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

A group of scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) and San Diego Supercomputer Center at the University of California at San Diego (UCSD) have used a powerful laser in combination with innovative quantum mechanical computations to measure the flexibility of mouse antibodies.

The new technique, described in an upcoming issue of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, is significant because protein flexibility is believed to play an important role in antibody-a

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

Surgeons at Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke’s Medical Center in Chicago have documented the first use of a blood vessel from the abdomen to treat a blocked artery in the brain. The case study was published in the December issue of Surgical Laparoscopy, Endoscopy and Percutaneous Techniques.

The case involved a 49-year old man with a history of hypertension and heart disease and a blocked artery in the brain. The patient’s doctors were Dr. Constantine T. Frantzides, professor of surgery

Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center report that two doses of the varicella vaccine for chicken pox given one to two months apart can be safe and effective in children with chronic kidney disease.

The findings, reported in the January issue of Pediatric Nephrology, are critical for chronic kidney disease patients, particularly children who will eventually undergo a kidney transplant. After transplantation, immunosuppressive medications put these children at high risk for

Faint glow given off only when cells are killed could speed drug development for cancer, stroke, other diseases

The process that makes fireflies glow bright in the summer night can also shed light on how well new medicines work, showing immediately whether the drugs are effective at killing cells or causing other effects.

That’s the conclusion of a team of scientists from the University of Michigan Health System, who report that they have inserted the gene for a firefly

A new study identifies sensors in the gastrointestinal tract that signals the body that food ingestion is no longer required

Bethesda, MD – According to the United Nations, 14 African countries now face water scarcity or water stress. By the year 2025, experts agree that eleven more countries will join the list and half the world will live with water stress.

The consequences of water drought can be terrible – a loss of livestock and crops can lead to overall starvation of a

New study identifies an enzyme associated with pancreatic inflammation

Bethesda, MD – Clinical acute pancreatitis can present with varying degrees of severity The chief causes of this disorder are gallstones, gallbladder-related disease and alcohol use. Viral infection, mumps, and certain medications such as corticosteroids, diuretics, and tetracycline are other causes. In adults, the disorder is frequently associated with lung injury, manifesting itself as adult respiratory distress

How far up into the sky does the biosphere extend? Do microorganisms exist at heights of 40 km and in what quantity? To answer these questions several research institutes in India collaborated on a path-breaking project to send balloon-borne sterile “cryosamplers” into the stratosphere. The programme was led by cosmologist Professor Jayant Narlikar, Director of the Inter University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics in Pune, with scientists at the Indian Space Research Organisation and the Tata In

A rare type of the disease found mainly in Bedouins may provide insight into anemia

A combined effort between scientists at Schneider Children’s Medical Center of Israel, Tel Aviv University, and the Weizmann Institute of Science has led to the discovery of a gene responsible for a type of anemia primarily found in a number of Bedouin families, called congenital dyserythropoietic anemia-1 (CDA-1). The findings, published in the December issue of The American Journal for Human Gen

Researchers from Finland have found that the cholesterol-lowering agent gemfibrozil (marketed as Lopid and generics) greatly increases the concentrations of cerivastatin (Lipobay or Baycol) in blood. This finding explains the observed muscle toxicity of the gemfibrozil-cerivastatin combination. This potentially fatal adverse effect of cerivastatin led to the withdrawal of Lipobay/Baycol from the market.

The concentrations of Lipobay were increased on average 5-6-fold by Lopid, in some indivi

Increased bone mass in a calcitonin knockout mouse full of surprises

Bone is in a constant state of remodeling, during which osteoclasts remove old bone (resorption) and osteoblasts form new bone (formation). Calcitonin is a hormone produced by the thyroid gland and inhibits bone resorption. Following menopause, the rate of bone loss is accelerated, however women with post-menopausal osteoporosis that are treated with calcitonin (by injection or nasal spray) demonstrate increased bon

By redesigning the shell of Ebola, Purdue University researchers have transformed the feared virus into a benevolent workhorse for gene therapy – and as one of the first gene bearers that can be inhaled rather than injected, it might prove valuable in the fight against lung disease.

While replacing the infection-causing genes inside an ordinarily harmful retrovirus with helpful genetic material is a relatively common research practice, David Sanders and his colleagues have gone a step beyond