Health care articles within Nature

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  • News & Views |

    A fine marriage between two approaches to X-ray microscopy — computed tomography and ptychographic imaging — delivers high-resolution, three-dimensional images of samples without the need for lenses. See Letter p. 436

    • Henry N. Chapman

  • Letter |

    Disorders caused by abnormal β-globin, such as β-thalassaemia, are the most prevalent inherited disorders worldwide. For treatment, many patients are dependent on blood transfusions; thus far the only cure has involved matched transplantation of haematopoietic stem cells. Here it is shown that lentiviral β-globin gene transfer can be an effective substitute for regular transfusions in a patient with severe β-thalassaemia.

    • Marina Cavazzana-Calvo
    • , Emmanuel Payen
    •  & Philippe Leboulch

  • Books & Arts |

    Two books on ageing understate the challenges of prolonging a healthy lifespan, finds Caleb Finch.

    • Caleb Finch

  • News & Views |

    Patients with disorders of the blood protein haemoglobin often depend on lifelong blood transfusions. That could change, given the success of gene therapy in a patient with one such disorder.

    • Derek A. Persons

  • Outlook |

    The search is on for disease-modifying treatments for Parkinson's disease, but, as Ruth Williams discovers, developing a compound is only part of the problem.

    • Ruth Williams

  • Outlook |

    Alison Abbott explores the history of the first treatment for Parkinson's disease since its dramatic debut in the swinging sixties.

    • Alison Abbott

  • Outlook |

    To have any hope of affecting the course of Parkinson's disease, early diagnosis is essential. Rachel Jones assesses progress so far.

    • Rachel Jones

  • Outlook |

    Cell replacement, gene therapy, and electrical and optical stimulation for the brain — Kerri Smith looks to the future of Parkinson's disease therapies.

    • Kerri Smith

  • Editorial |

    Despite some mistakes, the World Health Organization handled the flu outbreak well.

  • Careers and Recruitment |

    Comparative-effectiveness research answers questions that could transform medical policy and practice. Tamar Nordenberg examines the opportunities for researchers to find both funding and fulfilment.

    • Tamar Nordenberg

  • News Feature |

    The skeleton may provide more than just structural support. Alla Katsnelson investigates the rise of bone as a metabolic regulator.

    • Alla Katsnelson

  • Editorial |

    The industry behind direct-to-consumer gene tests needs to establish guidelines for its wares.

  • Regions |

    Jeffrey Koplan, vice-president for global health at Emory University and former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), both in Atlanta, discusses Georgia's life-sciences and public-health sectors.

    • Karen Kaplan

  • Regions |

    Georgia looks to capitalize on its public-health and bioscience strengths.

  • Opinion |

    Although largely unregulated, genetic tests are increasingly used to diagnose conditions, map ancestry or predict disease risk. In this, the first of two related pieces, Arthur L. Beaudet advocates the US Food and Drug Administration banning direct-to-consumer medical tests but leaving the analysis of clinical diagnostics to specialists. In the second, Gail Javitt argues that the agency should implement a regulatory framework for all health-related tests.

    • Arthur L. Beaudet

  • Opinion |

    Although largely unregulated, genetic tests are increasingly used to diagnose conditions, map ancestry or predict disease risk. In this, the second of two related pieces, Gail Javitt argues that the US Food and Drug Administration should implement a regulatory framework for all health-related tests. In the first, Arthur L. Beaudet advocates the agency banning direct-to-consumer medical tests but leaving the analysis of clinical diagnostics to specialists.

    • Gail Javitt

  • News |

    Farmers and scientists struggle to keep up with needs of ambitious medicine-subsidy programme.

    • Richard Van Noorden

  • News & Views |

    Work on stem cells is one of the hottest research areas in biology. But are such studies of any therapeutic value? Fortunately, yes, as is evident from successes in treating blindness.

    • Elena Ezhkova
    •  & Elaine Fuchs

  • Article |

    PPARγ ligands are used to control diabetes, but their anti-diabetic actions are puzzling. Here the authors show that phosphorylation of PPARγ by cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (Cdk5) in mice is linked to obesity induced by high-fat feeding, and that inhibition of the effect in humans by the drug rosiglitazone is closely associated with its anti-diabetic effects. Several anti-diabetic PPARγ ligands directly inhibit the effect, and thus support a more normal non-diabetic pattern of gene expression.

    • Jang Hyun Choi
    • , Alexander S. Banks
    •  & Bruce M. Spiegelman

  • Editorial |

    The controversy surrounding diabetes drugs highlights the importance of comparative studies.

  • News & Views |

    Antidiabetic drugs that activate the protein PPARγ had a bright start but soon lost their appeal because of undesirable side effects. Subtle modifications may once again make them suitable for treating diabetes.

    • Riekelt H. Houtkooper
    •  & Johan Auwerx

  • Outlook |

    • Apoorva Mandavilli

  • Outlook |

    For many people in the developed world HIV is no longer the death sentence it once was. Paroma Basu explores the consequences of complacency.

    • Paroma Basu

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