All Stories by Nathan Seppa
- Health & Medicine
Preeclampsia Progress: Blood test for predicting pregnancy problems
A natural compound called asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) may play a role in preeclampsia, a pregnancy complication.
- Health & Medicine
Upsetting a Delicate Balance: One gene may underlie various immune diseases
One form of an immune-system gene shows up more frequently in people with diabetes or certain thyroid diseases than in people free of those illnesses.
- Health & Medicine
Protein implicated in Parkinson’s disease
Inhibiting the natural protein cyclo-oxygenase-2, or COX-2, might help fight Parkinson's disease.
- Health & Medicine
Protein Pump: Experimental therapy fights Parkinson’s
Bathing surviving dopamine-making neurons with a natural protein that induces nerve-fiber growth reverses some of the symptoms in Parkinson's disease patients.
- Health & Medicine
Shots stop allergic reactions to venom
An immune therapy prevents allergic reactions to the sting of the jack jumper ant, a pest common to Australia.
- Health & Medicine
Deadly Stowaways: Seeds of cancer in transplant recipients are traced back to donors
Precancerous cells that grow into Kaposi's sarcoma are sometimes introduced into a person in an organ transplant.
- Health & Medicine
Weight-loss pill carries risks
The drug ephedra and its presumed active ingredient, ephedrine, provide only modest weight-loss effects and pose health risks.
- Health & Medicine
Microbicide thwarts AIDS virus in monkey test
A microbicidal gel applied vaginally prevents some transmission of the AIDS virus in monkeys.
- Health & Medicine
Progress Against Dementia: Drug slows Alzheimer’s in severely ill patients
The drug memantine slows the progression of late-stage Alzheimer's disease in patients previously considered untreatable.
- Health & Medicine
Prenatal marijuana exposure may pose health risks
Rats that were exposed to a marijuana-related chemical while in the womb show more memory lapses and hyperactivity than unexposed rats do.
-
Genetically Driven: Mutation shows up in binge eaters
Overweight binge eaters are more likely to harbor a genetic mutation that disrupts brain signals governing satiety than are people of normal weight.
- Health & Medicine
Plot thickens for blood pressure drugs
A new study counters a recent report that diuretics taken for high blood pressure protect against heart problems better than newer, more expensive drugs.
