UAE
Bahrain
Jordan
Kuwait
Oman
Qatar
Saudi ArabiaHealth News
Social Media Initiative May Help Increase Organ Donations
Date: Jun-18-2013A new social media initiative helped to boost organ donor registration rates, according to a new study published in the American Journal of Transplantation. The findings suggest that social media might be an effective tool for tackling a variety of problems related to public health in which communication and education are essential. Organ donation rates in the United States have remained static while increasing numbers of individuals join transplant waiting lists each year...
Geneticists Solve Mystery Of EEC Syndrome's Variable Severity In Children
Date: Jun-18-2013By identifying a protein that acts as a genetic modifier, scientists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) have solved the mystery of why some infants are born with a grave syndrome consisting of cleft palate and major deformities of the skin and limbs, while other infants bearing the same predisposing genetic mutation bear little or no sign of the illness, called EEC. EEC stands for "Ectodactyly, Ectodermal dysplasia, Clefting syndrome." It is rare in its full-blown form, although individual aspects of the associated pathology, such as cleft palate, are more common...
Mathematical Models Being Used In The Fight Against Cancer
Date: Jun-18-2013Here's a good reason to pay attention in math class. Nature Communications has published a paper from Ottawa researchers, outlining how advanced mathematical modelling can be used in the fight against cancer. The technique predicts how different treatments and genetic modifications might allow cancer-killing, oncolytic viruses to overcome the natural defences that cancer cells use to stave off viral infection. "Oncolytic viruses are special in that they specifically target cancer cells," explains Dr...
Cell Biologists Identify A Memory-Boosting Chemical In Mice
Date: Jun-18-2013Memory improved in mice injected with a small, drug-like molecule discovered by UCSF San Francisco researchers studying how cells respond to biological stress. The same biochemical pathway the molecule acts on might one day be targeted in humans to improve memory, according to the senior author of the study, Peter Walter, PhD, UCSF professor of biochemistry and biophysics and a Howard Hughes Investigator. The discovery of the molecule and the results of the subsequent memory tests in mice were published in eLife, an online scientific open-access journal...
Self-Management Of Rheumatoid Arthritis Aided By Nurse-Led Programs
Date: Jun-18-2013Data first presented at EULAR 2013, the Annual Congress of the European League Against Rheumatism demonstrate the benefits of a nurse-led programme on patient self-management and the management of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) co-morbidities. The COMEDRA study was a six-month trial involving patients with RA who attended one of the twenty participating treatment centres in France. Patients were randomly allocated to one of two arms of the trial; the evaluation of nurse-led programmes on patient self-assessment or on the management of co-morbidities...
Two Distinct Forms Of Gulf War Illness Identified
Date: Jun-18-2013Researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center say their new work suggests that Gulf War illness may have two distinct forms depending on which brain regions have atrophied. Their study of Gulf War veterans, published online in PLOS ONE, may help explain why clinicians have consistently encountered veterans with different symptoms and complaints. Using brain imaging that was acquired before and after exercise tests, the researchers studied the effects of physical stress on the veterans and controls. Following exercise, subgroups were evident...
Remission In Early RA Less Likely For Overweight And Obese Patients
Date: Jun-18-2013A new study presented today at EULAR 2013, the Annual Congress of the European League Against Rheumatism, shows that overweight and obese patients are less likely to achieve successful remission in early rheumatoid arthritis (ERA) compared to those of normal weight. Obese and overweight ERA subjects required 2.4 times more anti-TNF therapy throughout the study than normal weight participants without achieving similar remission outcomes. RA is a chronic, inflammatory autoimmune disease affecting approximately 1 in 100 people worldwide...
Diagnosis In Rheumatoid Arthritis Improved By Novel Biomarkers
Date: Jun-18-2013Data presented at EULAR 2013, the Annual Congress of the European League Against Rheumatism, show that novel antibody biomarkers could significantly improve diagnosis in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Four candidate biomarkers - UH-RA.1, UH-RA.9, UH-RA.14 and UH-RA.21 - were investigated; as a group they demonstrated 85% specificity for RA, and were present in both early and seronegative disease, with 36% of early RA and 24% of RF- and ACCP -negative patients testing positive. RA is a chronic autoimmune disease characterised by inflammation of the joints and tendons...
Protein Protects Against Breast Cancer Recurrence In Animal Model
Date: Jun-18-2013According to the American Cancer Society, nearly 40,000 women in the United States will succumb to breast cancer this year. Most of these women will die not from the primary tumor but rather tumor recurrence - the reappearance of the disease following treatment. Precisely what causes breast cancer recurrence has been poorly understood. But now a piece of the puzzle has fallen into place: Researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania have identified a key molecular player in recurrent breast cancer - a finding that suggests potential new therapeutic strategies...
Reducing Levels Of Nerve-Growth Factor May Be Key To Developing Better Pain Treatments For Arthritis
Date: Jun-18-2013Arthritis is a debilitating disorder affecting one in 10 Canadians, with pain caused by inflammation and damage to joints. Yet the condition is poorly managed in most patients, since adequate treatments are lacking - and the therapies that do exist to ease arthritis pain often cause serious side effects, particularly when used long-term. Any hope for developing more-effective treatments for arthritis relies on understanding the processes driving this condition...
Stay Connected
