Researchers at the University of Dundee, who last year identified the gene that causes eczema and associated forms of asthma, have now discovered that defects on the same gene can drastically affect the day-to-day management of asthma in millions of children and young adults.
A comparison of three parasite species that cause Leishmaniasis has identified a small number of genes, many new to biology, that will provide a framework to target the search for new treatments. Leishmaniasis is a devastating disease that affects about two million people each year and threatens one-fifth of the world’s population and new treatments are desperately needed.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Letairis (ambrisentan) for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension, a rare, life-threatening condition characterized by continuous high blood pressure within the arteries of the lungs.
The targeted use of an anti-estrogen drug could prolong the life of some ovarian cancer patients by up to three years, and delay the use of chemotherapy in others, revealed by researchers at the University of Edinburgh.
As the government continues deliberations with NGOs over the HIV/AIDS bill, the legislation aimed at preventing discrimination of those infected with the dreaded disease at workplace, education and healthcare sectors, has been delayed.
The rights of patients and the public will be strengthened by new amendments to the Mental Health Bill published by the UK Government.
A gene responsible for the single most common cause of hearing loss among white adults, otosclerosis, has been identified for the first time, a scientist told the annual conference of the European Society of Human Genetics in Nice, France. Melissa Thys, from the Department of Medical Genetics, University of Antwerp, Belgium, said that this finding may be a step towards new treatments for otosclerosis, which affects approximately one in 250 people.
Children born after embryo biopsy for preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) do not show any more major malformations than those born after artificial reproduction technologies (ART) without PGD, a scientist will tell the annual conference of the European Society of Human Genetics today.
The Department of Health today announced extra help for the NHS in tackling the spread of TB. From today, NHS commissioners will be able to access on-line the Department’s ‘TB Toolkit’.
Results of the Option (TOcilizumab Pivotal Trial in Methotrexate Inadequate respONders) trial, the first multinational Phase III study outside of Japan, showed that patients treated with Actemra (either 4mg/kg or 8mg/kg) plus methotrexate achieved a significant and clinically important improvement in the signs and symptoms of moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis (RA) compared to patients treated with placebo and methotrexate, a current standard of care.