Latest science news in Health & Medicine
Commonly Used Medications Associated With Impaired Physical Function In Older Adults
Older adults who take drugs designed to block the neurotransmitter acetylcholine -- including common medications for incontinence, high blood pressure and allergies -- are more likely to be dependent in...
How Some Bacteria Survive Antibiotics
Researchers have discovered how some bacteria can survive antibiotic treatment by turning on resistance mechanisms when exposed to the drugs. The findings could lead to more effective antibiotics to treat...
Physical Activity, Healthy Eating And BMI Not Linked In Older Teens
Contrary to what many researchers expect, physically active older teens don't necessarily eat a healthier diet than their less-active contemporaries. And there appeared to be no link between body mass...
Researchers find quick way to make human monoclonal antibodies against flu
Human monoclonal antibodies (mAbs)--highly specific, identical, infection-fighting proteins produced in large quantities in the lab in cell lines that are derived from a single cell--against influenza can be rapidly produced...
New Surgery Improves Head And Neck Cancer Treatment
Latest robotics surgery trend has made its debut in the ear, nose and throat specialty, where cancer and otolaryngology surgeons say the like the improved accuracy. Patients benefit from reduced...
Muscular dystrophy type linked to missing protein: study
French and German researchers have discovered a promising protein link to a form of muscular dystrophy that affects the voluntary muscles around the hips and shoulders, according to a study...
Melanoma Of The Rectum: A Rare Entity
A 41-year-old man presented with a 6-month history of changed defecation patterns and rectal bleeding. A 3-cm polypoid tumor of the lower rectum was found at rectosigmoidoscopy. Dissemination studies did...
Anti-fibrotic Mechanism Of A Chinese Medicinal Herb May Inspire Drug Development
Scientists have determined that the antifibrotic function of Chinese herbal extract Cpd 861 is mediated by both downregulating the synthesis of collagens and upregulating the degradation of collagens. This effect...
High blood pressure still sneaking past doctors, study shows
Despite the well-known dangers of high blood pressure, major shortfalls still exist in the screening, treatment and control of the disease even when patients are getting a doctor's care, according...
Flower Power May Bring Ray Of Sunshine To Cancer Sufferers
A mini-protein found in sunflower seeds could be the key to stopping tumors spreading in prostate cancer patients, according to researchers.
Science course, human body
Science course: the human body – a beginners guide
Butter-flavored Popcorn Ingredient Suspected Cause Of Lung Disease
An unusually high incidence of lung disease has been diagnosed in workers at popcorn factories. Researchers are focusing on diacetyl, the ingredient which is largely responsible for the odor and...
New Treatment Could Reduce Chronic Lung Disease In Premature Babies
A less traumatic way of delivering surfactant, a lung lubricant that premature babies need to help them breathe, could reduce the incidence of respiratory problems they'll have later, physicians say.
Study Raises Questions About Prostate Cancer Therapies Targeting IGF-1
Therapies under development to treat prostate cancer by inhibiting the ability of insulin-like growth factor to activate its target receptor could have unexpected results especially if a major tumor suppressor...
Immune System Kick-started In Moist Nasal Lining In Sinusitis, Asthma And Colds
Scientists have outlined a new path for potential therapies to combat inflammation associated with sinusitis and asthma based on a new understanding of the body's earliest immune response in the...
Drug therapy benefits diabetic eye disease
NEW YORK, April 30 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists say a new drug designed to treat diabetic eye disease performed better in clinical trials than did the current standard...
New survival factors ID'd for preemies
NEW HAVEN, Conn., April 30 (UPI) -- A consortium of 19 U.S. medical scientists says it's identified four new factors that can be used to help predict a...
Reprogrammed adult skin cells treat Parkinson's disease in animal model
Researchers at the Whitehead Institute and Harvard Stem Cell Institute(HSCI) have reported successfully reducing symptoms in a Parkinson's disease rat model by using dopamine producing neurons derived from reprogrammed adult...
Elevated urate levels may slow progression of Parkinson's disease
Naturally elevated levels of the antioxidant urate may slow the progression of Parkinson’s disease in men. Researchers from the MassGeneral Institute for Neurodegenerative Disease (MGH-MIND) and Harvard School of Public...
Online Intervention Paramount For Reducing HIV In High-risk Population
Young Internet-using men who have sex with men AND who meet their sexual partners both online and offline have greater numbers of partners, appear more likely to contract HIV, and...
Cancer Treatment: Selecting Patients Based On Genotype May Increase Efficacy Of Tamoxifen, Study Suggests
Breast cancer patients who carry the wild-type gene required for tamoxifen metabolism may have comparable risk of recurrence when taking tamoxifen or an aromatase inhibitor, according to modeling data. Cytochrome...
Osteoporosis Drug Fosamax Linked To Heart Problem, Study Suggests
Women who have used fosamax are nearly twice as likely to develop the most common kind of chronically irregular heartbeat (atrial fibrillation) than are those who have never used it,...
Newly Refined Antibody Therapy May Be Potent Treatment For Autoimmune Diseases
An old, fickle therapy for a variety of autoimmune diseases is getting a makeover, thanks to a decade-long investigation. The original treatment, called intravenous immunoglobulin or IVIG, is an amalgam...
Epilepsy Drug Causes Bone Loss In Young Women, Study Shows
Young women who took the commonly used epilepsy drug phenytoin for one year showed significant bone loss compared to women taking other epilepsy drugs, according to a new study in...
Targeted Combination Therapy Triggers Cell Death in Mouse Models of Metastatic Cancer
A combination of two targeted drugs--one that blocks protein breakdown and one that activates the programmed cell death pathway--reduces the number of tumor metastases in mouse models of kidney and...
Pesticide Metabolites Associated With Increased Risk Of Testicular Cancers, Study Shows
Men exposed to organochlorine pesticide metabolites, such as DDE, had an increased risk of testicular germ cell tumors. Previous research suggested that persistent exposure to organochlorine pesticides may increase the...
How to Clip Bird Flu's Wings [News]
In the absence of news reports, bird flu might seem to have flown the coop. Unfortunately, it never actually went away--and is now worse than ever. "There are more flu...
News Bytes of the Week--Get rowdy at this pub and you'll get bounced by a bot [News]
Is a cure for Alzheimer's just years away?German researchers report in Science that they developed a drug that may combat Alzheimer's disease, a neurodegenerative disorder that affects some five million...