Health News

Skin Patch For Migraines Receives FDA Approval

Date: Jan-20-2013
The FDA has approved Zecuity (sumatriptan iontophoretic transdermal system) for the treatment of acute migraine in adults with or without aura. Zecuity is a battery-powered skin patch that delivers sumatriptan through the patient's skin - it is a single-use medication. Sumatriptan is the most extensively prescribed migraine drug. According to NuPathe Inc., the makers and marketers of Zecuity, the patch is effective in treating migraine headache pain as well as migraine-related nausea...

Identifying Early Molecular Targets Related To The Reprogramming Process In Leprosy Infection To Prevent The Progression Of Infection

Date: Jan-20-2013
Leprosy is a bacterial disease that spreads to muscles and other tissues in the body, causing neurodegeneration and muscle weakness. A new study, published by Cell Press in the journal Cell, reveals that the bacteria responsible for leprosy spread infection by hijacking specialized cells in the adult nervous system, reprogramming them into a stem cell-like state, and converting them to muscle-like cells. These findings could lead to the development of new therapeutic strategies for combating bacterial infections and degenerative diseases as well as new tools for regenerative medicine...

Attempts To Correct 'Death Panel' Myth May Backfire

Date: Jan-19-2013
Efforts to correct false beliefs about health care reform may backfire, depending on individuals' political views and level of knowledge, suggests a study in the February issue of Medical Care. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health...

Preliminary Findings Suggest New Biomarker For Gliomas May Play An Important Diagnostic Role

Date: Jan-19-2013
Researchers using sophisticated genetic testing techniques have identified a promising new biomarker for diagnosis of glioma - the most common type of malignant brain tumor, reports the January issue of Neurosurgery, official journal of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health. The biomarker ELTD1 "may serve as an additional biomarker for gliomas in preclinical and clinical diagnosis of gliomas," according to the study by Rheal A. Towner of Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, Oklahoma City...

When It Comes To Marriage Proposals, Young Men And Women Hold Fast To Traditional Views

Date: Jan-19-2013
Would women rather "pop the question?" Apparently not. With marriage proposals in the air around the new year, researchers at UC Santa Cruz report that both women and men tend to hold traditional views when it comes to marriage proposals. Young adults were asked about their personal preferences for marriage traditions. Overwhelmingly, both men and women said they would want the man in a relationship to propose marriage. A substantial majority of women also responded that they would want to take their husband's last name...

New Method To Diagnose Hereditary Breast And Ovarian Cancer

Date: Jan-19-2013
Researchers of the Catalan Institute of Oncology (ICO) at the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL) have developed and validated a new method to diagnose hereditary breast and ovarian cancer syndrome based on mass sequencing of BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes. The model is based on a genetic and bioinformatic analysis which has proved very effective. The new protocol has been described in an article published in the European Journal of Human Genetics...

New Potential Site For Medications To Target Persistent Seizures In Epileptic Patients

Date: Jan-19-2013
In a promising finding for epileptic patients suffering from persistent seizures known as status epilepticus, researchers reported that new medication could help halt these devastating seizures. To do so, it would have to work directly to antagonize NMDA receptors, the predominant molecular device for controlling synaptic activity and memory function in the brain. "Despite the development of new medications to prevent seizures, status epilepticus remains a life-threatening condition that can cause extensive brain damage in the patients that survive these persistent seizures," said David E...

Remote Presence For Point-Of-Care Programming Of Neuromodulation Devices For Brain And Spine Stimulators

Date: Jan-19-2013
With the rapidly expanding use of brain and spinal cord stimulation therapy (neuromodulation), new "remote presence" technologies may help to meet the demand for experts to perform stimulator programming, reports a study in the January issue of Neurosurgery, official journal of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health. The preliminary study by Dr...

Under-Arm Odour Not A Problem For Some People With A Certain Gene

Date: Jan-19-2013
New research shows that more than 75 per cent of people with a particular version of a gene don't produce under-arm odour but use deodorant anyway. The study was based on a sample of 6,495 women who are part of the wider Children of the 90s study at the University of Bristol. The researchers found that about two per cent (117 out of 6,495) of mothers carry a rare version of a particular gene (ABCC11), which means they don't produce any under-arm odour...

Response To Chemotherapy For Colorectal Cancer May Be Predicted By New Model

Date: Jan-19-2013
Scientists may be able to better predict which patients with colorectal cancer will respond to chemotherapy using a new mathematical model that measures the amount of stress required for a cancer cell to die without harming healthy tissue. The results of this study are published in Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. "Our study demonstrates that systems medicine approaches (i.e...