Hurdles For Muscular Dystrophy Therapy Cleared (October 30, 2008) -- Boys with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy will usually lose the ability to walk by their teens and typically die before the age of 30. For years, scientists have studied the use of gene therapy as a possible way to correct the muscle deterioration, but hurdles such as the need to treat all muscles in the body, including both skeletal muscle and heart muscle, have challenged researchers looking for an effective therapy until now. New studies demonstrate an effective way to deliver gene therapy and scientist show that therapy can be beneficial for the heart. ... > full story
HIV-infected Patients Should Start HAART Sooner, Study Suggests (October 30, 2008) -- Under current treatment guidelines, highly active antiretroviral therapy should be considered for HIV-infected patients when their CD4+ T-cell counts fall below 350 cells per cubic millimeter (mm3). However, new epidemiological research suggests that patients with HIV may have less risk of dying if they begin HAART sooner. ... > full story
Strengthen Restrictions On Off-label Promotion By Pharmaceutical Companies, Researchers Urge (October 30, 2008) -- Researchers are asking for tougher penalties and fines for pharmaceutical companies that market drugs for "off label" promotion, according to a new study. Researchers describe ways that the pharmaceutical industry uses marketing to encourage "the unmonitored, potentially dangerous use of drugs by patients for whom risks and benefits are unknown." ... > full story
New Hormone Data Can Predict Menopause Within A Year (October 30, 2008) -- For many women, including the growing number who choose later-in-life pregnancy, predicting their biological clock's relation to the timing of their menopause and infertility is critically important. ... > full story
MRSA Screening Downplayed As Effective Infection Control Intervention (October 30, 2008) -- Epidemiologists are downplaying the value of mandatory universal nasal screening of patients for MRSA, arguing that proven, hospital-wide infection control practices can prevent more of the potentially fatal infections. ... > full story
Racial And Ethnic Disparities Detected In Patient Experiences (October 30, 2008) -- A study surveying patients in more than 1,500 physician practices has found racial and ethnic disparities in patient experiences, with minority patients having worse experiences than white patients. The findings suggest that while all doctors should be attentive to differences in patient experiences, Hispanic, Native American, and black patients are often visiting physician practices that are less patient-centered. ... > full story
Statins Associated With Lower Risk Of Death From Pneumonia (October 29, 2008) -- Individuals who take cholesterol-lowering statins before being hospitalized with pneumonia appear less likely to die within 90 days afterward, according to a new report. ... > full story
Toward Non-invasive Disease Diagnosis With Wellness Cards (October 29, 2008) -- Scientists are reporting development of a device that could serve as the electronic "reader" for a coming generation of "wellness cards," specimen holders used to diagnose disease from a drop of a patient's saliva or blood. ... > full story
Exercise-induced Fatigue In Muscular Dystrophies Explained (October 29, 2008) -- A new study suggests that the prolonged fatigue after mild exercise that occurs in people with many forms of muscular dystrophy is distinct from the inherent muscle weakness caused by the disease. The research identifies a faulty signaling pathway that appears to cause exercise-induced fatigue in mouse models of muscular dystrophy and shows that Viagra can overcome the signaling defect and relieve the fatigue. ... > full story
New Understanding Of How We Remember Traumatic Events (October 29, 2008) -- Neuroscientists have discovered a new way to explain how emotional events can sometimes lead to disturbing long term memories. ... > full story
In Mice, Anxiety Is Linked To Immune System (October 29, 2008) -- Scientists reveal that immune cells in the brain influence how mice respond to stressful situations. ... > full story
Glutamate: Too Much Of A Good Thing In Schizophrenia? (October 29, 2008) -- Is schizophrenia a disorder of glutamate hyperactivity or hypoactivity? While the predominant hypothesis for many years was that schizophrenia was a glutamate deficit disorder, there is growing evidence of glutamate hyperactivity as well. ... > full story
Virtual Screening Leads To Real Progress In Drug Design (October 29, 2008) -- Around 150 thousand people per year get the parasitic disease African sleeping sickness, but the only medicines to treat it are either difficult to administer, expensive, or toxic. Now a team of scientists has put computers to work to find a solution. ... > full story
