Combined drug therapy to treat TB and HIV significantly improves survival

Initiating antiretroviral therapy (ART) during tuberculosis therapy significantly reduced mortality rates by 56 percent in a randomized clinical trial of 642 patients co-infected with HIV and tuberculosis. The study, which provides further impetus for the integration of TB and HIV services, lays to rest the controversy on whether co-infected patients should initiate ART during or after TB...

Further doubt cast on virus link to chronic fatigue syndrome

Researchers investigating UK samples have found no association between the controversial xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus and chronic fatigue syndrome. Their study calls into question a potential link described late last year by an American research...

Protein identified that helps heart muscle contract

Researchers have discovered that a protein called B1N1 is necessary for the heart to contract. The findings shed light not only on what makes a heart beat but also on heart failure, a disease where cardiac cells are no longer able to contract and pump blood through the...

An ibuprofen a day could keep Parkinson’s disease away, study suggests

New research shows people who regularly take ibuprofen may reduce their risk of developing Parkinson's disease, according to a new...

Role of protein pair in obesity regulation

New research implicates a new protein in obesity development and highlights a protein pair's "team effort" in regulating obesity and insulin...

Magnetic nanoparticles show promise for combating human cancer

Scientists at Georgia Tech and the Ovarian Cancer Institute have further developed a potential new treatment against cancer that uses magnetic nanoparticles to attach to cancer cells, removing them from the body. The treatment, tested in mice in 2008, has now been tested using samples from human cancer...

Potential new class of drugs to combat hepatitis C identified

Scientists have discovered a novel class of compounds that, in experiments in vitro, inhibit replication of the virus responsible for hepatitis...

New ‘nanoburrs’ could help fight heart disease

Building on their previous work delivering cancer drugs with nanoparticles, MIT and Harvard researchers have turned their attention to cardiovascular disease, designing new particles that can cling to damaged artery walls and slowly release medicine. The particles, dubbed "nanoburrs," are coated with tiny protein fragments that allow them to stick to damaged arterial walls. Once stuck, they can release drugs such paclitaxel, which inhibits cell division and helps prevent growth of scar tissue...

Variant of GFI1 gene predisposes to subtype of blood cancer

Researchers have discovered that a variant of the gene GFI1 predisposes humans to develop acute myeloid leukemia (AML), a certain subtype of blood...

New gene variants associated with glucose, insulin levels, some with diabetes risk

Scientists have found 13 new genetic variants that influence blood glucose regulation, insulin resistance, and the function of insulin-secreting beta cells in populations of European descent. Five of the newly discovered variants increase the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, the most common form of...