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 Back to Eurekalert Medical and Health News Archives
Eurekalert Medical and Health News: 12-14-2004
Misdiagnosis of a severely paralyzing disease can now be averted due to a blood test developed by Mayo Clinic researchers and their Japanese collaborators. Often misdiagnosed as multiple sclerosis, neuromyelitis optica (NMO) also causes blindness in many sufferers.
UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas researchers have found a way of stimulating the immune systems of mice to fight against amyloid proteins that cause the devastating plaques that are characteristic of Alzheimer's disease.
Cancer screening tests can frequently produce false positive outcomes that may result not only in anxiety but also additional economic costs as well, according to research conducted by scientists at the Henry Ford Health System, Detroit, Mich., and published in the December issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention.
An improved stem cell transplant regimen that is well-tolerated and has a high success rate has been developed by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. The procedure holds promise for treatment of blood and bone marrow disorders, immune dysfunction and certain metabolic disorders.
Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine recently analyzed 40 ads from companies that provide medical images directly to consumers, not requiring any consultation with a physician. Their report, published in the Dec. 13 issue of Archives Of Internal Medicine, recommends that guidelines be developed that require these ads to present a more balanced and detailed picture.
A Purdue University study has shown that a protein the hepatitis virus instructs chronically infected liver cells to produce - known as the X protein - under certain conditions instructs precancerous infected liver cells to die. The discovery could be harnessed as an anticancer therapy.
The drug methylphenidate (brand name Ritalin) increased activity in brains of children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) as well as those with a reading disorder, researchers at Yale report in the American Journal of Psychiatry.
Doctors at Long Island Jewish Medical Center recently discovered a link between a common chemotherapy drug and a serious bone disease called osteonecrosis of the jaw. The discovery, published in the Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons, prompted both the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Novartis, the manufacturer of bisphosphonates used in cancer chemotherapy, to issue warnings earlier this fall to physicians and dentists about the risk for this potential adverse effect.
While Republicans get more money from pro-tobacco interests, Democrats seem to be more influenced by the contributions they receive, a new Saint Louis University research finds.
Researchers at the University of Vermont will direct a research network focused on thrombosis, one of the first four Transatlantic Networks of Excellence in Cardiovascular Research funded by Fondation Leducq in France.
Summaries of selected papers - presented at the December 2004 AGU meeting - include topics on climate, earthquakes, poverty, and others by scientists affiliated with the Earth Institute at Columbia University.
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center has been awarded $9.7 million to lead a federally funded research consortium dedicated to developing blood tests for early detection of cancer and other diseases.
The Pacific Northwest has seen its share of major environmental battles. Now a new pilot study examining the historical record for the National Park Service has found that the Hudson's Bay Company, the dominant outside force in the region during the early years of the 19th century, set the stage for later environmental struggles through its own sometimes conflicting policies.
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is taking a gamble on a technological solution to the shortage of antimalarial drugs for the Third World. Through the non-profit pharmaceutical company, the Institute for OneWorld Health, the foundation is putting up nearly $43 million to shepherd a breakthrough technology by UC Berkeley's Jay Keasling out of the lab and into the marketplace to produce the miracle antimalaria drug artemisinin at a price the world's poor can afford.
End-of-life care in nursing homes often results in unnecessary suffering due mainly to a lack of staff time, training and communication, according to a new AARP study conducted at Brown Medical School. The report lists 15 recommendations to improve care, including more staffing, increased physician presence, additional training and better reimbursement rates.
Combined positron emission tomography and computerized tomography (PET/CT) can help diagnose occult (hidden) recurrent cancer, possibly a cancer patient's greatest post-treatment fear, report a team of Israeli physicians in the December issue of the Society of Nuclear Medicine's "Journal of Nuclear Medicine."
Nanotechnology researchers at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign have demonstrated a tiny, implantable detector that could one day allow diabetics to monitor their glucose levels continuously-without ever having to draw a blood sample.
Pfizer Inc today announced results of a comprehensive six-year review of efficacy and safety data for DETROL. LA (tolterodine tartrate extended release capsules) indicating that DETROL LA significantly reduces symptoms of overactive bladder (OAB) with a low occurrence of side effects, and should be considered first-line therapy. The results were recently published in the journal Drug Safety.
Vaccinating large populations of white-footed mice against the bacterium that causes Lyme disease could help reduce the risk of transmission of the disease to humans, says a study supported by NIAID, part of NIH. The findings, scheduled to be published online this week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, demonstrate that vaccination of wildlife hosts may be a promising ecologically based strategy to help prevent the spread of infectious diseases to humans by vectors such as insects and ticks.
Shire Pharmaceuticals Group plc (LSE: SHP, NASDAQ: SHPGY, TSX: SHQ) announces the US Food & Drug Administration approval of EQUETRO (TM) (extended-release carbamazepine capsules) for the treatment of patients with Bipolar Disorder. Bipolar Disorder is one of the six leading mental disorders worldwide, according to the World Health Organization. Each year, an estimated 2 million Americans, about 1 percent of the adult population are afflicted with the disorder, also known as manic depression.
Powerful research tools that speed up vaccine development have led to the start today of human tests for a preventive vaccine against the respiratory disease SARS. The disease killed hundreds of people around the world before it was brought under control in 2003 with aggressive conventional public health measures.
Cancer researchers have found a gene that suppresses the growth of colon cancer. The gene, called 15-PGDH, is found in normal cells and is virtually undetectable in colon cancer cells. When the researchers restored the gene in tumor cells and injected them into immune-deficient mice, the mice showed little or no tumor development. The gene acts as an antagonist to control an enzyme called COX-2. An increase in COX-2 is a major early event in the genesis of human colon tumors.
A fake Christmas tree may be more popular, but here's a new reason to appreciate the real thing: Researchers have identified a group of anti-inflammatory compounds in the bark of the Scotch pine -- widely used for Christmas trees -- that they say could be developed into new treatments for arthritis and pain. The compounds, which show promise in preliminary cell studies, are likely to be found in other pine species as well, the scientists say.
Wiping out a protein in skin cancer cells could significantly stall melanoma tumor development and increase the sensitivity of the cancer cells to chemotherapy, a Penn State College of Medicine study suggests.
Migraine sufferers are twice as likely to suffer a stroke than those who don't experience migraines, according to a report in this week's BMJ.
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