Alzheimer's is a chronic neurodegenerative disease which leads to the senile cognitive impairment and memory loss. Every third person older than 70 years suffers from it. Such changes are caused by functional disorders and subsequent death of neurons. However triggers of processes resulting in brain cell death are still remain unknown. That's why there is no effective therapy for Alzheimer's disease.

A vaccine to immunise people against high levels of cholesterol and the narrowing of the arteries caused by build-up of fatty material (atherosclerosis) may be possible following successful results in mice. Now, a phase I trial in patients has started to see if the findings translate to humans. The study, which is published today in the European Heart Journal [1], is the first to show that it is possible to immunise genetically modified mice with a molecule that causes the body to produce antibodies

Researchers at University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and UPMC have discovered a clue that could unlock the potential of immunotherapy drugs to successfully treat more cancers. The findings, published in Cell, were made in mice and showed that targeting a sub-population of immune cells called regulatory T cells could be an effective approach to treating cancers.

If you have gone through life avoiding certain antibiotics because you think you're allergic to penicillin, you'd probably want to know if you're not actually allergic. A new study shows many physicians who treat patients with "penicillin allergy" listed in their charts may not fully understand important facts about penicillin allergy. They may not be aware penicillin allergy can resolve over time and they don't fully understand the importance of allergy testing to make sure a penicillin allergy currently exists.

In a study of 10 high-income countries with universal health care, costs for prescription drugs in 6 of the largest categories of primary care medicines varied by more than 600%, according to research published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). All countries except Canada offered universal coverage of outpatient prescription drugs.

Researchers have long sought ways to harness the body's immune system to treat disease, especially cancer. Now, scientists have found that the immune system may be triggered to treat atherosclerosis and possibly other metabolic conditions, including fatty liver disease and type 2 diabetes. Studying mice, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have shown that a natural sugar called trehalose revs up the immune system's cellular housekeeping abilities.

The next time you walk down the produce aisle of your grocery store, you may want to reach for red onions if you are looking to fight off cancer. In the first study to examine how effective Ontario-grown onions are at killing cancer cells, U of G researchers have found that not all onions are created equal. Engineering professor Suresh Neethirajan and PhD student Abdulmonem Murayyan tested five onion types grown in Ontario and discovered the Ruby Ring onion variety came out on top.