Influenza, commonly known as the flu, is an infectious disease of birds and mammals caused by an RNA virus of the family Orthomyxoviridae, the influenza viruses. In people, common symptoms of influenza are fever, sore throat, muscle pains, severe headache, coughing, and weakness and fatigue.
Scorpion venom’s Chlorotoxin with nanoparticles slows spread of brain cancer – a highly invasive tumor. – By combining nanoparticles with a scorpion venom compound already being investigated for treating brain cancer, University of Washington researchers found they could cut the spread of cancerous cells by 98 percent, compared to 45 percent for the scorpion venom alone.
A new North American study shows that starting antiretroviral treatment earlier could reduce the risk of death by up to 94 percent – Begin treatment as early as possible: this general common sense rule seems to apply to most diseases except HIV-AIDS, which is only treated once a certain number of immune cells called “CD4+” cells have disappeared.
New alternative to biopsy detects subtle changes in cancer cells, Stanford study shows. – A drop of blood or a chunk of tissue smaller than the period at the end of this sentence may one day be all that is necessary to diagnose cancers and assess their response to treatment, say researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine.
Exposure to epilepsy medicine valproate during pregnancy can impair a child’s cognitive development and IQ. – Three-year-olds whose mothers took the antiepileptic drug valproate during pregnancy had average IQs six to nine points lower than children exposed to three other antiepileptic drugs, a landmark multi-center study has found.
Acupuncture ‘probably ineffective’ in treatment of hot flushes during menopause, revealed in the Climacteric – the journal of the International Menopause Society. – Acupuncture cannot be shown to have any positive effect on hot flushes during the menopause.
The so-called purple pill, known popularly as Nexium and and esomeprazole to physicians, did not reduce asthma symptoms in patients who did not have symptoms of heartburn. – The predominance of heartburn among asthma sufferers led many specialists to suspect that acid reflux could be a trigger for the coughing, wheezing and breathlessness of asthma.
Presence of sex-biases in brain disorders suggests that the subtle differences between the brains of males and females alter the course and/or presentation of brain diseases. – University of Otago researchers have discovered a new mechanism which contributes to subtle differences between male and female brains and behaviours.
For a woman in the screening subset of mammography-detectable cancers, there is a less than 5% chance that a mammogram will save her life. – Women are often told that mammography saves lives. But rarely is the question asked, ‘how often?’
Getting down to cancer basics — Cancer mutations in the heart of gene regulation. – Researchers have identified a new cancer gene – one that is common to many cancers and affects the most basic regulation of our genes.
Large-scale study finds higher temperatures, lower barometric pressures associated with severe headaches and migraines. – Higher temperatures, and to a lesser degree, lower barometric pressure, contribute to severe headaches, revealed by researchers in issue of the journal Neurology.
Human vaccine against bird flu a reality with new discovery – A vaccine to protect humans from a bird flu pandemic is within reach after a new discovery by researchers at the University of Melbourne, Australia.
Low levels of vitamin B12 may increase risk for neural tube defects; Vegans, vegetarians may be at risk. – Children born to women who have low blood levels of vitamin B12 shortly before and after conception may have an increased risk of a neural tube defect, according to an analysis by researchers at the National Institutes of Health, Trinity College Dublin, and the Health Research Board of Ireland.
