• Inlyta (axitinib) Approved For Advanced Kidney Cancer, USA
  The US FDA has approved Inlyta (axitinib) for the treatment of advanced renal cell carcinoma, a type of kidney cancer, in patients with whom other drugs have not been effective, the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) announced today. Inlyta is made and marketed by pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc. Renal cell carcinoma – also known as renal cell cancer or hypernephroma, is a type of kidney cancer that starts in the lining of the tiny renal tubes (proximal convoluted tubule). These tubes filter the blood and produce urine. This type represents 80% of all kidney cancers…
• Sign Of Autism Can Be Seen In Infants
  A recent study that took place at the Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development, Birkbeck, University of London, and was published in the January edition of Current Biology, states that detecting autism symptoms in babies as young as 6 months old can help to determine how the autism will develop later in the child’s life. The researches found that babies show signs of autism in their first year of life. When the babies are looked at, or when someone looks away from them, their brain responds differently compared to other babies…
• 3D Study Of Vitamins May Help Combat Malaria
  A three-dimensional study of how enzymes in the malaria parasite Plasmodium synthesize essential vitamins, could help develop new drugs to combat the disease. Using electron microscopy, a team of scientists from Germany and the UK studied how the enzymes synthesize Vitamin B6, which has already been proposed as a target for new drugs. Dr Ivo Tews, a Lecturer in Structural Biology at the University of Southampton, and colleagues, write about their findings in a paper published online in the journal Structure on 11 January…
• Lung Tumor Gene Test Predicts Surgery Outcomes
  An assay which measures the activity of 14 genes in lung cancer tumors can accurately predict who will respond well to surgery and who will probably die within five years, researchers from the University of California, San Francisco, reported in The Lancet. 80% of lung cancer patients have NSCLC (non-small-cell lung cancer) – their long term prognosis is poor, even after surgical interventions at stages I and II of the disease (early stages), the authors wrote. An assay is an analysis that is carried out to determine something…
• 12/15-Lipoxygenase Protein May Help Control Alzheimer’s
  Researchers at the Temple University’s School of Medicine recently identified a protein in the brain that could have a major role in regulating the creation of amyloid beta, the major component of plaques implicated in the development of Alzheimer’s disease. Three years ago, the presence of the protein, called 12/15-Lipoxygenase, was detected in the brain by leading researcher Domenico Pratico, professor of pharmacology and microbiology and immunology at Temple, who said: “We found this protein to be very active in the brains of people who have Alzheimer’s disease…
• Cancer Screening Rates Low Among Ethnic Groups, USA
  Not only are relatively few Americans screened for cancer, but there are considerable disparities between ethnic and racial groups in the country, says a new report issued by NCI (National Cancer Institute) and the CDCF (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). The authors added that screening rates are especially low among Hispanic and Asian Americans. The report is called “Cancer Screening in the United States – 2010.” The Healthy People 2020 target of 81% screening rate for breast cancer was not met in 2010, which reached 72.4%…
• Subarachnoid Hemorrhage Risk Factors In Pregnant Women
  Approximately 1 in every 15,000 pregnant women will develop subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) – bleeding in the area between the brain and the thin membranes that cover the brain, according to a study published in the February issue of Anesthesiology. The researchers found that: the most common risk factor for pregnancy-related SAH is high-blood pressure disorders its incidence is elevated in pregnant women ruptured aneurysms play a less important role in pregnant patients than non-pregnant patients with SHA Lead researcher Brian T. Bateman, M.D…
• Genetic Mutation That Triggers Pancreatic Cancer Identified
  Scientists at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have identified a self-perpetuating “loop” of molecular activity that fuels pancreatic cancer by linking two signature characteristics of the disease – Kras, a gene that serves as a molecular on-off switch, but gets stuck on the “on” position when mutated, and NF-κB, a protein complex that controls activation of genes. In addition, the team identified a new potential drug target to block this process…
• Brachytherapy Lowers Prostate Cancer Mortality
  According to a study from radiation oncologists at the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson, high-risk prostate cancer patients who receive brachytherapy, alone or together with external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) had considerably lower mortality rates. The study is published online January 23 in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology*Biology*Physics. Brachytherapy is a form of radiotherapy where a radiation source is placed directly at the site of a tumor. The treatment is generally used to treat men with low and intermediate risk prostate cancers…
• Women With Diabetes Experience More Hearing Problems
  A new study from Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, presented at the annual Triological Society’s Combined Sections Meeting, on January 26 in Miami Beach, shows that diabetes is likely to cause a greater degree of hearing loss in women as they get older, particularly if the diabetes is not well controlled with medication. The study showed that women aged between 60 and 75 years, whose diabetes was controlled appropriately, were able to hear better with similar hearing levels to non-diabetic women of the same age, compared with those who had poorly controlled diabetes…
• Asthma Rates And Costs Rise Due To Traffic Pollution
  An international study of asthma, published in the early online version of the European Respiratory Journal, has for the first time, included the number of incidents caused by air pollution and shows that the costs for childhood asthma have risen sharply…
• Antiretrovirals Raise Birth Defect Risk
  HIV-positive mothers can protected their babies from becoming infected with the virus if they take antiretroviral drugs during pregnancy. However, even though these drugs prevent transmitting the disease to the child, they could potentially cause birth defects like cleft lip and palate. A new study, published in the January edition of Cleft Palate- “Craniofacial Journal, has investigated the association between antiretroviral prophylaxis and cleft lip and palate…
• Live Liver Donations Confirmed As Safe
  According to Johns Hopkins researchers, individuals who donate a portion of their liver for live transplantation usually recover safely from the procedure and can expect to live long, healthy lives. The study is published in the February issue of the journal Gastroenterology. Dorry L. Segev, M.D., Ph.D., lead author of the study, a transplant surgeon, and an associate professor of surgery and epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine explains: “The donor process is safer than some have previously thought…
• Keppra® Approved By FDA For Childhood Seizures
  In the U.S., Keppra® has been approved as adjunctive therapy for partial onset seizures in adults and children aged four years and older with epilepsy. However the UCB recently announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has now approved to lower the age restriction to include infants from the age of one month and older with epilepsy. Professor Dr. Iris Loew-Friedrich, Chief Medical Officer and Executive Vice President UCB â�¨declared: â�¨”As a leader in epilepsy UCB has a responsibility to develop effective medicines that address unmet medical needs…
• Cancer Patients’ Treatment, Diagnosis Wait Time Reduced By Danish Health Care Fast Track Program
  In Denmark, implementing a national fast track system for cancer patients reduced the waiting time between a patient’s initial meeting with a health care provider and their first treatment by four weeks when comparing 2010 to 2002, according to a study presented at the Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Cancer Symposium, sponsored by AHNS, ASCO, ASTRO and SNM. Denmark’s health care system is state run, meaning health care services are funded by taxes with no out-of-pocket costs to patients…
• Long-Term Positive Results From Radiation Plus Chemotherapy For Head And Neck Cancer Patients
  A select subgroup of advanced head and neck cancer patients treated with radiation therapy plus the chemotherapy drug cisplatin had more positive outcomes than patients treated with radiation therapy alone and continued to show positive results 10 years post-treatment, according to a study presented at the Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Cancer Symposium, sponsored by AHNS, ASCO, ASTRO and SNM. Researchers analyzed two subgroups totaling 410 patients who had advanced head and neck cancer and received radiation therapy or radiation therapy plus cisplatin…
• In HIV-Positive Patients, Standard Treatments For Head And Neck Cancer Are Less Effective
  Radiation therapy with or without chemotherapy is less effective for patients with HIV when compared to the recurrence and overall survival rates in patients who do not have HIV, according to a study presented at the Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Cancer Symposium, sponsored by AHNS, ASCO, ASTRO and SNM. Treating head and neck cancer in HIV-positive patients is a challenge for oncologists. Because of the advancements in treating HIV, these patients are living much longer and therefore have a much higher chance of developing an HIV-related cancer…
• Newly Engineered Highly Transmissible H5N1 Strain Ignites Controversy About Balancing Scientific Discovery And Public Safety
  Scientists have engineered a new strain of H5N1 (commonly known as bird flu) to be readily transmitted between humans. Two perspectives being published early online in Annals of Internal Medicine, the flagship journal of the American College of Physicians, raise concerns about if and how this research should be continued, and how the data should be shared for the benefit of public health. The currently circulating H5N1 virus has an extremely high case-fatality rate, killing about 60 percent of the over 500 confirmed human cases…
• Men At Greater Risk For Oral HPV Infection, HPV-Related Cancers
  Oral HPV infection is more common among men than women, explaining why men are more prone than women to develop an HPV related head and neck cancer, according to a study presented at the Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Cancer Symposium, sponsored by AHNS, ASCO, ASTRO and SNM. Human papillomavirus, or HPV, has recently been linked to some types of head and neck cancer that are becoming more prominent in the United States, mostly among men…
• IMRT Improves Head And Neck Cancer Patients’ Long-Term Quality Of Life
  Patients treated with IMRT for head and neck cancer report an increasingly better quality of life post-treatment when compared to patients receiving other forms of radiation therapy, according to a study presented at the Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Cancer Symposium, sponsored by AHNS, ASCO, ASTRO and SNM. Intensity modulated radiation therapy, or IMRT, is a highly specialized form of external beam radiation therapy that allows the radiation beam to better target and conform to a tumor. It is a newer treatment that has become widely adopted for treating head and neck cancer…

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• More Black Tea Lowers Blood Pressure
