New research into Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is leading to a better understanding of its underlying neurobiology, risk factors and long-term implications. The findings are published in a recent issue of Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences and were revealed at a conference jointly sponsored by the New York Academy of Sciences and the Mount Sinai School of Medicine.
A group of scientists representing the UCLA School of Dentistry; the UCLA Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics, and C3 Jian Corporation have succeeded in creating a pheromone-guided “smart” anti-microbial peptide capable of selectively eliminating Streptococcus mutans, a leading bacterial cause of tooth decay, in 30 seconds.
Using an innovative three-dimensional imaging technique, a team of UCLA researchers have tracked how Alzheimer’s disease spreads through the hippocampus ? the area of the brain linked with memory ? in a pattern consistent with the known trajectory of neurofibrilliary tangle dissemination, an accumulation of diseased proteins in the brain cells.
In a first-of-its-kind study, UCLA researchers have shown that segments of the HIV-infected population who have little to no consistent outpatient medical care ? and yet are most in need of such services ? are overwhelmingly minorities, the poor and substance abusers.
UCLA radiologists and Siemens Medical Solutions have jointly developed remote-control software that enables an off-site imaging expert to log onto a personal computer and operate a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine by remote control. Reported in the November issue of Radiology, the study found that the quality of the remote scans were superior to onsite scans by a less experienced technologist, suggesting options for helping facilities or regions with limited medical staff and expertise.
Abbott announced results from a study showing HUMIRA? (adalimumab) induced significantly higher rates of clinical remission compared to placebo in patients with moderately to severely active Crohn’s disease who lost response to, or were intolerant to, infliximab therapy. The data is being presented simultaneously at the American College of Gastroenterology (ACG) annual meeting in Las Vegas and the United European Gastroenterology Week (UEGW) in Berlin.
Most of the nine million people who fall ill with tuberculosis each year lack access to adequate testing and diagnosis, complicating efforts to stop its spread, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said. The United Nations agency said big investments were needed to develop diagnostics in low and middle income countries, where three-quarters of screenings take place for the respiratory system disease which claims 1.7 million lives a year.
The Mozambican Health Ministry is seeking to ensure funding for its strategic plan for the fight against malaria, which requires 60 million US dollars a year from now up to 2009. Malaria (formerly called ague or marsh fever) is an infectious disease that is widespread in many tropical and subtropical regions. The disease is caused by protozoal parasites of the genus Plasmodium. The most serious forms of the disease are caused by Plasmodium falciparum and P. vivax, but other related species can also infect humans.
Exercise, jogging and fitness is not only an effective way to control body weight, but it might also help smokers quit their bad habit. According to a new study conducted by researchers at the American College of Physicians, smokers who combine traditional anti-smoking techniques with physical exercise are more likely of never using the drug ever again than those who resort only to nicotine replacements.
African-American women have the highest mortality rate for idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension (IPAH), according to new research. The study, presented at CHEST 2006, the 72nd annual international scientific assembly of the American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP), revealed that racial disparities exist in pulmonary hypertension mortality and morbidity, with African-American women exhibiting the highest mortality rate when compared with all other groups.