An overwhelming majority of Americans (86%) agree that health care professionals should discuss clinical trials with patients diagnosed with a disease as part of their standard of care, according to a new national public opinion survey commissioned by Research!America. And three-quarters of respondents (75%) agree that taking part in clinical trials is as valuable to our health care system as giving blood. But Americans are split on whether it's important for everyone to take part in a clinical trial if they are asked - 44% agree while 45% disagree and 12% are not sure.

A new study found that antidepressant medications taken during pregnancy may be linked to the development of autism in children - although the effect appears to be limited. In looking at a cohort of children born between 2001 and 2011 in Stockholm, Sweden, Drexel University's Brian Lee, PhD, and Craig Newschaffer, PhD, and their co-authors (including lead author Dheeraj Rai, PhD, of the University of Bristol) found that children born to mothers who had taken anti-depressants at any point during their pregnancy were 45 percent more likely to be diagnosed with autism.

Numerous studies have shown that physical exercise seems beneficial in the prevention of cognitive impairment and dementia in old age. Now researchers at Goethe University Frankfurt have explored in one of the first studies worldwide how exercise affects brain metabolism. In order to further advance current state of knowledge on the positive influence of physical activity on the brain, gerontologists and sports physicians at Goethe University Frankfurt have examined the effects of regular exercise on brain metabolism and memory of

Twenty-seven Alzheimer's drugs in Phase III clinical trials and eight drugs in Phase II clinical trials may launch in the next five years, according to a revised Alzheimer's pipeline analysis presented at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference (AAIC) by ResearchersAgainstAlzheimer's (RA2), an UsAgainstAlzheimer's network. The pipeline analysis offers projections for drugs currently in Phase II and Phase III clinical trials and identifies critical milestones in drug development, including estimated trial completion, estimated regulatory filing and estimated launch date.

An international research team led by Université de Montréal medical professor Christopher Rudd, director of research in immunology and cell therapy at Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital Research Centre, has identified a key new mechanism that regulates the ability of T-cells of the immune system to react against foreign antigens and cancer. T-cells orchestrate the response of the immune system.

A single minute of exercise each day is linked to better bone health in women, new research shows. Scientists from the University of Exeter and the University of Leicester found those who did "brief bursts" of high-intensity, weight-bearing activity equivalent to a medium-paced run for pre-menopausal women, or a slow jog for post-menopausal women, had better bone health.

Peptides are biological molecules, made up of short sequences of amino acids. Because they are easy to synthesize, show low toxicity and high efficiency, peptides such as insulin and other hormones can be used as drugs. But peptides are quickly cleared by the kidneys, which means that we can only use peptide drugs that act within minutes. This problem can be overcome by connecting peptides to ligands that bind blood-serum proteins such as albumin, allowing the peptide to linger in the bloodstream longer.