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

Laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC, removal of the gallbladder by laparoscopy) is a well-established technique for the management of symptomatic galls

UT Medical School at Houston researchers’ findings contradict earlier studies

Researchers at The University of Texas Medical School at Houston have discovered that toddlers with sleep apnea experience more respiratory disturbances when they sleep on their backs than in other positions. Their findings, which contradict earlier studies on the subject, were published in this month’s issue of Archives of Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery.

Obstructive sleep apnea

Methylphenidate, a medication used to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), may be effective in treating hyperactivity symptoms in children with autism and related pervasive developmental disorders, researchers report in the November Archives of General Psychiatry.

The study was conducted by the Research Units on Pediatric Psychopharmacology (RUPP) Autism Network, a National Institute of Mental Health funded multi-site consortium dedicated to the development

Bacteria feel pressures to evolve antibiotic resistance and other new abilities in response to a changing environment, and they react by ’stealing’ genetic information from other better-adapted types of bacteria, according to research published in Nature Genetics today.

They do this through the bacterial equivalent of sex, otherwise known as horizontal gene transfer, through which bacteria obtain genetic material from their distant relatives. This allows them to evolv

Sensitive and durable sensors for determination of hydrogen sulfide concentration in the air were developed by chemists of the Voronezh State Technological Academy in collaboration with their colleagues from the Smolensk production association “Analitpribor”. Based on commercially available piesoelectric resonators, these sensors will reliably protect workers’ health by letting know that the poison concentration in the air has approached a dangerous boundary.

At first sight it

Scientists at the Technische Universität Dresden/Germany are significantly involved in a European research project entitled “BioSim“ which aims at utilising biosimulation as a new tool in drug development. The use of computer simulations will provide more objective data which helps to develop drug compounds more effectively and to reduce investment in drug development drastically. Above all the number of animal tests as well as clinical studies with volunteers will decrease substantially.

Duke University biomedical engineers have devised a potentially patentable method to arrest toxic leakages of genetically engineered viruses that have plagued attempts to use gene therapy against cancerous tumors. The problem has been that viruses carrying anti-tumor genes have tended to leak from tumors, proving toxic to other body tissues.

The researchers have developed a biocompatible polymer that briefly changes from a liquid at 39 degrees Fahrenheit to a gel at body temperat