  Tea, the second most consumed drink after water, may help lower blood pressure. Scientists at The University Of Western Australia and Unilever, state in Archives of Internal Medicine, that drinking black tea three times a day may drastically lower a person’s systolic and diastolic blood pressure…
• Self-HPV Testing Could Be An Effective Cervical Cancer Screening Method
  A study published January 23 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute , has found that self-HPV (human papillomavirus) testing, in low-resource settings, may be a more effective way to screen for cervical cancer than liquid-based cytology (LBC) and visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA). Cervical cancer is one of the most prevalent cancers found in women. Each year, around 530,000 women are diagnosed with the disease, resulting in an estimated 275,000 deaths…
• Rapid Urbanization And Cultural Habits Responsible For High Prevalence Of Heart Disease In Gulf States
  Although it is believed that rapid improvement in socio-economic conditions are responsible for the high prevalence of heart disease in the Gulf states, cultural factors are also to blame according to researchers. Professor Hani Najm, Vice-President of the Saudi Heart Association, whose yearly conference starts on Friday 27 January, explained: “We’re sitting on a time bomb. We will see a lot of heart disease over the next 15 to 20 years. Already, services are saturated. We now have to direct our resources to the primary prevention of risk factors throughout the entire Middle East…
• 7% Of Americans Have Oral HPV
  A study published online in JAMA on Thursday suggests 7% of men and women in the US carry the Human papillomavirus (HPV), the virus that causes a distinct form of cancer that affects the part of the throat that sits at the back of the mouth. The study suggests oral HPV infection is predominantly sexually transmitted, and estimates that men are nearly three times more likely to have the virus than women. Maura L. Gillison, Professor in the College of Medicine at Ohio State University (OSU), and others carried out the study…
• Rebif® For Early Symptoms Of Multiple Sclerosis, UK
  Rebif® (interferon beta-1a), a disease-modifying medication used to treat relapsing forms of multiple Sclerosis (MS), is now available in the UK to treat individuals with clinically isolated syndrome (CIS), a potential early indicator of MS, announced Merck Serono, a division of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany. The announcement comes after the recent positive opinion adopted by the Committee of Medicinal Products (CHMP), the scientific committee of the European Medicines Agency (EMA)…
• Prostate Cancer – Evidence Not Beliefs Matter Regarding Screening And Treatment
  According to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and prostate expert Marc B. Garnick, MD, physicians who advise PSA tests for men being screened for prostate cancer must base their decision more on available evidence when recommending screening, biopsies and treatments, instead of holding on to long held beliefs that PSA-based testing benefits all…
• Frying Food in Olive or Sunflower Oil Better For Heart
  According to a study published on bmj.com, heart disease or premature death is not associated with consuming food fried in sunflower or olive oil. The study was conducted in Spain, a country in the Mediterranean where sunflower or olive oil is used for frying. The researchers stress that their results would probably not be the same in countries which primarily use solid and re-used oils for frying. One of the move prevalent cooking methods in the Western Hemisphere is frying. Food absorbs the fat of the oils when fried, increasing the amount of calories in the food…
• Study Examines Research On Overuse Of Health Care Services
  An article, which is part of the JAMA/Archives journals ‘Less is More’ series that is published in the January 23 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine reveals that in the U.S. overusing the health care services appears to be an understudied problem given that research literature is limited to only a few services and rates of overuse vary widely. Background information in the article states that overuse of medical services, as in those services that provide no benefit or where the benefits are outweighed by harm, tend to contribute to high health care costs…
• Schmallenberg Virus – BVA Concerned, UK
  Following the AHVLA’s confirmation of the discovery of Schmallenberg virus (SBV) on four sheep farms in Norfolk, Suffolk and East Sussex, the British Veterinary Association (BVA) has renewed its call for heightened vigilance. Scientists believe that the virus is vector-borne, even though they have not ruled out other routes of transmission. At the present moment, the clinical signs observed together with meteorological risk models, indicate that the four farms were affected either in summer or autumn 2011. Hereditary defects are now being seen at lambing time…
• Stimulating Cognitive Activity Lowers Risk Of Alzheimer’s
  Findings published Online First by Archives of Neurology, a JAMA/Archives journal, show that people who keep their brain active throughout their lives with cognitively stimulating activities like reading, writing and playing games seem to have lower levels of the β-amyloid protein, which is the major part of the amyloid plaque in Alzheimer disease. The recently developed radiopharmaceutical carbon 11-labeled Pittsburgh Compound B ([ 11 C]PiB), has enabled researchers to image fibrillar (fiber) forms of the β-amyloid (Aβ) protein. Susan M. Landau, Ph.D…
• Hypertensive Drug Compliance Improves With Positive Affirmation In African-Americans
  African-American patients with high blood pressure follow their medication regimen more effectively with a combination of positive affirmations and patient education, concludes a study published Online First in the Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. In comparison to white people, African-Americans are disproportionately affected by hypertension. The authors state in the background information of the article, that a poorly adhered to medication regimen tends to explain poor blood pressure control, which can lead to cardiovascular problems and death…
• Breast Cancer Survival – Why Avastin And Sutent Don’t Help
  Avastin and Sutent, two cancer drugs, do not lead to longer survival in breast cancer patients, probably because they encourage an increase in the number cancer stem cells in breast tumors, according to a study carried out on mice by researchers from the Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center, and published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (early edition)…
• Large Drop In Leg And Foot Amputations Among Adult Diabetics, CDC
  There has been a large drop in the rate of leg and foot amputations among Americans aged 40 and over with diagnosed diabetes, according to a new study by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published in the February issue of Diabetes Care. The study reports that between 1996 and 2008 the rate of such amputations fell by 65%. The authors suggest the most likely reason for this large drop in leg and foot amputations among people with diagnosed diabetes is improvements in blood sugar control, foot care and management of diabetes…
• Alzheimer’s Neurons Induced From Pluripotent Stem Cells
  Led by researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, scientists have, for the first time, created stem cell-derived, in vitro models of sporadic and hereditary Alzheimer’s disease (AD), using induced pluripotent stem cells from patients with the much-dreaded neurodegenerative disorder…
• Overworking Linked To A 2-Fold Increase In The Likelihood Of Depression
  The odds of a major depressive episode are more than double for those working 11 or more hours a day compared to those working seven to eight hours a day, according to a report is published in the Jan. 25 issue of the online journal PLoS ONE. The authors, led by Marianna Virtanen of the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health and University College London, followed about 2000 middle aged British civil servants and found a robust association between overtime work and depression…
• Viruses That Con Bacteria With Helping Hand
  Scientists studying ocean microorganisms have encountered something they have never seen before. A marine virus that cons certain photosynthetic bacteria into letting it come inside because it appears to offer a “helping hand” by bringing resources very like their own to help them acquire phosphorus, a nutrient they are desperately short of. Once inside, the virus uses the host’s cellular resources to replicate itself. About ten hours later, the host cells explode and release the viral progeny back into the ocean. Qinglu Zeng and Sallie “Penny” W…
• Cognitive Impairment Seems Common Among Older Men
  The Mayo Clinic released its study of aging report today and announced that more than six percent of Americans, aged seventy to eighty-nine years, suffered from mild cognitive impairment (MCI). They also state that the data show more men are affected than women, and those with only high school education seem more affected than those with some level of higher education. MCI is an intermediary stage between a ‘normal’ level of forgetfulness associated with old age, and more developed dementia caused by conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease. Lead author Rosebud O. Roberts, M.B., Ch.B…
• Risk Of Surgical Complications May Be Reduced By Limiting Protein Or Certain Amino Acids Before Surgery
  Limiting certain essential nutrients for several days before surgery – either protein or amino acids – may reduce the risk of serious surgical complications such as heart attack or stroke, according to a new Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) study. The study appears in the January 25, 2012 issue of Science Translational Medicine…
• Experts Warn Cost Of Asthma Caused By Traffic-Related Air Pollution Is Much Higher Than Previous Estimates
  The total cost of asthma due to traffic-related air pollution is much higher than previous estimates, according to new research. The study, published online ahead of print in the European Respiratory Journal, has revealed the true extent of the healthcare costs associated with living close to a busy road. The researchers studied Long Beach and Riverside; two communities in Southern California that have high levels of regional air pollution and where there are large roads close to residential neighbourhoods…
• Potential Target Identified For Anti-Craving Medications
  Scientists at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) have identified a potential target for the development of anti-craving medications for people with addictions to stimulants such as methamphetamine. The discovery centres on a brain receptor related to the chemical dopamine, which has a complex role in addictive behaviours…

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• Iodine Usage In Scans Affects Thyroid Function
  Using iodinated contrast media in imaging scans has been linked to alterations in thyroid function, which in turn raises the risk of developing hyperthyroidism, researchers from Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, reported in Archives of Internal Medicine. The authors explained that iodinated contrast media are utilized in imaging procedures and scans, such as CT scans and cardiac catheterization. The authors wrote, as background information: “Iodinated contrast media (ICM) are commonly administered pharmaceutical agents…
• Chemical Contaminants Linked To Low Immune Response To Vaccines
  Although there have been some controversies in recent years, the routine childhood vaccination programs remain at the forefront of disease prevention in the community. Now, it appears that chemicals may affect the immune response to the vaccines, and reduce the immunity they provide…
