Studies and Analyses

AN embarrassing medical problem that costs UK health services £50m each year is to be investigated in the biggest-ever study of the condition in the world.

Until now, constipation has largely been overlooked for major health studies but the new £650,000 project, which is funded by the British Government, led by a research team from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, and aims to involve nearly 2,000 patients, changes that.

In Britain, nearly half a million GP consu

More potent and highly selective therapy effective in treating Gleevec-resistant disease

A laboratory study led by researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute has shown that a potent and highly selective therapy for chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) may ultimately be more effective than Gleevec®, the current standard of care. The researchers report in the February issue of Cancer Cell that the new compound, AMN107, is about 20 times more potent than Gleevec and is effective in t

Following the Asian tsunami, scientists struggled to explain reports that primitive aboriginal tribesmen had somehow sensed the impending danger in time to join wild animals in a life-saving flight to higher ground.

While some scientists discount the existence of a sixth sense for danger, new research from Washington University in St. Louis has identified a brain region that clearly acts as an early warning system — one that monitors environmental cues, weighs possible conseque

Study reveals clues to the mechanism of short-term memory

Understanding the biology of memory is a major goal of contemporary neuroscientists. Short-term or “working” memory is an important process that enables us to interact in meaningful ways with others and to comprehend the world around us on a moment-to-moment basis. A study published this week in Science (February 18) presents a strikingly simple yet robust mathematical model of how short-term memory circuits in the brain a

Three commonly used drugs — Prozac, Xenical and Meridia — may help type 2 diabetes patients lose small amounts of weight, although long-term benefits are not clear, a new review of 22 studies suggests.

Prozac and Sarafem, known generically as fluoxetine, are most commonly prescribed as antidepressants. Xenical, the brand name for orlistat, blocks fat digestion in the intestines. Meridia, known generically as subtramine, is an appetite suppressant that works in the brain.

A new study will test an FDA-approved antidepressant for its potential to alleviate bladder pain for which there is no known cause and no effective therapy. Thousands, if not millions, of patients may benefit. The study is funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Ten medical centers in the United States and Canada are recruiting adults newly diagnosed with either painful bladder syndrome (PBS) or interstitial cystitis (IC) to learn if the oral drug amitriptyline (Elav