A Face By Any Other Name: Seeing Racial Bias (October 29, 2008) -- If Barack Obama had taken his mother's surname and kept his childhood nickname, American voters might literally see "Barry Dunham" as a quite different presidential candidate, a new study suggests. A name significantly changes our perception of someone's face and race, according to research in the journal Perception. ... > full story
Women's Voices Become More High-pitched During Ovulation (October 29, 2008) -- A new study adds to mounting evidence that human ovulation -- a state once thought to be undetectable without medical equipment -- actually prompts a range of subtle but observable behaviors aimed at attracting the best possible mate. ... > full story
Monitoring Broken Bones Without Using Electronics: Wireless Bone Monitor (October 29, 2008) -- The novel sensor is intended one day to help doctors monitor broken bones as they grow back together. Depending on the values of the forces measured by the sensor, they can decide whether the healing process is progressing normally or whether there is a danger that the fracture or implants might be overloaded. Until now doctors have used expensive and complicated electronic devices which sent the measured data to the outside world as radio signals. ... > full story
Vaccinating Family Members Offers Important Flu Protection To Newborns (October 29, 2008) -- Vaccinating new mothers and other family members against influenza before their newborns leave the hospital creates a "cocooning effect" that may shelter unprotected children from the flu, a virus that can be life-threatening to infants, according to researchers at Duke Children's Hospital. ... > full story
How Toxic Environmental Chemical DBT Affects The Immune System (October 29, 2008) -- Scientists have issued a report on the mechanism of toxicity of a chemical compound called Dibutyltin (DBT). DBT is part of a class of high toxic and widely distributed chemical compounds called organotins, DBT is most commonly used as an anti-fouling agent in paint, for example in the fishing and shipbuilding industries. It is also used in the production of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic tubes and bottles. ... > full story
Methamphetamine Abuse Linked To Underage Sex, Smoking And Drinking (October 29, 2008) -- Children and adolescents who abuse alcohol or are sexually active are more likely to take methamphetamines, also known as 'meth' or 'speed.' New research reveals the risk factors associated with MA use, in both low-risk children (those who don't take drugs) and high-risk children (those who have taken other drugs or who have ever attended juvenile detention centers). ... > full story
Pregnant Women Consuming Flaxseed Oil Have High Risk Of Premature Birth (October 29, 2008) -- The risks of a premature birth quadruple if flaxseed oil is consumed in the last two trimesters of pregnancy, according to a new study. ... > full story
Scientists Identify Single MicroRNA That Controls How Heart Chambers Form (October 29, 2008) -- The discovery of the role of a microRNA called miR-138, could offer strategies for the treatment of congenital heart defects. ... > full story
Undecided Voters May Already Have Decided, Study Suggests (October 29, 2008) -- Do "undecided" voters actually make their choices before they realize? That is a question one psychology professor is trying to answer. "Many people, especially early in the political process, declare themselves as undecided," he said. "But while they have consciously said that they are undecided, they unconsciously may have already made a choice." ... > full story
New Brain Link As Cause Of Schizophrenia (October 29, 2008) -- A lack of specific brain receptors has been linked with schizophrenia in new research. ... > full story
Statins Show Promise For Blood Clot Prevention (October 29, 2008) -- New research suggests that the use of statins may be associated with a significant reduction in the occurrence of venous thromboembolism, a condition that includes deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism, in patients with solid organ tumors, including breast, lung and colon cancers. ... > full story
Pain Automatically Activates Facial Muscle Groups (October 29, 2008) -- All individuals have a nonverbal mode of communication influenced by culture, education, age, sex. A new study has found that people who facially express pain in a more intense way are not exaggerating if their perception of a painful stimulation is controlled. ... > full story
