Malaria combination drug therapy for children

A drug combination of artemisinin-naphthoquine should be considered for the treatment of children with uncomplicated malaria in settings where multiple parasite species cause malaria according to researchers.

New treatment strategy allows lower doses of toxic tuberculosis drug without compromising potency

While an effective treatment is available for combating multidrug-resistant tuberculosis, it carries serious side effects for patients. New research shows that lower doses of the toxic drug bedaquiline — given together with verapamil, a medication that’s used to treat various heart conditions — can lead to the same antibacterial effects as higher toxic doses of bedaquiline.

Enzyme's alter ego helps activate the immune system

Already known to cut proteins, the enzyme SPPL3 turns out to have additional talents, according to a new study. In its newly discovered role, SPPL3 works without cutting proteins to activate T-cells, the immune system's foot soldiers. Because its structure is similar to that of presenilin enzymes, which have been implicated in Alzheimer's disease, the researchers believe their findings could shed more light on presenilin functions, in addition to providing new insight into how the immune system is controlled.

Protein identified as possible universal therapeutic target for many infections, including Ebola

A protein called GRP78 could be a universal therapeutic target for treating human diseases like brain cancer, Ebola, Influenza, Hepatitis and superbug bacteria such as Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus epidermidis and Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, according to a study.

Cancer-causing mutation discovered in 1982 finally target of clinical trials

A recent article describes clinical trials that match drugs to long-overlooked oncogene, TRK, offering targeted treatment options for cancers that harbor these gene abnormalities. The TRK family of genes, including NTRK1, NTRK2 and NTRK3 are important in the developing nervous system. In the womb, these genes and the proteins they encode are essential for the growth and survival of new neurons. After birth, these genes are unneeded in many tissues and so are programmed to go dormant, however, experts have learned that some cancers wake them up.

High-fat diet, obesity during pregnancy harms stem cells in developing fetus

Physician-scientists reveal a high-fat diet and obesity during pregnancy compromise the blood-forming, or hematopoietic, stem cell system in the fetal liver responsible for creating and sustaining lifelong blood and immune system function.

Hunter-gatherer past shows our fragile bones result from inactivity since invention of farming

Latest analysis of prehistoric bones show there is no anatomical reason why a person born today could not develop the skeletal strength of a prehistoric forager or a modern orangutan. Findings support the idea that activity throughout life is the key to building bone strength and preventing osteoporosis risk in later years, say researchers.

Putting bedbugs to bed forever

A team of scientists has found a way to conquer the global bedbug epidemic. By lending their own arms for thousands of bed bug bites, they have finally found the solution -- a set of chemical attractants, or pheromones, that lure the bedbugs into traps, and keep them there.

Egg and sperm race: Scientists create precursors to human egg and sperm

Scientists have created primordial germ cells -- cells that will go on to become egg and sperm -- using human embryonic stem cells. Although this had already been done using rodent stem cells, this is the first time this has been achieved efficiently using human stem cells.

Twelve new genetic causes of developmental disorders

Scientists have discovered 12 new genetic causes of developmental disorders.They will ultimately analyze data from 12,000 families. The article describes results from the first 1133 samples, which have increased the proportion of patients that can be diagnosed by 10 per cent.

Scientists zero in on how lung cancer spreads

Scientists have taken microscopic images revealing that the protein ties tethering cells together are severed in lung cancer cells.

This Endoscope Zaps Tumors

To examine internal organs, doctors often use a tube with light and a tiny camera attached to it. The device, called an endoscope, helps detect cancer and other illnesses. It may soon serve another purpose: zapping tumors. The biomedical advancement, which is under development, could make chemotherapy more efficient, reduce its side effects and improve how doctors treat some of the most deadly forms of cancer.

Alternate drug therapy lowers antibodies, researchers find

A novel pre-operative drug therapy reduces antibodies in kidney patients with greater success than with traditional methods, with the potential to increase the patients' candidacy for kidney transplantation and decrease the likelihood of organ rejection. These are the findings of a three-year clinical trial.

Research opens opportunities to develop targeted drug therapy for cardiac arrhythmia

Biomedical engineers have discovered that for one important channel in the heart, the membrane voltage not only causes the channel to open, but also determines the properties of the electrical signals.

Popular diabetes drug may be safe for patients with kidney disease

The most popular treatment for type 2 diabetes, metformin, may be safer for patients with mild to moderate kidney disease than guidelines suggest, according to a new, systematic review of the literature. For 20 years, metformin has been used in the U.S. to lower blood sugar in people with type 2 diabetes. Most experts consider it the best first agent to treat blood sugar increases in this disease. Despite its strong safety profile, the FDA has long recommended that metformin not be prescribed to patients with mild to moderate kidney disease due to the risk of lactic acidosis, a potentially serious condition. But those decades-old guidelines have recently been called into question.

