Body

Frozen biological material, for example food, can be kept for a long time without perishing. A study by researchers at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, is close to providing answers as to why.

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are widely used as anti-inflammatory and analgesic agents. However, they often cause gastrointestinal injury in gastric lesions by inhibiting COX (cyclooxygenase) and detailed mechanism remains unclear. Thus, effective strategies are required to protect the gastrointestinal mucosa.

In patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), esomeprazole, has demonstrated pharmacological and clinical benefits beyond those seen with the other proton pump inhibitors( PPIs ). However it has not hitherto been fully determined whether differences in the onset of antisecreatary activity may affect the speed of symptom relief with different PPI.

Autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) is a chronic liver inflammation of unknown etiology that is characterized by the presence of circulatory autoantibodies and ongoing liver tissue damage. In the past few years, the understanding of this disease has grown, and it is believed that, in a genetically predisposed individual, certain agents such as drugs and viruses can trigger this process of self-induced liver damage.

• About 2 million Australians have current asthma**
  • One in nine children
  • One in ten adults.
• One in nine children with asthma are exposed to tobacco smoke in their home
• 402 people died due to asthma in 2006, one in four of them aged under 65 years
• People with asthma should have a written asthma action plan but most still don't

Resent studies reported that aspirin inhibited the growth of H. pylori in a dose-dependent manner and significantly affected the activity of virulence factors of H. pylori. In addition, aspirin increased the susceptibility of H. pylori to antimicrlbials including metronidazole, clarithromycin and amoxicillin. However, the mechanisms remained unknown.

A research team led by Prof. Wang from Peking University First Hospital of China addressed this issue and their results will be published on February 28, 2009 in the World Journal of Gastroenterology.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) are well-recognized causes of progressive liver disease leading to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. To date, no therapy provided evidence of significant efficacy in these conditions and no approved therapeutic options are available worldwide.

Coeliac disease is a typical example of a malabsorption syndrome conferring increased risk for various deficiency states, including folate and vitamin B12. Hyperhomocysteinemia is significantly more frequent in patients with newly diagnosed coeliac disease than healthy controls.

A research team led by Dr. Muhammed Hadithi from Netherlands investigated the effect of vitamin B6, folate, and vitamin B12 daily supplements on homocysteine levels in patients with coeliac disease. Their study will be published on February 28, 2009 in the World Journal of Gastroenterology.

New findings may significantly improve the safety of methadone, a drug widely used to treat cancer pain and addiction to heroin and other opioid drugs, according to researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the University of Washington in Seattle.

Obese women have alterations in their ovaries which might be responsible for an egg's inability to make an embryo, according to a new study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM).

Obese women trying to become pregnant experience longer times to conception, even if they are young and have a regular menstrual cycle. This study sought to determine if there are alterations in an egg's environment in obese women which contribute to poorer reproductive outcomes.

Hormonal changes and diminished sexual quality of life among obese men are related to the degree of obesity, and both are improved after gastric bypass surgery according to a new study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM).

New York, March 3, 2009 – As the incidence of obesity-induced type 2 diabetes mellitus continues to increase worldwide, medical research indicates that surgery to reduce obesity can completely eliminate all manifestations of diabetes. In a study published in the March 2009 issue of The American Journal of Medicine, investigators analyzed 621 studies from 1990 to April of 2006, which showed that 78.1% of diabetic patients had complete resolution and diabetes was improved or resolved in 86.6% of patients as the result of bariatric surgery.

People are always looking for ways to make something less expensive and more environmentally friendly – and a team of researchers from North Carolina State University has figured out how to do both of those things at once when raising the large-scale buildings, such as parking garages, of the future.

CHESTNUT HILL, MA (March 3, 2009) – Overcoming a critical conductivity challenge to clean energy technologies, Boston College researchers have developed a titanium nanostructure that provides an expanded surface area and demonstrates significantly greater efficiency in the transport of electrons.

A study comparing measurements used to assess malnutrition in young children in Niger has found that the new World Health Organisation (WHO) Child Growth Standards—introduced in 2006—are accurate predictors of death of these children following their admissions for malnutrition. The study, published this week in the open access journal PLoS Medicine, compared the new WHO standards with those of the US National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), which have long been used as an international reference.