Health & Medicine
Old medication, new cure? Arsenic and autoimmune diseases
A staggering 8-10% of the world’s population is affected by autoimmune diseases. This group of conditions, where the body’s immune system attacks one’s healthy cells, includes common diseases such as multiple sclerosis, Lupus and type 1 diabetes. Medsenic, a French biotech is investigating the use of arsenic salts, strikingly successful in acute promyelocytic leukaemia, in an entirely new area: autoimmune […]
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Pure Green Pharmaceuticals Inc.
The company at the forefront of medicinal cannabis product development
Cannabis is said to relieve many ailments but much remains unknown about its therapeutic potential and high-quality scientific research is desperately needed. Pure Green Pharmaceuticals Inc., headed by Steve Goldner, is a cannabis drug company at the forefront of research into the therapeutic qualities of cannabis. Its clinical trials programme is well under way and aims to reveal the potential […]
Functionality of a novel follitropin alfa pen injector: Results from human factor interactions by patients and nurses
Helen Saunders, working at Gedeon Richter/PregLem, a Hungarian/Swiss based biopharmaceutical company, has focused her research on the benefits of a novel Follitropin alfa pen injector known as Bemfola®, which uses follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), a reproductive hormone for the treatment of infertility in women and men. Bemfola® has numerous benefits that make it an exciting alternative to other more complicated treatment […]
Who makes the decisions? Patient “compliance” in modern medicine
Traditionally, the term “patient compliance” was used to define how closely a patient followed their doctor’s advice. Now, with the ever-expanding information and resources available to patients, the idea of “compliance” is in need of an update. Professor Karen Lutfey Spencer, of the University of Colorado Denver, USA, looked at the experiences of patients receiving end-of-life care to gain an […]
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Curiosity, cell death and caspases: One researcher’s journey to big discoveries
All comic book superheroes have an intriguing ‘origins story’; and in the case of science superman Professor Vishva Dixit he has one too. Beginning in Kenya and ending in California, this is the story of a researcher who asked big questions of himself and the world, and went on to pioneer a field of research into cell death, caspases and apoptosis. […]
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The researchers investigating a new type of antimalarial
The World Health Organization estimates that almost all deaths due to malaria are children living in Africa. Prevention measures against malaria are causing a steady decline in deaths, but common antimalarial therapies like artemisinin-based combination therapies are at risk of becoming ineffective due to drug resistance developing in the Plasmodium falciparum parasite responsible for transmitting the disease. Eugene Megnassan at […]
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The battle against cancer stem cells in glioblastomas
Glioblastomas are the most common and one of the most aggressive forms of brain tumour. The severity of the cancer within glioblastomas, along with the potential for spreading, are driven by a population of cells known as cancer stem cells. Cancer stem cells are the beating heart of a cancer. Dr Tapinos and his research team at Brown University, Rhode […]
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A service evaluation of the ‘Open Wide and Step Inside’ school oral health programme
Dr Robert Witton is a dentist, researcher at the University of Plymouth and Chief Executive of the Peninsula Dental Social Enterprise CIC. He leads an oral health education programme, “Open Wide and Step Inside,” designed to deliver key oral health messages to school children. A recent service evaluation shows the programme has been well received by schools and children alike. […]
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Strengthening the case for goal directed fluid therapy
Intravenous (IV) fluids are critical for maintaining hydration and blood circulation during major abdominal surgery. The right amount of fluids can help prevent complications and speed up postoperative recovery, but finding that sweet spot can be challenging. To help narrow the field, Beijing Tongren Hospital Department of Anesthesiology Vice-Chief Anesthesiologist, Dr Yanxia Sun and her team are running a clinical […]
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Medicine’s digital future: Patients use App for automatic data collection in adherence study
People with chronic medical conditions, such as multiple sclerosis, often have to take the same medication for a long period of time. Unfortunately, medication adherence, or how good patients are at taking their medication as prescribed, is often low in this group. Prof Markus Schürks and Dr Christian Müller of Bayer Vital GmbH, Leverkusen, Germany, carried out a novel pilot […]