• Study Of Pet Dogs Shows Lyme Disease Risk In UK Bigger Than Previously Thought
  The risk of a person living in the UK becoming infected with Lyme disease is much greater than previously thought, according to a study from Bristol University that surveyed pet dogs to find out how many of them harboured the ticks that transmit the disease. The researchers, from Bristol University, reported their findings earlier this month in the journal Comparative Immunology, Microbiology and Infectious Diseases…
• Brown Fat – Keeps You Warm And Keeps You Slim
  People with more brown fat seem better able to stay warm when it is cold, Canadian researchers reported in the Journal of Clinical Investigation. They added that the findings of their study could eventually be used to find ways of fighting obesity. Not much has been known about brown fat, a type of good fat, until recently. Brown fat, also known as brown adipose tissue (BAT) is one of two types of fats found in humans, the other two being white or yellow fat. Hibernating mammals and newborns have especially high levels of brown fat…
• Over 55s More Active Than Younger People
  According to survey by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), individuals aged 55+ are more active than the younger generation. Results from the survey revealed that people over the age of 55 do around 28 minutes more physical activity per week than their 18 to 25 year-old counterparts. Although there is clear evidence of the health benefits associated with physical activity, 30% of survey respondents over the age of 55 cite the British weather as the most restricting factor for engaging in physical activity, followed by long term health conditions (29%). In order to motivate the 7…
• Potential New Pathway Can Overcome Glioblastoma Resistance
  Glioblastoma is the most prevalent and most aggressive malignant brain tumor in humans, and is one of the most resistant to current treatments. Individuals with the disease typically survive around 15 months. Earlier research concentrated on activating the (apoptosis) cell death pathway through therapeutic agents like tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL). Most of these experiments were however impeded by resistance. Chunhai “Charlie” Hao, M.D., Ph.D…
• Oxaliplatin Improves Colon Cancer Survival Rates
  An investigation published Jan. 20 in The Journal of the National Cancer Institute reveals that individuals in the general population with stage III colon cancer showed improved survival rates when they were administered with 5-fluorouracil (5FU), a commonly used cancer treatment, in combination with oxaliplatin. Colon cancer is one of the leading causes for illness and death worldwide. In 2011, an estimated 101,340 individuals in the U.S. were affected by the disease. Approximately one-third of individuals are diagnosed with stage III or node-positive colon cancer…
• No Whooping Cough Deaths In California In 2011
  There were no reported cases of whooping cough deaths in the State of California in 2011, says the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) – the first time this has occurred in two decades. Californian health officials say this is due to three factors: 1. Higher vaccination rates. 2. Greater awareness of the disease, and 3. Faster diagnoses of sick patients. 48.5 million people are thought to become ill with Bordetella pertussis (whooping cough) each year globally, of which approximately 295,000 die from the diseases, according to WHO (World Health Organization)…
• Dutasteride Slows Down Early Stage Prostate Cancer Progression
  A study published Online First in The Lancet has found that a common medication (dutasteride) used to treat enlargement of the prostate, may also reduce the need for treatments that pose risks of incontinence and impotence and delay growth of early-stage prostate cancer. Neil Fleshner, lead researcher of the investigation from Princess Margaret Hospital, Toronto, Canada, said: “Our trial is the first study to show the benefits of use of a 5α-reductase inhibitor to reduce the need for aggressive treatment in men undergoing active surveillance for low-risk prostate cancer…
• Swimming Lowered Blood Pressure In Sedentary Over 50s
  Older adults who don’t do much exercise, and whose blood pressure is getting to the point where they may need treatment, should perhaps consider swimming as a way to help bring it back down, at least that is what a small US study of sedentary over-50-year-olds might suggest. The study was published early online in The American Journal of Cardiology earlier this month. Swimming is an ideal form of exercise for older, sedentary people because it puts little weight-bearing stress on the body and is not likely to lead to overheating…
• Moderate Exercise Minimizes Supervisors’ Abusive Behaviors Towards Their Subordinates
  If your boss is giving you a hard time – lying, making fun of you in public and generally putting you down, he or she may benefit from some exercise, according to a new study by James Burton from Northern Illinois University in the US and his team. Their work shows that stressed supervisors, struggling with time pressures, vent their frustrations on their employees less when they get regular, moderate exercise. The research is published online in Springer’s Journal of Business and Psychology. In the current economic climate, it is not unusual to come across stressed supervisors…
• How Young Adults Deal With Influenza
  Only about one in five young adults in their late 30s received a flu shot during the 2009-2010 swine flu epidemic, according to a University of Michigan report that details the behavior and attitudes of Generation X. But about 65 percent were at least moderately concerned about the flu, and nearly 60 percent said they were following the issue very or moderately closely…
• Study Finds Religion Helps Us Gain Self-Control
  Thinking about religion gives people more self-control on later, unrelated tasks; according to results from a series of recent Queen’s University study. “After unscrambling sentences containing religiously oriented words, participants in our studies exercised significantly more self-control,” says psychology graduate student and lead researcher on the study, Kevin Rounding. Study participants were given a sentence containing five words to unscramble. Some contained religious themes and others did not…
• Neuroscientists Explore How Longstanding Conflict Influences Empathy For Others.
  MIT postdoc Emile Bruneau has long been drawn to conflict – not as a participant, but an observer. In 1994, while doing volunteer work in South Africa, he witnessed firsthand the turmoil surrounding the fall of apartheid; during a 2001 trip to visit friends in Sri Lanka, he found himself in the midst of the violent conflict between the Tamil Tigers and the Sri Lankan military. Those chance experiences got Bruneau, who taught high school science for several years, interested in the psychology of human conflict…
• First Step In Strategy For Cell Replacement Therapy In Parkinson’s Disease
  Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) are a promising avenue for cell replacement therapy in neurologic diseases. For example, mouse and human iPSCs have been used to generate dopaminergic (DA) neurons that improve symptoms in rat Parkinson’s disease models. Reporting in the current issue of the Journal of Parkinson’s Disease, a group of scientists from Japan evaluated the growth, differentiation, and function of human-derived iPSC-derived neural progenitor cells (NPCs) in a primate model, elucidating their therapeutic potential…
• Eating Foods Fried In Olive Or Sunflower Oil Not Tied To Heart Disease Or Earlier Death, BMJ Study
  In a new study published in BMJ on Tuesday, researchers find that consuming fried food is not linked to heart disease or earlier death, as long as the frying is done in in olive or sunflower oil. But they also note that the people they studied live in Spain, where like other Mediterranean countries they use olive or sunflower oil for frying, so this result would most likely be different in countries where people fry with solid and re-used oils…
• The Biggest Killers Of Japanese Adults Are Tobacco Smoking And High Blood Pressure
  The life expectancy of a person born in Japan is among the highest in the world (82.9 years) yet tobacco smoking and high blood pressure are still the major risk factors for death among adults in Japan, emphasizing the need to reduce tobacco smoking and to improve ongoing programs designed to help people manage multiple cardiovascular risk factors, including high blood pressure, according to a study published in this week’s PLoS Medicine…
• Enhanced View Of Muscles Possible With New Tool
  Simon Fraser University associate professor James Wakeling is adding to the arsenal of increasingly sophisticated medical imaging tools with a new signal-processing method for viewing muscle activation details that have never been seen before. Fascinated with the mechanics of muscle movement in people and animals, Wakeling has developed a novel method using ultrasound imaging, 3D motion-capture technology and proprietary data-processing software to scan and capture 3D maps of the muscle structure – in just 90 seconds…
• Brown Fat Burns Calories In Adult Humans
  Brown adipose tissue (often known as brown fat) is a specialized tissue that burns calories to generate body heat in rodents and newborn humans, neither of which shiver. Recently, adult humans have also been found to possess brown fat. This fact piqued the interest of researchers seeking to combat the obesity epidemic, the thought being that if they could develop ways to increase the amount of brown fat a person has, that person will become slimmer. One hitch to this idea is it has never actually been shown definitively that brown fat in adult humans can burn energy…
• High-Cost Screening Instead Of More Effective Tests Usually Offered To Neuropathy Patients
  Researchers at the University of Michigan analyzed the tremendous cost of diagnosing peripheral neuropathy and found that less expensive, more effective tests are less likely to be used. Almost one-quarter of patients receiving neuropathy diagnoses undergo high-cost, low-yield MRIs while very few receive low-cost, high-yield glucose tolerance tests, according to the study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine. The research was led by Brian Callaghan, M.D., assistant professor of neurology at the University of Michigan Medical School…

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• Magic Mushrooms For Depression
  It seems the tide of opinion against illegal drugs is turning once again with scientists proclaiming that the Psilocybin Mushroom, popular with party goers and better known as Shrooms or Magic Mushrooms, should be successful for treating people with depression. Mushrooms have been popular for a long time, with cave paintings dating back to mesolithic era (14,000 to 5000 BC) showing pictures of the fungus. Now research is starting to show that they have an anti-depressive effect similar to drugs like Prozac, but with additional mind opening benefits…
• Prader-Willi Syndrome – Challenge To Stop Over-Eating In Children
  A Challenge to find new research methods for hyperphagia, or unregulated appetite, a condition prevalent in children with Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) – a genetic disorder of chromosome 15, has been announced by InnoCentive. Inc., and the Foundation for Prader-Willi Research. Around 6,500 children are born with the genetic disorder each year. Although children with Prader-Willi suffer from a variety of physical, behavioral and neurological symptoms, hyperphagia (the feeling of constant hunger) poses the greatest risk for health…
• England’s Doctors Seeing More Cases Of Vitamin D Deficiency
