Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI) researchers have identified a compound that helps protect the cells destroyed by spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), the most frequent fatal genetic disease in children under 2 years of age. SMA is a neurodegenerative disease targeting motor neurons, the long nerve cells that relay messages from the brain to the muscles...
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Research suggests seal oil could help people with Type 1 diabetes
A research team at the Krembil Neuroscience Centre in Toronto has published a paper that suggests seal oil has the potential to help promote nerve regeneration in patients with Type 1 diabetes. The study found that patients who ingested an omega-3 supplement derived from seal oil twice a day over a 12-month period reported an...
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Pill for diabetes that costs just £1.30 a day also cuts the risk of heart and kidney disease by 14%
Drug Canagliflozin is designed to lower blood sugar levels and keep weight off New study reveals it also has an impact on cardiovascular and kidney problems But more work is needed to find out why users more likley to need amputations A cheap anti-diabetes drug slashes the risk of heart attacks and kidney disease, a...
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New treatment reduces E. coli, may offer alternative to antibiotics
Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are among the most common infections, and they tend to come back again and again, even when treated. Most UTIs are caused by E. coli that live in the gut and spread to the urinary tract. A new study from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has found that a molecular...
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New effective treatments for psoriatic arthritis patients
New agents working on different inflammatory aspects of PsA are needed in the treatment of PsA patients living with this chronic immune-mediated disease, which involves both joint and skin symptoms. In the first study, in patients with active PsA who had not previously been prescribed an anti-TNF treatment, tofacitinib (an oral Janus kinase inhibitor under...
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New antibiotic effective against drug-resistant bacteria
First selective nucleoside-analog inhibitor of bacterial RNA polymerase Structure of bacterial RNA polymerase, showing the binding sites for the new antibiotic pseudouridimycin (PUM) and the current antibacterial drug rifampin (Rif). PUM has a lower resistance rate and a smaller resistance target than Rif — just 2 to 4 positions where alterations that result in PUM-resistance...
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A new drug that ‘switches off’ food cravings is on the horizon after scientists discover the way in which our brains govern hunger
Researchers used a tiny periscope to access part of brain not accessed before Allowed them to gain deeper understanding of how we react to food cues Certain hunger-promoting neurons can be artificially turned on even when full Hopes that these same neurons can be turned off to reduce food cravings Could help obese people with a’faulty’ hard...
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The chili painkiller can that could banish knee pain: Injection could offer six month of relief
Uses a man-made version of chili plant extract trans-capsaicin The drug is designed to be injected at the site of pain Relieved knee pain among osteoarthritis patients for up to six months A synthetic version of a medicine traditionally extracted from chili plant relieved knee pain among osteoarthritis patients for up to six months, data...
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New oral treatment option for rheumatoid arthritis
Patients suffering from rheumatoid arthritis are treated for around six months with the standard anti-rheumatic agent methotrexate, to which many patients respond very well. However, if they do not respond and no remission or at least reduction in the activity of the disease can be achieved, they are given a combined treatment of methotrexate and...
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MIRACLE JAB Heart attack ‘vaccine’ available in just SIX years to knock cholesterol busting statins off the shelves
AN injection that lowers cholesterol to protect against heart attacks will be available within six years, doctors hope. The once-a-year jab, now being tested in clinical trials, would end the need to take daily statin pills for millions of patients. It works by boosting the body’s ability to remove cholesterol from the blood, cutting levels...