When protein plaque builds up in the blood, it can result in serious diseases such as heart disease and Alzheimer’s. Cyclooxygenase (COX) inhibitors, a class of drugs under investigation for the treatment of one cause of plaque build-up, also exhibit negative side effects. [click link for full article]

The International Society of Nephrology (ISN) has announced Eduardo Slatopolsky, Joseph Friedman Professor of Renal Diseases in Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine (St. Louis, Missouri - USA) as the 2007 winner of the ISN Amgen International Prize for Therapeutic Advancement in Nephrology. [click link for full article]

In a study of Labrador retriever dogs, those fed a calorie-restricted diet showed different lifelong patterns relating to energy metabolism and the activities of their gut microbes and lived almost two years longer than similar dogs given a slightly higher-calorie diet. The study, which followed 24 dogs lifelong, is scheduled for the May 4 issue of ACS’ Journal of Proteome Research, a monthly publication.Imperial College London’s Jeremy K. [click link for full article]

A simple modification in an anti-cancer treatment currently in clinical trials substantially improves the drug’s effectiveness and reduces side effects in experiments with laboratory mice, researchers are reporting in an article scheduled for the May 16 edition of ACS’ Bioconjugate Chemistry, a bi-monthly journal. [click link for full article]

Researchers at the Ireland Cancer Center of University Hospitals Case Medical Center have developed methods for treating lung cancer cells that have become resistant to new anti-cancer agents. [click link for full article]

A recent report of an elderly woman experiencing a severe food allergy to peanuts shortly after receiving a blood transfusion from a peanut allergic donor brings new concerns to the…

Genetic susceptibility markedly increases the risk of developing radiation-associated meningioma - a rare brain tumour - according to a study published in the May issue of THE LANCET ONCOLOGY. “Our study showed that in families which included a member who developed radiation-associated meningioma, and in which additional siblings were irradiated, a high rate of meningioma and other radiation-related tumours was found,” say study authors Drs Flint-Richter and Sadetzki. [click link for full article]

Parents of conjoined twins, Tatiana and Krista, in Vernon, Canada, have been told not to get their hopes up regarding a possible procedure to separate the two girls. According to Doug McKay, stepfather, a meeting with neurosurgeons in Vancouver may produce some answers. The girls were born in October 2006, at he B-C Children’s Hospital, Vancouver. The stepfather says it would be ideal if the girls could be separated, but if that were not possible, he will not be disappointed. [click link for full article]

A convoy of trucks contracted by the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) today thrust out of Mogadishu and delivered enough food to feed at least 32,000 people driven from their homes by some of the worst fighting in the Somali capital in 16 years. [click link for full article]