The potent cancer drug Gleevec, used to combat leukemia and some gastrointestinal cancers, may be useful in treating rheumatoid arthritis, according to a team of researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine. Their findings will be published in the October issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation.
Cardiac arrest is often preceded by symptoms lasting for more than an hour, and usually occurs in cases with a known history of heart disease or risk factors, German investigators report. These findings refute the theory that sudden cardiac death occurs at random in apparently healthy or low-risk patients, the authors say.
New data suggests that women who have undergone a successful surgery to repair congenital heart defects can become pregnant, but they may have clinically significant complications. Until recently, pregnancy was discouraged in women who have undergone the so-called “Fontan operation” to correct complex birth defects of the heart. However, case reports and one clinical study suggest that women can become pregnant and deliver healthy infants.
The risk of developing autism is significantly higher among children born to men who are 40 and older than it is among children with fathers under 30, researchers report. The reason appears to be genetic, researchers suggest.
It outperformed lemonade and other citrus juices, study found. An independent study finds that orange juice beats lemonade and other citrus fruit juices in helping to keep kidney stones at bay.
The hormone progestin, as a component of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) following menopause, appears to exacerbate deficits in hearing sensitivity and auditory speech processing, according to a research team at the Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry in New York.
An ointment containing the antibiotic mupirocin does not speed healing or prevent infection when applied to clean surgical wounds before the wound is sealed, research suggests. In fact, the ointment may increase the risk of skin edge necrosis (death), an Australian research team found.
Estrens did build bone, but might also raise cancer risks, study finds. Experimental osteoporosis drugs called estrens do not perform as well as researchers had hoped, new animal studies suggest.
Musician’s cramp, and other so-called focal task-specific dystonias, are typically thought of as sporadic or occupational conditions. Now, researchers in the US and Germany have identified three families with these disorders, suggesting that the disorders may be inherited.
Preliminary findings also showed a link to poorer lung function. Children of mothers who take in too little vitamin E during pregnancy may be at higher risk for asthma by age five, a new study suggests.