Clinical Research

Scientists Identify First Gene Linked To Scoliosis

Physicians have recognized scoliosis, the abnormal curvature of the spine, since the time of Hippocrates, but its causes have remained a mystery-- until now. For the first time, researchers have discovered a gene that underlies the condition, which affects ...

Article - News Staff - Jun 25 2007 - 1:37pm

Tracking Bacteria In A Baby's Ecosystem

For more than 100 years, scientists have known that humans carry a rich ecosystem within their intestines. An astonishing number and variety of microbes, including as many as 400 species of bacteria, help humans digest food, mitigate disease, regulate fat ...

Article - News Staff - Jun 25 2007 - 9:35pm

Sperm Abnormalities Seen In Male Lupus Patients

The prognosis for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), an autoimmune disease that mainly affects women in their reproductive years, has improved recently, prompting a shift toward improving quality of life. For men with SLE, concerns have been raised about ...

Article - News Staff - Jun 30 2007 - 4:04am

Nifedipine Better Than Magnesium Sulfate For Pre-Term Labor, Says Study

The drug most commonly used to arrest preterm labor, magnesium sulfate, is more likely than another common treatment to cause mild to serious side effects in pregnant women, according to a study from researchers at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital a ...

Article - News Staff - Jun 29 2007 - 12:30am

Alcoholism Is Genetic, Says Study

Researchers in the group "Alcoholism and drug addiction" of the University of Granada have shown that a hereditary lack of endorphin is a genetic predisposition to become addicted to alcohol. Beta-endorphin is a kind of “morphine” released by the ...

Article - News Staff - Jun 29 2007 - 10:26am

'Stunning Advance' In Manipulating Fat!

In what they call a “stunning research advance,” investigators at Georgetown University Medical Center have been able to use simple, non-toxic chemical injections to add and remove fat in targeted areas on the bodies of laboratory animals. They say the dis ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 1 2007 - 2:27pm

Asthma Gene Identified

A gene that is strongly associated with a risk of developing childhood onset asthma was identified by an international team of scientists, whose findings are published today in the journal Nature. In a genetic study of more than 2,000 children, scientists ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 5 2007 - 7:12am

For Better Research, Get Help From The Kids

Scientists will only make real breakthroughs in children’s medicine if they include children in research programmes as well as adults, according to a leading paediatric expert. Professor John Warner was speaking today at the opening of the Paediatric Resea ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 9 2007 - 1:38am

Low Testosterone Levels In Post-menopausal Women Associated With Heart Disease

Post-menopausal women with lower levels of testosterone are more likely to suffer from heart disease. Research, published in the June edition of the European Journal of Endocrinology, shows that higher testosterone levels in post-menopausal women may have ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 9 2007 - 11:30pm

Major Breakthrough In Understanding How HIV Interferes With Infected Cell Division

Dr. Éric A. Cohen, Director of the Human Retrovirology Research Unit at Institut de recherches cliniques de Montréal, and his team have published a discovery that could lead to the development of a new class of drugs to combat HIV. Human immunodeficiency v ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 13 2007 - 12:18am