Experimental Weight-Loss Drugs May Fight Diabetes, Too

Three investigational diet drugs now being developed might also help prevent and treat diabetes, preliminary new research indicates. The drugs – Contrave, lorcaserin, and Qnexa – showed an ability to improve blood glucose levels and other cardiometabolic risk factors. None of the drugs is approved by the Food and Drug Administration, but just last week, the makers of Contrave reported that the drug was performing well in a late-stage clinical trial. The drug is made by Orexigen Therapeutics Inc. Clinical studies of the drugs have found that all three effectively improved blood glucose levels, blood pressure, and triglycerides, according to research presented this week at a meeting of the American Diabetes Association. Full Story : Attorneyatlaw.com…..

Scientists develop a new HIV microbicide — and a way to mass produce it in plants

In what could be a major pharmaceutical breakthrough, research published online in The FASEB Journal describes how scientists from St George’s, University of London have devised a one-two punch to stop HIV. First the report describes a new protein that can kill the virus when used as a microbicide. Then the report shows how it might be possible to manufacture this protein in quantities large enough to make it affordable for people in developing countries. Full Story : PhysOrg.com…..

Face-Transplant Patient Emerges

A 46-year-old Ohio woman revealed Tuesday that she is the first U.S. recipient of a face transplant, a procedure that embodies both the promise of major medical advances and the ethical and economic challenges they can pose for society. Connie Culp underwent a 22-hour procedure at the Cleveland Clinic in December to restore function to a face that was ravaged by a shotgun blast in 2004. Full Story : Wsj.com….

Treatment that zaps Prostate Cancer cells developed by scientists

The breakthrough by scientists at Leicester University centres on tiny particles capable of seeking out and destroying prostate cancer cells. The treatment would allow doctors to treat the cancer at the same time as spotting it. It could also allow earlier diagnosis, raising the chances of survival and cutting the number of distressing side-effects. Full Story : Dailymail….

Obese May Be Less Likely to Survive Pancreatic Cancer

Pancreatic cancer patients who are obese may be 12 times more likely to have cancer that’s already spread to their lymph nodes at the time of surgery than similar cancer patients who weigh less, according to a study released Monday in the Archives of Surgery. Full Story : Health.com

Climate Change Causing Increases in Tick-Borne Diseases

You might want to know this before venturing outside this Spring. According to research by Didier Raoult, a professor at the University of Marseille School of Medicine in France, hot weather may be making dog ticks turn on humans, a change that could cause an increase in dangerous tick-borne diseases. Although ticks are hosts to a variety of life-threatening organisms that lead to many diseases, risk of infection is likely low if you’ve been bitten by a tick and removed it right away

Researchers make stem cell breakthrough

Mount Sinai Hospital’s Dr. Andras Nagy discovered a new method of creating stem cells that could lead to possible cures for devastating diseases including spinal cord injury, muscular degeneration, diabetes and Parkinson’s disease. The research was funded by the Canadian Stem Cell Network and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (United States).

Researchers Compile Common Cold Family Tree

Scientists at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the J. Craig Venter Institute collaborated to sequence and analyze the cold virus. As a result, they were able to configure a family tree of the common cold. Full Story : Redorbit…..

@ a glance : Stem cell treatment could fight Aids

Results of a preliminary trial have raised hopes of a new form of therapy for people suffering from Aids, which occurs in the latter stages of infection with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). The scientists are planning further research to establish whether the treatment could even rid patients of HIV infection altogether. Full Story : Telegraph.co.uk…..

@ a glance : Vicks VapoRub Linked to Infant Breathing Problems

The popular cold remedy Vicks VapoRub may cause airway inflammation that can restrict breathing in infants and toddlers, a new study says. Full Story : Washingtonpost…..