Way to control internal clocks discovered

Researchers hypothesize that targeting components of the mammalian clock with small molecules like REV-ERB drugs may lead to new treatments for sleep disorders and anxiety disorders. It also is possible that REV-ERB drugs may be leveraged to help in the treatment of addiction.

Existing drug, riluzole, may prevent foggy 'old age' brain, research shows

Forgetfulness, it turns out, is all in the head. Scientists have shown that fading memory and clouding judgment, the type that comes with advancing age, show up as lost and altered connections between neurons in the brain. But new experiments suggest an existing drug, known as riluzole and already on the market as a treatment for ALS, may help prevent these changes.

Suppressing a protein reduces cancer spread in mice

A specific protein called 'chitinase 3-like-1' appears key in enabling malignant melanoma or breast cancer to spread to the lungs of mice, researchers have found. Decreasing its levels or blocking the protein dramatically reduced that spread.

Clarithromycin-statin mix can cause drug interactions, requiring hospitalization

The combination of the common antibiotic clarithromycin with some statins increases the risk of adverse events, which may require hospital admission for older people, according to a new study. Statins, used to lower cholesterol, are one of the most widely prescribed drugs, with projections estimated at more than 1 billion people around the globe. Although uncommon, severe adverse events can occur in some patients when certain medications interact with the statin and affect the way it is metabolized.

New non-invasive method can detect Alzheimer's disease early

A noninvasive MRI approach that can detect the Alzheimer's disease in a living animal, well before typical Alzheimer's symptoms appear, has been developed by researchers. The research team created an MRI probe that pairs a magnetic nanostructure with an antibody that seeks out the amyloid beta brain toxins responsible for onset of the disease. The accumulated toxins, because of the associated magnetic nanostructures, show up as dark areas in MRI scans of the brain.

Testosterone = violence, according to manipulative feminist theory

do women prefer men with higher testosterone levels?

"Right across the animal world, high testosterone males have an early advantage. Whether the animal is a cockroach, a bird or a mammal high testosterone ensures they are more dominant than their lower testosterone age-mates and thus more likely to be glossier, more muscular, pushier and take more risks. And across the spectrum these attributes appeal to females and enable the high testosterone males to be successful when it comes to mating."

Plasma Loops on the Electric Sun

A recent NASA video reveals in extraordinary detail what the agency describes as "plasma rain" falling on the Sun. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded a medium strength solar flare, which scientists say generated these enormous plasma loops. But does NASA's interpretation provide real understanding of what we are seeing?

Men Leave Sick Wives

Mild memory, thinking issues: What works, what doesn't?

For up to one in five Americans over age 65, getting older brings memory and thinking problems. It may seem like part of getting older - but officially, it’s called mild cognitive impairment or MCI. A new definitive look at the evidence about what works and what doesn’t in MCI should help doctors and the seniors they treat.

Enzyme inhibitors suppress herpes simplex virus replication, study finds

A family of molecules known as NTS enzyme inhibitors are promising candidates for new herpes virus treatments, a new study shows. The findings could lead to new treatment options for herpes that patients can use in conjunction with or instead of currently approved anti-viral medications like Acyclovir. Researchers likened a combination of treatments for herpes to a cocktail of medications HIV patients take.

Scientists map out how childhood brain tumors relapse

The unique genetic paths that the childhood brain tumor medulloblastoma follows when the disease comes back has been mapped out, researchers report. Scientists looked at biopsies from the relapsed tumours of 29 patients. They found a range of changes that only appeared when the disease returned and were responsible for the cancer becoming more aggressive.

New hope for rare disease drug development

Using combinations of well-known approved drugs has for the first time been shown to be potentially safe in treating a rare disease, according to the results of a clinical trial. The study also shows some promising preliminary results for the efficacy of the drug combination.

Ibuprofen use leads to extended lifespan in several species, study shows

A common over-the-counter drug that tackles pain and fever may also hold keys to a longer, healthier life, according to a Texas A&M AgriLife Research scientist. Regular doses of ibuprofen extended the lifespan of multiple species.

Less than half of UK prescriptions for antipsychotics issued for main licensed conditions

Less than half of UK prescriptions for antipsychotic drugs are being issued to treat the serious mental illnesses for which they are mainly licensed, reveals research published in the online journal BMJ Open.