Mums-to-be on prescription drugs likely to have kids with congenital defectsNovember 18th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Expectant mothers consuming prescription drugs are at an increased risk of suffering miscarriage or give birth to kids with major congenital abnormalities, reveals a Canadian study. "I never expected such results and I was extremely surprised," said senior author Anick Berard, a professor at the Universite de Montreal's Faculty of Pharmacy and director of the Research Unit on Medications and Pregnancy of the Sainte-Justine University Hospital Centre.
Tests often fail to diagnose high BP in kids with chronic kidney diseaseNovember 13th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A new American study suggests that medical tests often fail to diagnose high blood pressure in kids with chronic kidney disease (CKD). The report indicates that those children, who do not receive proper treatment for hypertension, are likely to develop an enlarged heart, or left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH), which often causes progressive heart disease.
Faulty body clock genes could cause bipolar disorder in kidsNovember 12th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Genes behind malfunctioning circadian clock could be responsible for bipolar disorder in children, according to a study. In a collaborative study, researchers found four versions of the regulatory gene RORB that were associated with paediatric bipolar disorder.
New approach to prevent spinal cord damageNovember 6th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Scientists from Weill Cornell Medical College have suggested a new approach to prevent paralysis following a spinal cord injury. They believe that permanent nerve damage may be avoided by raising levels of a compound that converts to nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) - the active form of vitamin B3.
Drug candidate for treating spinal muscular atrophy identifiedNovember 5th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Scientists have identified a chemical cousin of the common antibiotic tetracycline that might be useful in treating spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), a currently incurable disease that is the leading genetic cause of death in infants. The finding is based on a study conducted by Adrian Krainer, Ph.D., of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) and scientists from Paratek Pharmaceuticals and Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science.
Kids who drink full-fat milk every day have lower BMIs: StudyNovember 4th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Kids who have full-fat milk every day have a lower BMI than those who rarely drink milk, says a new study. However, that's not the case for children who often drink medium-fat or low-fat milk, the study added.
CT scans more effective than X-rays when detecting abnormalities in H1N1 patientsOctober 22nd, 2009 WASHINGTON - A new study has found that computed tomography (CT) scans can be more useful than standard radiography (X-rays) in detecting the severity of disease in patients with the H1N1 virus. Reports of seven patients with the H1N1 virus who underwent both tests were assessed to reach the conclusion that CT scans were more effective.
Household food insecurity making low-income kids overweightOctober 2nd, 2009 WASHINGTON - Household food insecurity may be making children from low-income families overweight, according to a study. Published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, the study involved almost 8,500 low-income children, aged 1 month to 5 years.
Scientists unveil antioxidant that controls spinal cord developmentSeptember 19th, 2009 WASHINGTON - John Hopkins scientists have gained significant insights into a mechanism whereby an antioxidant protein controls the activity of another protein, critical for the development of spinal cord neurons. Writing about their work in the journal Cell, the researchers have said that it describes a never-before known mechanism of protein control.
Natural hydrogel may boost spinal cord healingSeptember 18th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A jab of biomaterial gel into a spinal cord injury site may significantly improve healing, according to researchers at the Barrow Neurological Institute at St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center.
Former VP Cheney having elective back surgery at hospital in WashingtonSeptember 17th, 2009 Cheney hospitalized for elective back surgeryWASHINGTON — Former Vice President Dick Cheney underwent elective back surgery Thursday, a procedure his office said "went well."
"He is having dinner in his hospital room with Mrs. (Lynne) Cheney and expects to be released soon," Cheney spokeswoman Lucy Tutwiler said in a statement Thursday evening.
Former VP Cheney undergoes elective back surgery, office says it 'went well'September 17th, 2009 Cheney undergoes elective back surgeryWASHINGTON — Former Vice President Dick Cheney underwent elective back surgery Thursday, a procedure his office said "went well."
"He is having dinner in his hospital room with Mrs. (Lynne) Cheney and expects to be released soon," Cheney spokeswoman Lucy Tutwiler said in a statement Thursday evening.
Novel marker for Alzheimer's disease discoveredSeptember 15th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A previously unknown substance in spinal fluid- a beta-amyloid protein called Abeta16-could be used as a marker to diagnose Alzheimer's disease, say Gothenburg researchers. The findings, described in a thesis from the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, will also be useful in research into new medications.
Weight gain in adulthood linked to prostate cancer riskSeptember 12th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Body size and weight gain in younger and older adulthood may help weigh a man's proneness to prostate cancer, according to a study by researchers at the University of Hawaii at Manoa's Cancer Research Center of Hawaii. Led by Dr. Brenda Hernandez, the researchers said that the risk varies among different ethnic groups
For the study, the researchers studied the relationship in a multiethnic population consisting of blacks, Japanese, Hispanics, Native Hawaiians and whites, and compared differences among age groups using the Multiethnic Cohort, a longitudinal study of men 45-75 years of age established in Hawaii and California from 1993-1996.
Novel minimally invasive surgery for treating spinal cancer patientsSeptember 8th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Doctors at Toronto Western Hospital have come up with a new minimally invasive, outpatient spine surgical procedure for treating cancer that has spread to the spine. It is believed that almost 40-50 percent of metastic cancers end up in the spine and the most common primary cancers to spread to the bones of the spine are breast and lung cancer.
