Diet may eliminate spasms for infants with epilepsy

Infantile spasms are a severe and potentially devastating epilepsy condition affecting children aged typically 4-8 months. In a new study appearing in Epilepsia, researchers have found that the ketogenic diet, a high fat, low carbohydrate diet more traditionally used for intractable childhood epilepsy, is an effective treatment for this condition before using drugs. The study is the first description of the ketogenic diet as a first-line therapy for infantile spasms. more  

Genetic variants associated with vitamin B12

Researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) and their collaborators at Tufts University and the National Cancer Institute (NCI) have identified a common genetic influence on B12 vitamin levels in the blood, suggesting a new way to approach the biological connections between an important biochemical variable and deficiency-related diseases. more

5 new studies at major medical meeting further demonstrate clinical experience for Januvia

New data analyses presented at the 44th Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) showed initial combination therapy with the dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitor, JANUVIA™ (sitagliptin), and metformin provided improvements in blood sugar levels (as measured by A1Ci) over two years of treatment and was generally well tolerated. Also presented at the meeting was a separate, new pooled analysis of 6,139 patients that showed that JANUVIA was generally well tolerated in clinical trials up to two years in duration. more  

Researchers seeking to identify Alzheimer's risk focus on specific blood biomarker

A simple blood test to detect whether a person might develop Alzheimer's disease is within sight and could eventually help scientists in their quest toward reversing the disease's onset in those likely to develop the debilitating neurological condition. more

NIH supports research careers by repaying student loan debt  

NIH is now accepting applications for its extramural Loan Repayment Programs (LRPs), and is letting applicants know through it awareness-raising campaign slogan that "You do the research. NIH will repay your student loans." more

Older women who get little sleep may have a higher risk of falling 

Women age 70 and older who sleep five hours or less per night may be more likely to experience falls than those who sleep more than seven to eight hours per night, according to a report in the September 8 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. Additionally, the use of sleep medications does not appear to influence the association between sleep and risk of falling. more

High blood pressure should not rule out clot-busting stroke treatment

Patients who require therapy to lower their blood pressure following a stroke do not appear to be at a higher risk for bleeding or other adverse outcomes after receiving anti-clotting therapy, according to a report in the September issue of Archives of Neurology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. more

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