Clinical Research

Don't drink 25 cups of coffee a day, you shouldn't consumer anything equivalent to 25 cups per day, but if you do it won't be your arteries that give out, according to research presented today at the British Cardiovascular Society (BCS) Conference in Manchester. Arteries carry blood containing oxygen and nutrients from your heart to the rest of your body. If they become stiff, it can increase the workload on the heart and increase a person's chance of having a heart attack or stroke.  The study of over 8,000 people in the UK debunks previous studies that claimed drinking coffee increases…

A new paper says that racist experiences increase inflammation in African American individuals, raising their risk of chronic illness and providing more evidence that creates physical health outcomes, states a paper led by April Thames, Ph.D., associate professor at the University of Southern California Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences. "I looked at it as a chronic stressor. Our results showed that racial discrimination appears to trigger an inflammatory response among African Americans at the cellular level," states Thames. Inflammation protects organisms from a health threat…

Approximately a million people in the U.S. are living with HIV and up to 15 percent may not even know they are infected. In Februrary, the U.S. Department of Health and Humans Services announced a new initiative, Ending the HIV Epidemic: A Plan for America, to reduce new infections by 75 percent in the next five years and by 90 percent in the next ten years, averting more than 250,000 HIV infections in that span. Today the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted approval of Dovato to ViiV Healthcare for adults with no antiretroviral treatment history. Dovato (…

Statins are cholesterol lowering drugs that are widely prescribed to patients at increased risk of heart attacks or strokes. Though evidence from randomized trials has shown that statin therapy reduces absolute risk among a wide range of individuals there has been uncertainty about their benefits in older people, along with uncertainty about how big a risk factor cholesterol is. In the past, trials that looked at the effect of statin therapy reported statistically valid cardiovascular risk reductions in the 65-70 age group but statin therapy is often discontinued in patients 75 and older in…

Infertility affects about 10 percent of couples and among them are one in 500 women with congenital defects in their uterus or a medical issue that caused damage. In the past, that meant adoption but recently uterus transplants became possible. In 2013, Sweden performed the first and since then there have been 39, resulting in 11 live births. But those were living donors, and that is going to be rare because uterus donation is only available for women with friends or family members who will donate. Yet lots of people donate organs after they die, so using transplants from deceased people…

According to the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI), nearly 2.5% of all children in the US live with the peanut allergy. One peanut kernel has about 300 mg of peanut protein, exposure to which can lead to anaphylaxis and even death to a person afflicted with this allergy. According to Dr Steven Tilles, past president of the ACAAI and consulting advisor to the biotech company Aimmune Therapeutics, A new treatment has recently emerged which aims to build up tolerance to peanuts so that people suffering from the peanut allergy can handle accidental exposure ie eating…

Radiation is one of the most common treatments used in fighting cancer with roughly 60% of cancer patients benefiting from it alone or in combination with chemotherapy. Radiation is used to either destroy tumors completely or to shrink them prior to surgical removal. Previous research had led to a promising compound called Idoxuridine (IUdR) which had been shown to significantly improve the effectiveness of radiotherapy. The drug however, could only be given intravenously (IV) and had many side effects for patients. As a result of more recent research, a prodrug called IPdR has been…

Genetic testing has been overcome by companies selling hype. Even 23andMe, arguably the most prominent, was chastised by FDA for promising peace of mind when they couldn't do anything of the kind. What about actual research involving the testing of human biospecimens? Should individual research results on a study-specific basis be done through an informed decision-making process? If so, how? And when?  The undertaking of biomedical research with human participants - from exploratory, basic science inquiries to clinical trials using well-validated tests - often includes development…

Skin, with its densely packed layers of cells and lipids, keeps foreign substances from leaking in and water from leaking out. It's a reverse raincoat for our organs.  In ichthyosis and other skin diseases, this barrier breaks down, and problems arise. Unlike more commonly known skin diseases, in ichthyosis thick layers of scales can build up because the lipid-synthesis process in the skin goes awry. Besides causing discomfort and a scaly appearance, the condition can make the skin prone to secondary infections.  No effective treatments currently exist.  Using dogs that…

Because Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), in infants less than a year old, are tragedies without known explanation, scholars have searched for causes beyond stuffed animals in cribs or blaming parents. SIDS represents up to 80 percent of all sudden unexpected infant deaths with an five in 1,000 live births in the US. The peak incidence occurs between two months and four months of age and is more common in boys. One explanation has been heart disease caused by genetic mutations but a recent study found that is less than 5 percent of cases, much lower than the 20 percent previously…