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A new study suggests that video capsule endoscopy, a procedure that uses wireless technology in diagnosing intestinal disease, is safe for patients with heart devices.

Brain pleasure centers became progressively less responsive in rats fed a diet of high-fat, high-calorie food, a new study has found. As the changes occurred, the rats developed compulsive overeating habits — and became obese. The overeating continued even when it meant the rats had to endure an unpleasant consequence (a mild foot shock) in order to consume the food.

More than half the people who take antidepressants for depression never get relief. The reason, according to new research, is that the cause of depression has been oversimplified and drugs designed to treat it aim at the wrong target. The medications are like arrows shot at the outer rings of a bull’s eye instead of the center. The findings offer the first novel concept for antidepressant drugs in 20 years.

In a recent study of possible triggers of cancer among northern New England residents, epidemiologists identified an enhanced risk to the bladders of patients taking drugs that suppress the immune system.

Adding ezetimibe to atorvastatin significantly boosted the attainment of lipid targets as specified by both Canadian and European guidelines in elderly patients aged 65 and older and the combination produced superior results than simply increasing the dose of atorvastatin alone, a new study shows.

A large-scale trial in diabetes patients has provided new evidence on how best to add insulin to standard drugs to control blood sugar levels as type 2 diabetes progresses.

Exposure to cigarette smoke may impair the ability of immune cells to clear bacterial infections from the lungs, specifically nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHI), a pathogen often associated with respiratory infections and the progression of respiratory diseases.

Researchers have found an essential factor for regenerating neurons in the central nervous system, which normally can’t regenerate. This enzyme, or factors that stimulate it, could lead to a possible treatment for stroke, spinal cord damage and traumatic brain injury.

Researchers have identified a key protein that promotes the development of pulmonary arterial hypertension in humans and mice. This groundbreaking discovery has implications for future drug therapies that may extend the life of patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension and prevent the need for lung transplantation, currently the only cure for this debilitating disease.

Scientists report having used a commercially available drug to successfully “rescue” animal brain cells that they had intentionally damaged by manipulating a newly discovered gene that links susceptibility genes for schizophrenia and autism.

For men coping with painful erections lasting for long periods of time, or priapism, new research offers hope. That’s because researchers show that the enzyme adenosine deaminase may prevent priapism from progressing to penile fibrosis, a condition associated with the build up of scar tissue and eventual impotence. Penile fibrosis is a complication of priapism and priapism is a complication of sickle cell disease.

In a clinical trial investigating mother-to-child HIV transmission in South Africa researchers find that adding two other antiretroviral drugs to single dose nevirapine — an antiretroviral drug given to women and newborn children during labor and delivery to prevent transmission — is effective in reducing the drug resistance that nevirapine causes when used by itself.

Researchers found that applying behavior changing strategies, such as using pill boxes or reducing the number of daily doses, can improve patients’ abilities to take their medications as required.

Researchers have found that a sometimes deadly stomach bug, Clostridium difficile, is on the rise in outpatient settings. Clostridium difficile is a serious bacteria that can cause symptoms ranging from diarrhea to life-threatening inflammation of the colon.

A researcher in Israel is “building” a new drug, L803-MTS, to treat a number of central nervous system diseases, and it also shows promise against Parkinson’s, Huntington’s and diabetes.

Pregabalin, FDA-approved for neuropathic pain (pain caused by shingles and peripheral neuropathy), effectively reduced abdominal pain and improved sleep in women with adhesions, according to a new study. Adhesion pain, a common complication after abdominal or pelvic surgery, currently lacks effective therapy. Adhesions can also form after infections in the bowel such as diverticulitis.

A team of Canadian cardiologists, in collaboration with oncologists, are playing an important role in fighting breast cancer. At issue is how to use a highly effective drug therapy for early-stage breast cancer — trastuzumab (herceptin) — while maintaining the cardiovascular health of the patient.

Young animals treated with commonly-prescribed drugs develop behavioral abnormalities in adulthood say researchers. The drugs tested include those used to treat epilepsy, mood disorders and pain.

Difficult-to-treat asthma often may have more to do with patients who do not take their medication as instructed than ineffective medication, according to researchers in Northern Ireland.