Cough :: Slow-release morphine reduces level of intractable cough
Slow-release morphine helped a group of patients with long-term, treatment-resistant chronic cough reduce their daily cough score levels by 40 percent.
Medicine
Sleep :: Sleep disturbances affect classroom performance
A study published in the Feb. 15 issue of the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine (JCSM) finds that adolescents who experience sleep disturbances are more likely to receive bad grades in school.
Relationships :: Insecure relationships affect immune system
Feeling insecure in close relationships may affect your immune system, preliminary Italian research suggests.
Tumours :: Technology reveales tumors’ genetic profile
A study led by researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Broad Institute of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University provides the first demonstration of a practical method of screening tumors for cancer-related gene abnormalities that might be treated with “targeted” drugs.
Vasectomy :: Vasectomy may cause dementia
Men who have had a vasectomy may face an increased risk of developing a rare type of dementia, Northwestern University researchers discovered.
Stem Cell :: New hope for regenerative medicine
In the February 15th issue of Genes & Development, Dr. K. John McLaughlin and colleagues report on their success in using uniparental embryonic stem cells to replace blood stem cells in mice. Uniparental embryonic stem cells are an appealing alternative source of patient-derived embryonic stem cells, as they have several advantages over embryonic stem cell lines generated by somatic cell nuclear transfer (also known as therapeutic cloning).
Diabetes :: Breakthrough in understanding type-2 diabetes as key genes identified
The most important genes associated with a risk of developing type-2 diabetes have been identified, scientists report today in a new study.
Alzheimer’s Disease :: NIH funds innovative alzheimer’s research initiated at UCSB
A completely new approach to the study of Alzheimer?s disease, initiated by a professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara, may solve a critical piece in the puzzle of the disease. This tragic neurological illness progressively erases memory in its millions of victims. The key to the new approach is understanding the way certain proteins in the brain fold, or rather ?misfold.?
Cancer :: Arizona State University and Mayo Clinic join forces to develop cancer vaccine
Two major research organizations in the Phoenix area have announced they will collaborate on an ambitious goal: Creating a vaccine to prevent the development of cancer. Researchers at the Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University (ASU) in Tempe and Mayo Clinic will use the latest developments in laboratory and clinical sciences to reach their goal — finding components in cancer that could be used to vaccinate against the occurrence of the disease.
Liver :: Liver an excellent target for cancer gene therapy using viral vectors
A featured paper in the Feb. 14 issue of Nature Cancer Gene Therapy demonstrates that cancer cells in the liver are excellent targets for gene therapy using adenoviral vectors, based upon a fundamental new understanding of the differences between cancerous and normal liver cells. The findings signal a new way to treat cancers that have spread to the liver, such as metastatic cancers of the colon and breast.