A commonly prescribed incontinence drug may help patients in more than one way, according to research completed by the University of Pittsburgh. When taken orally, trospium chloride not only helps control symptoms of overactive bladder systemically, but according to this study, it also may help control symptoms in the bladder itself when it comes into contact with the bladder walls. Results of this study are being presented today at the annual meeting of the American Urological Association

The anti-inflammatory protein annexin 1 may protect patients from the detrimental effects of severe inflammatory response syndrome, as reported by researchers at Barts and the London, Queen Mary’s School of Medicine and Dentistry. The paper by Damazo et al., “Critical protective role for annexin 1 gene expression in the endotoxemic murine microcirculation,” appears in the June issue of The American Journal of Pathology and is accompanied by a commentary.

Severe inflammator

Findings have implications for tracking disease, drugs at the molecular level

Researchers in the laboratory of Boston College Chemistry Professor John T. Fourkas have demonstrated that gold particles comparable in size to a molecule can be induced to emit light so strongly that it is readily possible to observe a single nanoparticle. Fourkas, in collaboration with postdoctoral researcher Richard Farrer and BC undergraduates Francis Butterfield and Vincent Chen, coaxed the particles

A new device, called a “sonic flashlight,” offers a more efficient method of ultrasound guidance to place catheters in patients that will be used for repeated doses of chemotherapy or other treatments, a preliminary study shows.

Ultrasound can be used to help guide catheters, such as peripherally inserted central catheters, into place, said Wilson Chang, PhD, of the University of Pittsburgh and the lead author of the study. The difficulty occurs because the physician or nurse inse

Premenopausal women who were heavier than average at birth or had not been breastfed as infants appear to be at increased risk for developing breast cancer, epidemiologists at the University at Buffalo’s School of Public health and Health Professions have found.

Results of the study, which showed no association between birth weight and breastfeeding in infancy and postmenopausal breast-cancer risk, were reported at the American Association for Cancer Research annual meetin

Seventy-two per cent of migraine sufferers in a clinical trial experienced either ’substantial’ or ’noticeable’ improvement after a period of chiropractic treatment, defying historical skepticism of chiropractics by some medical practitioners.

The randomised clinical trial was undertaken by Dr Peter Tuchin, a chiropractor for the past 20 years, as part of his recently-completed PhD thesis at Macquarie University. “Around 22 per cent [of patients] had substanti

An online asthma management program can help asthma patients get top-rate care and overcome barriers to healthcare access, according to a study to be presented at the American Thoracic Society International Conference on May 22.

Irvin Mayers, M.D., Professor of Medicine at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada, created an interactive online asthma management program that allows a Certified Asthma Educator to communicate daily with patients, provide feedback and assist

Being married or in a relationship significantly improves quality of life for prostate cancer patients following treatment, according to a study by researchers at UCLA’s Jonsson Cancer Center and the Department of Urology. Partnered men reported better psychosocial and spiritual well-being, suffered fewer adverse effects from treatment and had less fear and anxiety about their cancer coming back than did their single counterparts, the study found. The research appears in the July 1, 2005, issue

Obesity appears to increase the risk of prostate cancer, particularly aggressive disease, and may make it harder to find, researchers say.

Smaller prostates also increase the risk of aggressive disease, they say.

Both findings are being presented at the annual meeting of the American Urological Association May 21-26 in San Antonio.

The obesity study examined the association between body mass index – weight to height ratio – and prostate cancer in 787 men underg

A gene commonly mutated in Crohn’s disease sufferers is responsible for allowing the body’s immune system to ‘chat’ to microbes in the gut. Researchers at Hammersmith Hospitals NHS Trust and Imperial College London who have uncovered the role of this gene say that it will now be possible to develop better tests for this debilitating disease, and will help researchers to uncover the genetic basis of Crohn’s and similar inflammatory bowel diseases.

Writing in the journal The Lancet

Hormone affects females, males differently

University of Minnesota researchers have demonstrated for the first time how estrogen affects learning and memory. They found that estrogen can activate particular glutamate receptors within the hippocampus, the brain region responsible for many aspects of learning and memory. Glutamate is the primary excitatory neurotransmitter in the brain, allowing for fast communication between neurons. By examining hippocampal neurons from rats, re

Improved techniques and supportive care have resulted in a growing number of long-term survivors of stem cell transplants, though little is known about the impact transplants have on patients’ lives long after treatment. To find the answers, researchers from the City of Hope Cancer Center and the University of Minnesota assessed 854 cancer patients that had undergone stem cell transplants, taking a detailed look at the aftereffects of the procedure in the years following the transplant. Their re

Embryonic stem cells with identical genomes grow into distinctive tissues, such as heart, bone, and brain. At one time, scientists believed the differences among cell types arose from various sets of genes switched on inside developing cells. Then, studies showed that adult neurons uniquely lack a protein that permanently turns off neuronal genes in the rest of the body’s cells.

Now, it turns out that precursor nerve cells contain that same repressive protein after all. In

Humans and other animals may appear to be symmetrical on the outside, but symmetry is only skin deep. Many body organs, such as the stomach, the heart and the liver, are tipped to the right or left side. So how does the developing embryo distinguish left from right? Salk scientists have now discovered that the foundations for the basic left-right body plan are laid by a microscopic ’pump’ on the outer surface of the embryo’s underside that wafts chemical messengers over to the left

For the first time, scientists have shown that humans use an immune defense process common in plants and invertebrates to battle a virus. The new finding that human cells can silence an essential part of HIV’s genetic make-up could have important implications for the treatment of people infected with the virus. Led by Kuan-Teh Jeang, M.D, Ph.D., of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part the National Institutes of Health, the researchers published their find

A protein identified by researchers at Baylor College of Medicine appears to play a major role in the release of neurotransmitters and therefore communication between nerve cells.

In a report that is the cover article in the current issue of the journal Cell, Dr. Hugo Bellen, BCM professor of molecular and human genetics and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator, and his colleague Dr. P. Robin Hiesinger demonstrate that a protein called Vha100-1, a member of the pore-for