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New ideas for creating a new generation of oral medications to treat infertility

Researchers now have a much better picture of how follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), one of the most frequently used fertility drugs, works, and with it new ideas for creating a new generation of oral medications to treat infertility.

20 Jan 2005

Jeans too tight, then check your genes

If you're a middle-aged guy who's packed on the pounds and now is battling to take them off, it's a 50-50 shot that your jeans are fitting tighter because of your genes, according to a Saint Louis University School of Public Health study.

20 Jan 2005

Aircraft drinking water contaminated with bacteria

A second round of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) testing shows that 17.2 percent of 169 randomly selected passenger aircraft carried water contaminated with total coliform bacteria.

19 Jan 2005

Insight into potential mechanisms underlying type II diabetes

New research published in the premier issue of Cell Metabolism finds that a single brain region is sufficient for normal control of blood sugar and activity level by the fat hormone leptin. The same region also exerts significant, though more modest, control over leptin's effects on body weight.

19 Jan 2005

Consumption of alcohol the risk of several common cancers

An article appearing in the Journal of Thrombosis and Haemostasis presents definite evidence of these findings amongst other papers as part of an open forum discussion on wine, alcohol, and cardiovascular risk.

19 Jan 2005

Low to moderate amounts of alcohol reduce cardiovascular risk, while larger quantities raise it

Women see a slightly higher health benefit over men from alcohol consumption according to twelve separate studies reviewed in the Journal of Thrombosis and Haemostasis. However, more studies are needed to determine if there are more significant results from either wine, other spirits or beer.

19 Jan 2005

More evidence that wine helps protect the heart

A recent article in the Journal of Thrombosis and Haemostasis determined that drinkers of wine benefit from its cardio-protective effects, more so than those who drink beer or other spirits, and may also live longer.

19 Jan 2005

Role of ethnicity in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease

The first study to examine nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) among different ethnic and racial groups in the United States finds that Hispanics may be at a higher risk of developing the condition. The study is published in Hepatology, the official journal of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD). Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hepatology is available online via Wiley InterScience.

19 Jan 2005

Sildenafil restores cognitive function in rats after liver failure

A study involving rats reveals the mechanism responsible for learning impairment due to liver failure and shows that sildenafil restores cognitive function.

19 Jan 2005

Small is beautiful in the medical world

Small is beautiful in the medical world. And being able to give European industry the edge in a nearly €200 billion worldwide biomedical market is what drives a consortium of EU-backed partners to make and market smaller, cheaper and better biomedical devices and innovative new applications.

19 Jan 2005

ID Biomedical begins development of pandemic influenza vaccine

ID Biomedical announced today that it has begun development of an experimental ("mock") vaccine against a strain of the influenza virus, H5N1, that experts believe could cause a deadly worldwide epidemic (pandemic) of influenza.

19 Jan 2005

Financial incentives will not address the fundamental problems that GPs have with the new choose and book system

Responding to the announcement by Health Secretary, John Reid, that £95m will be made available to reward GPs for using the new "choose and book" system, Dr Richard Vautrey, the BMA's GP negotiator with responsibility for IT said:

19 Jan 2005

New filter promises clean water for millions

A handful of clay, yesterday’s coffee grounds and some cow manure are the simple ingredients that could bring clean drinking water to developing countries around the globe.

19 Jan 2005

Kraft Asia Pacific has missed a golden opportunity to show leadership in the battle against childhood obesity

Australian Medical Association President, Dr Bill Glasson, said today that Kraft Asia Pacific has missed a golden opportunity to show leadership in the battle against the epidemic of childhood obesity by not following its US counterpart and modifying advertising of its products to children under the age of 12.

19 Jan 2005

Clopidogrel (Plavix®) responses appear normal in largest data set

Although individual patients respond differently to treatment with the anti-platelet medication clopidogrel (brand name Plavix®), those variations appear normal and may not indicate important differences in the effectiveness of treatment, according to a new study (PDF file) in the Jan. 18, 2005 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

19 Jan 2005

Medicine alone may not offer best quality of life for patients with moderate heart attack risk

Routine angiography and revascularization procedures, if indicated, appear to offer better quality of life than conservative medical treatment for patients with chest pain and evidence of coronary artery disease, according to a new study (PDF file) in the Jan. 18, 2005 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

19 Jan 2005

NIH begins Phase 1 clinical trial of HIV vaccine candidate

GenVec announced today that the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), National Institutes of Health (NIH), has begun the second Phase 1 clinical trial in healthy adult volunteers of an HIV vaccine candidate jointly developed by the Dale and Betty Bumpers Vaccine Research Center (VRC), a part of NIAID, and GenVec.

19 Jan 2005

FDA knocks back anticancer drug Marqibo

Inex Pharmaceuticals announced today that United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) provided an action letter detailing that the anticancer drug Marqibo (vincristine sulfate liposomes injection) is "not approvable" under the FDA's accelerated approval regulations based on the phase 2 clinical trial data submitted.

19 Jan 2005

Two minutes of magnetic stimulation can change your brain for an hour

A couple of minutes is all it takes to ‘knock out’ bits of your brain for an hour, according to a new study by a University College London (UCL) team.

19 Jan 2005

Psychiatric disorders detected using blood test

ChondroGene Limited reported today that a paper entitled "Assessing the Validity of Blood- Based Gene Expression Profiles for the Classification of Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder: A preliminary Report" is available online on the American Journal of Medical Genetics Part B: Neuropsychiatric Genetics' website.

19 Jan 2005