For stroke, blindness

In two separate trials to be launched this year, researchers in Scotland will examine whether stem cell therapy can help treat stroke patients and people with corneal blindness, Agence France Presse reported.

This month, a two-year trial involving 20 patients with corneal blindness will begin in Edinburgh and Glasgow. Stem cells of deceased adult donors will be cultivated and then transplanted onto the cornea's surface.

Another team of researchers in Glasgow plans a study in which they'll inject fetal stem cells into the brains of stroke patients in order to determine if the cells can regenerate damaged areas and improve patients' quality of life, AFP reported.

That study, which will test a treatment developed by a British company called ReNeuron, still has to be approved by an ethics committee.

Published in MedicineNet.com

January 19, 2009

682 signs

(8) FAMILY OBESITY FOLLOWS GENDER LINES: STUDY

Obesity appears to follow gender lines in families, say British researchers who found that obese mothers were 10 times more likely to have obese daughters and obese fathers were six times more likely to have obese sons.

But the study of 226 families found that obese mothers and fathers didn't have an effect on children of the opposite sex, BBC News reported.

The findings suggest that the link is behavioral rather than genetic, which means that policies on fighting obesity may need to be reconsidered, the researchers said.

"It is the reverse of what we have thought and this has fundamental implications for policy," said study leader Professor Terry Wilkin of the Peninsula Medical School in Plymouth, BBC News reported. "We should be targeting the parents and that is not something we have really done to date."

Published in MedicineNet.com

July 13, 2009

697 signs

(9) ADHD INCREASES RISK OF NICOTINE ADDICTION: STUDY

Having attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) increases a young person's risk of nicotine addiction, according to a Massachusetts General Hospital study that included 166 participants, ages 15 to 25.

The researchers found that 69% of the 80 participants with ADHD had ever smoked and 41% were current smokers, while 44% of those without ADHD had ever smoked and 17% were current smokers, United Press International reported.

The ADHD patients who smoked began using tobacco more than a year earlier than smokers without ADHD. The findings were published in the Journal of Pediatrics.

"Knowing that ADHD increases the risk of more serious nicotine addiction stresses the importance of prevention efforts aimed at adolescents and their families," study leader Dr. Timothy Wilens said in a news release, UPI reported.

Published in MedicineNet.com

October 23, 2008

703 signs

(10) NO PROOF ANTI-AGING HORMONES EFFECTIVE: AMA

There's no scientific proof that anti-aging hormones are effective, says the American Medical Association, which on Monday adopted a new policy on purported aging remedies.

For example, the AMA says, evidence indicates that long-term use of human growth hormone (HGH) to deal with aging-related issues might carry more risks, such as diabetes and tissue swelling, than benefits, the Associated Press reported.

The AMA says there's also no proof that hormones called bio-identicals are safer than traditional estrogen and progesterone products in treating menopause symptoms.

Those who promote the use of anti-aging hormones, the AMA says, need rigorous studies to support their claims, according to the AP report.

The new policy on products such as HGH, DHEA and testosterone was adopted at the group's annual meeting in Chicago.

Published in MedicineNet.com

June 16, 2009

734 signs

(11) TOO MUCH HIGH-FAT DAIRY AND EGGS

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