9 mai, 2006 10:07

Medical News from News-Medical.Net - May 9th 2006

Researchers have a new understanding of the process cells use to ensure that sperm and eggs begin life with exactly one copy of each chromosome - a process that must be exquisitely regulated to prevent problems such as miscarriages and mental retardation.

A team of researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis found that an antidepressant medication may reduce the risk of recurrent depression and increase the length of time between depressive episodes in patients with diabetes.

Beautiful young models are used to sell everything from computer processors to motor oil. But is it really effective to use a pretty face to market something that has nothing to do with physical attractiveness?

The emergence of the avian influenza virus H5N1 that is currently devastating chicken flocks in many countries and threatening to unleash a worldwide epidemic among humans has triggered a renewed interest among scientists in studying influenza A viruses, according to investigators at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

A University of Houston professor and his student have made a major discovery in the field of diabetes research and diagnosis, finding a new mechanism for the formation of insulin crystals in the pancreas.

White blood cells from a strain of cancer-resistant mice cured advanced cancers in ordinary laboratory mice, researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine reported.

It has been known for a long time that much of a cell's RNA stems from DNA regions called intergenic spacers (IGS) that lie between two genes and do not code for proteins.

A research team from Uppsala University has uncovered an entirely new mechanism for how communication between cells is regulated.

Put a mouse or a rat under stress and what does it do? It stops eating. Humans should be so lucky. When people suffer nontraumatic stress they often head for the refrigerator, producing unhealthy extra pounds.

A study of office-based physicians in the United States suggests that about one-fifth of medications are prescribed to treat conditions for which they are not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and that nearly three-fourths of those uses lack strong scientific support, according to an article in the May 8 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.

According to research into why people experience the feeling of dread, a team of Emory neuroscientists led by Gregory Berns, MD, PhD, used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to determine the areas of the brain that are activated when someone gets that dreadful feeling.

Providing a convivial and social environment at mealtimes improves the quality of life of nursing home residents, finds a study published online at the British Medical Journal website.

Patients are weighing in on liposuction, the most popular cosmetic plastic surgery procedure in 2005, and resoundingly saying they would have the procedure again.

This new study could potentially help researchers find new ways to avoid the problem of multidrug resistance and enhance the potency of existing drug compounds.

The cholesterol-lowering medications known as statins may improve circulation in the eye, potentially reducing the risk of certain eye diseases, according to a study in the May issue of Archives of Ophthalmology.

A small trial suggests that treatment with intravenous and oral antiviral medications may reduce the nerve pain that occurs following shingles, according to a study posted online today that will appear in the July 2006 print issue of Archives of Neurology.

A study led by Mayo Clinic demonstrates that mild cognitive impairment, a memory disorder considered a strong early predictor of Alzheimer's disease, not only results in behavioral symptoms, but also structural changes that can be identified in the brain. Findings will be published in the May issue of Archives of Neurology.

New research shows that many women recently diagnosed with lung cancer have normal lung function and perform better on lung function tests compared with their male counterparts.

According to experts in reproductive health, the combination of HPV testing with HPV vaccines is the best hope for preventing cervical cancer.

For women diagnosed with a type of non-invasive breast cancer, removing the breast is not the only treatment option.

Premenstrual distress: An unavoidable condition many women suffer with relentless regularity. Or is it? Can heterosexual women learn a thing or two from their lesbian sisterhood?

Breast conserving surgery, long known to be successful at treating the more common invasive cancer, can also be effective for this pre-invasive condition, according to a new study from researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center.

A study by a Columbia University Medical Center researcher shows that 99 percent of participants experienced either a return to menstruation or became pregnant within 90 days after stopping an investigational, low-dose oral contraceptive taken every day without placebo.

Despite state laws requiring that every pregnant woman be offered HIV testing multiple times during pregnancy, about 20 percent of women reach their third trimester without it, according to a review of Florida women from 2003-04, researchers say.

Previous studies have linked the use of hormone therapy to breast cancer among postmenopausal women, but have primarily focused on the hormone combination of estrogen plus progestin, according to background information in the article.