Patients who take a triple combination of blood pressure drugs and common painkillers are at an increased risk of serious kidney problems, especially at the start of treatment, finds a study published on British Medical Journal. Although the absolute risk for individuals is low, it is still something doctors and patients should be aware of, say the researchers.

A team, led by senior author Morris J. Birnbaum, MD, PhD, the Willard and Rhoda Ware Professor of Medicine, with the Institute for Diabetes, Obesity, and Metabolism, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, found that the diabetes drug metformin works in a different way than previously understood.

Researchers at Mayo Clinic in Florida have identified a new target to improve treatment of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma cancer, which accounts for more than 95 percent of pancreatic cancer cases. This fast-growing, often lethal cancer is resistant to conventional chemotherapy.

Rudolph's nose is red because it is richly supplied with red blood cells which help to protect it from freezing and to regulate brain temperature. This superior "nasal microcirculation" is essential for pulling Santa Claus's sleigh under extreme temperatures, reveals a study in the Christmas issue published on bmj.com.

Results of a clinical trial that began in 2001 show that a gene therapy cocktail conveyed into the brain by a molecular special delivery vehicle may help extend the lives of children with Canavan disease, a rare and fatal neurodegenerative disorder. A report of the trial appears in the online edition of the journal Science Translational Medicine.

Researchers at Mayo Clinic's campus in Florida have identified an enzyme specifically linked to aggressive prostate cancer, and have also developed a compound that inhibits the ability of this molecule to promote the metastatic spread of the cancer. Their study, published in the online edition of Molecular Cancer Research, is the first to link the enzyme PRSS3 to prostate cancer.

A new stem cell-derived system for screening experimental drugs for cardiotoxicity could identify dangerous side effects early in the development process, thereby potentially saving time, lives and money, according to Evan F. Cromwell, PhD, of Molecular Devices, LLC, Sunnyvale, CA, in a presentation at the American Society for Cell Biology's Annual Meeting, Dec 17 in San Francisco.