Latest science news in Health & Medicine
Excessive Drinking And Relapse Rapidly Cut In New Approach
Boosting the level of a specific brain protein quickly cut excessive drinking of alcohol in a new animal study, and also prevented relapse -- the common tendency found in sober...
Diabetes Medication Associated With Slower Progression Of Retina Disease
Patients with diabetes who take the medication rosiglitazone may be less likely to develop the eye disease proliferative diabetic retinopathy or to experience reductions in visual acuity, according to a...
Pivotal Breakthrough Made In Alcohol Addiction Treatment
Remarkably, and for the first time, addiction experts report the results of a clinical trial whereby an effective therapeutic medication, topiramate, not only decreases heavy drinking but also diminishes the...
Vitamin D: New Way To Treat Heart Failure?
Activated vitamin D protects the heart against avoid overwork and enlargement, two of the hallmarks of heart failure, a new study in animals shows. The results, the first to show...
Race plays role in diabetes treatment
BOSTON, June 11 (UPI) -- A U.S. study said black patients with diabetes are less likely to receive recommended components of care than white patients.
Hi-dose Immunosuppressant Drug Reverses Multiple Sclerosis Symptoms In Selected Patients
A short-term, very-high dose regimen of the immune-suppressing drug cyclophosphamide seems to slow progression of multiple sclerosis in most of a small group of patients studied and may even restore...
Eating Fish And Foods With Omega-3 Fatty Acids Linked To Lower Risk Of Age-related Eye Disease
Eating fish and other foods high in omega-3 fatty acids is associated with reduced risk of the eye disease age-related macular degeneration, according to a meta-analysis of nine previously published...
Good Dental Hygiene May Help Prevent Heart Infection
Avoiding dental disease is important for patients at risk of infective endocarditis. While bacteria can get into the bloodstream during tooth brushing, the risk is much lower when the teeth...
Video game technology may help surgeons operate on beating hearts
Surgery has been done inside some adults' hearts while the heart is still beating, avoiding the need to open the chest, stop the heart and put patients on cardiopulmonary bypass....
How the Brain Can Protect Against Cancer
Scientists have been aware for many years that if cancer patients are not able to deal with the stress associated with being sick, the cancer will progress faster than in...
Gene Variation Linked To Earlier Onset Of Alzheimer's Symptoms
Investigators have identified a genetic variation associated with an earlier age of onset in Alzheimer's disease. Unlike genetic mutations previously linked to rare, inherited forms of early-onset Alzheimer's disease --...
Ethical Implications Of Modifying Lethal Injection Protocols
A team of medical, ethical and legal scholars argues in PLoS Medicine that in some US states the modification of lethal injection protocols is tantamount to experimentation upon prisoners without...
Managing noncommunicable diseases in Africa: what can we learn from TB control?
Non-communicable diseases (NCDs), such as heart disease, diabetes, stroke, asthma, epilepsy, and mental illness, are becoming a major burden in sub-Saharan Africa but are often poorly managed in routine health...
Potential biomarkers for pancreatic cancer identified
In a new study in PLoS Medicine, Samir Hanash and colleagues from Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle report the identification of proteins that appear in increased numbers at...
Therapeutic Potential Of Cord Blood Stem Cells Enhanced With New Technology
A CD26 Inhibitor increases the efficiency and responsiveness of umbilical cord blood for bone marrow transplants and may improve care for blood cancer patients according to research.
Promising advances in islet cell transplants for diabetes
University of Illinois at Chicago researchers have modified the procedure for islet cell transplantation and achieved insulin independence in diabetes patients with fewer but better-functioning pancreatic islet cells.
Morther's obesity a factor in newborn deaths for blacks, not whites, new study reports
A study led by the University of South Florida sheds new light on obesity's role in the black-white gap in infant mortality. While maternal obesity appears to have no...
Combining radiation and surgery significantly improves survival for head and neck cancer patients
Adding radiation therapy to surgery significantly improves overall survival in patients diagnosed with node-positive head and neck cancer when compared to treating with surgery alone, according to a study in...
New Molecular Link Between Diabetes And Kidney Failure
Diabetes is an increasingly common cause of kidney failure in developed countries. It is thought that activation of a hormone system known as the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) early in the...
Antibiotics can prevent wound complications of childbirth
A single dose of antibiotics can significantly aid healing of the severe tearing that occurs in vaginal tissues during many births, according to researchers at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at...
'Report cards' don't reflect preventable bypass deaths
While death rate "report cards" indicated low mortality rates after heart bypass surgery, a review of in-hospital deaths in heart bypass patients at Ontario, Canada hospitals found that one-third might...
Amputees fight caps in coverage for prosthetics
SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) -- After bone cancer forced the amputation of her right leg below the knee, Eileen Casey got even more bad news: Her insurer told her that...
TB Treatment For The Elderly Likely Requires A Boost To Immune Response
Manipulating the immune system in elderly people appears to be the most likely way to help older patients wage an effective battle against tuberculosis, a new study suggests. Mathematical modeling...
Little relief in sight for arthritis waiting lists
The five-year waiting time that many Newfoundland and Labrador arthritis patients endure for treatment is unacceptable, a patient says.
Can exercise help prevent addiction to drugs or alcohol?
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Sure, exercise is good for your waistline, your heart, your bones - but might it also help prevent addiction to drugs or alcohol?...
Study: 1 in 4 adults in NYC have herpes virus
(AP) -- A city Health Department study finds that more than a fourth of adult New Yorkers are infected with the virus that causes genital herpes.
Lucy Chesire: Efforts to combat HIV/Aids must also address tuberculosis
Lucy Chesire: The re-emergence of tuberculosis could reverse a decade of advances in the fight against HIV/Aids
Teens may be more susceptible to some cancers
LONDON (AP) -- Teenagers may be more susceptible than adults to certain types of cancer, including cervical, testicular and skin cancer, British scientists said Monday....