The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved velaglucerase alfa for injection (VPRIV) to treat children and adults with a form of the rare genetic disorder Gaucher disease.
Gaucher disease occurs in people who do not produce enough of an enzyme called glucocerebrosidase. Without this enzyme, harmful amounts of a certain fatty substance (lipid) can build up in the liver, spleen, bones, bone marrow and nervous system, and can prevent cells and organs from working properly. About 1 in 50,000 to 1 in 100,000 people in the general population have Gaucher disease.
VPRIV provides long-term enzyme replacement therapy for Type 1 Gaucher disease, the most common form of the genetic disorder. It is an alternative to Cerezyme (imiglucerase), another enzyme replacement therapy. Cerezyme is currently in short supply. Read the rest of this entry »
Scientists are in the process of determining ways to keep bones strong and healthy in hopes of discovering how to prevent osteoporosis.
While some nutritionists believe that nutritional supplements such as vitamin D and calcium could be good for bone strength, researchers are examining a tissue culture that grows human bones.
Researchers from the University of Houston department of health have discovered a growing process similar to how bones grow in humans. Read the rest of this entry »
Scientists have discovered that a protein that controls weight and appetite may also help prevent Alzheimer’s disease (AD).
Patients with higher leptin levels had a significantly lower risk of developing the debilitating disorder, according to a study found in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
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DNA differences which appear to affect the risk of giving birth early have been found by US scientists.
The US National Institutes of Health study found the variants in both babies and mothers, a US conference was told.
It is thought they may play a role in controlling immune responses which could theoretically trigger labour if they become too powerful.
Premature birth – which accounts for 7% of UK births – is one of the biggest threats to a baby’s future health. Read the rest of this entry »
While diabetes natural remedies may help patients with the disease control their symptoms, they are still more susceptible to certain diabetic problems such as blindness.
Until recently, physicians did not know how high blood sugar levels damage blood vessels in the eye. According to researchers from Michigan State University, when blood sugar levels rise, a protein known as siah-1 is produced, which shuttles the protein glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) into the nucleus of the Müller cells. Read the rest of this entry »
While nutritional supplements such as vitamin D may help with pain and discomfort, researchers are looking into how acupuncture stimulates the brain into making the body feel better.
According to findings published in Brain Research, scientists have discovered a sensation called deqi that is obtained through the treatment, which deactivates the feelings of pain in the brain, resulting in the person thinking they feel better.
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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved velaglucerase alfa for injection (VPRIV) to treat children and adults with a form of the rare genetic disorder Gaucher disease.