Back Pain :: Back pain – when to opt for surgery
Low back pain is an extremely common condition: 80% of Americans experience at least one bout of it some time during their lives.
Treatment
Hay Fever :: Allergy shots offer safe relief for hay fever
Allergy shots are effective and safe for reducing symptoms of hay fever, according to a new review.
HIV :: Common parasitic infection leads to increased risk for HIV infection
A new study shows a significantly increased risk of HIV infection among women with a common sexually transmitted disease, trichomoniasis. Although studies have been undertaken in the past to show the link between sexually transmitted infections and susceptibility to HIV, the study published in the March 1 issue of the Journal of Infectious Diseases, now available online, is one of the first to demonstrate a statistically significant association between trichomoniasis and HIV infection.
Lung Cancer :: New antibody for EGFR causes lung cancer regression
Mutant forms of the protein EGFR are important for the development of lung cancer in a substantial proportion of individuals with this disease. However, not all individuals express the same mutant EGFR, for example, some have a mutation that affects the intracellular part of EGFR and some have a mutation that affects the extracellular part of EGFR (known as the EGFRvIII mutant).
Drinking :: Excessive drinking, not alcoholism, may lead to most alcohol-related problems
Many people assume that most people who drink to excess are probably alcoholics. A recent survey of 4,761 New Mexico adults found that while 16.5 percent drank alcohol in excess of national guidelines, only 1.8 percent met criteria for alcohol dependence.
Smoking :: Smokers quit after damage to brain region
Smokers with a damaged insula ? a region in the brain linked to emotion and feelings ? quit smoking easily and immediately, according to a study in the Jan. 26 issue of the journal Science.
Hepatitis :: Heavy drinking takes excessive toll on women with hepatitis C
Women tend to survive longer than men if infected with the liver-destroying hepatitis C virus — but if they drink heavily, that survival advantage completely disappears, according to a new study.
Drug :: Coated nanoparticles solve sticky drug-delivery problem
The layers of mucus that protect sensitive tissue throughout the body have an undesirable side effect: They can also keep helpful medications away. To overcome this hurdle, researchers have found a way to coat nanoparticles with a chemical that helps them slip through this sticky barrier.
Cancer :: Drug strategy makes cancer genes get lost in translation
A new strategy for fighting cancer aims to make its genes get lost in translation, according to a report in the Jan. 26, 2007, issue of the journal Cell, published by Cell Press.
Stem Cell :: Stem cells cultured from human bone marrow behave like those derived from brain tissue
Stem cells taken from adult human bone marrow have been manipulated by scientists at the Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center to generate aggregates of cells called spheres that are similar to those derived from neural stem cells of the brain.