AScribe Medicine News Service articles from August 2003

AScribe Medicine News Service archives from August 2003

Better Methods Needed for Community Screening for Alzheimer's Disease; Improved Screening Tests, Community Resources for Follow-Up Care Would Help.
August 4, 2003... Byline: McLean Hospital BELMONT, Mass., Aug. 4 (AScribe Newswire) -- Although as many as 1.75 million undiagnosed Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients could benefit from a national memory screening program, better methods are needed to make...

University of Nebraska Medical Center Researchers Receive $6 Million NIH Grant for Studies of How Immune System Affects Neurodegeneration.
August 4, 2003... Byline: University of Nebraska Medical Center OMAHA, Neb., Aug. 4 (AScribe Newswire) -- The Center for Neurovirology and Neurodegenerative Disorders (CNND) at the University of Nebraska Medical Center has received a $6 million grant from...

Licensing Agreement Takes Penn State Hershey Medical Center Technology Step Closer to Clinical Use.(treatment for the prevention of restenosis)
August 4, 2003... Byline: Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center HERSHEY, Pa., Aug. 4 (AScribe Newswire) -- Technology conceived of and developed at Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center may become an additional option for patients with clogged or...

First Human Tests Under Way of HIV Vaccine Pioneered at University of North Carolina.
August 5, 2003... Byline: University of North Carolina Healthcare System CHAPEL HILL, Aug. 5 (AScribe Newswire) -- The world's first human test of a vaccine against the prevalent subtype of HIV in sub-Saharan African and Asia, where millions have the virus...

University of Georgia Research Describes Factors Associated With Poor Mental Health Among Guatemalan Refugees Living in Mexico 20 Years After Civil Conflict.
August 6, 2003... Byline: Pending ATHENS, Ga., Aug. 6 (AScribe Newswire) -- Twenty years after the 36-year long civil conflict in Guatemala, a University of Georgia-led research team found many refugees in Mexico still suffering from a variety of mental...

Making a Pitch for Diabetes: Joslin Diabetes Center's Research Director to be Honored Friday at Red Sox Game as 'Medical All-Star'.
August 6, 2003... Byline: Joslin Diabetes Center BOSTON, Aug. 6 (AScribe Newswire) -- Baseball fans who pack into Fenway Park this Friday evening (Aug. 8) to see the Boston Red Sox take on the Baltimore Orioles will learn some new stats to add to their...

Gene Therapy Delays Death in Mouse With Symptoms of Lou Gehrig's Disease.
August 7, 2003... Byline: Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions BALTIMORE, Aug. 7 (AScribe Newswire) -- It's not a cure, but a novel form of gene therapy has delayed symptoms and almost doubled life expectancy in mice with the equivalent of Lou Gehrig's...

Gene Therapy Prolongs Survival, Slows Disease Progression in ALS Mice; Project A.L.S. Launches Novel Therapeutic Approach.
August 7, 2003... Byline: Project A.L.S. NEW YORK, Aug. 7 (AScribe Newswire) -- Scientists at the Salk Institute in La Jolla, California, report in the August 8 issue of Science that a novel gene therapy approach prolonged survival and slowed disease...

Nearly 8,000 Doctors Call for National Health Insurance, Journal of The American Medical Association Proposal Unveiled by Former U.S. Surgeon General and Harvard Doctors.
August 7, 2003... Byline: Physicians for a National Health Program CHICAGO, Aug. 7 (AScribe Newswire) -- A live video broadcast of this event will be available on satellite for the free and unrestricted use by news organizations. Live broadcast time:...

College Students Get Better Grades When They Take Courses That Use Psychological Principles to Teach Study Skills.
August 8, 2003... Byline: Ohio State University TORONTO, Aug. 8 (AScribe Newswire) -- Students at Ohio State University who took a psychology-based study skills program had higher grade point averages and were more likely to return for their next year of...

Trojan Clot-Buster: Drug-Coated Red Blood Cells Destroy Blood Clots From Within.
August 11, 2003... Byline: University of Pennsylvania Health System PHILADELPHIA, Aug. 11 (AScribe Newswire) -- Thrombosis - the formation of internal blood clots - is a common cause of complications and even death following surgery. To create a better means...