  Reports are coming in that England’s doctors are seeing more cases of Vitamin D deficiency, with at least one expert describing the issue as a major problem. I remember my father telling me how when he was a child in London in the 1930s he developed rickets, a softening of the bones due to lack of vitamin D. He was not alone. Rickets was widespread in England at the time, but by the 1950s the disease began to disappear because of supplements like cod-liver oil and the Clean Air Act of 1956, which got rid of the smog, allowing sunlight to fall on children’s skin…
• Smokers Continue Habit After Being Diagnosed With Cancer
  According to a study published January 23 online in Cancer, many smokers do not drop the habit after being diagnosed with colorectal or lung cancer. The study by Elyse R. Ph.D., M.P.H.and her team at Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston involved 3,063 patients with colorectal cancer and 2,456 with lung cancer. The patients were seen at the time of diagnosis, and also five months later. The researchers set out to determine what was driving them to continue smoking…
• MRSA, In Pork Products
  According to a study by the University of Iowa College of Public Health and the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, the prevalence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus bacteria (MRSA) in retail pork products in the U.S. is higher than researchers originally thought. The study represents the largest sampling of raw meat products for MRSA contamination to date, and is published online in the journal PLoS ONE. It is estimated that MRSA – which can occur in raw meat products and in the environment – is responsible for approximately 185,000 cases of food poisoning each year…
• Identifying Tumors Early – Tactile Imaging Sensor Device
  A medical physical examination of a patient is first and foremost performed through touch, yet doctors can only learn a limited amount of information from what they feel. Temple University researchers have now developed a prototype device that will not only emulate human tactile sensation, but also quantify it.â�¨â�¨ Chang-Hee Won, an associate professor of electrical and computer engineering at Temple, who developed the tactile imaging sensor explained: “The human hands have this amazing ability to touch something and tell if it’s soft or hard, if it’s wet, or even its temperature…
• Narcissistic Men May Pay With Their Health
  Men with an inflated view of their importance, who are incapable of putting themselves in other people’s shoes and who see themselves as “special” and superior to others, some of the traits of a narcissistic personality, may pay for this with their health. This is because a new study suggests even when such men are not under stress, they have high levels of cortisol in their bloodstream, increasing their risk for developing cardiovascular problems. The study was published online on 23 January in PLoS ONE…
• After A Cancer Diagnosis, Many People Continue To Smoke
  A new analysis has found that a substantial number of lung and colorectal cancer patients continue to smoke after being diagnosed. Published early online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, the study provides valuable information on which cancer patients might need help to quit smoking. When a patient receives a cancer diagnosis, the main focus is to treat the disease…
• Childhood Obesity Should Be Tackled Through Family Focus
  Parents should be involved in treatment programs for their obese children, according to a new scientific statement published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association. “In many cases, the adults in a family may be the most effective change agents to help obese children attain and maintain a healthier weight,” said Myles S. Faith, Ph.D., chair of the American Heart Association’s statement writing group and associate professor of Nutrition at the Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill…
• Cancer Cells In Mice Starved By Selectively Inhibiting PKM2
  Crippling a protein that allows cancer cells to grow when oxygen is scarce causes tumors to regress, according to a study published online in the Journal of Experimental Medicine. An enzyme called PKM2 (M2 isoform of pyruvate kinase) is ramped up in cancer cells, allowing them to generate energy in the harsh, low-oxygen environment found within tumors. Michael Goldberg and Phillip Sharp at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology now find that inhibiting PKM2 kills cancer cells by starving them of energy but leaves normal cells unscathed…
• Breast Cancers And Leukemias Slowed By A Single Therapy
  Targeting a single protein can help fight both breast cancers and leukemias, according to two reports published online in the Journal of Experimental Medicine. The single protein is HSP90, which acts as a chaperone to protect other proteins in the cell. A team led by Ute Moll at the University of Göttingen in Germany found that blocking HSP90 activity rendered normally protected proteins vulnerable to attack and destruction. One of these proteins – called migration inhibitory factor – drives the growth of breast tumors…
• Retinitis Pigmentosa In Dogs Cured By Gene Therapy
  Members of a University of Pennsylvania research team have shown that they can prevent, or even reverse, a blinding retinal disease, X-linked Retinitis Pigmentosa, or XLRP, in dogs. The disease in humans and dogs is caused by defects in the RPGR gene and results in early, severe and progressive vision loss. It is one of the most common inherited forms of retinal degeneration in man…
• Cervical Cancer Screening Via Self-Collection
  Human papillomavirus (HPV) testing of self-collected specimens may be a more effective way to screen for cervical cancer in low-resource settings compared to visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA) and liquid-based cytology (LBC), according to a study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Cervical cancer is the third most common cancer found in women with approximately 530,000 new cases each year resulting in an estimated 275,000 deaths…
• World’s First Magnetic Soap Produced By UK Scientists
  Scientists from the University of Bristol have developed a soap, composed of iron rich salts dissolved in water, that responds to a magnetic field when placed in solution. The soap’s magnetic properties were proved with neutrons at the Institut Laue-Langevin to result from tiny iron-rich clumps that sit within the watery solution. The generation of this property in a fully functional soap could calm concerns over the use of soaps in oil-spill clean ups and revolutionise industrial cleaning products…
• The Genome And The Timing Of Menopause
  An international team of researchers has discovered 13 new regions of the genome associated with the timing of menopause. These genes shed light on the biological pathways involved in reproductive lifespan and will provide insights into conditions connected to menopause, such as breast cancer and heart disease. Menopause is a major hormonal change that affects most women when they are in their early 50s. The timing of menopause can have a huge impact on fertility, as well as influencing the risk of a range of common diseases such as breast cancer…
• Lifelong Active Brains Have Fewer Deposits Of Alzheimer’s Protein
  A new study using PET scans to to examine the brains of healthy older people finds those who have been mentally stimulated all their lives, doing things like reading, writing, and playing games and puzzles, have fewer deposits of beta-amyloid, a destructive protein that is a hallmark of Alzheimer’s Disease. The researchers suggest their findings will encourage scientists to think differently about how mental stimulation affects the biology of the brain…
• Same Mechanism As For DNA Employed As Protein Networks Stabilize Muscle Fibers
  The same mechanism that stabilises the DNA in the cell nucleus is also important for the structure and function of vertebrate muscle cells. This has been established by RUB-researchers led by Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Linke (Institute of Physiology) in cooperation with American and German colleagues. An enzyme attaches a methyl group to the protein Hsp90, which then forms a complex with the muscle protein titin. When the researchers disrupted this protein network through genetic manipulation in zebrafish the muscle structure partly disintegrated…
• Brain MRIs May Provide An Early Diagnostic Marker For Dyslexia
  Children at risk for dyslexia show differences in brain activity on MRI scans even before they begin learning to read, finds a study at Children’s Hospital Boston. Since developmental dyslexia responds to early intervention, diagnosing children at risk before or during kindergarten could head off difficulties and frustration in school, the researchers say. Findings appear this week in the online Early Edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences…
• In Breast Cancer, The Quality Of Life For Younger Patients More Adversely Affected Than For Older Women
  Quality of life in younger patients treated for breast cancer is seriously compromised and these women suffer from severe psychological distress, infertility, premature menopause, a decrease in physical activity and weight gain, according to a study by researchers at UCLA’s Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center…
• Link Between Lifelong Brain-Stimulating Habits And Lower Alzheimer’s Protein Levels
  A new study led by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, provides even more reason for people to read a book or do a puzzle, and to make such activities a lifetime habit. Brain scans revealed that people with no symptoms of Alzheimer’s who engaged in cognitively stimulating activities throughout their lives had fewer deposits of beta-amyloid, a destructive protein that is the hallmark of the disease…

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• Stem Cell Treatment For Blindness Shows Promise In Trials
  The first published results of trials using cells derived from human embryonic stem cells appear to show they have passed an initial safety hurdle. In The Lancet this week, researchers report that two nearly blind patients, one with Stargardt’s macular dystrophy and the other with dry age-related macular degeneration (the leading cause of blindness in developed countries), showed measurable improvements in vision that lasted for more than four months after receiving injections of retinal pigment epithelium cells derived from human embryonic stem cells…
• Autism Overdiagnosed? Possibly, Because Many Children Seem To "Outgrow" It
  Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) come with several neurodevelopmental signs and symptoms which overlap other conditions – it is possible that some early ASD diagnoses are wrong, especially among children who no longer meet the criteria for ASD as they get older, researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health wrote in the journal Pediatrics. The authors add that it is not easy for doctors to diagnose between several possibilities early in life. Andrew W. Zimmerman, MD…
• Insomnia – Early Diagnosis Plus Treatment Helps Prevent Complications
  Even though insomnia is the most common sleep disorder, it is often left unrecognized and untreated, despite advances in diagnosis and management. The risk of developing other illnesses, such as diabetes, depression, hypertension, and possibly even death in older adults increases if insomnia is left untreated…
• Scarcity Of Anti-Infectives Alarming Health Care Professionals
  According to a study published in Clinical Infectious Diseases, shortages of anti-infective medications used to fight infections represent a public health emergency and can put patients at risk. Frequent shortages of these medications can considerably change clinical care and could result in worse outcomes for patients. Furthermore, the prevalence of multidrug-resistant pathogens is increasing while the development of new anti-infectives has decreased…
