Health & Medicine
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Health & Medicine
It pays to keep those islet cells
A patient who has inflammation of the pancreas and needs to have the organ removed can avoid getting diabetes if islet cells are salvaged from the pancreas and reimplanted into the liver.
By Nathan Seppa -
Health & Medicine
Statins Take On the Brain
Cholesterol-lowering drugs may also treat or prevent Alzheimer's disease.
By John Travis -
Health & Medicine
HIV-related viruses still cross species line
Various potentially dangerous strains of simian immunodeficiency virus exist in wild primates in Africa and are still being spread among people who hunt the animals for meat.
By Nathan Seppa -
Health & Medicine
One-Two Drug Punch Trips Up Leukemia
A leukemia cell seals its own fate when researchers trap cancer-causing proteins in its nucleus.
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Health & Medicine
‘Bug’ spray cuts risk of ear infection
Spraying “good” bacteria into the nose reduced the incidence of ear infections in children especially prone to such infections.
By Janet Raloff -
Health & Medicine
Medicinal Mimicry
While researchers tease out the mechanisms behind the ability of inert pills and sham procedures to trigger health benefits, the ethics of using such placebos in medical research trials is coming under increasing scrutiny.
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Health & Medicine
Success clearing clogged arteries
In the past 10 years, angioplasty and other procedures to unblock clogged arteries have steadily improved, probably due to increasing use of wire-mesh tubes called stents to help patients’ arteries stay open.
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Health & Medicine
A sticky problem solved
Researchers have identified a protein integral to making blood clot, a finding they hope will lead to better drugs for preventing clots in people at risk of heart attack or stroke.
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Health & Medicine
Found: Mutation for deadly nerve disorder
Two research teams have discovered the genetic mutation that causes familial dysautonomia, a lethal hereditary disease that causes nervous system damage.
By Nathan Seppa -
Health & Medicine
Radiation therapy keeps arteries clear
Two new studies add to the growing evidence that radiation treatment may keep arteries open longer after angioplasty.
By Linda Wang -
Health & Medicine
Dietary stress may compromise bones
Internal conflict about what and how much to eat not only induces production of a stress hormone but also may eventually weaken bones.
By Janet Raloff -
Health & Medicine
Raloxifene doesn’t hike breast density
Estrogen-replacement therapy that includes estrogen increases breast-tissue density among postmenopausal women, but the estrogen-replacement drug raloxifene doesn’t.
By Nathan Seppa