For safety, NHLBI changes intensive blood sugar treatment strategy in clinical trial of diabetes and cardiovascular disease

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health has stopped one treatment within a large, ongoing North American clinical trial of diabetes and cardiovascular disease 18 months early due to safety concerns after review of available data, although the study will continue. more  

Researchers discover new battleground for viruses and immune cells

Vaccines have led to many of the world's greatest public health triumphs, but many deadly viruses, such as HIV, still elude the best efforts of scientists to develop effective vaccines against them. An improved understanding of how the immune system operates during a viral infection is critical to designing successful anti-virus vaccines. Scientists from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), have added an important dimension to this knowledge. more

Want healthy gums? Hit the dairy aisle.

Consumers have long known that including dairy in their diets can help maintain healthy bones and even help promote weight loss. However, a recent study published in the January issue of the Journal of Periodontology, the official publication of the American Academy of Periodontology (AAP), demonstrated that routine intake of dairy products may also help promote periodontal health. The study analyzed the periodontal health of 942 subjects and determined that those who regularly consumed dairy products such as milk, cheese and yogurt had a lower instance of gum disease. more  

Immunosuppressant further linked to birth defects

A new study documents malformations seen in an infant born to a kidney transplant recipient who had taken mycophenolate mofetil (MMF), a widely used immunosuppressant available commercially as Cellcept®. The findings suggest a specific birth defect pattern particular to this drug, reinforcing its potential to harm to the fetus. The study was published in the January 2008 issue of the American Journal of Medical Genetics. more

New virus responsible for deaths of transplant recipients in Australia  

In the first application of high throughput DNA sequencing technology to investigate an infectious disease outbreak, scientists from Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, the Victorian Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory (VIRDL) in Melbourne, Australia, the Centers for Disease Control and 454 Life Sciences link the discovery of a new arenavirus to the deaths of three transplant recipients who received organs from a single donor in Victoria, Australia in April 2007. The full findings are published in the March 2008 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine and are now online. more

Gene plays 'Jekyll and Hyde' in brain cancer 

Perhaps the only positive spin one can put on the brain cancer glioblastoma is that it's relatively uncommon. Other than that, the news is bad. It is nearly always fatal, it tends to strike people in the prime of their lives, and the limited treatment options have changed little over decades. It's no wonder then that many researchers are determined to find new ways treat this poorly understood type of cancer. more

Imaging study reveals rapid formation of Alzheimer's-associated plaques

The amyloid plaques found in the brains of Alzheimer's disease patients may form much more rapidly than previously expected. Using an advanced microscopic imaging technique to examine brain tissue in mouse models of the devastating neurological disorder, researchers from the MassGeneral Institute for Neurodegenerative Disease (MGH-MIND), working with colleagues from Washington University School of Medicine, find that plaques can develop in as little as a day and that Alzheimer's-associated neuronal changes appear soon afterwards. Their report will appear in the Feb. 7 issue of Nature. more

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