Preliminary research suggests that use of a novel, potent drug to treat cholesterol disorders decreases triglycerides and increases HDL-C, the “good” cholesterol, but also raises some safety concerns, according to a study in the March 28 issue of JAMA. The study is being released early to coincide with its presentation at the American College of Cardiology’s annual conference.
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The Government’s leading advisers on science and technology fear that Britain may be falling behind in its engagement with the fast developing field of nanotechnologies. And the Government hasn’t made the progress it promised in encouraging research into the possible risks stemming from developments in this new field. However there has been good progress in support for standards and metrology and in minimising workplace and public exposure to nanomaterials.
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Among low-risk middle-aged people with subclinical atherosclerosis, the cholesterol-lowering drug rosuvastatin reduces the rate of progression of arterial thickening and stops but does not reverse atherosclerotic disease, according to a study in the March 28 issue of JAMA. The study is being released early to coincide with its presentation at the American College of Cardiology’s annual conference.
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New calculations show that sensitivity of Earth’s climate to changes in the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide has been consistent for the last 420 million years, according to an article in Nature by geologists at Yale and Wesleyan Universities. The study confirms that in the Earth’s past 420 million years, each doubling of atmospheric carbon dioxide translates to an average global temperature increase of about 3° Celsius, or 5° Fahrenheit.
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Obese and overweight men who are diagnosed with prostate cancer by biopsy are more likely than healthy weight men to actually have a more aggressive case of the disease than the biopsy results would indicate, according to a study led by a Duke University Medical Center researcher.
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Researchers report the identification of a gene that may play a role in susceptibility to osteoporosis — the crippling disease that leads to bone fractures, especially of the hip and spine. The study shows convincing evidence that a gene called DARC negatively regulates bone density in mice.
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For depressed people with bipolar disorder who are taking a mood stabilizer, adding an antidepressant medication is no more effective than a placebo (sugar pill), according to a recent study.
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Study shows that patients treated with bronchial thermoplasty, the first non-drug treatment for asthma, demonstrated an overall improvement in asthma control.
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Genetics tests could help provide cystic fibrosis patients with targeted treatment in future, pilot study authors suggest. Results from a French clinical trial show how a small percentage of CF sufferers with a rare genetic stop mutation responded positively to gentamicin treatment.
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