Latest science news in Health & Medicine
Sanofi Pasteur starts testing swine flu vaccine
(AP) -- French drugmaker Sanofi Pasteur says it has started human trials of its swine flu vaccine in about 2,000 people in the United States.
Guided care reduces cost of health care for older persons with chronic conditions
The nation's sickest and most expensive patients need fewer health care resources and cost insurers less when they are closely supported by a nurse-physician primary care team that tracks their...
Transplant patient had chest organs in opposite positions
For much of his life, Jack Eigel endured ribbing about his heart being in the wrong place. But the jokes stopped early Tuesday when doctors performed an extremely rare and...
Finding Key To Cancer Drug Gleevec's Limitations
Researchers have learned why imatinib, marketed as Gleevec, helps patients with chronic myeloid leukemia survive longer, but does not keep the disease from returning if treatment ends. The team is...
Gene Shut-down May Offer Early Warning Of Chronic Leukemia
A new study shows that certain genes are turned off early in the development of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), before clinical signs of the disease appear. The study examined cancer...
Studies question impact of vertebroplasty
SEATTLE, Aug. 6 (UPI) -- Researchers say two recent U.S. studies of a spinal repair procedure known as vertebroplasty found the method was no more effective than placebos.
Seasonal flu vaccine shipping early, demand up
(AP) -- The swine flu pandemic is spurring makers of seasonal flu vaccines to ship them to the U.S. market well ahead of schedule, and supplies are tightening as...
Health-care reform must respect patient autonomy
As President Obama and Congress weigh changes in the nation's health care system they must avoid creating a system where physicians are financially motivated to pressure patients into mandated treatments...
Gut hormone has 'remote control' on blood sugar
A gut hormone first described in 1928 plays an unanticipated and important role in the remote control of blood sugar production in the liver, according to a report in the...
Considering combination versus sequential chemotherapy in metastatic breast cancer
Both combination and sequential single-agent chemotherapy are reasonable options to treat metastatic breast cancer, but the choice between the two should ultimately be based on patient- and disease-related factors, according...
MRI may help physicians diagnose, stage and treat diabetes
Noninvasive imaging (MRI) may aid physicians in the early diagnosis, staging and treatment of diabetes, according to a study performed at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston,...
Fat hormone influences baseline dopamine levels and our motivation to eat
As we all know from experience, people eat not only because they are hungry, but also because the food just simply tastes too good to pass up. Now, a new...
Growing evidence of marijuana smoke's potential dangers
In a finding that challenges the increasingly popular belief that smoking marijuana is less harmful to health than smoking tobacco, researchers in Canada are reporting that smoking marijuana, like smoking...
Researchers from CIC bioGUNE have found a way to treat ischaemic pathologies
A team of researchers from CIC bioGUNE from the Cellular Biology and Stem Cell Unit, alongside a team from Paris' Cardiovascular Research Centre (INSERM U970) have developed a new area...
Blood transfusion study: Less is more
A new study suggests that blood transfusions for hospitalised cardiac patients should be a last resort because they double the risk of infection and increase by four times the risk...
Challenging conventional wisdom: advances in development reverse fertility declines
A team of researchers at the University of Pennsylvania and the Universita Bocconi in Milan have released a study that challenges one of the most established and accepted standards in...
Studies find spinal procedure no more effective than placebo
Vertebroplasty, a surgery in which cement is injected to fill spinal cracks caused by osteoporosis, is performed 80,000 times a year in the U.S. to relieve patients' back pain. A widely used surgical...
Sex Hormones Associated With Broken Bones In Older Men
Low levels of estradiol or high levels of sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) are associated with an increased risk of osteoporotic fracture in older men, according to a new study....
Researchers learn how blood cells 'talk'
(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers at the University of Toronto have developed a new model that explains how cells communicate and specifically reveals how blood cells "talk" to each other. The result...
Lowering the Blow
(PhysOrg.com) -- Serving lower-alcohol drinks at public events can help reduce the number of people who need medical attention.
D.C. teen students to be offered STD tests
WASHINGTON, Aug. 5 (UPI) -- High school students in Washington, D.C., will be offered tests for sexually transmitted diseases after a program found lots of infected kids, officials said.
Rural Well Water Linked to Parkinson's Disease
Rural residents who drink water from private wells are much more likely to have Parkinson’s disease, a finding that bolsters theories that farm pesticides may be partially to blame, according to a new...
One Force Behind The MYC Oncogene In Many Cancers Uncovered
DLX5, a gene crucial for embryonic development, promotes cancer by activating the expression of the known oncogene, MYC, according to researchers. Since the DLX5 gene is inactive in normal adults,...
Eating 'Ouch-less' Vaccines Protects Prairie Dogs In The Lab Against Plague
A new oral vaccine against sylvatic plague is showing significant promise in the laboratory as a way to protect prairie dogs and may eventually protect endangered black-footed ferrets who now...
Synthetic beds worsen asthma
A New Zealand study has found that synthetic mattresses contain more fungal cell products, which may worsen existing asthma.
Obituary: Michael Russell
Pioneer of effective treatments to help people stop smoking
Dioxin Decomposition In The Yushchenko Case: Elimination Rate Faster Than Expected
In 2004 the current Ukrainian president, Viktor Yushchenko, suffered a severe case of dioxin poisoning. In order to understand how the human body reacts to remove the poison, researchers have...
Genes Associated With Celiac Disease Studied
A young researcher studied the genetic profiles of 175 cases of patients suffering from celiac illness, in order to determine which genes are related to the disease and to study...