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Scientists Discover Genes Responsible For Cornea Blindness
Date: Jan-18-2013Scientists at Singapore Eye Research Institute and A*STAR's Genome Institute of Singapore have succeeded in identifying genes for central corneal thickness that may cause potentially blinding eye conditions. These eye conditions include glaucoma, as well as the progressive thinning of the cornea, which may eventually lead to a need for corneal transplantation. The authors jointly led a multi-centre study involving 55 hospitals and research centres around the world. They performed a meta-analysis on more than 20,000 individuals in European and Asian populations...
Breast Cancer Message Boards Reveal Frequent Discussion Of Drug Side Effects, Discontinuation Of Therapy
Date: Jan-18-2013In the first study to examine discussion of drug side effects on Internet message boards, researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania found that breast cancer survivors taking the commonly prescribed adjuvant therapy known as aromatase inhibitors (AIs) often detailed in these forums troublesome symptoms resulting from the drugs, and they were apt to report discontinuing the treatment or switching to a different drug in the same class. The findings are published online this week in the journal Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety. With 2...
Dangerous Bacterial Infections A Risk For COPD Patients
Date: Jan-18-2013It is well known that COPD patients run a higher risk of contracting respiratory infections. However, a new thesis from Lund University in Sweden shows that they are also at higher risk of other bacterial infections, such as tuberculosis (TB) and pneumococcal and staphylococcal infections that can cause serious illness. The abbreviation COPD stands for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and the disease makes it difficult for patients to breathe. However, the disease affects other organs as well as the lungs...
Cost Of Drug Development Reduced Thanks To New Technology
Date: Jan-18-2013De Montfort University (DMU) has come together with a leading UK-based life sciences commercialisation company, Ithaka Life Sciences Ltd (Ithaka), to market new technology designed to speed up and reduce the cost of the development of new drugs and medicines. A leading expert at DMU, Professor Bob Chaudhuri, has invented the technology which will provide useful new products and services, based on a set of proteins, named cytochrome P450s (CYPs). CYPs are found in the human liver and are mostly responsible for the metabolism of drugs in people...
New Study On Post-War Romanian Abortion Policy Demonstrates That Restrictions Result In Maternal Mortality
Date: Jan-18-2013A unique study published in today's edition of the Journal of Family Planning and Reproductive Health Care1, provides new evidence about the causal links between restrictions to abortion policy and maternal mortality. The study demonstrates that limiting abortion does not prevent women from seeking pregnancy terminations but simply increases the risks they face. The study reveals women's fertility rate and abortion rates before, during and after the Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu outlawed abortion in 1966 until his death in 1989...
Harmful Cells May Have A Role To Play In Liver Repair, Study Suggests
Date: Jan-18-2013Liver damage could be repaired by the same cells that harm the organ in the first place, a study suggests. The cells - called macrophages - cause tissue to become scarred, which can lead to cirrhosis of the liver. Scientists at the University of Edinburgh have now found that the macrophages also have a role in breaking down and getting rid of damaged tissue so that the normal liver structure and function is restored. Macrophages are found throughout the body and help fight infection by breaking down bacteria...
Generic HIV Treatment Strategy Could Save Nearly $1 Billion Annually But May Be Less Effective
Date: Jan-18-2013Replacing the combination of brand-name, antiretroviral drugs currently recommended for control of HIV infection with soon-to-be-available generic medications could save the U.S. health care system almost $1 billion a year but may diminish the effectiveness of HIV treatment. A study led by Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and Weill Cornell Medical College investigators, appearing in the January 15 Annals of Internal Medicine, examines the potential impact of such a change...
Dramatic Variation In Dementia Diagnosis Across UK
Date: Jan-18-2013New figures released by the Alzheimer's Society reveal wide variations in how many people are receiving a diagnosis of dementia in Britain, with rates ranging from 31.6 per cent in East Riding of Yorkshire to 75.5 per cent in Belfast.There has been a 3 per cent increase in the number of people in the UK that have been diagnosed with dementia raising the number of people who now have a formal diagnosis to 46 per cent. However, there are thought to be another 428,000 in the UK (54 per cent people) who are living with the condition but who are not diagnosed...
New Light Shed On Cell Function, Response, By Immunology Research
Date: Jan-18-2013A Kansas State University-led study has uncovered new information that helps scientists better understand the complex workings of cells in the innate immune system. The findings may also lead to new avenues in disease control and prevention. Philip Hardwidge, associate professor of diagnostic medicine and pathobiology, was the study's principal investigator. He and colleagues looked at the relationship between a bacterial protein and the innate immune system - a system of defensive cells that responds rapidly to an infection in a nonspecific manner...
During Crises, Surgical Teams Using Checklists Were 74 Percent Less Likely To Miss Key Life-Saving Steps In Care
Date: Jan-18-2013In an airplane crisis - an engine failure, a fire - pilots pull out a checklist to help with their decision-making. But in an operating room crisis - massive bleeding, a patient's heart stops - surgical teams don't. Given the complexity of judgment and circumstances, standard practice is for teams to use memory alone...
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