A common spermicide gel which has previously been proposed as a preventative agent against HIV-1 infection has been shown to be ineffective, according to authors of a study in this week’s issue of THE LANCET-and could actually increase HIV-1 transmission if used frequently.

Nonoxynol-9 is an inexpensive over-the-counter spermicide; laboratory studies have suggested that it could be a barrier to HIV-1 infection and other sexually transmitted diseases, although previous studies among women hav

he New England Journal of Medicine’s Sept. 26 issue carries the first published report showing that a combination treatment with peginterferon alfa-2a (Pegasys) – a new long-acting interferon drug – and an antiviral medication is more beneficial than the standard combination therapy for people with the most-difficult-to-treat and most common strain of hepatitis C.

The large international study, headed by researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, is also the first p

Research results from the “Era of Hope” Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program meeting

iopsy is the standard tool to determine whether small breast tumors have invaded nearby lymph nodes, a signal that additional therapy is called for to destroy roving cancer cells. But the traditional procedure for nodal biopsy is, itself, major surgery with serious potential complications, and many women with early-stage cancer have no biopsy or follow up therapy, putting them at risk

Scientists may soon be able to influence muscle formation more easily as a result of research conducted in the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases’ Laboratory of Muscle Biology. The researchers there and at institutions in California and Italy have found that inhibitors of the enzyme deacetylase can switch the pathway of muscle precursor cells (myoblasts) from simply reproducing themselves to becoming mature cells that form muscle fibers (myotubules).

It has

An international team of scientists led by researchers at The Wistar Institute has combined two different imaging techniques to uncover the molecular-level framework of a common bacteriophage, a virus that infects bacteria. The results, reported in the October issue of Nature Structural Biology, suggest that viruses developed a continuum of progressively more complex architectural strategies to cope with their increasing size as they evolved. An image from the study is featured on the journal’s

Finding may lead to new treatments for neurologic disease and nerve injury

Why do some nerve cells survive and regrow after injury while others shrink away and die? A new discovery by researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) shows that the expression of a particular gene may be responsible for protecting neurons from death. The results, published in the September 26 issue of Neuron, could lead the way for new treatment strategies for a variety of neurological diseases.

When a stroke affects the language areas in the left side of the brain, the right side takes over and learns how to perform language tasks, according to research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. The study found that patients’ right side of the brain is more active than normal during a verbal language task, and that the right side’s activity decreases with practice, similar to what happens on the left side of the brain in healthy individuals.

“This is the f

Oxidative stress is implicated in a fast-growing list of human conditions, from the superficial (e.g., wrinkled skin) to the deadly: diseases such as cancer, heart disease and neurodegenerative disorders including Lou Gehrig’s disease (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or ALS).

Researchers at The Jackson Laboratory announced that they have located a gene that protects certain brain and retinal neurons from oxidative stress, and prevents neurodegeneration.

Many normal metabolic func

Scientists at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) have discovered a common component to the burning sensation produced by chili peppers and the pain associated with arthritis. The finding, published in the September 26 issue of Neuron, could help scientists devise new strategies to block the pain hypersensitivity associated with inflammation.

“The receptor activated by chili peppers in the mouth and other tissues also increases in the terminals of sensory neurons in the skin after inflamma

University of Melbourne scientists have found clues to why patients with insulin-dependent diabetes are often unable to sense their need to take life-saving glucose.

The evidence came from a known and potent appetite stimulant released by the brain called Neuropeptide Y (NPY). Studies using diabetic rats have shown the NPY levels in the brains of diabetic rats differ significantly to those of normal rats under conditions of low glucose.

It was known that specific nerves in the bra

While biomedical devices such as prosthetic heart valves, heart-assist devices, oxygenators, vascular grafts and hemodialysis systems can help to save or significantly extend lives, these same devices also can damage the blood cells which travel through them. Severe consequences can result when blood cells are damaged or broken down, said Marina Kameneva, Ph.D., research associate professor of surgery at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

Dr. Kameneva will discuss the issue in

Charles Darwin, the founder of the modern theory of evolution, was an avid proponent of sympatric speciation, the idea that a single species need not be geographically divided in order to evolve into two separate species. In the mid-20th century, however, certain vocal scientists convinced the scientific community that geographically isolating two halves of a population was a necessary factor in creating a new species. It wasn’t until the last few decades that modern biologists began to reexamine Da

A new medical study offers good news for expectant mothers facing the difficult choice of treating the nausea and vomiting of early pregnancy with things like soda, crackers or crushed ice, which are only marginally helpful, or trying prescription or over-the-counter medications, which may have potential side effects.

The September/October issue of Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine features results from a new double-blind, placebo-controlled, and hospital-based study conducted by

More than one-third of patients undergoing chemotherapy at risk for heart failure

Researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center have found that cancer patients who develop heart failure as a result of chemotherapy treatment can be effectively treated, with the condition potentially reversed, when standard medicated therapy for heart failure is utilized.

The findings were presented today at the Sixth Annual Scientific Meeting of the Heart Failure Society

People who cope with a life-threatening situation by ignoring their anxiety or diverting their attention away from it may be doing themselves a favor. Such practices may act as a buffer against stress disorders, according to the results of an Israeli study of heart attack patients.

“The findings of this study suggest that a repressive coping style may promote adjustment to traumatic stress, both in the short and longer term,” says lead study author Karni Ginzburg, Ph.D., of the Bob Shapell

Losartan tops beta blocker in patients with ’high top number’ blood pressure

A drug that reduces high blood pressure in people with a form of the disease that’s common later in life also cuts their risk of stroke and death, and does it better than another hypertension drug, a new study finds.

In the Sept. 25 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, an international team of researchers report that patients over age 55 who took a drug called los