Brain's 'Hate Circuit' Identified (October 29, 2008) -- People who view pictures of someone they hate display activity in distinct areas of the brain that, together, may be thought of as a "hate circuit," according to new research. ... > full story
MicroRNAs Make For Safer Cancer Treatments (October 29, 2008) -- Viruses -- long regarded solely as disease agents -- now are being used in therapies for cancer. Concerns over the safety of these so-called oncolytic viruses stem from their potential to damage healthy tissues. Now researchers have discovered a way of controlling the viruses behind potential cancer therapeutics. ... > full story
Osteoporosis Drugs Increase Risk For Heart Problems, Study Shows (October 29, 2008) -- New research shows that people taking alendronate or zoledronic acid, two common medications to prevent or slow the occurrence of osteoporosis, were significantly more likely to experience serious atrial fibrillation, including hospitalization or death, compared with placebo. ... > full story
Consumers And Plastic Surgeons Say Economy Is Cutting Into Cosmetic Procedures (October 29, 2008) -- While history has taught us that looks matter for everyone from presidential candidates to the person next door, the economic crisis is forcing many consumers to re-evaluate their cosmetic surgery plans. It is very clear the economy is affecting the demand for surgical cosmetic procedures, according to the researchers. ... > full story
Stress During Pregnancy Has Detrimental Effect On Offspring (October 29, 2008) -- That stress during a mother's pregnancy can cause developmental and emotional problems for offspring has long been observed by behavioral and biological researchers, but the objective measuring and timing of that stress and its results are difficult to prove objectively in humans. New experimental work has demonstrated the relationship between maternal stress and impairment of offspring in rats. ... > full story
How Women With Lupus Can Increase Chance For Healthy Pregnancies (October 29, 2008) -- In the not so distant past, women with systemic lupus erythematosus, an autoimmune disease, were advised not to have children, and if they became pregnant, to have therapeutic abortions to prevent severe flares of their lupus. Research by rheumatologists at Hospital for Special Surgery in New York, in patients with lupus who have had successful pregnancies is yielding insights that support a reversal of that thinking. ... > full story
Groups of Dangerous Drivers Identified (October 29, 2008) -- Young drivers, elderly drivers and motorcyclists are stigmatized by society, according to one professor. He's researching who the dangerous drivers really are. ... > full story
Rheumatoid Arthritis Rising Among Women (October 29, 2008) -- After four decades on the decline, rheumatoid arthritis is on the upswing among women in the United States. Compared to the previous decade when approximately 36 women out of every 100,000 developed rheumatoid arthritis each year, the new study showed a jump to 54 women in the more recent decade. ... > full story
Neighborhood Greenness Has Long Term Positive Impact On Kids' Health (October 29, 2008) -- In the first study to look at the effect of neighborhood greenness on inner city children's weight over time, researchers report that higher neighborhood greenness is associated with slower increases in children's body mass over a two year period, regardless of residential density. ... > full story
Increasing Number Of People Vaccinated Against Influenza Can Decrease Burden Of Disease (October 29, 2008) -- Two new studies published in the journal PLoS Medicine show that increasing the number of people vaccinated against influenza can decrease the burden of the disease, and not just in the individuals receiving the vaccine. ... > full story
Improved Poverty Analysis: Early Warning System For Food Shortages (October 29, 2008) -- In areas of extreme poverty it is often difficult to determine the standard of living. During her doctoral research in Uganda, Nicky Pouw developed a method to analyze relatively simple material and immaterial possessions that can serve, for example, as an early warning system for food shortages. ... > full story
Exploring Use Of Fat Cells As Heart Attack Therapy (October 28, 2008) -- For those of us trained to read nutrition labels, conventional wisdom tells us that fat isn't good for the heart. But a team researchers has set out to use fat cells to beef up heart muscles damaged by heart attack -- and they're using an out-of-this-world device to do it. ... > full story
