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Inflammatory molecule involved in development of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Date: Aug-18-2013Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is characterized by poor airflow due to the breakdown of lung tissue, mucus accumulation and airway dysfunction. Development of COPD is most commonly associated with smoking tobacco, however, it also occurs after acute respiratory infections such as influenza. It is unclear how prior lung disease leads to COPD...
School suspension an increased risk for children exposed to lead
Date: Aug-17-2013Children who are exposed to lead are nearly three times more likely to be suspended from school by the 4th grade than children who are not exposed, according to a new University of Wisconsin-Madison study funded jointly by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Wisconsin Partnership Program Education and Research Committee...
Preventing lung injuries in very premature babies: Current therapies less effective than expected
Date: Aug-17-2013A neonatologist at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia is the senior author of a large new study that found that current non-invasive techniques for respiratory support are less effective than widely assumed, in reducing the incidence of severe lung injury in very premature infants. Neonatologists commonly use non-invasive nasal ventilation instead of mechanical ventilation via a breathing tube, in hopes of avoiding bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD)...
Study of melittin-based pore formation has implications for fighting cancer and bacteria
Date: Aug-17-2013A new study by Rice University biophysicists offers the most comprehensive picture yet of the molecular-level action of melittin, the principal toxin in bee venom. The research could aid in the development of new drugs that use a similar mechanism as melittin's to attack cancer and bacteria. The study appears in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Melittin does its damage by penetrating the outer walls of cells and opening pores that allow the contents of the cell to escape. At low concentrations, melittin forms transient pores...
Consumer choices may be adversely affected by irrelevant information in medical testimonials
Date: Aug-17-2013Medical testimonials on the Internet and elsewhere present powerful personal stories and useful information, but they can also be dangerous to your health if distracting, irrelevant information leads to inappropriate treatment decisions, say researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. "Distracted by Details: Narrative Influence Following Conflicting Stories" * was published in July in the journal Media Psychology. Authors were Joseph P. Simons, a 2013 Ph.D. graduate in social psychology, and Melanie C...
Fighting cancer with nanoparticles
Date: Aug-17-2013Researchers at the University of Georgia are developing a new treatment technique that uses nanoparticles to reprogram immune cells so they are able to recognize and attack cancer. The findings were published recently in the early online edition of ACS Nano. The human body operates under a constant state of martial law. Chief among the enforcers charged with maintaining order is the immune system, a complex network that seeks out and destroys the hordes of invading bacteria and viruses that threaten the organic society as it goes about its work...
Body's defense system against infection shut down by potent mechanism in viruses
Date: Aug-17-2013Researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have discovered a powerful mechanism by which viruses such as influenza, West Nile and Dengue evade the body's immune response and infect humans with these potentially deadly diseases. The findings may provide scientists with an attractive target for novel antiviral therapies. Published in the August issue of the journal Cell Host and Microbe, the findings describe a novel mechanism that this group of so-called "enveloped viruses" uses to disarm the host's innate immune response...
Newly discovered safety risks related to anti-epileptic drugs not passed to neurologists
Date: Aug-17-2013A study by Johns Hopkins researchers shows that a fifth of U.S. neurologists appear unaware of serious drug safety risks associated with various anti-epilepsy drugs, potentially jeopardizing the health of patients who could be just as effectively treated with safer alternative medications. The findings suggest that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration needs a better way to communicate information to specialists about newly discovered safety risks, the researchers say, since the warnings are in many cases not getting through to doctors making important prescribing decisions...
Prevention strategies the focus of first animal model for sexual transmission of HIV
Date: Aug-17-2013Infection by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a debilitating disorder in which progressive weakening of the immune system makes affected individuals more susceptible to potentially life-threatening infections and chronic diseases. Despite advances in the treatment and management of AIDS, there is no cure, and HIV infection remains a major global health problem. According to the WHO, there were an estimated 34 million infected individuals in 2011...
Stem cell spine injections for MS - trial approved
Date: Aug-17-2013The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a new clinical trial of a groundbreaking strategy using stem cells for the treatment of MS (multiple sclerosis). Researchers from the Tisch MS Research Center of New York say the FDA has granted approval to begin early clinical investigation (phase 1 trial) of autologous neural stem cells in the treatment of MS. Multiple sclerosis is a chronic disease that attacks the central nervous system (the spinal cord, optic nerves and brain)...
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