Health News

Studies Of Two Influenza Viruses Reveals Mutations That Could Cause Pandemic

Date: Jun-06-2013
Influenza viruses that emerge from birds or pigs can create pandemic flu if they gain the ability to spread from person to person. New research from MIT shows that two recently emerged bird flu strains, which do not spread easily now, could become much more infectious with just one or a few genetic mutations. The studies, which focused on the H5N1 and H7N9 flu strains, should help public health officials monitor evolving flu viruses for potential human-to-human transmission. They could also guide the development of new vaccines, says Ram Sasisekharan, the Alfred H...

Possible Prevention Of PTSD Discovered

Date: Jun-06-2013
Researchers have just identified a drug capable of preventing memory problems and increased anxiety in traumatized mice suffering from PTSD-like symptoms. The finding has huge medical implications for future human PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) treatment and/or prevention. According to Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigators, a receptor called Oprl1 is altered when mice experience PTSD symptoms. The scientists then developed a drug that targets that specific gene, thus preventing the development of the disorder...

How HIV Makes Immune Cells Commit Suicide

Date: Jun-06-2013
A new study from the US shows how the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) causes infected immune cells to commit suicide. The researchers believe the finding is an important lead on how to preserve the immune systems of people infected with the virus that causes AIDS. Lead author Arik Cooper and colleagues from the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, which is part of the National Institutes of Health, write about their findings in the 5th June online issue of Nature...

Gastric Bypass Surgery May Help Manage Diabetes Risk Factors

Date: Jun-06-2013
Among mild to moderately obese patients with type 2 diabetes, adding gastric bypass surgery to lifestyle and medical management was associated with a greater likelihood of improved levels of metabolic risk factors such as blood glucose, LDL-cholesterol and systolic blood pressure, according to a study in the June 5 issue of JAMA. "The foundation of treatment for type 2 diabetes mellitus is weight loss, achieved through reduction of energy intake and increased physical activity via lifestyle modification...

Malnutrition Kills Over 3 Million Children Annually Worldwide

Date: Jun-06-2013
More than 3 million children die each year because of malnutrition, accounting for more than fifty percent of deaths among those under the age of 5, according a new report published in the Lancet. A team of experts analyzed the true extent of global malnutrition, as well as the factors that cause it, to develop a new framework for prevention and treatment. The study revealed that the first 1,000 days of a child's life, from the day they are born until they are nearly three, impact not only their future health, but also a nation's economic advancement...

Sidley Austin To Reveal Guidance On UK Data Protection And Pharmacovigilance, 1-2 July 2013, London, UK

Date: Jun-06-2013
With just 4 weeks remaining until SMi open their doors to host the 3rd instalment in the Pharmacovigilance conference series, SMi have announced that William Long, Partner at Sidley Austin will be making a presentation on new PV policy...

Study Examines Relationship Of Early Life Risk Factors And Racial/Ethnic Disparities In Childhood Obesity

Date: Jun-06-2013
Racial and ethnic disparities in children who are overweight and obese may be determined by risk factors in infancy and early childhood, according to a study published Online First by JAMA Pediatrics, a JAMA Network publication. Over three decades, the rates of overweight and obesity among children have substantially increased worldwide. In the United States, the prevalence is estimated to be 32 percent among children and adolescents, according to the study background. Elsie M. Taveras, M.D., M.P.H...

Researchers Uncover Genetic Key For Improved Blood-Thinning Therapy For African-American Patients

Date: Jun-06-2013
Researchers have discovered a way to make a blood thinner safer for about 40 percent of African-Americans taking the drug by linking a common gene variation to the dose. These findings, published June 4 EDT in The Lancet, are the latest results from ongoing collaborative work by 42 researchers from 17 institutions in the International Warfarin Pharmacogenetics Consortium led by University of Florida Health researcher Julie A. Johnson, a distinguished professor of pharmacy and medicine and director of the UF Center for Pharmacogenomics...

Musculoskeletal Conditions, Injuries May Be Associated With Statin Use

Date: Jun-06-2013
Using cholesterol-lowering statins may be associated with musculoskeletal conditions, arthropathies (joint diseases) and injuries, according to a report published Online First by JAMA Internal Medicine, a JAMA Network publication. While statins effectively lower cardiovascular illnesses and death, the full spectrum of statin musculoskeletal adverse events (AEs) is unknown. Statin-associated musculoskeletal AEs include a wide variety of clinical presentations, including muscle weakness, muscle cramps and tendinous (tendon) diseases, the authors write in the study background...

Drug Resistance May Make Malaria Parasites Vulnerable To Other Substances

Date: Jun-06-2013
Malaria parasites that develop resistance to the most effective class of anti-malarial drugs may become susceptible to other treatments as a result. The discovery could reveal potential new drug options, which would be essential in the event of resistance to the best anti-malarials. In a new study, researchers have shown how the anti-malarials artemisinins attack the malaria parasite by inhibiting the action of a crucial protein, and that genetic mutations in this protein can reduce the effect of the drugs...