Health Problems

FDA: Zephyr Endobronchial Valve approved for severe emphysema

(HealthDay)—A new device, the Zephyr Endobronchial Valve (Zephyr Valve), has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of breathing difficulties associated with severe emphysema. During a procedure in a hospital setting, the Zephyr Valves are placed into the diseased areas of the lung airways using a flexible bronchoscope. The device […]

Health Problems

Cost-effective universal screening for hepatitis C in France

An estimated 75,000 people in France are unaware they are infected by hepatitis C virus. An ANRS-funded study by Sylvie Deuffic-Burban, Ph.D., a research associate at IAME (Infection, Antimicrobials, Modeling, Evolution) (Inserm—Université Paris Diderot—Université Paris 13), and her team show that a universal screening strategy applied to hepatitis C is cost-effective and improves life expectancy […]

Personal Health

Scientists identify mechanism that may explain why males are more at risk than females for neurodevelopmental disorders

Researchers have recently begun to realize that biological sex plays a key role in disease risk. Sex plays a role in hypertension, diabetes, arthritis—and in many neurological and psychiatric disorders. Depression and anxiety affect females more, while neurodevelopmental disorders, including autism spectrum disorders, early onset schizophrenia, and attention deficit hyperactivity, affect more males. Males are […]

Health Problems

Link to brain protein holds promise for new depression treatments

Scientists have long known that an imbalance in brain chemistry can lead to depression. University of Victoria researchers have taken this knowledge a step further, examining what happens inside the brain’s cells in order to better understand how depression occurs. The results of that research raise the possibility of new treatments in the future for […]

Health Problems

Prostate cancer diagnosis later for Kiwi men

New Zealand men are being diagnosed with prostate cancer later in life at a higher prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level and higher disease grade compared to men in the United States according to University of Auckland research. Dr. Nishi Karunasinghe and colleagues at the Auckland Cancer Society Research Centre at the University’s Faculty of Medical and […]

Health News

New small molecules for the treatment of autoinflammatory diseases

EPFL scientists have discovered two small-molecule compound series that can effectively block a central pathway of the innate immune system, offering a promising new way for treating autoinflammatory diseases. The study is published in Nature. The innate immune system is the first line of defense, with cells that quickly identify “foreign” motifs from viruses and […]