Acupuncture, in combination with exercise in the home, is clearly the best way to alleviate pain in pregnant women in connection with symphysiolysis, or slippage in the cartilage holding together bones. This is shown in research from the Sahlgrenska Academy at Göteborg University in Sweden, that is being published in the British Medical Journal BMJ.

Pelvic pain, so-called symphysiolysis, is a common disorder among pregnant women throughout the world. One third of those affect

A study by researchers into the diagnosis of patients with lung cancer suggests that avoidable patient delays in reporting symptoms of the disease is an important factor in its treatment.

The research carried out by the University of Southampton indicates that the widely held view that lung cancer is silent until far advanced may be inaccurate.

Lung cancer remains the most common cause of death from cancer in the UK with over 33,000 deaths a year. Delay in the diagnosis of

A gene named ATBF1 may contribute to the development of prostate cancer through acquired mutations and/or loss of expression, according to research at Emory University School of Medicine and its Winship Cancer Institute. The findings were published in the online edition of Nature Genetics on March 6. The Emory research team was led by Jin-Tang Dong, PhD, associate professor in the Winship Cancer Institute. Lead author was postdoctoral fellow Xiaodong Sun, PhD.

Although previous research h

Defects give the immune system the green light to attack the pancreas

Scientists at Joslin Diabetes Center have found genetic regions that, when defective, allow the immune system to attack the pancreas – the first in a series of mis-steps that lead to type 1 diabetes. Armed with these findings, published today, March 22, in the journal Immunity, the researchers are now trying to hone in on the exact genes involved, in mice and in human patients.

“The significance of this s

Chemical compounds consisting of noble gases combined with hydrocarbon molecules – a feat previously thought to be unattainable – have been created as the result of the work of researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

This achievement by Benny Gerber, Saerree K. and Louis P. Fiedler Professor of Chemistry, and his associates at the Hebrew University Institute of Chemistry opens the way for further research to produce new chemical compounds in such areas as anesthesiology

Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is an inherited eye disease that causes visual disability leading to blindness. Over the last 15 years, researchers have pinpointed defects in dozens of genes causing different forms of RP. Surprisingly, patients with the same genetic defect can show different severities of vision loss and rates of disease progression. This effect is most dramatic across the retina of some individuals where regions with normal vision can abut regions of no vision. Environmental factors ha

Study suggests combination therapy could stop spread, halt growth of melanomas

PA- Researchers at Penn State College of Medicine have identified the mechanism by which the most mutated gene in melanoma, called v599EB-Raf, aids melanoma tumor development demonstrating its importance as a therapeutic target.

“Our studies suggest that using therapies to target and inhibit the function of mutant v599EB-Raf protein could prevent the spread of melanoma and halt tumor growth for t

Navarre University Hospital has introduced a novel technique for the treatment of congenital heart defects and involving the percutaneous closure of the patent foramen ovale (PFO) with monitoring through intracavernous ecography.

PFO is a defect of the interauricular septum (partition or wall separating the two (auricles) and that allows blood clots or thrombi to pass from the right auricle to the left. In most cases this opening closes after the baby is born but, on occasions, it s

Nisin, a commonly used food preservative effectively neutralizes anthrax spores and could be used to decontaminate skin in the event of exposure. Researchers from Biosynexus, Inccorporated report their findings today at the 2005 American Society for Microbiology Biodefense Research Meeting.

“Contamination of human skin with even a few spores may potentially disseminate disease beyond the initial area of attack,” says John Kokai-Kun, a researcher on the study. “There is currently

Using a strategy involving a genetically modified baculovirus and caterpillar cells scientists from Protein Sciences Corporation have been able to speed up a key step in the development of an experimental cell-based influenza vaccine. They report their findings today at the 2005 American Society for Microbiology Biodefense Research Meeting.

“The bird flu may become the next flu pandemic strain. It could happen at any time,” says Keyang Wang, a scientist at Protein Sciences Corp.

Researchers from Johns Hopkins University are developing a novel method of testing exhaled breath to detect infection rapidly after potential exposure to a biological warfare agent. They report their findings today at the 2005 ASM Biodefense Research Meeting.

“We want to have a tool that can help in the emergency room or first responders to triage on site so that people who are infected can get treatment first,” says Joany Jackman, a researcher on the project. “It’s not so har

When bacteria invade the body, a molecule called CD14 binds to substances liberated from the bacteria and initiates the cellular defense mechanisms. In a report published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, scientists in Korea announced their elucidation of three-dimensional structure of CD14 and showed how it is perfectly suited to bind to certain bacterial products.

The research appears as the “Paper of the Week” in the March 25 issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry,

Only one of five cancer survivors surveyed in a Penn State study were disabled or out of work four years after treatment, but a minority suffered lasting effects that prevented them from working.

Dr. Pamela Farley Short, professor of health policy and administration and demography who led the study, says, “One of the reassuring findings from this study is that encouraging people to get mammograms to detect breast cancer and PSA tests to check for prostate cancer has clearly ha

New generation lenses help protect against infection

Sleeping in contact lenses can lead to an increased risk of severe eye infection, new research suggests. But new generation contact lenses, the investigation reveals, perform better in this regard than their predecessors.

The University of Manchester study found that wearers who failed to remove their lenses before bedtime had an increased risk of developing keratitis than those who routinely took out their lenses b

New reports prove that the aloe vera plant, which has been used to heal skin for more than 2,000 years, can also treat many oral health problems including canker sores, cold sores, herpes simplex viruses, lichen planus and gingivitis according to the January/February issue of General Dentistry, the Academy of General Dentistry’s (AGD) clinical, peer-reviewed journal.

“There is good evidence to support using aloe vera for oral health problems,” says AGD spokesperson Kenton A.

Research in the laboratory of Assistant Professor Frank J. Slack at Yale University has identified a new way that a familiar gene is regulated in lung cancer, presenting new possibilities for diagnosis and treatment. The work is reported in March issues of the journals Cell and Developmental Cell.

The oncogene Ras is out of control in about 20 percent of cancers where it is over-expressed or activated by mutation. According to Slack, a member of the Yale Cancer Center, it is one