Cultural Differences May Influence Aviation Safety, According to Wright State University Psychologist.
August 11, 2003... Byline: Wright State University DAYTON, Ohio, Aug. 11 (AScribe Newswire) -- When discussing aviation safety, it is important to consider cultural differences in the way people think, according to Helen Altman Klein, Ph.D., a human factors...

Doctors Call for National Health Insurance; Journal of the American Medical Association Publishes Physicians' Proposal for National Health Insurance Signed by Nearly 8,000 Physicians.
August 12, 2003... Byline: Physicians for a National Health Program CHICAGO, Aug. 12 (AScribe Newswire) -- In an unprecedented show of physician support for National Health Insurance (NHI), 7,782 U.S. physicians propose single payer NHI in an article in the...

Speakers, Musicians Both Change Their Tempo to More Closely Match Others, Study Finds.
August 13, 2003... Byline: Ohio State University COLUMBUS, Ohio, Aug. 13 (AScribe Newswire) -- People change the rate at which they speak or play music to more closely match speakers or musicians they have just heard, new research suggests. One study...

Carnegie Mellon Researchers Receive $1.12 Million Grant to Develop New Process For Growing Bone in Accident Victims.
August 13, 2003... Byline: Carnegie Mellon University PITTSBURGH, Aug. 13 (AScribe Newswire) -- Carnegie Mellon University's Jeffrey Hollinger and his research team will receive $1.12 million over the next four years from the National Institutes of Health...

Women Skip Mammograms Despite Family History of Cancer, Study Finds.
August 13, 2003... Byline: Bowling Green State University BOWLING GREEN, Ohio, Aug. 13 (AScribe Newswire) -- Having a family member who has contracted breast cancer may actually deter women from getting regular mammograms, according to a study conducted by a...

Johns Hopkins Is First U.S. Institution to Obtain Powerful Genotyping System.
August 14, 2003... Byline: Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions BALTIMORE, Aug. 14 (AScribe Newswire) -- Ahead of other U.S. academic institutions, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and its McKusick-Nathans Institute of Genetic Medicine have...

Purdue Instrument to Fashion Custom-Made Proteomics Chips.
August 18, 2003... Byline: Purdue University WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind., Aug. 18 (AScribe Newswire) -- Purdue University scientists are developing an instrument that can fabricate custom-made biochips for protein analysis, offering a potentially powerful new tool...

UC Irvine Researchers Identify Link Between Infant Seizures, Future Susceptibility to Epilepsy; Potential Drugs Could Target Endocannabinoids, Decreasing Likelihood of Adult Disorders.
August 19, 2003... Byline: University of California, Irvine IRVINE, Calif., Aug. 19 (AScribe Newswire) -- A new University of California, Irvine College of Medicine study has identified why infants who suffer prolonged fever-induced seizures are more...

Adult Mouse Bone Marrow Stem Cells Can Become Dopamine Producing Cells of the Nervous System; Findings Similar to Results With Embryonic and Neural Stem Cells.(Brief Article)
August 20, 2003... Byline: University of Minnesota MINNEAPOLIS, Aug. 20 (AScribe Newswire) -- University of Minnesota researchers show that adult bone marrow stem cells can be induced to differentiate into cells of the midbrain. The findings, published in the...

First West Nile Virus in California Found by UC Davis.
August 20, 2003... Byline: University of California, Davis DAVIS, Calif., Aug. 20 (AScribe Newswire) -- Relying on tests conducted by the University of California, Davis, the California Department of Health Services today announced the first evidence of West...

By Adapting Insights From U.S. Pharmacy Practices, Zimbabwean Pharmacologist Fights AIDS in Africa.
August 21, 2003... Byline: University at Buffalo BUFFALO, N.Y., Aug. 21 (AScribe Newswire) -- Amid the human catastrophe that is AIDS in Africa, the absence of health-care systems and practices that are taken for granted in other parts of the world routinely...

University of Florida Study: Kindergarten Readiness May Sometimes Hinge on Birth Weight.
August 21, 2003... Byline: University of Florida GAINESVILLE, Fla., Aug. 21 (AScribe Newswire) -- A rough start in kindergarten most likely can be traced to low birth weight that gives the child a difficult beginning in life, a new University of Florida...

