http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. A new study raises the intriguing possibility that drugs prescribed to lower cholesterol may be effective against macular degeneration, a blinding eye disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-cholesterol-buildup-links-atherosclerosis-macular.html Medical research Tue, 02 Apr 2013 12:00:03 EST news284114151 Cocaine, already a damaging drug for those with healthy immune systems, can be lethal for those living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Mudit Tyagi, Ph.D., assistant professor of medicine at the George Washington University (GW) School of Medicine and Health Sciences (SMHS), has received two federally funded grants to study how dangerous this combination is in HIV patients. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-dangerous-effects-cocaine-hiv-patients.html HIV & AIDS Thu, 21 Mar 2013 10:59:09 EST news283082342 People with diabetes often develop clogged arteries that cause heart disease, and new research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis suggests that low vitamin D levels are to blame. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-vitamin-d-clogged-arteries-diabetics.html Diabetes Tue, 13 Nov 2012 14:59:02 EST news272041131 Modulating immune response to injury could accelerate the regeneration of severed peripheral nerves, a new study in an animal model has found. By altering activity of the macrophage cells that respond to injuries, researchers dramatically increased the rate at which nerve processes regrew. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-immune-boost-regeneration-peripheral-nerves.html Medical research Tue, 02 Oct 2012 11:00:35 EST news268394418 Millions of "good" bacteria exist harmoniously on the skin and in the intestines of healthy people. When harmful bacteria attack, the immune system fights back by sending out white blood cells to destroy the disease-causing interlopers. But how do white blood cells know which bacteria are good and which are harmful? http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-protein-scouts-dangerous-bacteria-immune.html Immunology Thu, 23 Feb 2012 12:52:41 EST news249223672