medical treatment

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Asthma Breakthrough Holds Promise

'Cellular pump' suggests possible treatments

(Newser) - Scientists have found a “cellular pump” that appears central to the development of asthma, pointing the way to possible new treatments, the BBC reports. The pump, called SERCA2, helps airway muscles relax. People with asthma had reduced SERCA2 levels, researchers found; replacing it in airway muscle cells could help...

Untested Stem-Cell Treatments Lure Americans Abroad

FDA says they're untested, unsafe

(Newser) - Dozens, perhaps hundreds, of Americans have defied federal warnings against seeking untested—and often expensive—stem-cell therapy abroad, CNN reports. Though they lack scientific backing, such treatments for terminal diseases are popular in China, where the parents of one 8-year-old seek to treat her spinal muscular atrophy. “We are...

Scientists Urge WHO to Slam Homeopathy as HIV Remedy

Brits want such treatment ruled out for HIV, TB, malaria

(Newser) - Concerned about deaths tied to choice of treatment, British scientists are calling on the World Health Organization to speak out against homeopathy as a way to battle HIV, TB, malaria, influenza, and infant diarrhea. Clinics throughout Asia and sub-Saharan Africa offer to treat such diseases through homeopathy, though there is...

Farrah: 'It's Time for a Miracle'

(Newser) - Cancer-wracked actress Farrah Fawcett is praying for "a miracle" now that she has exhausted conventional medical treatments, reports the New York Post. "I want to stay alive, so I say to God, it is seriously time for a miracle," said Fawcett. "I know that everyone will...

Suit Challenges Patenting of Cancer Genes

(Newser) - A group of breast cancer and ovarian cancer patients has filed suit against the Patent Office for allowing a company to patent two human genes, the Courthouse News Service reports. The plaintiffs, who also include medical organizations and the ACLU, allege that Myriad Genetics' patents on the BRCA1 and BRCA2...

Docs Track Autism to Brain's Fever Center

Batch of neurons may be key to treatment

(Newser) - Mulling over the evidence that the symptoms of autistic children recede during a fever—long reported by parents and confirmed by a study 2 years ago—two New York doctors had a “eureka moment,” seeing that link as a clue to treating the condition, Time reports. The same...

Stimulus Devotes $1B to Weighing Medical Treatments

Comparing effectiveness will 'save money and lives'

(Newser) - The stimulus bill sinks $1.1 billion into the first major government comparison of different medical treatments, the New York Times reports. The provision is a reaction to concerns that treatments are being prescribed without solid evidence to back their usefulness and cost-effectiveness. But some say such studies would mean...

Insulin May Help Treat Alzheimer's
Insulin May
Help Treat Alzheimer's
Feb 3, 2009 3:26 PM CST

Insulin May Help Treat Alzheimer's

Researchers liken degenerative disease to brain diabetes

(Newser) - Alzheimer’s disease “is a type of brain diabetes”—meaning that insulin treatments could help fight it, scientists say. Researchers found that brain cells treated with insulin plus a drug to speed its effects were much less affected by the disease, the BBC reports. “Our results demonstrate...

Swayze Gives Up All Treatment
 Swayze Gives Up All Treatment 
Jan 29, 2009 11:03 AM CST

Swayze Gives Up All Treatment

Doctors can do no more for actor

(Newser) - Patrick Swayze has given up medical treatment after a yearlong struggle with pancreatic cancer, the Mirror reports. “There's nothing more doctors can do for him. The goal now is to keep him comfortable,” a family friend told the National Enquirer. “They have stopped the chemo. He's still...

UK Deporting HIV Patients to 'Death Sentence'

Critics say British policy hypocritical

(Newser) - An African policy group is accusing the UK of deporting immigrants who were being treated for HIV to almost certain death in places where they will be unable to acquire drugs needed to survive. Advocates call the move hypocritical since Britain is a vocal backer of an international declaration calling...