• Colon Cancer Survival Improved With Use Of Oxaliplatin
  In 2011, about 101,340 Americans have been diagnosed with colon cancer, a leading worldwide cause of both illness and death, with around one third of cancers being diagnosed as stage III, or node-positive disease. A study published in the January issue of The Journal of the National Cancer Institute reveals that patients with Stage III colon cancer have an improved rate of survival if they receive an adjuvant treatment of oxaliplatin added to 5-fluorouracil (5FU)…
• Child Obesity Linked To Chemical Phthalates
  According to a study published online in the journal Environmental Research, a connection has been found between obesity in young children – including waist circumference and increased body mass index (BMI) – and exposure to the chemical group known as phthalates, by investigators from the Children’s Environmental Health Center at The Mount Sinai Medical Center. The National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences, The National Cancer Institute, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency funded the study…
• Gilenya (Multiple-Sclerosis Drug) – May Pose Health Risk
  The risks and benefits of Gilenya, a medication for multiple-sclerosis, is currently under review by the European Medicines Agency, after one patient in the U.S. died less than 24 hours after the first dose (the exact cause of death is still unknown), and other reports of heart problems in patients taking the medication…
• Lithium For Bipolar Disorder – Pros And Cons Unclear
  The most effective long-term treatment for bipolar disorder is lithium. It offers protection against depression and mania and reduces the risk of suicide and short-term mortality. However, according to a study in The Lancet ,safety concerns have made the use of lithium controversial. The authors examined about 400 articles to research the possible adverse effects of lithium and found abnormalities in the thyroid and parathyroid in about 25% of patients who receive lithium therapy, compared with 3% and 0â�¢1% in the general population…
• Lung Transplantation – Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation Can Be Used As a Bridge
  A German Study published online in the American Thoracic Society’s American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine reveals that, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) support in awake, non-intubated patients may be an effective approach for bridging patients to lung transplantation. Marius M. Hoeper, MD, professor of medicine at the Hannover Medical School in Hannover, Germany, explained: “As waiting times for donor organs continue to increase, so does the need for bridging strategies for patients with end-stage lung disease awaiting transplantation…
• Psoriatic Arthritis – New Drug Offers Relief
  Around 7.5 million Americans, which is about 2.2% of the population, suffer from psoriaris, an autoimmune disease causing red, flaky skin. A new review in the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons (JAAOS) reveals that patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA), a type of arthritis that affects nearly 48% of patients with the skin disease psoriasis, gain substantial benefits from medications or biologic agents that target T-cells, white blood cells involved in the body’s immune system. Lead study author Michael S. Day, M.D…
• Lower Quality Of Life In Young Women With Breast Cancer
  A study in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute reveals that health-related quality of life (QOL) is lower in younger women with breast cancer. This decrease is linked to weight gain, increased psychological distress, less physical activity and early onset menopause, as well as infertility. In the U.S., breast cancer is the leading cause of death in women under the age of 50, and the most prevalent cancer in women…
• Mental Illness Affects 1 In 5 Americans
  In the past year, 45.9 million Americans above the age of 18 years, or 20% of 18 year-olds, experienced mental illness, according to a new national report. Mental illness amongst those aged between 18 and 25 years (29.9%) was more than double as high, compared with people aged 50 years or older (14.3%). The report also demonstrated that in the past year, adult women (23%) were more likely to have experienced mental illness, compared with 16.8% of men…
• Pomegranate Seed Oil For Menopause No Better Than Placebo
  Women who took pomegranate seed oil pills to relieve symptoms of the menopause, such as hot flashes, were found to receive no significantly better benefits than those who were given a placebo pill which contained sunflower oil, researchers from the Medical University of Vienna wrote in the journal Menopause. The authors added that theirs is the first (albeit small) proper clinical trial to test pomegranate seed oil for the symptoms of menopause. The researchers explained that more than four in every five females experience hot flashes during the menopause…
• Ban Cosmetic Surgery Ads, Regulate The Industry, Urge To UK Government
  The British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS) is calling on the UK government to ban cosmetic surgery advertising and tighten up industry regulations, including carrying annual checks on surgeons. The association has long voiced its objection to the use of “marketing gimmicks” to promote cosmetic surgery and what it sees as the lax regulation of the industry. It says people acquire unrealistic expectations from exposure to reality shows and competitions that feature cosmetic surgery “makeovers” and “body overhauls”…
• Statins May Work Against Certain Breast Cancers
  Statins are commonly prescribed to lower cholesterol, but a recent study suggest certain types of breast cancer may respond to treatment with statins. Led by Carol Prives of New York’s Columbia University, the international team found when they treated breast cancer cells carrying a mutant p53 gene with statins, they stopped growing in the disorganized manner characteristic of tumors, and in some cases even died. However a lot more work needs to be done before the lab results translate into clinical success…
• How The Brain Decides Whether To ‘Sell Out’ – Decision-Making Over ‘Sacred Values’ Prompts A Distinct Cognitive Process
  An Emory University neuro-imaging study shows that personal values that people refuse to disavow, even when offered cash to do so, are processed differently in the brain than those values that are willingly sold. “Our experiment found that the realm of the sacred – whether it’s a strong religious belief, a national identity or a code of ethics – is a distinct cognitive process,” says Gregory Berns, director of the Center for Neuropolicy at Emory University and lead author of the study. The results were published in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society…
• Common Mechanism Of Hypertension Revealed By Sweeping Genetic Analysis Of Rare Disease
  Analyzing all the genes of dozens of people suffering from a rare form of hypertension, Yale University researchers have discovered a new mechanism that regulates the blood pressure of all humans. The findings by an international research team headed by Yale scientists, published online Jan. 22 in the journal Nature, may help explain what goes wrong in the one billion people who suffer from high blood pressure. The study also demonstrates the power of new DNA sequencing methods to find previously unknown disease-causing genes…
• MSU Seeks To Revamp HIV-Prevention Programs In Caribbean
  While global attention to HIV/AIDS remains strong, a lack of focus on prevention strategies is stonewalling health experts in many developing nations, specifically in the Caribbean. By adopting a new approach to HIV prevention, Michigan State University’s Institute of International Health is hoping to turn the tide on new infections on the island of Hispaniola, which accounts for nearly 75 percent of the Caribbean’s AIDS cases…
• Boosting Immunity Where It Counts, Not Just Near Vaccine Site
  Researchers at Duke University Medical Center have created synthetic nanoparticles that target lymph nodes and greatly boost vaccine responses, said lead author Ashley St. John, Ph.D., a researcher at Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School. The paper was published online in the journal Nature Materials on Jan. 22. Currently all other adjuvants (substances added to vaccines to help to boost the immune response) are thought to enhance immunity at the skin site where the vaccine is injected rather than going to the lymph nodes, where the most effective immune reactions occur…
• Researchers Refine Nanoparticles For More Accurate Delivery Of Cancer Drugs
  A new class of nanoparticles, synthesized by a UC Davis research team to prevent premature drug release, holds promise for greater accuracy and effectiveness in delivering cancer drugs to tumors. The work is published in the current issue of Angewandte Chemie, a leading international chemistry journal…

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• Key Role Grandmothers Play In Mother And Child Nutrition And Health Highlighted By Research
  Grandmothers and other senior female family members should play a key role in nutrition and health programmes for children and women in non-Western societies. However, they are often overlooked by health organisations that don’t understand the importance of their role or see them as an obstacle to promoting good nutrition and health practices. Those are the key finding of an extensive literature review published in the January issue of Maternal and Child Nutrition…
• Link Between PCE In Drinking Water And An Increased Risk Of Mental Illness
  PCE in drinking water linked to an increased risk of mental illness The solvent tetrachloroethylene (PCE) widely used in industry and to dry clean clothes is a neurotoxin known to cause mood changes, anxiety, and depression in people who work with it. To date the long-term effect of this chemical on children exposed to PCE has been less clear, although there is some evidence that children of people who work in the dry cleaning industry have an increased risk of schizophrenia…
• Red Wine Versus White Wine – Comparison Of Effects On Hormones Related To Breast Cancer Risk
  Aromatase inhibitors (AIs) prevent the conversion of androgens to estrogens, and could play a role in the development of breast cancer. This study of 36 pre-menopausal women consisted of a cross-over intervention trial to determine if there were differences between red wine and white wine in their effects on AIs. Subjects sequentially consumed eight ounces of red wine, followed by white wine (or vice versa), each beverage for a one-month period…
• Researchers Find Mutation Causing Neurodegeneration
  A Jackson Laboratory research team led by Professor and Howard Hughes Medical Investigator Susan Ackerman, Ph.D., has discovered a defect in the RNA splicing process in neurons that may contribute to neurological disease. The researchers found that a mutation in just one of the many copies of a gene known as U2 snRNAs, which is involved in the intricate processing of protein-encoding RNAs, causes neurodegeneration. Many so-called non-coding RNAs – those that don’t directly encode proteins – are found in multiple copies in the genome, Ackerman says…
• Researchers Believe That Physical Exercise Has Been Downgraded For Norwegian Children
  Youngsters in Norway today are not as fit as earlier generations, and even the best perform less well. Researchers now warn that a wave of inactivity could have a major long-term health impact. The conclusions about the physical condition of young people build on a survey of Norwegian schoolchildren’s performance in the 3 000-metre race from 1969 to 2009. Associate professors Leif Inge Tjelta and Sindre Dyrstad at the University of Stavanger (UiS) have drawn on notes kept by a number of physical education teachers…
• Warning: "Avoid Looking At Pictures Of Appetising Food As It Will Make You Hungry!
