Deakin University medical scientists have created the world's first cancer stem cell-targeting chemical missile, placing them a step closer to creating a medical 'smart bomb' that would seek out and eradicate the root of cancer cells.
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In the U.S., even zoo gorillas need to switch to a heart-healthy diet.
"A lot are dying of heart disease, we believe like humans," said Elena Hoellein Less, a PhD candidate in biology at Case Western Reserve University.
In fact, heart disease is the number one killer of male Western lowland gorillas – the only species of gorillas in North American zoos.
Replacing both knees in one surgery, or simultaneous total knee replacement (TKR) was associated with significantly fewer prosthetic joint infections as well as other revision knee operations within one year after surgery, compared with total knee replacements performed in two separate procedures. However, simultaneous replacement was associated with a moderately higher risk of adverse cardiovascular outcomes within 30 days, according to a study presented today at the 2011 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS).
Joint replacement patients who improve their lifestyle and maintain a positive mindset prior to surgery are more likely to have better functional outcomes than those who do not, according to research presented today at the 2011 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS). Multiple studies found that patients who smoke, misuse alcohol, fail to control blood sugar levels or simply have a poor attitude prior to undergoing total hip or knee replacement (THR/TKR) surgery can, in some cases, double their odds of post-operative complications.
A high proportion of patients with high blood pressure are failing to take their medication properly and would benefit clinically from a course of 'adherence therapy', according to new research from the University of East Anglia (UEA).
High blood pressure – or hypertension – is one of the major cardiovascular diseases worldwide. It leads to stroke and heart disease and costs more than $300 billion each year. Around a quarter of the adult population is affected – including 10 million people in the UK.
New fossil discoveries have provided a glimpse into the biogeographic configuration of Africa over the last seven million years.
Modern-day Africa south of the Sahara is home to a unique variety of mammals, a great number of which are not found anywhere else in the world. Biogeographers have long recognized that sub-Saharan Africa constitutes one of the world's six major mammalian biogeographic divisions, termed 'realms'. However, the historical development of these continental regions of biogeographic diversity has been little explored.
It has been long known that stress plays a part not just in the graying of hair but in hair loss as well. Over the years, numerous hair-restoration remedies have emerged, ranging from hucksters' "miracle solvents" to legitimate medications such as minoxidil. But even the best of these have shown limited effectiveness.
A readily available, inexpensive drug therapy showed a significant benefit in treating premature infants with the worst and historically most difficult-to-treat cases of retinopathy of prematurity.
The results of a multicenter clinical trial led by researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) are published in the Feb. 17 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine.
The caching of whitebark pine seeds by the Clark's nutcracker in late summer and early fall may not be enough to regenerate populations of the imperiled conifer in most of its range, scientists have found.
Their research—which is featured in the February issue of Science Findings, a monthly publication of the U.S. Forest Service's Pacific Northwest Research Station—suggests, for the first time, that the success of whitebark pine restoration may be linked to the conservation of another tree species: ponderosa pine.
A rare bleeding disorder that can lead to life-threatening bleeding episodes is misdiagnosed in 15 per cent of cases according to findings from a new international research project led by a Queen's professor.
"Correct diagnosis is critical because it determines the treatment decision," says Maha Othman, a professor in the Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology who led the three-year research project on the rare platelet type of von Willebrand disease (VWD).
As a child grows, a short stature is not usually cause for concern, but it is often the only sign of a condition called Turner syndrome. Prevalent in girls, Turner syndrome is a genetic defect that short-circuits normal growth and leads to cardiac and renal problems. It is not commonly detected until age 10 or older when a youngster's unusually short height raises suspicions.
A recent multicenter clinical trial of atorvastatin, a type of cholesterol-lowering drug, found that although the drug did not inhibit plasma HIV RNA levels, it did inhibit expression of cellular markers of immune activation and inflammation in patients with HIV infection. Since immune activation and inflammation are associated with progression of HIV infection, the implication is that the statin may inhibit disease progression and help in the infection's management. The findings are in a study, available online, published in The Journal of Infectious Diseases.
A 22-year study of abnormally short individuals suggests that growth-stunting mutations also may stunt two of humanity's worst diseases.
Published in Science Translational Medicine, part of the Science family of journals, the study raises the prospect of achieving similar protection in full-grown adults by other means, such as pharmaceuticals or controlled diets.
STANFORD, Calif. — A recently discovered biomarker could help doctors diagnose a common type of knee injury, according to a new study.
Almost 600 million years ago, before the rampant evolution of diverse life forms known as the Cambrian explosion, a community of seaweeds and worm-like animals lived in a quiet deep-water niche under the sea near what is now Lantian, a small village in Anhui Province of South China. Then they simply died, leaving some 3,000 nearly pristine fossils preserved between beds of black shale deposited in oxygen-free waters.