RespiteMatch.com Health Blog

On July 13, in the journal Nature, a team of researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, Brown University in Providence, R.I., and Cybernetics Neurotechnology Systems Inc. in Foxborough, Mass., announced a major victory for their BrainGate technology: A 25-year-old man with a high spinal cord injury, almost completely paralyzed since 2001, was able to open e-mail, operate a television, and use a robotic arm and hand.
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Although President Bush vetoed a bill on July 19 that would have expanded federal funding for research using human embryonic stem cells, work in the field continues.

The veto has no effect on stem cell research that doesn’t use human embryos, and it only limits federally funded research, not work funded by private companies, organizations or states.
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Researchers at several California institutions have shown that blocking the production of abnormal SOD1, the cause of of 1 percent to 2 percent of all cases of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), extends survival in rats with the disease and that the compound is a good candidate for near-future testing in patients.

Don Cleveland, Timothy Miller and Richard Smith of the University of California-San Diego (UCSD) and colleagues, in partnership with Isis Pharmaceuticals, announced their findings online July 27 in the Journal of Clinical Investigation. Read the rest of this entry »

On July 24, the Los Angeles biopharmaceutical company CytRx (www.cytrx.com) announced it had completed its current dose determination and safety study in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) of its drug arimoclomol, a small molecule that may improve cellular stress resistance.

The company plans to release results by the end of the year and, pending regulatory approval, begin a large-scale trial to test arimoclomol’s effectiveness.

University of Utah researchers have found that a nerve toxin used by venomous sea snails can dock with nicotine receptors in the brain, which could lead to new treatments for certain mental illnesses and brain diseases.
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Wednesday, March 01, 2006
By Miranda Hitti

Acupuncture may be as good as prescription drugs in preventing migraines — even if sham acupuncture is used, German researchers report.

Their study, published in The Lancet’s online edition, included more than 400 people who had two to six migraines per month. Participants got one of three treatments: Read the rest of this entry »

Last Update: 12:22 PM ET Feb 28, 2006

(Adds information on depression in fourth paragraph and analyst estimate in ninth paragraph.)
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a new delivery system for a drug to treat depression in adults. Read the rest of this entry »

Findings called a promising step to help humans

By MAURA LERNER
Star Tribune

MINNEAPOLIS, MINN. - Researchers at the University of Minnesota said Sunday that they were able to reverse diabetes in monkeys by transplanting insulin-producing cells from pigs.

Some are calling it a milestone that could eventually transform the lives of millions of people. If the research pans out, it could provide an endless supply of healthy cells to replace the ones that don’t work in diabetics.
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Tuesday, February 07, 2006
By Daniel J. DeNoon

LINKS
•Prevent Alzheimer’s With Healthy Living •Regular Exercise May Delay Alzheimer’s •The Drug Namenda Slows Alzheimer’s Disease •Statins Fight Alzheimer’s Disease •Resources for Alzheimer’s Patients and Families Read the rest of this entry »

By DENISE GRADY

Women are more likely than men to have a hidden type of coronary disease in which their heart muscles are starved for oxygen even though their coronary arteries look clear and free of blockages on x-rays, doctors are reporting.
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Roberta Friedman, Ph.D., ALSA Research Department Information Coordinator

While this summary is not exhaustive, it does include some of the most recent advances. If you would like certain news items featured, please contact the Research Department at researchgrants@alsa-national.org.
Spine Infusion of IGF-1 Promising in Pilot Trial
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MONDAY, Jan. 30 (HealthDay News) — Researchers say they have turned adult muscle stem cells into cartilage, and used them in animals to heal the kind of damage caused by arthritis.

That is potentially good news for the many people who now face joint-replacement surgery because there is no available technique to repair cartilage damage from osteoarthritis, the wear-and-tear condition that afflicts many older people. Read the rest of this entry »

Scientists hope new technology will help them develop a blood test to improve early diagnosis of liver cancer in high risk groups.
A team at the University of Birmingham used sophisticated protein measurement and computer analysis to detect changes characteristic of early liver cancer. Read the rest of this entry »

By Michael Smith , MedPage Today Staff Writer
Reviewed by Robert Jasmer, MD; Assistant Professor of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco
Source News Article: BBC News
MedPage Today Action Points

Advise patients who ask that this study implies that a well-known chemical used to cure meats also kills the bacteria that form thick mucus in the lungs of CF patients.

Caution, however, that the research is at a very early stage; clinical trials will be needed to assess the safety and efficacy of the potential treatment. Read the rest of this entry »

Adam Cresswell, Health editor
28jan06

EATING your greens will do more than please your mother: new evidence shows five servings of fruit and vegetables a day can slash your risk of having a stroke by 26 per cent.

A review of previous studies, conducted by British and Australian experts, found that even eating between three to five 80g servings a day cut strokes by 11per cent, compared with people who ate fewer than three servings a day. Read the rest of this entry »