Health and Medicine

Placing These Cells in Injectable Hydrogel May Provide New Way to Repair Joints

Johns Hopkins University researchers have caused stem cells from adult goats to grow into tissue that resembles cartilage, a key step toward creating a minimally invasive procedure that may one day be used to repair injured knees, noses and other body parts.

In this method, doctors would inject a fluid filled with stem cells and nutrients into damaged tissue, then use light to harden the liquid i

Revolutionary surgery in womb transplants may give hope to patients with fertility problems. Infertility is an increasing problem in the western world and it is estimated that around 15% of all couples are infertile. Most causes of infertility are today treatable by in vitro fertilisation (IVF) and sperm injection (ICSI), but infertility due to a hysterectomy or womb (ie uterus) malformation is not treatable. Uterine infertility can be caused by injury, congenital conditions, or hysterectomy. Even th

A compound found in many foods and drinks could form the basis for new drugs to defeat cancer and heart disease, scientists at UCL claimed today.

Professor Peter Shepherd and his team believe that caffeine and theophylline- compounds commonly found in cola beverages, coffee, tea and chocolate – block the operation of a key enzyme linked to a wide range of cell functions. This suggests these compounds would block cell growth and also blood clotting. The teams work may also explain the anti-in

Researchers in the Netherlands have found that the herbal dietary supplement St. John’s wort interferes with the metabolism–and potentially the effectiveness of–the chemotherapy drug irinotecan. Their findings appear in the August 21 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

St. John’s wort ( Hypericum perforatum L.) is widely used to treat mild to moderate forms of depression. Past studies have suggested that the compound increases levels of CYP3A4, an enzyme

Ginkgo biloba has no beneficial effect on memory and related mental functions of healthy older adults when taken following manufacturer’s instructions, according to a study in the Aug. 21st issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association conducted by researchers at Williams College in Williamstown, Mass. and The Memory Clinic in Bennington, Vt.

The study was designed and conducted by the paper’s lead author, Paul R. Solomon, Ph.D., professor of psychology and found

Internet websites promoting `alternative` cures for cancer can seriously harm patients who follow their advice . And some are downright dangerous – according to an editorial published today in the British Journal of Cancer. A survey of 13 sites relating to alternative or complementary medicine and cancer found that patients were not only discouraged from using conventional cancer therapies but were not informed about alternative remedies that have been shown to be ineffective. The w