http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. (HealthDay)—Kcentra (prothrombin complex concentrate, human) has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat severe acute bleeding in adults after administration of the anti-clotting drug warfarin and similar products. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-kcentra-severe-heart-patients.html Medications Tue, 30 Apr 2013 13:50:01 EST news286547963 Ever since the appetite-regulation hormone called leptin was discovered in 1994, scientists have sought to understand the mechanisms that control its action. It was known that leptin was made by fat cells, reduced appetite and interacted with insulin , but the precise molecular details of its function —details that might enable the creation of a new treatment for obesity—remained elusive. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-block-protein-appetite-suppressing-hormone.html Medical research Wed, 17 Apr 2013 17:13:00 EST news285437571 Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) derived from blood contains growth factors and other bioactive molecules that promote healing at sites of tissue injury. However, it is difficult to deliver and retain these molecules at a target site, and clinical results have proven to be mixed – until now. A new solid form of bioactive plasma-based biomaterials, known as PBMs, can accelerate tissue healing. Not only are PBMs easier to work with, inexpensive to produce, and safe to use, they are available as off-the-shelf products. All of these promising advantages, and the potential to use PBMs to enhance healing of difficult-to-treat connective tissue injuries affecting cartilage, tendons, and ligaments, contribute to their unique possibilities as described in the article "Biologically Active Blood Plasma-Based Biomaterials as a New Paradigm for Tissue Repair Therapies," by Smith et al. in Disruptive Science and Technology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-plasma-based-biomaterials-tissues.html Other Mon, 15 Apr 2013 11:38:59 EST news285244727 (Medical Xpress)—The results are significant because they can help to improve our understanding of medical conditions, such as thrombosis, aneurysms and arteriosclerosis. The research team is publishing its results in Physical Review Letters. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-blood-thicker-waterand-plasma-video.html Medical research Tue, 19 Feb 2013 10:18:16 EST news280491463 For the first time, scientists have combined genomic and proteomic analysis of blood plasma to enhance identification of genetically regulated protein traits. This could be applied to any large association study of civilization diseases where blood plasma has been collected, vastly improving a clinician's ability to identify disease susceptibility in individuals and populations. This advance is published in the February 2013 issue of the journal Genetics. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-combining-plasma-screening-methods-diagnostic.html Genetics Fri, 08 Feb 2013 09:34:02 EST news279538434 Dartmouth scientists have demonstrated the importance of the gene Plvap and the structures it forms in mammalian physiology in a study published in December by the journal Developmental Cell. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-plvappv1-critical-formation-diaphragms-endothelial.html Cancer Thu, 03 Jan 2013 14:44:12 EST news276446646 (HealthDay)—Varizig (varicella zoster immune globulin) has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to minimize chickenpox symptoms when administered within four days of exposure to the virus that causes the disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-varizig-chickenpox-symptoms.html Medications Sat, 22 Dec 2012 17:50:01 EST news275416479 A new study published in Biological Psychiatry suggests that autism is associated with reductions in the level of cellular adhesion molecules in the blood, where they play a role in immune function. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-brain-unglued-autism.html Autism spectrum disorders Tue, 11 Dec 2012 11:08:24 EST news274446485 Pathological changes typical of Alzheimer's disease were significantly reduced in mice by blockade of an immune system transmitter. A research team from Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin and the University of Zurich has just published a new therapeutic approach in fighting Alzheimer's disease in the current issue of Nature Medicine. This approach promises potential in prevention, as well as in cases where the disease has already set in. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-alzheimer-disease-mice-alleviated-therapeutic.html Alzheimer's disease & dementia Sun, 25 Nov 2012 13:00:14 EST news273067537 (Medical Xpress)—A research team from Stanford University has found that injecting the blood of young mice into older mice can cause new neural development and improved memory. Team lead Saul Villeda presented the groups' findings at this year's Society for Neuroscience conference. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-group-blood-transfusions-young-mice.html Medical research Fri, 19 Oct 2012 08:53:19 EST news269855583 The complement system is part of the innate immune system and is composed of about 40 different proteins that work together to defend the body against disease-causing microorganisms. The complement system perceives danger signals in the body by recognising characteristic molecular patterns presented by pathogenic microorganisms or some of our own sick or dying cells that must be eliminated. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-chain-reaction-human-immune-crystals.html Immunology Tue, 11 Sep 2012 11:51:29 EST news266583078 (HealthDay) -- Kyprolis (carfilzomib) has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat certain people with multiple myeloma who have already been given at least two prior therapies. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-kyprolis-multiple-myeloma.html Cancer Fri, 20 Jul 2012 15:13:08 EST news262015981 (Medical Xpress) -- Researchers from ETH Zurich have developed a procedure to test the clinical benefits of cancer biomarkers. The method could radically shorten the path from the lab to their application. