Chemical found in medical devices impairs heart function – Researchers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine have found that a chemical commonly used in the production of such medical plastic devices as intravenous (IV) bags and catheters can impair heart function in rats.
The swine flu virus does not become resistant to homeopathy medicines. – People are seeking alternative medicine – Homeopathy, just in case the swine flu becomes resistant to treatments like Tamiflu. Homeopathy is a form of alternative medicine that treats a disease with heavily diluted preparations that are thought to cause effects similar to the disease’s symptoms.
FDA Warns Consumers to Stop Using Hydroxycut Products Dietary Supplements; Pose Risk of Liver Injury. – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is warning consumers to immediately stop using Hydroxycut products by Iovate Health Sciences Inc., of Oakville, Ontario and distributed by Iovate Health Sciences USA Inc. of Blasdell, N.Y. Some Hydroxycut products are associated with a number of serious liver injuries. Iovate has agreed to recall Hydroxycut products from the market.
Mother-daughter breast density study points way to earlier cancer risk assessment – A unique mother-daughter study that used magnetic resonance to measure breast density in younger women shows that percent of breast water could be linked to the risk of breast cancer in middle age and older.
UCL?Pfizer to develop pioneering stem cell sight therapies for age-related macular degeneration (AMD). – UCL has entered into a collaboration with the biopharmaceutical group Pfizer, negotiated by UCL Business, to advance development of stem cell-based therapies for age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
FDA Researchers Contribute Insights into Avian Flu Virus. Findings could help develop new tests to detect infection; new tools to study H5N1 vaccines. – An in-depth analysis of blood from patients recovering from the H5N1 avian influenza virus has provided important insights into how to combat the potentially lethal virus.
Type of physician certification associated with risk of complications from ICDs – Patients whose implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) are implanted by nonelectrophysiologists are at increased risk of complications and are less likely to receive a specific type of ICD when clinically indicated, according to a study in the April 22/29 issue of JAMA.
Drinking wine may increase survival among non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma patients. – Pre-diagnostic wine consumption may reduce the risk of death and relapse among non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma patients, according to an epidemiology study presented at the American Association for Cancer Research 100th Annual Meeting 2009.
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.
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.
University of Leicester team examine potential of new nano technology to pave way for development of a combined diagnosis/therapeutic strategy for cancer. – A multi-disciplinary team of scientists from the University of Leicester could be potentially paving the way for the development of a powerful new strategy for both the early diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer.
Circumcision in heterosexual men significantly reduces their risk of acquiring HIV by 54% over a two year period, compared with uncircumcised men. – Three recent African trials support male circumcision for reducing the risk of contracting HIV in heterosexual men.
