Categories
Cardiovascular
Diagnostics
Endocrinology
Health Insurance
Medical Devices
Mental Health
Nutrition
Oncology
Public Health
Sexual Health
Popular Articles

World's Biggest Cardiology Meeting, ESC Congress 2009 To Be Held In Barcelona
The European Society of Cardiology Congress 2009, the world"s biggest international meeting in Cardiology will be held in Barcelona, Spain, from 29 August to 2 September.

Washing Hands And Wearing Face Masks At Home May Help To Prevent Pandemic Flu
The recent H1N1 pandemic has highlighted the importance of identifying public health measures which can help to mitigate flu virus transmission. Researchers conducted a prospective cluster-randomized trial to test whether improved hand hygiene or surgical face masks could reduce the spread of flu within households.
News of the day
Satoris Launches 3 New Blood Tests To Help Researchers Identify Alzheimer's And Develop Drug Therapies
Satoris, Inc., a California-based molecular diagnostics company, announced today the launch of three research-use tests - two panels of plasma biomarkers shown to be significant in the neurodegenerative disease process, and a dementia discrimination panel. Specifically for use by Alzheimer"s researchers and by pharmaceutical companies developing new Alzheimer"s therapies, the panels are available now as a testing service.
Endocrinology

Genome Sequencing Of Schistosomiasis Parasites Could Promote Drug Development

Researchers have sequenced the genomes of two parasites that cause bilharzia or schistosomiasis - a disease transmitted by water-borne snails that affects more than 200 million people worldwide - "revealing potential weaknesses that could be exploited by drug developers," Nature reports (Smith, 7/15). The study, which was published on Wednesday in the journal Nature, was conducted by two international teams of scientists that identified the genetic chemical sequences of two of the five harmful species of the parasite, S. mansoni and S. japonicum, Press Association/Google.com reports (7/15). Researchers found that S. masoni, "the most widespread of the schistomiasis parasites," is comprised of almost 12,000 genes - "about 10 times the size of the malaria parasite genome," according to the BBC. The analysis also found that S. mansoni does not have "a key enzyme needed to make essential fats, and must rely on its host to provide these - revealing a potential Achilles" heel" that could be used to create new drugs, the BBC writes (7/16). The study "explores cost effective ways to develop new therapies, such as the possibility that existing pharmaceutical drugs might be used to target schistosomiasis," according to a University of Maryland press release (7/15). The drug praziquantel, which is "cheap" and "effective," is currently used to treat the disease, but the concern has been that it "does not prevent people from getting re-infected by bathing in infested waters, and reinfection offers plenty of opportunities for the parasite to become resistant," according to AFP/Yahoo! News. Anthony Fauci - director of U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, which funded a portion of the research - said, "Chronic infection with schistosoma parasites makes life miserable for millions of people in tropical countries around the globe." He added, "New drugs and other interventions are badly needed" (7/15). This information was reprinted from globalhealth.kff.org with kind permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Global Health Policy Report, search the archives and sign up for email delivery at globalhealth.kff.org. © Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.


Add your comment:
Name:
Site address: http://
Your message:
Enter today\\\\'s date, 2 digits
(spam protection):

© Copyright 2009