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Treatable Hormonal Condition Sometimes Overlooked In Infertility Patients
A condition known as congenital adrenal hyperplasia, or CAH, is easily treatable but frequently overlooked or misdiagnosed, leading to infertility and other "perplexing symptoms," the New York Times reports. CAH is a hormone deficiency that leads to excess production of androgens, which can hinder ovulation in women and cause low sperm count in men. It also can cause short stature, body odor, acne, irregular menstruation and excessive hair growth. The condition can be diagnosed through a blood test and treated with small doses of the steroid dexamethasone, which can reverse symptoms in three months to two-and-one-half years.According to Maria New, a leading authority on CAH and a professor of pediatrics and human genetics at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, the disease occurs in one in every 100 people in the general population. It is more common among certain ethnic groups, occurring in one in 27 Ashkenazi Jews and one in 40 Hispanics. Not everyone with the condition has symptoms or needs to be treated. The most severe form of the disease, classic CAH, can result in ambiguous genitalia in girls, while the milder nonclassical form sometimes produce no symptoms, the Times reports.Many fertility clinics do not test for the disease or only test after attempting other treatments. Some obstetricians are unaware of CAH and its effect on fertility, according to Zev Rosenwaks, director of the Center for Reproductive Medicine at New York Presbyterian-Weill Cornell hospital. CAH also can be confused with polycystic ovarian syndrome -- which has some similar symptoms -- or early puberty in younger patients (Tarkan, New York Times, 7/7).
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John Muir Health Foundation Funds Advanced Robotic Technology For Minimally Invasive Surgery
John Muir Health Foundation, the charitable fundraising organization for all John Muir Health programs and services, has provided funding to enable John Muir Health to purchase two advanced high definition daVinci® Surgical Systems for its Walnut Creek and Concord campuses. Surgeons at John Muir Heath will use the daVinci® "robots" for a variety of minimally invasive urological, gynecological, gynecologic/oncologic and colorectal treatments.
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Evidence For A New Genetic Link To Therapeutic Efficacy For Alzheimer's Disease
Accera, Inc., a biotechnology company delivering breakthrough therapies in central nervous system diseases, today announced further evidence for genetic interactions impacting the efficacy of the ketogenic compound AC-1202 (Axona(TM)) in Alzheimer"s disease. New data from the company"s previously completed double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in patients with mild-to-moderate Alzheimer"s disease demonstrates an interaction between two genetic markers that strongly influence the therapeutic response in patients. Dr. Samuel Henderson, Executive Director of Research, will present these results at the 2009 International Conference on Alzheimer"s Disease (ICAD) sponsored by the Alzheimer"s Association.
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A Compound Found In The Sea Provides Promising New Treatment For Neuropathic Pain

A paper just published in the British Journal of Pharmacology reports that a compound originally isolated from a soft coral (Capnella imbricate) could lead scientists to develop a new variety of treatments for neuropathic pain. This composite is collected at Green Island off Taiwan and could be a new option for treatment. Neuropathic pain is chronic and occasionally follows damage to the nervous system. Presently this type of pain is very poorly controlled by the usual analgesics: aspirin like drugs (NSAIDS) or even opioids like morphine. New treatments are urgently required. Inflammation in the nervous system is a major contributing factor for this condition according to recent research. Microglia and astrocytes are supporting cells that surround the nerve cells. They are activated by inflammation. These activated cells release compounds called cytokines that can stimulate nerves carrying pain sensation (nociceptive pathways). This causes the person to experience from mildly uncomfortable stimuli to very painful (hyperalgesia), or stimuli that would normally induce no discomfort at all or aching (allodynia). As a result, cold drafts or lightly brushing the skin can produce intense pain. This severely affects the person"s quality of life. There is a range of treatments that give some relief to some patients. Nearly all were found empirically and with many other effects. For example, Amitriptyline is an anti depressant currently used for urinary incontinence and it has given relief in neuropathic pain. Similarly, gabapentin and pentagabalin are two drugs designed for treating epilepsy and they have also proved helpful for some sufferers. On the other hand, a lot of patients do not respond to these presently existing drugs. Dr Zhi-Hong Wen, played an important role in a research study searching for new compounds that have potential for use in pain relief. He says: "New, effective and safe painkillers are urgently needed for patients with neuropathic pain." Dr Wen and his collaborators work at the Department of Marine Biotechnology and Res, at the National Sun Yat-Sen University in Taiwan. Capnellene is a chemical that was originally isolated in 1974. However, it is only recently that scientists have started to understand its potential. Interestingly, the structure of capnellene is extremely different from pain-relieving drugs presently used. Original experiments indicated that it could possibly have pain-relieving properties. Dr Wen, together with Yen-Hsuan Jean MD, PhD and other colleagues tested capnellene. They also studied a second very similar compound. They used isolated microglial cells and experimental models of the condition in rats. Their findings confirmed that the compounds considerably reduced pain-related activities in isolated microglia. In addition, these compounds also significantly reversed hyperalgesic behaviour in the experimental rats. Dr Wen says: "To provide better quality of life, we need new drugs that can act rapidly and have specific functions with low side effects. Moreover, we need better management for chronic pain conditions." He comments: "Today there are few pharmacological agents that can help people suffering from neuropathic pain, but we believe that these marine-derived compounds could lead to the development of a new range of drugs of great potential." "Capnellene, a natural marine compound derived from soft coral, attenuates chronic constriction injury-induced neuropathic pain in rats." Yen-Hsuan Jean, WuFu Chen, Chun-Sung Sung, Chan-Yih Duh, Shi-Ying Huang, Chan-Shing Lin, Ming-Hon Tai, Shun-Fen Tzeng and Zhi-Hong Wen doi:10.1111/j.1476-5381.2009.00323.x British Journal of Pharmacology Written by Stephanie Brunner (B.A.) Copyright: Medical News Today Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today


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