Muscle Cells May Hold a Key to Repairing Young Hearts

sea-maid submitted, created time 1 day 10 hours (www.washingtonpost.com)

No, this isn't a reminder that today -- the 12th day of Christmas -- is the traditional day to pack away the tree ornaments. These brilliant orbs are actually a layer of fluorescently stained muscle cells designed to encourage the growth of stem cells that may one day replace pacemakers in children and keep young hearts beating on time, according to Doug Cowan, an assistant professor of anesthesia at Children's Hospital Boston.

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Study raises hope for obesity treatment

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U.S. researchers may have found an obesity treatment that unlocks the fat-fighting promise of leptin, an appetite-suppressing hormone once hailed as the answer to the battle of the bulge.

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A Viral Link to Glioblastoma

sea-maid submitted, created time 2 days 11 hours (www.sciencemag.org)

Circumstantial evidence hints that the cytomegalovirus, a common herpes virus, may play a role in aggressive brain cancer, but big questions remain.

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Viagra's other talents: Helping a signaling protein shield the heart from high blood pressure damage

sea-maid submitted, created time 2 days 11 hours (www.eurekalert.org)

Johns Hopkins and other researchers report what is believed to be the first direct evidence in lab animals that the erectile dysfunction drug sildenafil amplifies the effects of a heart-protective protein.

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Vaccine to Prevent Breast Cancer Recurrence May Be on the Horizon

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A breast cancer vaccine to prevent recurrence may begin the first stages of clinical trial testing this spring. The new vaccine would not replace traditional cancer treatments but would rather present another option for breast cancer.

Thanks to a six-year, $2.9 million dollar grant from the U.S. Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program, a new vaccine to prevent breast cancer recurrence may be on the horizon

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Common Oral Osteoporosis Drugs Linked to Serious Jaw Necrosis

sea-maid submitted, created time 5 days 6 hours (www.sciencedaily.com)

Researchers at the University Of Southern California, School Of Dentistry release results of clinical data that links oral bisphosphonates to increased jaw necrosis. The study is among the first to acknowledge that even short-term use of common oral osteoporosis drugs may leave the jaw vulnerable to devastating necrosis, according to a new report.

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Antioxidants Offer Pain Relief in Patients with Chronic Pancreatitis

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Antioxidant supplementation was found to be effective in relieving pain and reducing levels of oxidative stress in patients with chronic pancreatitis (CP), according to a study published in the January issue of the journal Gastroenterology.

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Is bismuth a safe medicine for the treatment of peptic ulcer disease?

sea-maid submitted, created time 1 week 1 day (www.eurekalert.org)

Bismuth compounds have been used for centuries in medicine. The discovery of H. pylori in 1983 led to renewed interest in bismuth compounds, because these were found to successfully treat the infection in combination with antibiotics. However, in the 1970s bismuth salts, used at high doses for prolonged periods, were found to lead to neurotoxicity. However, there has been no summary of evidence for the toxicity of bismuth when used for short periods as part of H. pylori eradication therapy and some researchers think it might have applications in treating ulcers.

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Anti-fungal drug offers great benefits to some with severe asthma

sea-maid submitted, created time 1 week 3 days (www.eurekalert.org)

Some patients with severe asthma who also have allergic sensitivity to certain fungi enjoy great improvements in their quality of life and on other measures after taking an antifungal drug, according to new research from The University of Manchester in England.

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Cancer drug effectively treats transplant rejections

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University of Cincinnati (UC) researchers have discovered a new therapy for transplant patients, targeting the antibody-producing plasma cells that can cause organ rejection.

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Is Morphine a Guy Drug?

piggy submitted, created time 2 weeks 22 hours (sciencenow.sciencemag.org)

Men get more relief than women do from painkillers like morphine, according to some studies. New research with rats hints at a possible explanation: Male rats have more receptors for the drug in a brain region involved in pain processing. Although it's not yet clear whether the same is true in humans, researchers say the study underscores the need for more research on the sex-specific effects of pain drugs

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Drug shields mice from chronic lung disease

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An experimental drug protected mice exposed to tobacco smoke from developing chronic lung disease, raising hope for a treatment in humans, U.S. researchers said on Monday.

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Aging gets with the program

sea-maid submitted, created time 2 weeks 6 days (www.sciencenews.org)

A study on yeast organisms reveals checkpoints in the aging process: the buildup of certain lipids and fatty acids, and the health of the cell's powerhouses. Drugs could target these checkpoints.

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Multiple Doses of Steroids Don't Help Preemies

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Pregnant women at risk of preterm delivery who are given multiple doses of steroids to help their fetus tend to give birth to low birth-weight babies with smaller head circumference, a new study found.

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Synthetic Molecules Prevent HIV Virus From Reproducing within the Body, Study Suggests

sea-maid submitted, created time 3 weeks 1 day (www.sciencedaily.com)

Evolving HIV viral strains and the adverse side effects associated with long-term exposure to current treatments propel scientists to continue exploring alternative HIV treatments. In a new study, a University of Missouri researcher has identified broad-spectrum aptamers. Aptamers are synthetic molecules that prevent the HIV virus from reproducing. In lab tests, aptamers known as RT5, RT6, RT47 and some variants of those were recently identified to be broad-spectrum, which would allow them to treat many subtypes of HIV-1.

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