  Max Planck researchers have proven something scientifically for the first time that laypeople have always known: the mere sight of delicious food stimulates the appetite. A study on healthy young men has documented that the amount of the neurosecretory protein hormone ghrelin in the blood increases as a result of visual stimulation through images of food. As a main regulator, ghrelin controls both eating behaviour and the physical processes involved in food metabolism…
• Benefits Of High Quality Child Care Persist 30 Years Later
  Adults who participated in a high quality early childhood education program in the 1970s are still benefitting from their early experiences in a variety of ways, according to a new study. The study provides new data from the long-running, highly regarded Abecedarian Project, which is led by the FPG Child Development Institute at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Researchers have followed participants from early childhood through adolescence and young adulthood, generating a comprehensive and rare set of longitudinal data…
• In Patients With Rare Brain Tumor, Abnormal Chromosome Indicator Of Treatment And Outcome
  A recent analysis of clinical trial results performed by the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) demonstrate that a chromosomal abnormality – specifically, the absence (co-deletion) of chromosomes 1p and 19q – have definitive prognostic and predictive value for managing the treatment of adult patients with pure and mixed anaplastic oligodendrogliomas…
• Many High-Risk Americans Don’t Get Hepatitis B Vaccine
  A recently published study investigating hepatitis B vaccination rates in the United States found that more than half of adults at risk for hepatitis B virus remain unvaccinated. With many of these individuals making contact with the healthcare system, including HIV testing, this statistic reflects many missed opportunities to vaccinate this population…
• Elusive Z- DNA Found On Nucleosomes
  New research published in BioMed Central’s open access journal Cell & Bioscience is the first to show that left-handed Z-DNA, normally only found at sites where DNA is being copied, can also form on nucleosomes. The structure of DNA which provides the blueprint for life has famously been described as a double helix. To save space inside the nucleus, DNA is tightly wound around proteins to form nucleosomes which are then further wound and compacted into chromatin, which is further compacted into chromosomes…
• Discovery Of High Risk Oesophageal Cancer Gene
  New research from Queen Mary, University of London has uncovered a gene which plays a key role in the development of oesophageal cancer (cancer of the gullet). The researchers studied families who suffer a rare inherited condition making them highly susceptible to the disease and found that a fault in a single gene was responsible. Initial studies suggest that the gene could play a role in the more common, non-inherited form of the disease, revealing a new target for treating this aggressive type of cancer…
• Poorer Outcomes For Patients Who Suffer Delirium After Stroke
  Delirium develops in about 30 percent of patients hospitalized shortly after a stroke and is linked to poorer outcomes, according to a new meta-analysis published in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association. In the first systematic analysis of the four common outcomes in acute stroke patients with delirium – inpatient and 12-month death rates, length of hospital stay and care arrangements after discharge – Canadian researchers analyzed 10 studies. The research included more than 2,000 patients hospitalized after suffering a stroke due to a vessel blockage or bleeding…

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• 1 In 5 Americans With Mental Illness, National Survey
  Some 45.9 million, or around 1 in 5 American adults (age 18 and over) experienced a mental illness in the past year, according to the US government’s latest National Survey on Drug Use and Health, released this month. The survey, published by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), finds that the rate of mental illness among 18 to 25-year-olds was more than twice as high as among people aged 50 and over (29.9% versus 14.3% respectively)…
• TNF Receptor Levels In The Blood Warn Of Kidney Problems For Individuals With Type 1 And Type 2 Diabetes
  Levels of certain blood proteins indicate which diabetes patients will likely develop life-threatening kidney problems in the future, according to two studies appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society Nephrology (JASN). The results could help physicians protect the kidney health of patients with diabetes years before any visible signs of trouble arise. Kidney failure is one of the most life-threatening complications of diabetes, and almost half of patients who receive dialysis treatments need them because their kidneys have become damaged from diabetes…
• Novel Gene Mutations Associated With Bile Duct Cancer Could Lead To Targeted Treatment
  Investigators at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Cancer Center have identified a new genetic signature associated with bile duct cancer, a usually deadly tumor for which effective treatment currently is limited. Their report, which has been published online in The Oncologist, finds that growth-enhancing mutations in two related genes may account for nearly a quarter of bile duct tumors arising within the liver, presenting the possibility that drugs targeting this mutation could represent a new strategy to control tumor growth…
• Inherited Mutation Links Exploding Chromosomes To Cancer
  An inherited mutation in a gene known as the guardian of the genome is likely the link between exploding chromosomes and some particularly aggressive types of cancer, scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), the German Cancer Research Centre (DKFZ) and the University Hospital, all in Heidelberg, Germany, have discovered…
• How Alpha-Synuclein Interacts With Cell Membranes In Parkinson’s Disease
  The accumulation of α-synuclein, a small, negatively charged protein, in neural cells, is one of the hallmarks of Parkinson’s disease. It has been suggested that oligomeric α-synuclein causes membranes to become permeable, or to form channels on the outer cell membrane. Now, a group of scientists from Sweden has found a way to reliably replicate α-synuclein aggregation on cell membranes to investigate how different forms of α-synuclein interact with membranes under different conditions and to learn if any of the α-synuclein species can penetrate these membranes…
• Most Heart, Stroke Patients Can Safely Engage In Sexual Activity
  If you have stable cardiovascular disease, it is more than likely that you can safely engage in sexual activity, according to an American Heart Association scientific statement. The statement, published online in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association, contains recommendations by experts from various fields, including heart disease, exercise physiology and sexual counseling. “Sexual activity is a major quality of life issue for men and women with cardiovascular disease and their partners,” said Glenn N. Levine, M.D…
• Tumor Growth Not Halted By Cell Senescence
  A collaboration between a cancer biologist from the University of Milano and 2 physicists has shown that cell senescence occurs spontaneously in melanoma cells, but does not stop their growth Since cancer cells grow indefinitely, it is commonly believed that senescence could act as a barrier against tumor growth and potentially be used as a way to treat cancer…
• Cholesterol-Lowering Statins May Treat Breast Cancer
  Cholesterol-lowering statins seem to keep breast cancer at bay in some patients. Now researchers reporting in the January 20th issue of the journal Cell, a Cell Press publication, provide clues about how statins might yield those unexpected benefits. The findings also suggest that mutations in a single gene could be used to identify tumors likely to respond to statin therapy. “The data raises the possibility that we might identify subsets of patients whose tumors may respond to statins,” said Carol Prives of Columbia University…
• When Housing For The Homeless Allows Alcohol, Heavy Drinkers Imbibe Less
  A study of a controversial housing project that allows chronically homeless people with severe alcohol problems to drink in their apartments found that during their first two years in the building residents cut their heavy drinking by 35 percent. For every three months during the study, participants drank an average of 8 percent fewer drinks on their heaviest drinking days. They also had fewer instances of delirium tremens, a life-threatening form of alcohol withdrawal. The findings were published in the American Journal of Public Health…
• New Drug Labels For Kidney Disease Patients
  The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently recommended that clinicians be more conservative when they prescribe chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients with drugs that treat red blood cell deficiencies. But the drug label’s recommendations fall short, according to two commentaries appearing in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society Nephrology (CJASN). The new federal recommendations apply to erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs)…
• Small Changes In The Genome Account For Gender Differences In Liver Cancer Risk
  Men are four times more likely to develop liver cancer compared to women, a difference attributed to the sex hormones androgen and estrogen. Although this gender difference has been known for a long time, the molecular mechanisms by which estrogens prevent – and androgens promote – liver cancer remain unclear. Now, new research, published in Cell from the lab of Klaus Kaestner, PhD, professor of Genetics in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, has found that the difference depends on which proteins the sex hormones bind next to…
• Kidney Failure, Gastrointestinal Bleeding And Dialysis
  Bleeding in the upper gastrointestinal (GI) tract causes serious health problems – and even early deaths – for many patients with kidney failure, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society Nephrology (JASN). The findings indicate that greater efforts are needed to prevent and treat upper GI bleeding in these patients. Poor kidney function puts people at risk for upper GI bleeding, which occurs in the esophagus, stomach, or first part of the intestine…
• Mousel Model Reveals Metastasis Of Pancreatic Cancer In Action
  Ben Stanger, MD, PhD, assistant professor of Medicine in the Division of Gastroenterology at the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, and Andrew Rhim, MD, a Gastroenterology Fellow in the Stanger lab, discovered that pancreatic cancer cells in an animal model begin to spread before clinically obvious tumor tissue is detected. What’s more, they showed that inflammation enhances cancer progression in part by facilitating a cellular transformation that leads to entry of cancer cells into the circulation. They report their findings in Cell…
