Health | Page 1144 of 1374 | SpiritIndia.com

Lung Cancer :: Key to lung cancer chemotherapy resistance revealed

Scientists at Johns Hopkins have discovered how taking the brakes off a ?detox? gene causes chemotherapy resistance in a common form of lung cancer. Products made by a gene called NRF2 normally protect cells from environmental pollutants like cigarette smoke and diesel exhaust by absorbing the materials and pumping them out of the cell. Another gene called KEAP1 encodes products that stop this cleansing process. But lung cancer cells sabotage the expression of these same genes to block assault from chemotherapy drugs.

Diabetes :: Alert on One Touch Basic/Profile and One Touch Ultra Blood Glucose Test Strips

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is alerting the public to counterfeit blood glucose test strips being sold in the United States for use with various models of LifeScan, Inc., One Touch Brand Blood Glucose Monitors used by people with diabetes to measure their blood glucose.

Alzheimer’s Disease :: Aricept – donepezil hydrochloride – for dementia in Alzheimer’s Disease

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Aricept (donepezil hydrochloride) for the treatment of severe dementia in patients with Alzheimer’s Disease.

Health :: MassTag PCR – new tool helps identify mysterious viruses – respiratory infection

A fast, sensitive and inexpensive diagnostic tool called MassTag PCR has been developed that can identify the specific pathogen that causes a particular case of respiratory infection, according to a new study funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), one of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The research team ? headed by scientists in the Jerome L. and Dawn Greene Infectious Disease Laboratory at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and their colleagues at the Wadsworth Center of the New York State Department of Health ? used MassTag PCR to identify previously undiagnosed pathogens that caused influenza-like illnesses in New York State during the winter of 2004.

ADHD :: Preschoolers with ADHD Improve with Low Doses of Medication

The first long-term, large-scale study designed to determine the safety and effectiveness of treating preschoolers who have attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) with methylphenidate (Ritalin) has found that overall, low doses of this medication are effective and safe. However, the study found that children this age are more sensitive than older children to the medication?s side effects and therefore should be closely monitored. The 70-week, six-site study was funded by the National Institutes of Health?s National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and was described in several articles in the November 2006 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

Health :: Novel Protein That Ties Disruption of a Critical Cellular Pathway to Birt-Hogg-Dub? Syndrome

Researchers at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health, have linked specific genetic mutations to defects in cells that lead to a rare disease known as Birt-Hogg-Dub? syndrome. Building on previous clinical and genetic work spanning several years, the researchers discovered a novel protein that binds to the normal version, but not the mutant version, of the protein implicated in Birt-Hogg-Dub? syndrome. This new protein, which they named folliculin interacting protein 1 (or FNIP1), links Birt-Hogg-Dub? syndrome to disruptions in critical energy- and nutrient-sensing cellular pathways. The findings appear online October 2, 2006, in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The research was led by Masaya Baba, M.D., Ph.D., and a team of scientists from NCI’s Center for Cancer Research*.

Alzheimer’s Disease :: Antipsychotic Medications Used to Treat Alzheimer’s Patients Found Lacking

Commonly prescribed antipsychotic medications used to treat Alzheimer?s patients with delusions, aggression, hallucinations, and other similar symptoms can benefit some patients, but they appear to be no more effective than a placebo when adverse side effects are considered, according to the first phase of a large-scale clinical trial funded by the National Institutes of Health?s National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). The trial, known as the Clinical Antipsychotic Trial of Intervention Effectiveness study for Alzheimer?s disease (CATIE-AD), was published in the October 12, 2006, issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

Diabetes :: Plan Will Guide NIH Research in Type 1 Diabetes

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has released a long range plan that will help to guide research in type 1 diabetes for the next decade. Advances and Emerging Opportunities in Type 1 Diabetes Research: A Strategic Plan identifies goals and objectives to exploit recent scientific advances in combating this autoimmune form of diabetes.

Macular Degeneration :: Evaluating Effect of Antioxidants and Fish Oil on Progression of Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD)

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) announces a nationwide study to see if a modified combination of vitamins, minerals, and fish oil can further slow the progression of vision loss from AMD, the leading cause of vision loss in the United States for people over age 60. This new study, called the Age-Related Eye Disease Study 2 (AREDS2), will build upon results from the earlier Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS). The original study results were released five years ago today. The study found that high-dose antioxidant vitamins and minerals (vitamins C and E, beta-carotene, zinc, and copper), taken by mouth, reduced the risk of progression to advanced AMD by 25 percent, and the risk of moderate vision loss by 19 percent.

Pregnancy :: Drug Misoprostol Prevents PostPartum Hemorrhage in Resource Poor Settings

The drug misoprostol provides a safe, convenient, and inexpensive means to prevent postpartum hemorrhage, a major killer of women in developing countries. The study was conducted by researchers from the University of Missouri, India?s Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, the National Institutes of Health, and other institutions.