Atorvastatin therapy was found to be ineffective in reducing atherosclerosis progression in children and adolescents with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Results of the Atherosclerosis Prevention in Pediatric Lupus Erythematosus (APPLE) Trial, now available in Arthritis & Rheumatism, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR), report that the statin therapy did trend toward positive effect of treatment and may benefit patients with more severe SLE who were not included in the trial.
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A new malaria vaccine could be the first to tackle different forms of the disease and help those most vulnerable to infection, a study suggests.
The new vaccine is designed to trigger production of a range of antibodies to fight the many different types of parasite causing the disease.
Scientists created the vaccine by combining multiple versions of a key protein found in many types of malaria parasite, which is known to trigger production of antibodies upon infection.
A large, international clinical trial led by doctors at the University of California, San Francisco indicates that a vaccine to prevent anal cancer is safe and effective, according to a study last year in the New England Journal of Medicine. Though anal cancer is less common than other forms of cancer in the United States, the number of cases has increased in recent years, and is particularly common among men who have sex with men and HIV-infected individuals.
Delivering anticancer drugs into breast ducts via the nipple is highly effective in animal models of early breast cancer, and has no major side effects in human patients, according to a report by Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center researchers in Science Translational Medicine on October 26. The results of the study are expected to lead to more advanced clinical trials of so-called intraductal treatment for early breast cancer.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] -- Mollusks have been around for so long (at least 500 million years), are so prevalent on land and in water (from backyard gardens to the deep ocean), and are so valuable to people (clam chowder, oysters on the half shell) that one might assume scientists had learned everything about them.
NEW YORK -- In what is so far the largest investigation of its kind, researchers uncovered a wide range of new insights about common diseases and how they are affected by differences between two persons' genes. The results from this study could lead to highly targeted, individualized therapies.
Salt Lake City – Physicians preparing to deliver a baby look at fetal heart rate patterns to guide them in deciding whether or not to perform a C-section but a new study from Intermountain Medical Center shows says heart rate patterns may not be a good indicator of a baby's health, and may lead to unnecessary interventions and higher costs.
Now if they could only do a study that would eliminate all those court cases that led to runaway C-sections too.
PHILADELPHIA - The pigmented cells called melanocytes aren't just for making freckles and tans. Melanocytes absorb ultraviolet light, protecting the skin from the harmful effects of the sun. They also are the cells that go haywire in melanoma, as well as in more common conditions as vitiligo and albinism.
The open-access journal PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases today published a comprehensive report showcasing the disproportionately high burden of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) in India and South Asia. These diseases of poverty continue to plague the 1.5 billion people living in the region, despite the World Bank's recent report that South Asia experienced 7 percent overall economic growth in 2010.
Montreal -- Going online was once a considerable achievement for a business. Now it's a given and what makes for success is how well a business exploits its online capabilities, according to a recent study.
The research examined the role played by information technology (IT) in business plans of small- and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises (SMEs). It examined the direct effect on the management and usage of IT, and most importantly, on its performance.
One of the causes of resistance to cancer treatment in children is now beginning to be elucidated. Acute lymphoblastic leukemia patients with a particular form of the ATF5 gene are at higher risk of having a relapse when treated with E. coli asparaginase, a key chemotherapy drug for this type of leukemia. This is what a study by Dr. Maja Krajinovic published in the Blood, the journal of the American Society of Hematology, reveals Dr. Krajinovic is an investigator at the Sainte-Justine University Hospital Research Center, which is affiliated with the University of Montreal.
TRUCKEE, Calif. – Scientists tracking the reclusive American marten in the Sierra Nevada mountains have estimated that detection rates of marten have declined by 60 percent compared to historical surveys in the 1980s – and one possible cause, they say, is habitat loss from logging.
The findings, announced this week in the Journal of Wildlife Management, are important because previous research had demonstrated that marten populations had become increasingly fragmented in northeastern California and this new study offers an explanation for the pattern.
Three widely differing forms of European Scambus parasitoid wasps that had previously been regarded as distinct species are shown to be seasonal morphs of a single species. The collaboration involved National Museums Scotland (Mark Shaw), a private individual (Malcolm Jennings) and Imperial College London + Natural History Museum (Donald Quicke).
A technique developed by Johns Hopkins surgeons is providing a new route to get to and remove tumors buried at the base of the skull: through the natural hole behind the molars, above the jawbone and beneath the cheekbone.
In a report detailing the novel surgery, published in the October the Laryngoscope, the surgeons say the procedure, already performed in seven patients, yields faster recovery and fewer complications than traditional approaches. And, because the incisions are made inside the cheek, there are no visible scars.
New Rochelle, NY -- Amino acids, the building blocks of proteins, are essential to support the normal growth of a developing embryo and the placenta. An insufficient supply of amino acids in the mother's uterus caused by abnormal maternal-embryo interactions may explain the developmental abnormalities and complications of pregnancy that result in the death of cloned bovine embryos, according to a cutting-edge article in the peer-reviewed journal Cellular Reprogramming published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.