Health News

What Is Remicade (infliximab)?

Date: Jul-25-2012
Remicade (infliximab) is a TNF inhibitor, a monoclonal antibody against tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), that is prescribed for the treatment of several autoimmune inflammatory diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis, chronic plaque psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, Crohn's disease, and ankylosing spondylitis. Infliximab is used to alleviate the symptoms of pain and inflammation. In September 2011, the US FDA approved Remicade for treating children aged 6 or more years whose ulcerative colitis responded inadequately to conventional therapy...

What Is Ankylosing Spondylitis?

Date: Jul-25-2012
Ankylosing spondylitis is a type of chronic arthritis of the spine and the sacroiliac joints (in the pelvis). The inflammation of the vertebrae (spondylitis) can eventually lead to the fusion of the vertebrae - they cement together (ankylosis). This type of chronic arthritis affects the bones, muscles and ligaments. The long-term inflammation in the spine and sacroiliac joints cause severe pain and stiffness in the spinal area. Ankylosing spondylitis belongs to a group of disorders known as seronegative spondyloarthropathies...

Type 2 Diabetes Drug Found To Be Clinically Effective For Long-Term Use In 32-Country Study Shows

Date: Jul-25-2012
An extended trial of a drug for people with type 2 diabetes has confirmed that the oral DPP-4 inhibitor linagliptin is a safe and effective means of lowering glucose levels for up to 102 weeks, either on its own or in combination with other selected oral anti-diabetic medication. The 32-country study, published in the August issue of IJCP, The International Journal of Clinical Practice, followed 2,121 individuals who had taken part in four previous 24-week randomised, double-blind, placebo controlled trials, in order to monitor them for a further 78 weeks...

How Fear And Anxiety Alters Choices: Neuroeconomics To Study Decision-Making In Anxious Individuals

Date: Jul-25-2012
Anxiety disorders affect approximately 40 million American adults each year, and although they are treatable, they often cause significant distress. The excessive fear and dread that accompanies anxiety disorders clearly influences the everyday decision-making processes of anxious individuals. Despite its importance, "there is surprisingly little research on how anxiety disorders influence decisions," commented neuroscientist Dr. Elizabeth Phelps, who co-authored this new review with Dr. Catherine Hartley, both of New York University...

The Importance Of Endoscopy And Better Tissue Sampling In The Management And Treatment Of Barrett's Dysplasia And Adenocarcinoma

Date: Jul-25-2012
The world's largest review of all the evidence on the best way of managing and treating common pre-cancerous and cancerous conditions of the oesophagus (gullet) has found that good endoscopy equipment, more endoscopic surgery, and more tissue sampling are required to improve care for patients. The multi-national team of researchers led by Professor Janusz Jankowski of the Blizard Institute of Cell and Molecular Science at Queen Mary, University of London (UK), reviewed nearly 12,000 papers on the care and treatment of Barrett's Dysplasia and early-stage oesophageal adenocarcinoma...

A New And Powerful Class Of Antioxidants Could One Day Be A Potent Treatment For Parkinson's Disease

Date: Jul-25-2012
A new and powerful class of antioxidants could one day be a potent treatment for Parkinson's disease, researchers report. A class of antioxidants called synthetic triterpenoids blocked development of Parkinson's in an animal model that develops the disease in a handful of days, said Dr. Bobby Thomas, neuroscientist at the Medical College of Georgia at Georgia Health Sciences University and corresponding author of the study in the journal /iAntioxidants & Redox Signaling...

Ginseng-Fortified Milk Developed To Improve Cognitive Function

Date: Jul-25-2012
American ginseng is reported to have neurocognitive effects, and research has shown benefits in aging, central nervous system disorders, and neurodegenerative diseases. The challenges of incorporating ginseng into food are twofold: it has a bitter taste, and food processing can eliminate its healthful benefits. Reporting in the August issue of the Journal of Dairy Science®, a group of scientists has formulated low-lactose functional milk that maintained beneficial levels of American ginseng after processing...

How The Brain Processes Visual Information Provides Insight Into Neural Mechanisms Of Attention

Date: Jul-25-2012
Ever wonder how the human brain, which is constantly bombarded with millions of pieces of visual information, can filter out what's unimportant and focus on what's most useful? The process is known as selective attention and scientists have long debated how it works. But now, researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center have discovered an important clue. Evidence from an animal study, published in the online edition of the journal Nature Neuroscience, shows that the prefrontal cortex is involved in a previously unknown way...

Children Heavily Exposed To Alcohol In Utero Commonly Suffer Functional Neurologic Abnormalities

Date: Jul-25-2012
Most children who are exposed to large amounts of alcohol while in the womb do not go on to develop fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS). Instead, problems that arise fall under a broader term that describes a spectrum of adverse outcomes, fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD). A study using population-based prospective data from Chile to examine the risk for developing components of FASD has found that functional central nervous system abnormalities were alarmingly high...

College Campuses And Surrounding Communities Can Join Forces To Stop Alcohol Abuse

Date: Jul-25-2012
Not only is alcohol use pervasive among U.S. college students, who typically drink more than their same-aged, non-college peers, but college students also seem to lag behind their peers in 'maturing out' of harmful drinking patterns. There has been little examination of interventions that link community-level and campus-level environments. A unique study that assessed this two-pronged approach to reducing high-risk drinking in and around college campuses has found that it is highly effective in decreasing severe and interpersonal consequences of drinking...