@ a glance : Birth of first British baby screened to be free of cancer gene

The first British baby genetically screened before conception to be free of a breast cancer gene has been born, doctors said today. Full Story : Guardian……

Vitamins and Cardiovascular Disease

A recent study on has cast doubt on the effectiveness of high doses of vitamins to help prevent heart disease in men. The study was conducted on 14 000 doctors. The physicians participated in the study for almost a decade and took high doses of C and E. The study concluded there was no proof that either C or E made a difference in the prevention of cardiovascular disease.

Genetically Modified Pigs to Produce Human Organs

According to UNet an online database system developed by UNOS(United Network for Organ Sharing)nearly 100,000 people are on the waiting list for organ transplant in the US alone. This research may bring them some hope in the new future. Scientists researching on genetically modified pigs believes that the first human transplant of an organ grown in a humanized pig could take place in the next decade. These pigs are genetically modified to contain 6 human genes that partially “humanize” them in order to prevent rejection by the immune system of organ recipients.

Aspirin a Day ‘may lower risk of breast cancer’

Daily dose of Aspirin may protect women against breast cancer, a landmark study suggests. The study found that those taking Aspirin painkillers had a 12 per cent lower risk of breast cancer during their lifetime than the general population. This research was carried out by the University of British Columbia, the Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute and the University of Santiago de Compostela. In US alone nearly 200,000 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer each year.

2008 Nobel Prize for Medicine goes to AIDS pioneers and Cancer researcher

Luc Montagnier, and Francoise Barre-Sinoussi won half the prize of 10 million Swedish crowns (£800,000) for discovering HIV virus. Harald zur Hausen shared the other half of the prize for the discovery of “human papilloma viruses causing cervical cancer.” Medicine is traditionally the first of the Nobel prizes awarded each year. Since 1901, the Nobel Prize has been honoring men and women from all corners of the globe for outstanding achievements in physics, chemistry, medicine, literature, and for work in peace. The foundations for the prize were laid in 1895 when Alfred Nobel wrote his last will, leaving much of his wealth he earned from his dynamite business to the establishment of the Nobel Prize.

Cure For Tuberculosis

According to a research, Tuberculosis is resistant to many current treatments, but now, it can be overcome with aggressive therapy. TB is associated with high rates of mortality and it is responsible for at least 7% of cases of the infection worldwide. Researchers have proved that the cure is possible with a combination of at least 5 drugs. MDR TB is a Multi-drug resistant TB, and it  is resistant to the commonly used treatments such as isoniazid and rifampin. With this treatment almost half of XDR-TB patients and 67% of MDR-TB patients had treatment cure or completion.

Telehealth Interventions Can Benefit Patient With Chronic Illness

Telecommunication technology is being used to delivery health care services to patients. Using telehealth means that  patients are selected to receive follow-up by telephone or videophone after hospitalization. Healthcare worker can  interact with the patients regularly and can provide a sense of security. Patients can discuss their concerns on a frequent basis.

Researcher from University of Missouri found that patients who received a telehealth intervention delayed hospital re-admission rates compared to patients who received traditional care.

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Breast Cancer May Be Reduced By Aspirin

According to the  journal Breast Cancer Research by BioMed Central, taking aspirin on a daily basis may lower the risk of a particular type of breast cancer in women. The breast cancers are estrogen receptor-positive (ER+). Estrogen helps the cancer cells grow, so drugs that block the action of estrogen are often used to treat ER+ cancer. In this particular study, aspirin use was linked to a small reduction in estrogen receptor-positive breast cancers.

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Cure for hepatitis C?

Current treatment for Hepatitis C is expensive with a success rate of between 50 and 80 per cent and the treatment often causes severe side effects. With more than 170 million people around the world infected with hepatitis C, it is indeed one of global health priorities. Virologists at University of Adelaide, Australia began a $2 million research project to develop new vaccine for hepatitis C. More research and less wars for a better world.

Inflammatory Arthritis Gene Links to Heart Risks

Gene that related to inflammatory arthritis called HLA-DRB1 is associated with heart diseases. British study finds that this gene increases the chances of premature death from cardiovascular disease (CVD). People with rheumatoid arthritis tend to die younger, and largely from CVD.

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