Palestinians Forced to Spy for Medical Care

Israeli secret police said to deny entry to Gazans who refuse

(Newser) - Israeli authorities are coercing sick Palestinians into spying on their communities in Gaza, according to a report by an Israeli human rights group. Israel's secret police are telling Gazans seeking entry into the country for vital medical care that they must become informants or they won't be allowed in, reports...

New Drug Twice as Effective Against Alzheimer's: Study

Treatment breaks apart protein clusters in brain cells of patients with disease

(Newser) - A new treatment could slow Alzheimer’s patients’ mental decline twice as fast as current drugs, the Chicago Tribune reports. A recent study found that the treatment—a chemical known commercially as “rember” that has been previously used to treat other conditions, and in blue dye—significantly reduces the...

8 Meds Docs Won't Take
 8 Meds Docs Won't Take 
Jun 23, 2008 7:55 PM CDT

8 Meds Docs Won't Take

If trained professionals won't use them, why would you?

(Newser) - Some drugs have such serious drawbacks that even doctors won’t take them, Men’s Health reports. The big eight:
  • Advair: Can actually increase the severity of asthma attacks
  • Avandia: Diabetes drug carries risk of heart attack

Oregon Teen in Faith-Healing Family Dies of Bladder Infection

'Horrible way to die,' says medical examiner

(Newser) - A 16-year-old Oregon boy whose family believed that faith can heal has died after refusing medical treatment for pain and shortness of breath, reports ABC News. The state medical examiner said the boy's bladder infection would have been easily treatable and his death was "absolutely a horrible way to...

Spain Opens Second Life Clinic for Teens

Virtual doctor's office welcomes those who hate the real thing

(Newser) - Spanish health officials are opening a virtual clinic in the popular online world Second Life, where they plan to advise teens who are too shy to consult flesh-and-blood doctors, the Guardian reports. It will appear as a consultation room for now, but officials hope to expand the service and eventually...

Docs Get List of Who to Let Die in Pandemic

Don't waste resources on the elderly, handicapped: report

(Newser) - If the US were to suffer a devastating pandemic, and doctors didn’t have resources to save everyone, who should die? A number of universities, government agencies, and other groups mulled that grim scenario recently, sending doctors a brutally ruthless list of who to let die. The report ensures “...

Docs on Ethics: Do as I Say, Not as I Do

Colleagues' lapses often go unreported, MDs acknowledge

(Newser) - Doctors often don't practice what they preach, reports a groundbreaking new study. Ethical standards under scrutiny in a survey of 1,600 physicians were almost universally supported but were often overlooked, researchers say. For example, 96% of respondents said doctors should report colleagues' incompetence or impairment, but 45% said they...

Cancer Still Winning War ...on Cancer

Drugs extend life, but can't stop deadly spread of disease

(Newser) - Nixon declared war on cancer in '71, but $69 billion in funding and claims of near victory are yet to slow it down, the Boston Globe reports. No one knows what makes it spread—and trigger 90% of cancer deaths—and a drop in deaths is due to lifestyle changes...

Boom in CT Scans Alarms Docs
Boom in CT Scans Alarms Docs
Nov 26, 2007 4:00 PM CST

Boom in CT Scans Alarms Docs

Radiation can unnecessarily increase patients' cancer risk

(Newser) - Advances in CT scans may help doctors diagnose patients quickly effectively, but also expose them to dangerous levels of radiation, the Boston Globe reports. The number of CT scans in the US climbed from 20 million in 1995 to 63 million in 2005, but many aren't actually necessary—and pose...

Battle Brews in Pharma's Market
Battle Brews in Pharma's Market
Nov 3, 2007 6:43 PM CDT

Battle Brews in Pharma's Market

Pfizer launches attack on generic drug that threatens Lipitor's dominance

(Newser) - Pfizer is trying to stave off its own heart attack now that its flagship cholesterol-lowering drug Lipitor faces stiff competition from a cheaper generic. Lipitor is still patent-protected, but a very similar drug called Zocor isn't, and since a generic version called simvastatin hit the market, many doctors and insurers...

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