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-cancer-biomarkers-re-evaluated.html Cancer Thu, 19 Jul 2012 09:25:41 EST news261908719 Scientists have successfully sequenced the genome of a baby in the womb without tapping its protective fluid sac. This non-invasive approach to obtaining the fetal genome is reported in the June 6 issue of Science Translational Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-baby-genome-deciphered-prenatally-parents.html Genetics Wed, 06 Jun 2012 14:00:02 EST news258208291 (Medical Xpress) -- A team of researchers led by the University of North Carolina School of Medicine has demonstrated that latency develops soon after infection and slows when antiretroviral therapy is given. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-hiv-infection.html HIV & AIDS Wed, 30 May 2012 08:43:51 EST news257586098 Alzheimer's disease (AD) is now the sixth leading cause of death among Americans, affecting nearly 1 in 8 people over the age of 65. There is currently no treatment that alters the course of this disease. However, an increasing amount of evidence suggests that changes in the way the body handles iron and other metals like copper and zinc may start years before the onset of AD symptoms. A new study shows that reducing iron levels in blood plasma may protect the brain from changes related to AD. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-antioxidant-disrupt-alzheimer-disease.html Alzheimer's disease & dementia Tue, 10 Apr 2012 10:40:49 EST news253273222 (AP) -- A federal appeals court on Tuesday declined to reconsider a ruling that allows bone marrow donors to be paid for their donations like blood donors. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-court-wont-reconsider-bone-marrow.html Other Wed, 28 Mar 2012 03:14:51 EST news252123269 A meta-analysis of previously published studies found that the ratio of blood plasma amyloid-β (Aβ) peptides Aβ42:Aβ40 was significantly associated with development of Alzheimer disease and dementia, according to a report published Online First by Archives of Neurology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-link-blood-biomarkers-alzheimer-disease.html Neuroscience Mon, 26 Mar 2012 16:00:14 EST news251985816 MicroRNAs (miRNAs) that regulate processes including fertilization, development, and aging show promise as biomarkers of disease. They can be collected from routinely collected fluids such as blood, saliva, and urine. However, a number of factors can interfere with the accuracy of miRNA tests. In a study published online today in the Journal of Molecular Diagnostics, a group of researchers provide clear procedures for the collection and analysis of miRNA, significantly improving their diagnostic accuracy. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-protocols-micrornas-diagnosis.html Medical research Wed, 07 Dec 2011 04:49:25 EST news242455755 (AP) -- China will have about 780,000 people infected with the AIDS virus by the end of this year, state media reported Wednesday, with most having contracted it through heterosexual sex. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-china-hiv-cases-year.html HIV & AIDS Wed, 30 Nov 2011 04:49:15 EST news241850947 A surprising new University of Colorado Boulder study shows that huge amounts of fatty acids circulating in the bloodstreams of feeding pythons promote healthy heart growth, results that may have implications for treating human heart disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-python-circulating-fatty-acids-implications.html Medical research Thu, 27 Oct 2011 14:00:05 EST news238940339 Researchers in South East Asia have identified two genetic variants associated with increased susceptibility to severe dengue. The study, funded by the Wellcome Trust and the Agency for Science, Technology, and Research, Singapore, offers clues to how the body responds to dengue infection. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-genome-wide-association-dengue-candidate-susceptibility.html Genetics Sun, 16 Oct 2011 13:00:15 EST news237981719 Although cigarette smoking has long been linked to cardiovascular disease, scientists are still on the lookout for insights into how smoking causes this disease. A team of researchers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and the University of Utah has determined that cigarette smoking and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) can both influence oxidative modifications on specific proteins in blood plasma.  Specifically, smoking and COPD can affect the levels of 3-nitrotyrosine, a biomarker associated with many pathological conditions. The results of this study demonstrated that smoking was consistently associated with a decrease in protein nitrotyrosine levels compared with non-smokers but that the presence of COPD in smokers was associated with an increase in protein nitrotyrosine levels. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-cigarettes-cardiovascular-disease.html Health Mon, 10 Oct 2011 08:58:08 EST news237455873 Researchers at the University of Colorado School of Medicine have found that high levels of a specific hormone can predict which kidney patients will develop heart problems, require dialysis or die prematurely. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-hormone-premature-death-kidney-patients.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Fri, 09 Sep 2011 03:33:59 EST news234757974 Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Studying the genetic make-up of different varieties of lipids (fatty molecules) in the blood plasma of an individual can lead to a better and earlier prediction of diseases such as diabetes, atherosclerosis, and heart disease, two researchers will tell the annual conference of the European Society of Human Genetics today (Monday 30 May). In the first study, Dr. Joanne Curran from the Texas Biomedical Research Institute, San Antonio, USA, will tell the conference that lipidomic profiling will become a more reliable early indicator of individuals likely to develop diabetes than the more commonly used predictors such as blood glucose and insulin levels. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-advances-lipid-genetics-major-diseases.html Genetics Mon, 30 May 2011 03:34:05 EST news225945235 Researchers studying the life threatening infectious disease sepsis have discovered how the infection can lead to a fatal inflammatory response through blood vessel cells. The research, which is published in EMBO Molecular Medicine, focuses on blocking crucial Matrix Metalloprotease enzymes (MMP) which activate the response. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-blueprint-blocking-mmp-treatments-deadly.html Medical research Wed, 18 May 2011 04:17:04 EST news224910977