• Sex Is O.K. For Heart Attack Patients
  A scientific statement from The American Heart Association clarifies that sexual activity for those with heart conditions is ok. They caution that women should be counseled on use of contraceptive methods and possible adverse effects of pregnancy, while men should be wary of certain erectile dysfunction medications that are unsafe for all cardiovascular diseases. The statement was published online 19th Jan…
• Regorafenib Does Well In Metastatic Colorectal Trial
  The latest results on Bayer HealthCare’s investigational compound regorafenib (BAY 73-4506) from the international, multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase III CORRECT (Colorectal cancer treated with regorafenib or place after failure of standard therapy) trial have been announced by Bayer HealthCare…

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• Pensions Offer Rejected By British Medical Association
  On January 18, 2010, the British Medical Association (BMA) urged the government to reconsider their plans to make changes to the NHS Pension Scheme after the BMA received an overwhelming call from doctors to reject the proposed changes, with a willingness to take some form of industrial action. After taking into account results of a major survey of 130,000 medical students and doctors, the decision was made at a meeting of BMA Council, the association’s governing body. More than 46,000 doctors and medical students responded to the UK-wide survey – a response rate of 36%…
• National Alzheimer’s Plan, USA – HHS Sets 2025 Deadline
  US Health Authorities have set 2025 as the deadline for coming up with an effective Alzheimer’s disease treatment. Some would say this is over-ambitious, because there is no current cure for the disease; and none in the pipeline either. The Alzheimer’s Association informs that during the second meeting of the Advisory Council on Alzheimer’s Research, Care and Services, “. . . in-depth discussions took place about goals and strategies to change the trajectory of Alzheimer’s disease…
• Helping Dogs (and Humans) With Spinal Cord Injury Walk Again
  On Wednesday, US researchers announced they are testing a new drug in dogs that has already proven effective in mice. The drug is designed to substantially reduce the hind limb paralysis that follows certain spinal cord injuries. There are currently no therapies that can do this. The researchers suggest if the drug succeeds in dogs, it could also work in humans…
• Aborting Female Fetuses In Canada – Action Required
  According to a report in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal), pregnant women should not be told the sex of their unborn child until after 30 weeks of pregnancy, in order to combat female feticide, which some individuals in certain ethnic groups in Canada and the U.S. practice. Female feticide is the decision to terminate a pregnancy based on the grounds that the sex is female…
• Canadian Medical Association Journal, New Editor-In-Chief Announced
  Dr. John Fletcher has been named the new editor-in-chief of the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ), Dr. John Haggie, President of the Canadian Medical Association announced today. Dr. Fletcher, from England, holds a master’s degree in public health from Harvard University and a medical degree from the University of Cambridge. Fletcher was a research fellow at the University of Oxford, and is an accredited specialist in public health in the United Kingdom. Prior to moving to the British Medical Journal (BMJ), where he spent 7 years, Dr…
• Sex Is O.K. For Heart Attack Patients
  A scientific statement from The American Heart Association clarifies that sexual activity for those with heart conditions is ok. They caution that women should be counseled on use of contraceptive methods and possible adverse effects of pregnancy, while men should be wary of certain erectile dysfunction medications that are unsafe for all cardiovascular diseases. The statement was published online 19th Jan…
• Technology That Predicts Disease Spread In Mass Gatherings
  Hosts of mass gatherings (MGs) could benefit from new opportunities that would assist in the preparation and response to threats of infectious diseases, as revealed by the fifth paper on MGs health in The Lancet Infectious Diseases Series. One of these opportunities would be to couple surveillance systems that use the Internet to identify outbreaks of infectious diseases around the globe in near real-time with a novel technology, which can track and predict global population movements through commercial air travel…
• Opportunity To Share Important Health Messages Comes From Mass Gatherings
  The second of the six papers on mass gathering health in The Lancet Infectious Disease Series , states that instead of potentially amplifying and accelerating the spread of infectious disease all over the world, mass gatherings (MGs) can also offer unique opportunities to promote public health campaigns, like vaccinations. These can not only lower the risks for the host countries or communities, but also be of benefit to the countries to which participants return…
• Drug Compliance Undermined By Affordability, Canada
  According to an investigation by researchers from the University of British Columbia, University of Toronto and the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal), the cost of prescription medication affects 1 in 10 Canadians, and 1 in 4 individuals without medication insurance cannot afford to have their prescriptions filled. The researchers examined data from 5,732 individuals who took part in the Canada Community Health Survey in 2007…
• Mass Gatherings – Tackling Heath Security And Other Risks
  The Lancet Infectious Diseases Series’ sixth and final paper on mass gatherings (MGs) calls for action to set out and accomplish the public health benefits that can be achieved by confronting the health security and other health risks at mass gatherings (MGs). Several research priorities are highlighted in this paper to ensure that effective policies are developed for the planning of such events…
• Top Causes Of Death At Mass Gatherings – Stampedes And Heatstroke
  One of the leading causes of mortality and illness at mass gatherings (MGs), which also represent a major public health problem, are non-communicable diseases and injuries. Heatstroke and human stampedes are the most prevalent cause of death at these events. The third paper on MGs in the The Lancet Infectious Diseases Series draws attention to large areas of insufficient knowledge about many non-communicable health risks during MGs, as well as lacking evidence as to which public health interventions function best…
• Impetigo – Ozenoxacin Phase lll Trial
  The pharmaceutical company Ferrer has received approval to start phase III human trials of ozenoxacin, formulated as a topical treatment for infectious skin conditions. In February 2012, participants are expected to enter the multicenter, randomized, placebo controlled, parallel, double-blinded superiority clinical study, which is scheduled to complete in 2013…
• Human Hookworm Vaccine Trial
  The Na-GST-1 antigen, a candidate for the first human hookworm vaccine developed by the Sabin Vaccine Institute (Sabin), has entered a Phase 1 human trial in Brazil, according to Sabin. For the vaccine product development partnership (PDP) headquartered at Sabin, the clinical trial is a considerable achievement. Worldwide, almost 600 million individuals are infected by human hookworm. Sabin’s aim is to create a safe, effective and inexpensive vaccine, in order to reduce the worldwide burden of this parasite…
• Aspirin – Ability To Prevent Cervical Cancer In HIV Infected Women
  According to a study published in the current issue of the journal Cancer Prevention Research, aspirin should be assessed for its ability to prevent cervical cancer developing in women infected with HIV. Aspirin has the potential to provide considerable benefit for women in Africa, the Caribbean and Latin America, regions where death rates from cervical cancer are extremely high. The study was conducted by global health investigators at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center and cancer specialists in New York, Haiti and Qatar…
• Autoantibodies Targeting Tissues In 32 Million Americans
  In the United States, 32 million individuals have autoantibodies, the most prevalent of which are antinuclear antibodies (ANA), according to an investigation carried out by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), an agency of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Although the investigation is the first to study the presence of autoantibodies in individuals in the United States, the results are far from unexpected, revealed the American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association (AARDA). AARDA’s President and Executive Director Virginia T…
• 2nd Annual World Orphan Drug Congress USA, April 10-13 2012
  Orphan drug development has become more feasible than in previous years but we’ve barely scratched the surface: only 367 approved orphan drugs out of 6,800 rare diseases. We need to keep the momentum going. Come April 10-13, over 300 key decision makers from orphan drug manufacturers, patient groups, payers and regulators will gather in DC at the 2nd annual World Orphan Drug Congress USA. Key speakers include Mike Astrue, Commissioner of the US Social Security Administration; Angus Russell, CEO of Shire, Yi-Ou Wang, Founder & President of China-Dolls Care and Support Association and Dr…
• 1 In 5 Americans With Mental Illness, National Survey
  Some 45.9 million, or around 1 in 5 American adults (age 18 and over) experienced a mental illness in the past year, according to the US government’s latest National Survey on Drug Use and Health, released this month. The survey, published by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), finds that the rate of mental illness among 18 to 25-year-olds was more than twice as high as among people aged 50 and over (29.9% versus 14.3% respectively)…
• In Acute Myeloid Leukemia Study Pinpoints And Plugs Mechanism Of Cancer Cell Escape
  A study published this week in the journal Leukemia identifies a mechanism that acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cells use to evade chemotherapy – and details how to close this escape route. “Introducing chemotherapy to cells is like putting a curve in front of a speeding car,” says Christopher Porter, MD, investigator at the University of Colorado Cancer Center and assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. “Cells that can put on the brakes make it around the corner and cells that can’t speed off the track…
• Improved Understanding Of Malaria’s ‘Cloak Of Invisibility’
