The use of crystal methamphetamine by men who have sex with men (MSM) increases the risk of HIV transmission and can cause complications in those who are already HIV-positive, according to an article in the March 15 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases, now available online.

Highly popular with young people who frequent dance clubs, crystal meth and its cousin “Ecstasy” both induce a feeling of elation and alertness. This sense of well-being is dangerous, though, as it lessens inhibitions

The intense pain many patients with pancreatic cancer experience may be reduced by more than 50 percent using a nerve block technique along with the standard pain-relieving medications. That is the finding of a Mayo Clinic study that will be published in the March 3 edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

The study also found that the neurolytic celiac plexus block (NCPB), the type of nerve block used, continued to provide sustained pain relief over several months

First avian genome now available to scientists worldwide

The National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), one of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), today announced that the first draft of the chicken genome sequence has been deposited into free public databases for use by biomedical and agricultural researchers around the globe.

A team led by Richard Wilson, Ph.D., from the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis successfully assembled the genome of

Predicting the mortality of patients with pulmonary emboli (blood clots in the lung) may become possible with a newly developed clot-volume ranking index, according to a study appearing in the March issue of the journal Radiology.

“We found that the amount of clot present is predictive of patient outcome,” said study coauthor, John A. Pezzullo, M.D., assistant professor of diagnostic imaging at Brown University in Providence, R.I. “Consequently, patients with a high clot volume have a poor

Researchers at Johns Hopkins have for the first time used a chemical marker detected by proton magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging (MRSI) to successfully diagnose breast cancer. The diagnostic technique produces pictures of choline within breast tumors.

In the study, researchers from the Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science at Hopkins demonstrated that choline signals analyzed by MRI were significantly elevated in malignant tumors in 15 of 18 patients stud

Unwanted fat may have a bigger effect on the heart than physicians previously thought.

Researchers at the Indiana University School of Medicine have discovered that cells in human fat actually may help the body grow new blood vessels to repair both muscle and heart tissue. These cells, called stromal cells, are immature fat cells. Their findings are reported in the March 1 online issue of Circulation, the scientific journal of the American Heart Association.

Jalees Rehman,

Disulfiram (a drug used to help selected patients with alcohol disorders remain sober) and cognitive behavioral therapy appear effective in reducing cocaine use, especially among cocaine users who are not dependent on alcohol, according to an article in the March issue of The Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

Patients taking disulfiram who ingest even small amounts of alcohol develop a reaction that produces nausea, flushing, vomiting, and throbbing headache

A University of Iowa study suggests that inhibiting a certain protein involved in inflammation might be of therapeutic benefit in organ transplantation, heart attacks and possibly stroke. The study, led by John Engelhardt, Ph.D., UI professor and interim head of anatomy and cell biology, found that blocking the action of this protein can prevent the tissue damage caused by ischemia/reperfusion injury. The study is published in the March 1 issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

Isch

A nanoscale imaging technique that could improve the reliability of an important diagnostic test for breast cancer, and other biomedical tests, is described by National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) researchers in the Feb. 11 online issue of Nucleic Acids Research.

The method involves attaching fluorescent particles just 15 nanometers (billionths of a meter) in diameter to particular sections of DNA, followed by analysis of the intensity of the fluorescence signal and other

The paternalistic attitude of Japanese physicians towards their patients is outdated. According to a new study in BMC Family Practice, patients in Japan want to play a more active role in making decisions about their treatment.

The study found that, “the majority of Japanese patients have positive attitudes towards participation in medical decision making if adequate information is provided”. 30% of those questioned went as far as saying that they would like to have the final say on which tr

As the number of breast cancer patients rises, and hospitals struggle to meet the growing cost of healthcare provision, new research by physicists could help divert funds into frontline treatment such as chemotherapy drugs and better imaging technology.

Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer in England and Wales and one in nine women will develop breast cancer at some point in their lives. Research published today (Monday 1st March 2004) in the Institute of Physics journal Physics

More research is urgently needed says cancer surgeon

New treatments and more research are urgently needed in order to increase the numbers of adolescents who survive bone cancer, according to a leading cancer surgeon.

Osteosarcoma is the third most common cancer in young people*, yet during the past 20 years little research has been carried out into developing improved therapies, and survival rates have remained unchanged with only 54 per cent of patients alive after five ye

A new analysis of cancer figures for England[1] shows that the overall incidence among teenagers and young adults is rising, with the biggest increase among 20 to 24-year-olds, particularly in lymphoma, melanoma and germ cell tumours, including testicular germ cell tumours.

A news briefing at Teenage Cancer Trust’s Third International Conference on Adolescent Cancer today (Monday 1 March) was told that although cancer is still rare in this age group – around 1,500 cases a year in England –

Children who wore contact lenses overnight as part of their orthokeratology regime developed corneal ulcers, resulting in corneal scarring and vision loss. According to a case study from China, appearing in the March issue of the American Academy of Ophthalmology’s clinical, peer-reviewed journal, Ophthalmology, six children, nine to 14 years of age, were treated for bacterial eye infections after wearing the contact lenses eight to 12 hours each night.

Orthokeratology is a controversi

A program in health clinics where physicians offer patients a cough and cold care kit containing over the counter medicines appears to significantly reduce unnecessary antibiotic use. Researchers from the Minnesota Antibiotic Resistance Collaborative (MARC) report their findings today at the International Conference on Emerging Infectious Diseases.

“Providing cough and cold care kits does appear to be a useful tool to use with patients who have upper respiratory illness or acute bronchitis t

Coronary heart disease is the leading cause of death in Western societies. Unfavorable serum lipid levels, high cholesterol, high triglycerides and low high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, are well-known risk factors for atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease. Familial combined hyperlipidemia (FCHL), characterized by these changes in patients serum is the most common familial lipid disorder predisposing to coronary heart disease. FCHL is observed in about 20% of coronary heart disease pati