UAE
Bahrain
Jordan
Kuwait
Oman
Qatar
Saudi ArabiaHealth News
Discovery Could Lead To New Way To Screen Drugs For Adverse Reactions
Date: May-30-2012Adverse drug reactions are a major issue that cause harm, are costly and restrict treatment options for patients and the development of new drugs. A groundbreaking finding by researchers from the La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology could lead to a new way to dramatically improve drug safety by identifying drugs at risk to cause potentially fatal genetic-linked hypersensitivity reactions before their use in man. Hypersensitivity reactions are similar to allergic reactions, whereby the immune system responds too strongly to something foreign that is not infectious or dangerous...
Recommending Safeguards Against Misuse Of Genetic Data
Date: May-30-2012Rapid advancements in genetic disease research necessitate innovative safeguards for patients, according to new American Heart Association policy recommendations published in Circulation, an American Heart Association journal. Recent scientific progress includes the mapping of the entire human genetic code, or genome, which was completed in 2003, and new accelerated gene-sequencing techniques. These discoveries have led to cheaper, more readily available genetic tests, but regulations have lagged behind. "The potential of the new technologies is incredible," said Euan A. Ashley, M.R.C.P...
Cardiovascular Risk Reduced By 21st Century Bloodletting
Date: May-30-2012It seems that while the practice of bloodletting throughout history had little or no effect on most diseases, and the practice was abandoned in the 19th century, new research published in BioMed Central's open access journal BMC Medicine demonstrates that blood donation has real benefits for obese people with metabolic syndrome. Two sessions of bloodletting were enough to improve blood pressure and markers of cardiovascular disease. Metabolic syndrome is the name given to a host of difficulties affecting people who are obese...
Why Chemotherapy Fails
Date: May-30-2012The fight against cancer is not won in a single battle: Long after a cancer has been beaten into remission, it can return. The reason for this is under debate, and much is unclear. New research led by Weizmann Institute scientists shows that, at least for one type of blood cancer, the source of cancer recurrence is in a set of cells that do not proliferate as quickly as regular cancer cells, and thus able to survive chemotherapy. The findings, which appeared in the journal Blood, have some important implications for the future of the war on cancer...
New HIV-Inhibiting Protein Identified
Date: May-30-2012Scientists have identified a new HIV-suppressing protein in the blood of people infected with the virus. In laboratory studies, the protein, called CXCL4 or PF-4, binds to HIV such that it cannot attach to or enter a human cell. The research was led by Paolo Lusso, M.D., Ph.D., chief of the Section of Viral Pathogenesis in the Laboratory of Immunoregulation at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of NIH. CXCL4 belongs to a family of molecules called chemokines that help regulate the movement of immune cells around the body...
Inspired By The Auto iIndustry, Streamlining Surgical Practice May Also Enhance Education For Surgical Residents
Date: May-30-2012For a year and a half, the University of Michigan Health System turned one of its head and neck surgery practices into a laboratory. The goal: to see if 'lean thinking' techniques pioneered by the auto industry could be applied to the operating room in ways that simultaneous improved service for patients as well as improve overall efficiency. The answer was a resounding, "Yes." Turnaround time between surgeries fell by more than 20 percent, while measurements of morale, teamwork and effective problem solving rose. The number of cases finishing after 5 p.m...
Vitamin D: Too Much Can Be As Unhealthy As Too Little
Date: May-30-2012Scientists know that Vitamin D deficiency is not healthy. However, new research from the University of Copenhagen now indicates that too high a level of the essential vitamin is not good either. The study is based on blood samples from 247,574 Copenhageners. The results have just been published in the reputed scientific Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism. Vitamin D is instrumental in helping calcium reach our bones, thus lessening the risk from falls and the risk of broken hips...
Even After Weight Loss, Female Fat Prejudice Persists
Date: May-30-2012Overweight women may never escape the painful stigma of obesity - even after they have shed the pounds, new research suggests. The study, by the University of Hawaii at Manoa, The University of Manchester, and Monash University, examined whether anti-fat prejudice against women persisted even after they had lost significant weight and were now thin. The researchers asked young men and women to read vignettes describing a woman who had either lost weight (70 pounds/32 kilograms) or had remained weight stable, and who was either currently obese or currently thin...
In Parkinson's Disease, Blocking LRRK2 Activity Is Not A Simple Answer
Date: May-30-2012Mutations in the LRRK2 gene are the most common cause of genetic Parkinson's disease (PD). New research published in BioMed Central's open access journal Molecular Neurodegeneration demonstrates that loss of function of LRRK2 (by deletion of the kinase domain) leads to changes in motor co-ordination and causes anxiety-like behaviors and kidney degeneration in mice without affecting dopamine-mediated brain activity. The protein LRRK2 is involved in regulating the structure and function of neurons...
Analyzing Dengue Transmission At The Community Level
Date: May-30-2012Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health have found evidence of a role for neighborhood immunity in determining risk of dengue infection. While it is established that immunity can be an important factor in the large-scale distribution of disease, this study demonstrates that local variation at spatial scales of just a few hundred meters can significantly alter the risk of infection, even in a highly mobile and dense urban population with significant immunity. The study is published inthe journal PNAS...
Stay Connected
