Giardia lamblia, one of the most common human parasites in the United States, causes more than 20,000 intestinal infections a year, often through contact with contaminated drinking or swimming water. In the Sept. 28 issue of Science, an international team led by researchers at the MBL describe the complete genome (genetic sequence) of Giardia, which could lead to the development of new drugs to combat this persistent infection, called giardiasis.
Researchers at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville have discovered how loss of a gene can lead to accumulation of toxic proteins in the brain, resulting in a common dementia, and they say this mechanism may be important in a number of age-related neurological disorders.
Giving pancreatic cancer patients the chemotherapy drug gemcitabine after surgery delays progression of the disease by about six months, according to new research by Japanese scientists.
Specific variations in two genes are linked to suicidal thinking that sometimes occurs in people taking the most commonly prescribed class of antidepressants, according to a large study led by scientists at the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). Depending on the particular mix inherited, these versions increased the likelihood of such thoughts from 2- to15-fold, the study found.
The Clinical Trials Directive, which came into force in May 2004 in order to create a harmonised framework for clinical drug research across Europe, is still hampering such research, according to new findings presented at the European Cancer Conference.
The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine is to be a key player in the first global research collaboration aimed at identifying the genetic markers related to Adverse Drug Reactions (ADRs).
Many patients with diabetes say that the inconvenience and discomfort of constant therapeutic vigilance, particularly multiple daily insulin injections, has as much impact on their quality of life as the burden of intermediate complications, researchers from the University of Chicago report in the October 2007 issue of Diabetes Care.
More than 60 percent of American women are overweight, with nearly a third falling into the category of obese and at greater risk of cancer, heart disease and diabetes. Until now, there has been no safe, long-term medical remedy that tackles unwanted weight gain.
The Food and Drug Administration is alerting health care professionals and consumers to concerns over the use of Fentora (fentanyl buccal) tablets after recent reports of deaths and other adverse events.
Despite widespread belief among cancer patients and health care professionals that acupuncture helps relieve nausea caused by cancer treatment, new research in radiotherapy has found it does not.