Medicine & Health news

Variations in 5 genes raise risk for most common brain tumors

Medicine & Health / Genetics

11 hours ago | not rated yet | 1

Common genetic variations spread across five genes raise a person's risk of developing the most frequent type of brain tumor, an international research team reports online in Nature Genetics.

Researchers highlight new direction for drug discovery

Medicine & Health / Research

9 hours ago | not rated yet | 0

In a discovery that rebuffs conventional scientific thinking, researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center (GUMC) have discovered a novel way to block the activity of the fusion protein responsible for Ewing's sarcoma, ...

MicroRNAs hold promise for treating diseases in blood vessels

Medicine & Health / Research

11 hours ago | not rated yet | 0

A newly discovered mechanism controls whether muscle cells in blood vessels hasten the development of both atherosclerosis and Alzheimer's disease, according to an article published online today in the journal Nature.

Nicotine Dependence Remains Prevalent Despite Recent Declines in Cigarette Use

Medicine & Health / Health

Jul 03, 2009 | not rated yet | 3

(PhysOrg.com) -- Despite recent declines in cigarette use in the U.S., nicotine dependence has remained steady among adults and has actually increased among some groups. The finding by researchers at Columbia University Mailman ...

Scrub tech may have exposed thousands to hepatitis

Medicine & Health / Health

Jul 03, 2009 | 3.7 / 5 (3) | 2

(AP) -- A former surgery technician may have exposed thousands of Colorado patients to hepatitis C when she swapped her own dirty syringes for ones filled with a powerful narcotic, federal authorities said Thursday.

Lower risk of dementia for married or cohabiting people

Medicine & Health / Diseases

Jul 03, 2009 | 4.7 / 5 (3) | 1

(PhysOrg.com) -- People who live alone have twice the risk of developing dementia and Alzheimer's disease in later life compared with married or cohabiting people, according to a research study led by Miia Kivipelto from ...

A rush of blood to the head -- anger increases blood flow

Medicine & Health / Research

Jul 03, 2009 | 5 / 5 (1) | 0

Mental stress causes carotid artery dilation and increases brain blood flow. A series of ultrasound experiments, described in BioMed Central's open access journal Cardiovascular Ultrasound, also found that this dilatory reflex ...

Existing Parkinson's disease drug may fight drug-resistant TB

Medicine & Health / Research

Jul 03, 2009 | not rated yet | 0

Existing drugs used in the treatment of Parkinson's disease could be repositioned for use in the treatment of extreme drug-resistant tuberculosis, which kills about 2 million people each year, according to a study led by ...

'Jumping gene' diminishes the effect of a new type 2 diabetes risk gene

Medicine & Health / Genetics

Jul 03, 2009 | 5 / 5 (1) | 0

Research led by the German Institute of Human Nutrition (DIfE) has identified a new gene associated with diabetes, together with a mechanism that makes obese mice less susceptible to diabetes.

Infertile couples encouraged to look at lifestyle

Medicine & Health / Health

Jul 03, 2009 | not rated yet | 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- A University of Adelaide study has recommended that infertile couples seek advice about their lifestyle before embarking on IVF treatment or other assisted reproductive technology.

Tamiflu resistant swine flu case found in Hong Kong: govt

Medicine & Health / Diseases

Jul 03, 2009 | 1 / 5 (1) | 1

Hong Kong on Friday detected a strain of swine flu that was resistant to Tamiflu, the main anti-viral flu drug, the health department reported on its website.

Nearly 90,000 swine flu cases reported worldwide: WHO

Medicine & Health / Diseases

Jul 03, 2009 | 2 / 5 (2) | 0

Some 89,921 people in 125 countries and territories have caught swine flu, with 382 having died since the outbreak was uncovered in April, World Health Organisation data released Friday showed.

Gene's novel role may provide key to treating liver and neurodegenerative diseases

Medicine & Health / Research

Jul 03, 2009 | not rated yet | 0

Scientists at Singapore's Bioprocessing Technology Institute (BTI) have made a novel discovery about how the gene, "Fas-apoptosis inhibitory molecule" (FAIM), protects both immune and liver cells from apoptosis, or programmed ...

The problem with self-help books: Study shows the negative side to positive self-statements

Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry

Jul 02, 2009 | 4.5 / 5 (11) | 7

In times of doubt and uncertainty, many Americans turn to self-help books in search of encouragement, guidance and self-affirmation. The positive self-statements suggested in these books, such as "I am a lovable person" or ...

Federal probe finds problems with chelation study

Medicine & Health / Medications

Jul 02, 2009 | 1.8 / 5 (5) | 4

(AP) -- A federal investigation has found problems with a controversial study of an alternative medicine treatment for heart attack victims.

Study: H1N1 flu virus ill-suited for rapid transmission, but new strain bears watching, could mutate

Medicine & Health / Diseases

Jul 02, 2009 | 4.6 / 5 (5) | 3

A team from MIT and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has found a genetic explanation for why the new H1N1 "swine flu" virus has spread from person to person less effectively than other flu viruses.

A scientist probes the origins of 'ouch!'

Medicine & Health / Research

Jul 02, 2009 | not rated yet | 3

Skinning a knee, swallowing habanero salsa, and installing snow chains bare-handed might seem pretty different at first. But all have one thing in common -- they're guaranteed to hurt.

Children with autism need to be taught in smaller groups, pilot study confirms

Medicine & Health / Diseases

Jul 02, 2009 | 3 / 5 (2) | 2

Since the 1970s, there has been much debate surrounding the fact that individuals with autism have difficulty in understanding speech in situations where there is background speech or noise.