Guest guest Posted October 11, 2001 Report Share Posted October 11, 2001 NON-TEXT REMOVED > > ------------------------------------------------------------ > AOL users: look for your links at the bottom of the page. > ------------------------------------------------------------ > > MRI IMPROVEMENTS ON THE HORIZON > > Using a technique similar to magnetic resonance imaging > but at 10,000 times the resolution, physicists at North- > western University have shed new light on a high-tempera- > ture superconductor with potential medical applications. > The system might one day benefit hospital MRI technol- > ogies and the patients who rely on them, said > Halperin, professor of physics and astronomy. " Currently, > hospitals use low-temperature superconductors in MRI, > but high-temperature superconductors -- a relatively new > discovery -- may be a better material, with the bonus of > requiring less cooling, thus reducing costs, " said > Halperin, author of the article in the British journal > Nature. To advance its potential application in future > technologies, the researchers first need to understand > the physical properties of these materials and especial- > ly how they behave in the presence of very large mag- > netic fields. > > BIRTH CONTROL RING > > There’s a new birth control option for women: a vagianl > ring that provides month-long protection. The device > has received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Admin- > istration. It is called NuvaRing®(etonogestrel/ethinyl > estradiol vaginal ring). The flexible, transparent ring > works by releasing a continuous low dose of estrogen and > progestin over a 21-day period. " NuvaRing® truly is > birth control for the new millennium, " said Dr. Larry > Seidman, clinical assistant professor of obstetrics and > gynecology at MCP-Hahnemann School of Medicine in > Philadelphia. " Women are always searching for more con- > venient contraceptive options. Like the pill, NuvaRing® > is effective yet is administered only once a month and > gives women more freedom and allows them to be spon- > taneous.” > > SECOND ALS GENE IDENTIFIED > > Scientists have identified a second gene implicated in > amyotrophic lateral slerosis, or ALS. The discovery > identifies the second known cause of the fatal, poorly > understood disease. ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's > disease, kills muscle-controlling nerve cells , called > motor neurons, in the spinal cord and brain. Eventually > there is paralysis and respiratory failure. Most of the > time, ALS has no obvious cause, but it's genetic in > about 10 percent of cases. Until now, defects in the > SOD1 gene on chromosome 21 were the only known cause of > ALS. Now, two teams report that defects in a previously > unknown gene on chromosome 2 cause a rare form of ALS > called ALS2. The finding may provide an important new > clue to the ALS disease process. " Knowing so little > about what causes ALS has severely hindered the develop- > ment of effective therapies. These two studies on ALS2 > may lead to general insights about ALS and how to treat > it, " said Sharon Hesterlee, director of research develop- > ment for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. > > CHEMICALS PREVENT BRAIN CELL DEATH > > Two plant-derived chemicals can reduce the damage from a > simulated stroke in cultured mouse brain cells, a study > shows. Further research might lead to a new class of > stroke drugs, the researchers said. The chemicals work > by shutting down the enzyme PARG (Poly-ADP-Ribose Glyco- > hydrolase). It contributes to stroke-related cell death, > said lead study author Dr. Swanson, acting chief > of neurology at San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical > Center and University of California, San Francisco, pro- > fessor of neurology. " By inhibiting PARG we can protect > brain cells from the type of cell death that happens > during a stroke. This same death mechanism is seen in > several other disorders, such as diabetes, inflammation, > and heart attack. " > > ************************************************************ AOL Links ************************************************************ > > <a href= " http://www.shagmail.com/sub/sub-health.html " >Subscribe</a> > <a href= " http://www.shagmail.com/unsub/health.html " >Unsubscribe</a> > <a href= " http://www.shagmail.com " >FREE Newsletters</a> > ____________________________________________________________ > > END OF HEALTH TIPS > Copyright 2001 by Pulse Direct, Inc. All rights reserved. > Feel free to forward this, in its entirety, to others. > > Copyright 2001 by United Press International. > All rights reserved. > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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