Bad breath and yellowing teeth are two of the earliest signs. But if left untreated, these easily overlooked symptoms of poor dental health can develop into periodontal disease or gingivitis. Even worse, it sometimes leads to kidney, liver, or heart disease. Most people don’t understand the serious consequences of poor pet dental. That’s why the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) is using this month to emphasize the importance of pet dental health.

A University of Leicester scientist has announced a major advance in understanding of a cancer that strikes at infants and young children. The Leicestershire and Rutland charity Hope Against Cancer, currently celebrating its 5th anniversary, has now made funding available to further the research project at the University of Leicester investigating acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL).

Owning a cat could reduce your risk of a heart attack by nearly one third, researchers told delegates of the American Stroke Association’s International Stroke Conference in New Orleans last week. The finding provoked a mixed reaction from heart experts and veterinarians.The finding was the main result of a 10 year study of more than 4,000 Americans by researchers at the University of Minnesota’s Stroke Institute in Minneapolis.

People with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), an inflammatory autoimmune disease, tend to die younger and, largely from cardiovascular disease (CVD). One explanation for this increasingly recognized fact is that inflammation promotes atherosclerosis. A marker of inflammation, elevation of the C-reactive protein (CRP) level has been shown to predict CVD in the general population.

University of Minnesota researchers have discovered a new way to turn genes off in human T cells, a type of white blood cell that helps the immune system fight infections.Turning off genes, through a process known as mRNA decay, is important for regulating the body’s immune response after fighting infection. This research could lead to development of new drugs that turn off the immune system in patients with autoimmune diseases - such as rheumatoid arthritis and lupus.

Associated Foot & Ankle Specialists announced it is recruiting patients with foot ulcers due to diabetes to participate in the MATRIX clinical trial. The trial will study the effects of a new product, Excellarate, for the potential treatment of patients with non-healing diabetic foot ulcers. Excellarate is an investigational product designed to stimulate the process of wound healing.

“We have identified a key connection of signaling pathways in the cascade of events leading to sepsis. This defines a crucial point where the immune system spirals out of control to cause severe sepsis and where there is an opportunity for therapeutic intervention,” says Scripps Research Professor Wolfram Ruf, who led the research with his postdoctoral fellow Frank Niessen. Their results are published in the February 27 advance, online issue of Nature.

Glucose monitors, test strips, and lancets: people with diabetes are all too familiar with the equipment used to test their blood glucose (sugar) levels. Now some people are adding a different kind of aid to their diabetes management regimen.

Wildly popular among 30-somethings who don’t want to look a single day older and just as popular with 50-somethings who’d like to look 40 again, StriVectin®-HS Hydro-Thermal Deep Wrinkle Serum™ has now been singled out as the only “great” beauty serum for older complexions by The Independent, a leading British newspaper, in a just published “beauty serum” ranking.

12 sessions of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) can be of significant help to people who self-harm, a new study from the Netherlands has found.