Clinical Study of Penn State Hershey Technology Begins in South Africa; Chest Wall Stabilizer Could Provide an Option for Newborns With Respiratory Distress.
August 25, 2003... Byline: Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center HERSHEY, Pa., Aug. 25 (AScribe Newswire) -- The first clinical study of the neonatal chest wall stabilizer developed at Penn State Hershey Medical Center recently began at three hospitals...

Vanderbilt Children's Hospital Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Tests Experimental Drug That Could Save Babies, Prevent Super Germs.
August 25, 2003... Byline: Vanderbilt Medical Center NASHVILLE, Tenn., Aug. 25 (AScribe Newswire) -- A new drug being tested at Vanderbilt Children's Hospital's Neonatal Intensive Care Unit might have the power to cut the hospital stay of tiny premature...

New York Academy of Sciences International Conference to Examine Adolescent Brain Development: Vulnerabilities and Opportunities.
August 25, 2003... Byline: New York Academy of Sciences NEW YORK, Aug. 25 (AScribe Newswire) -- Why are adolescents at higher risk than the adult population for serious health problems such as suicide, homicide, depression, and substance abuse? Scientists...

Computer Design Yields Better, More Efficient Drug Therapy for Preventing Tissue Damage.
August 25, 2003... Byline: University of Pennsylvania Health System PHILADELPHIA, Pa., Aug. 25 (AScribe Newswire) -- The tedious laboratory trial-and-error method for refining protein/peptide-based medicines could be accelerated and complemented by an...

University of Illinois at Chicago Pharmacy Project May Reduce Drug Name Confusion.
August 25, 2003... Byline: University of Illinois at Chicago CHICAGO, Aug. 25 (AScribe Newswire) -- Mixing up words that sound alike can be humorous or embarrassing -- or deadly, if it's drug names that are confused. A computer program to determine how...

No Rise in Dental Fear Despite Nation's Increase in Overall Anxiety Level, Researchers Report.
August 26, 2003... Byline: American Dental Association CHICAGO, Aug. 26 (AScribe Newswire) -- Dental anxiety has not risen in spite of an increase in general anxiety levels in the United States, according to an article in this month's Journal of the American...

SARS Will Appear Again, As Will Other Viruses Incubating in 'Pandora's Boxes' Around World, University at Buffalo Expert Predicts.(severe acute respiratory syndrome)
August 26, 2003... Byline: University at Buffalo BUFFALO, N.Y., Aug. 26 (AScribe Newswire) -- The world can expect more SARS-like outbreaks in the near future due to evolving cultural, environmental and economic conditions that provide viruses with new...

Scientists: Cloak of Human Proteins Gets HIV Into Cells; Revolutionary Idea Explains Perplexing Observations, Impacts Vaccine Strategies.
August 26, 2003... Byline: Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions BALTIMORE, Aug. 26 (AScribe Newswire) -- Three Johns Hopkins researchers propose, for the first time, that HIV and other retroviruses can use a Trojan horse style of infection, taking advantage of...

Starting School for the First Time: How to Ease the Transition.
August 26, 2003... Byline: University of Vermont BURLINGTON, Vt., Aug. 26 (AScribe Newswire) -- The season of backpacks, lunchboxes and homework is back. Millions of children will start school for the first time in the coming weeks and for some, this...

How Does Cancer Spread to Bone? One Factor Identified by University of Virginia Scientists May Be Potential Treatment.
August 26, 2003... Byline: University of Virginia Health System CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., Aug. 26 (AScribe Newswire) -- Although the survival rate for prostate cancer patients is quite high, many men die from the disease when it has been detected late and the...

New Mayo Clinic Approach to Kidney Transplants Means More Patients Can Be Successfully Transplanted, Easing Donor Shortage.
August 27, 2003... Byline: Mayo Clinic ROCHESTER, Minn., Aug. 27 (AScribe Newswire) -- The Mayo Clinic kidney transplant team is using a new approach that filters out antibodies prior to surgery to overcome a major barrier to kidney transplantation in some...

New Book About Dreams Integrates Psychology, Anthropology, Mythology.(Book Review)
August 28, 2003... Byline: University of California, Santa Cruz SANTA CRUZ, Aug. 28 (AScribe Newswire) -- A new book on dream interpretation draws on the fields of psychology, anthropology, and mythology to offer readers a rich yet practical resource to...