Revolutionary Operation Performed Live For Heart Rhythm Congress (October 28, 2008) -- A revolutionary heart operation technique using cutting edge technology is being performed live to delegates at the Heart Rhythm Congress 2008. The procedure to tackle heart rhythm disorder will be performed using technology that allows rapid and accurate location of the origin of the heart rhythm disturbance in a 3-dimensional geometry of the heart chambers and guides successful treatment with the use of catheter ablation. ... > full story
BRAF Mutations In Colorectal Cancer Cause Resistance To Anti-EGFR Therapy, Study Finds (October 28, 2008) -- European researchers have found that metastatic colorectal cancer patients with a mutation in the BRAF gene do not respond to anti-EGFR therapy with cetuximab and panitumumab. The finding could help doctors better identify which patients are likely to benefit from such treatment, which is commonly used as last-effort therapy but only works in a fraction of patients. ... > full story
Credit Crunch Threatens New Medicines (October 28, 2008) -- The global financial crisis could seriously delay the discovery and production of many new life-saving medicines, warns a major international conference. ... > full story
Red Enhances Men's Attraction To Women, Psychological Study Reveals (October 28, 2008) -- Psychologists have added color -- literally and figuratively -- to the age-old question of what attracts men to women. Psychologists have demonstrated that the color red makes men feel more amorous toward women. And men are unaware of the role the color plays in their attraction. ... > full story
Sensitive Ultrasound To Spot Early-stage Cancer (October 28, 2008) -- Researchers have developed highly sensitive ultrasound equipment that can detect tiny quantities of reflective microbubbles engineered to stick to specific tumor cells. The technique should pick up tumors early and improve patients' chances of survival. ... > full story
DNA Research Taking Guesswork Out Of Finding The 'Therapeutic Window' (October 28, 2008) -- Researchers are using DNA to "custom fit" your drug prescriptions, before you even take one dose. The quest to personalize medicine is underway as researchers target warfarin, a drug often associated with adverse drug reactions. ... > full story
Anti-Inflammatory Medications May Become A Treatment For Schizophrenia (October 28, 2008) -- Many of the structural and neurochemical features of schizophrenia are present long before the full syndrome of schizophrenia develops. What processes tip the balance between the ultra-high risk states and the development of schizophrenia? One candidate mechanism is cerebral inflammation, according to an article in Biological Psychiatry. ... > full story
Robotic Technology Takes Inspiration From Service Dogs (October 28, 2008) -- Service dogs, invaluable companions providing assistance to physically impaired individuals, are an elite and desired breed. Their presence in a home can make everyday tasks that are difficult - if not impossible - achievable, enhancing the quality of life for the disabled. Yet with a cost averaging ,000 per dog -- not to mention the two years of training required to hone these skills -- the demand for these canines' exceeds their availability. ... > full story
Can You Recognize People By Their Voices? Case Study Of Phonagnosic (October 28, 2008) -- The first known case of someone born without the ability to recognize voices has been reported. The rare condition is known as phonagnosia. Phonagnosia has only been documented so far in people with brain lesions in the right hemisphere following a stroke or brain damage, and the mechanisms behind it are not well understood. In this newly documented case, a MRI brain scan showed no evidence of brain damage in regions associated with voice or auditory perception, and her hearing abilities were found to be normal. ... > full story
Stem-cell Sentry Sounds The Alarm To Maintain Balance Between Cancer And Aging, Researchers Find (October 28, 2008) -- Like a sentry guarding the castle walls, a molecular messenger inside adult stem cells sounds the alarm when it senses hazards that could allow the invasion of an insidious enemy: Cancer. ... > full story
Novel Genetic Screens Provide Panoramic Views Of Cellular Systems (October 28, 2008) -- Researchers often use the technique of RNA interference to identify genes involved in particular biological processes by knocking them down, one at a time, and observing the result. But this approach fails to capture some key players because many genes are redundant. Thus, cells can mask their distress when they lose a single gene by turning to fail-safes with the same function. A team has now overcome this obstacle, using RNAi to systematically knock down pairs of genes in fruit fly cells. ... > full story
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