New technique paves way for effective liver disease treatments

October 19th, 2009 LUCKNOW - Imagine preserving the colour and shape of a flower for nearly 15 years! A team of researchers at Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) museology department claims to have developed a technique that can do just that. The technique, according to the researchers, will benefit the flower business across the globe and help scientists preserve and conserve endangered, vulnerable and useful species of plants for study purposes.

September 14th, 2009 LONDON - Here's some news that will bring double joy to women: a "two in one" boob job technique that uses unwanted fat from other parts of the body has been developed. The breast enlargement operation takes excess fat from the thighs and stomach and moves it to the bust.

August 23rd, 2009 LONDON - No matter how much you bicker after marriage, but walking down the aisle is actually good for health, especially for men, say scientists. In the University of Arizona study, boffins reviewed blood samples from 1,715 volunteers aged 57 to 85 to measure the level of C-reactive protein (CRP), which is produced by the liver in response to inflammation.

August 18th, 2009 LONDON - A six-month treatment with a synthetic gastro-intestinal hormone, Lanreotide, significantly decreased swollen cystic livers, compared to a 'wait and see' policy, says a new research. At least five percent of the population have one or two cysts in the liver.

August 15th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Asparagus extract contains amino acids and minerals, which may ease alcohol hangover and protect liver cells against toxins, according to a study. Asparagus officinalis is a common vegetable that is widely consumed worldwide, and has long been used as an herbal medicine due to its anticancer effects.

August 14th, 2009 Medical isotope shortage threatens treatmentsALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The shutdown of a nuclear reactor in Canada has caused a shortage of a radioactive isotope used to detect cancers and heart disease.

July 23rd, 2009 WASHINGTON - Researchers at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center have found that an overactive response by one of the immune system's key weapons against infection - natural killer, or NK, cells - is linked to the onset of biliary atresia in infants, a disease where blocked bile ducts can cause severe liver damage and death. They also found that blocking a gene that helps NK cells attack bile duct tissues lessens damage and may be a way to treat the most common cause of chronically progressive liver disease in children.

July 12th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A new technique developed by scientists is able to fast-track better ionic liquids for biomass pre-treatments. The technique has been developed by researchers at the Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI), a US Department of Energy Bioenergy Research Center, led by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab).

July 9th, 2009 LONDON - Scientists have come up with a new test that can help predict a person's risk of heart disease more accurately. An independent external validation of QRISK, a new score for predicting a heart disease risk has been found to be more accurate than the existing test.

May 2nd, 2009 WASHINGTON - People might one day be eating dog food, for a new study has found that it tastes as good as liverwurst or duck liver mousse. The researchers found that people can't differentiate in the flavour of dog foods with that of normal human foods.

April 18th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A new nasal delivery technology with fluticasone, developed by OptiNose, has been found effective in treating chronic rhinosinusitis in a Phase II trial. Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) is a common disease that severely reduces a patient's quality of life, and has few effective treatments currently available.

April 16th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Scientists from Israel and Germany say that it is possible to monitor sleep, and potentially diagnose sleep disorders, just by recording a person's heart rate. People suffering from disturbed sleep have an increased risk of heart attack, stroke, hypertension, obesity, depression, and accidents.

April 15th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A new study has linked low aerobic capacity to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), and suggested that the resulting liver problems play a crucial step developing obesity-related illnesses. Poor aerobic fitness is already strongly associated with obesity and its consequent risks of heart disease, strokes and diabetes.

March 20th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Men born in India, but living in England and Wales, are twice as likely to die alcohol-related deaths as the rest of the population, according to a new study led by an Indian-origin scientist. Conducted by the University of Edinburgh and the Office for National Statistics, the research also found that an equal number of alcohol-related deaths in England and Wales were reported among people born in Scotland or Ireland.

January 20th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A low-carbohydrate diet burns more excess liver fat than a low-calorie diet, according to a clinical study. These findings could open the way for treating obesity and related conditions like diabetes, insulin resistance and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), said Jeffrey Browning, assistant professor at the University of Texas (UT) Southwestern Advanced Imaging Research Centre.