Penn study demonstrates new way to boost immune memory — Cancer vaccine efficacy enhanced using anti-diabetic drug metformin. – University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine researchers have found that a common anti-diabetic drug might enhance the effectiveness of vaccines. The findings are described this week in an advanced online publication of Nature.
Genes and smoking play role in rheumatoid arthritis — News from Arthritis & Rheumatism. – Recent genetic studies have revealed several new sites of genes that are risk factors for developing rheumatoid arthritis (RA), revealed by researchers in the June issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism.
Australian scientists develop a new low-cost, point-of-care HIV monitoring treatment – Scientists at the Burnet Institute, Australia’s leading medical research and public health institute focused on infectious diseases, have developed a prototype low-cost HIV monitoring test designed for field use in remote settings.
A crucial step towards large scale production of a vaccine against swine flu has been completed in the UK by the National Institute for Biological Standards and Control (NIBSC), part of the Health Protection Agency. – A strain of virus suitable for vaccine manufacture has now been produced and is being made available to the pharmaceutical industry and other flu laboratories.
Low levels of vitamin D linked to common vaginal infection in pregnant women – Findings may explain higher rates of infection among African-Americans. – Pregnant women with low levels of vitamin D may be more likely to suffer from bacterial vaginosis (BV) ? a common vaginal infection that increases a woman’s risk for preterm delivery, according to a University of Pittsburgh study.
How superbugs control their lethal weapons – It appears that some superbugs have evolved to develop the ability to manipulate the immune system to everyone’s advantage.
Prescribing sunshine for multiple sclerosis? — Encouraging patients with multiple sclerosis to spend more time in the sun – might be a cheap and easy treatment. – Could a holiday in the sun reduce the risk of developing multiple sclerosis? In a recent review for F1000 Medicine Reports, Bridget Bagert and Dennis Bourdette highlight recent advances in potential treatments.
Novel vaccine approach offers hope in fight against HIV – Gene transfer technology may lead to an HIV vaccine. – A research team may have broken the stubborn impasse that has frustrated the invention of an effective HIV vaccine, by using an approach that bypasses the usual path followed by vaccine developers.
Study indicates that a common virus could cause high blood pressure – Cytomegalovirus affects majority of adults worldwide. – A new study suggests for the first time that cytomegalovirus (CMV), a common viral infection affecting between 60 and 99 percent of adults worldwide, is a cause of high blood pressure, a leading risk factor for heart disease, stroke and kidney disease.
How to build a bigger brain – Study shows that meditation may increase gray matter. – Push-ups, crunches, gyms, personal trainers – people have many strategies for building bigger muscles and stronger bones. But what can one do to build a bigger brain?
AIDS patients with serious complications benefit from early retroviral use, Stanford study shows – HIV-positive patients who don’t seek medical attention until they have a serious AIDS-related condition can reduce their risk of death or other complications by half if they get antiretroviral treatment early on, according to a new multicenter trial led by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine.
Junghans named PI in $5.9 million breast cancer grant – Richard Junghans, MD, associate professor of surgery at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and Chief of Surgical Research was named principal investigator of a grant to research how breast cancer patients’ own cells can be modified to fight their disease.