  The discovery by researchers from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of a molecule that is key to malaria’s ‘invisibility cloak’ will help to better understand how the parasite causes disease and escapes from the defenses mounted by the immune system. The research team, led by Professor Alan Cowman from the institute’s Infection and Immunity division, has identified one of the crucial molecules that instructs the parasite to employ its invisibility cloak to hide from the immune system, and helps its offspring to remember how to ‘make’ the cloak…
• Early, Aggressive Treatment May Help Reduce Symptoms And Improve Joint Function In Psoriatic Arthritis (PsA)
  Medications or biologic agents that target T-cells, white blood cells involved in the body’s immune system, appear to offer significant benefit to patients suffering from psoriatic arthritis (PsA), a type of arthritis that affects up to 48 percent of patients with the skin disease psoriasis, according to a new review article in the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (JAAOS). About 7.5 million Americans – roughly 2.2 percent of the population – have psoriasis, an autoimmune disease that causes red, flaky skin…

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• Tumors Continue Growing Even When Cells Get Old
  Based on the knowledge that cancer cells grow indefinitely, the general belief is that senescence could act as a barrier against tumor growth and has the potential of being used as a cancer treatment…
• Oesophageal Cancer Gene Found
  UK researchers have found a gene that plays an important part in the development of oesophageal cancer or cancer of the gullet. They announced their news to the press on Thursday. Every year, more than 8,000 people in the UK discover they have oesophageal cancer, and the rates are going up. The disease is more common in the UK than other European countries. The chances of surviving oesophageal cancer are very slim: only 8% of patients are alive more than 5 years after diagnosis…
• Junk Food Linked To Weight Gain In Schools? Apparently Not
  Despite a tripling of obesity rates in US schools over the last forty years, and an increase in junk foods, candy and sugary drinks availability in schools, a new study claims to demonstrate that the two are not linked – put simply, the study researchers say that junk food at school does not appear to be associated with higher obesity and overweight rates. The study has been published in Sociology in Education, and was authored by Jennifer Van Hook, a Professor of Sociology and Demography, and doctoral student Claire Altman. Prof…
• Global Abortion Rates Remain Steady
  New figures from the Guttmacher Institute and the World Health Organization (WHO) show that after a long period of decline, the global abortion rates have steadied. From 1995 to 2003, rates dropped from 35 per 1000 women of childbearing age to 29 per 1000, whereas the new study shows the 2008 rate is stable at 28 per 1000. The United Nations says the slow down coincides with a plateau in the uptake of contraceptive use in developing countries, where there has been a big contraceptive drive in the last couple of decades, partly because of HIV and partly because of over population issues…
• Hajj Pilgrimage Management Example For Worldwide Health Security
  As numbers of international large-scale events, such as music concerts, sports events, religious pilgrimage and state funerals increase in frequency and scale, they pose substantial risks to the general public…
• Group B Meningococcal Disease – New Vaccine Shows Promise
  In a study published Online First in The Lancet, researchers have examined the efficacy of a new vaccine against serogroups of Neisseria meningitides, which unlike the four out of six existing safe and efficacious vaccines, also includes protection against serotype B. Serogroups of Neisseria meningitides cause meningococcal diseases, including meningitis. Even though serotype B is the most prevalent strain across South America, it is also common in high-income countries causing much of the remaining meningococcal disease burden…
• Gossip Is Good For You!
  Fed up with listening to your spouse or co-workers gossiping away? Leave be, says a new research from University of California Berkeley. Gossip helps to prevent bad behavior, prevent exploitation and reduces stress levels. Gossiping can also be therapeutic, the volunteers’ heart rates appeared to increase when hearing gossip, but lowered again once they passed on the information to someone else. A problem shared is a problem halved indeed…
• Painful Period Symptoms Reduced By Oral Contraceptive Pill
  In the United States, painful periods (Dysmenorrhoea) are estimated to cause 600 million lost working hours and cost two billion dollars in lost productivity. A large Scandinavian study published online in Europe’s leading reproductive medicine journal Human Reproduction, has finally provided compelling evidence, after running for 30 years, that the combined oral contraceptive pill does indeed relieve symptoms of painful menstrual periods, known as dysmenorrhoea…
• Tykerb And Herceptin – Their Role In Breast Cancer Treatment Clarified
  Patients with HER2-positive breast cancer have been treated with Tykerb (lapatinib) both in combination with herceptin (trastuzumab), and as an alternative single-agent therapy for pre-surgery (neo-adjuvant) chemotherapy…
• Bird Flu Kills Duck Farmer In Vietnam And Toddler In Cambodia
  On Thursday the Vietnamese authorities reported that a duck farmer has died of bird flu, coinciding with reports that a two-year-old boy in Cambodia has also died of the virus this week. The Vietnamese victim died on 11 January. According to the authorities this was the first human death from avian flu for nearly two years. The farmer kept ducks in the Mekong delta province of Hau Giang, but experts have yet to establish whether he caught the virus from his birds, according to an AFP report from Hanoi. The Cambodian toddler died early on Wednesday…
• Antidepressants Tied To Higher Risk Of Falls In Nursing Home Residents With Dementia
  Compared to similar people who don’t take them, nursing home residents with dementia who take average doses of a class of drugs used to treat depression are three times more likely to have an injurious fall. These are the findings of a new study from The Netherlands published online in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology on Wednesday. Falls are a serious health problem for nursing home residents with dementia, particularly as one-third of all falls in such establishments result in injury…
• Cost To The Nation For Job-Related Injuries And Illnesses Estimated At $250 Billion Per Year
  In the first comprehensive review of its kind since 1992, a UC Davis researcher has estimated the national annual price tag of occupational injuries and illnesses at $250 billion, much higher than generally assumed. That figure is $31 billion more than the direct and indirect costs of all cancer, $76 billion more than diabetes and $187 billion more than strokes. The study strongly suggests that the U.S…
• A New Angle On Tennis Injuries Offered By Markerless Motion Capture
  Researchers studied three types of tennis serves, and identified one in particular, called a “kick” serve, which creates the highest potential for shoulder injury. The results, published in a recent issue of Annals of Biomedical Engineering, could aid sports training and rehab, said Alison Sheets, assistant professor of mechanical engineering at Ohio State University. With further development, she added, doctors could use her “markerless motion capture” technique to diagnose patients…
• Neurologically Impaired Children Dependent On Children’s Hospitals: Researchers Point To Need For Better Care Coordination In The Community
  Because of care advances, more infants and children with previously lethal health problems are surviving. Many, however, are left with lifelong neurologic impairment. A Children’s Hospital Boston study of more than 25 million pediatric hospitalizations in the U.S. now shows that neurologically impaired children, though still a relatively small part of the overall population, account for increasing hospital resources, particularly within children’s hospitals…
• U.S. Nitrogen Pollution Impacts & Solutions: Report Highlights New Research And Offers Solutions For A Nitrogen-Soaked World
  The nitrogen cycle has been profoundly altered by human activities, and that in turn is affecting human health, air and water quality, and biodiversity in the U.S., according to a multi-disciplinary team of scientists writing in the 15th publication of the Ecological Society of America’s Issues in Ecology. In “Excess Nitrogen in the U.S. Environment: Trends, Risks, and Solutions,” lead author Eric Davidson (Woods Hole Research Center) and 15 colleagues from universities, government, and the private sector review the major sources of reactive nitrogen in the U.S…
• Researchers Identify Triggering Conditions And Direct Link To Sex Hormones In Sudden Cardiac Death
  Researchers in Rhode Island Hospital’s Cardiovascular Research Center have published two new studies focusing on the causes of arrhythmia and sudden cardiac death (SCD) when a genetic disorder is present. The studies use a first-ever genetic animal model the researchers developed in 2008 to further their understanding of a genetic disorder known as Long QT Syndrome (LQTS)…
• TB And A Gene Mutation That Causes Lung Cancer Linked
  Tuberculosis (TB) has been suspected to increase a person’s risk of lung cancer because the pulmonary inflammation and fibrosis can induce genetic damage. However, direct evidence of specific genetic changes and the disease have not been extensively reported. Research presented in the February 2012 issue of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer’s Journal of Thoracic Oncology shows a link between TB and mutations in the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), a type of gene mutation found in non-small cell lung cancer…
• New Advances Aimed At Improving Treatment, Prognosis And Detection Of GI Cancers: 2012 Gastroinstestinal Cancers Symposium
  New research into the treatment, prognosis and early detection of gastrointestinal cancers was released in advance of the ninth annual Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium being held January 19-21, 2012, at The Moscone West Building in San Francisco, Calif…
• YES Program Led To Lower Crime, Fewer Violent Incidents Among Kids
  A program built around the concept that kids can and want to reduce violence and improve their neighborhoods led to lower crime rates, better upkeep on homes and more students who said they learned to resolve conflicts without violence. The afterschool and summer program, called Youth Empowerment Solutions for Peaceful Communities (YES), is a University of Michigan School of Public Health case study that included seventh and eighth grade students at select schools in Flint, Mich…
• Dermatologists Find Telemedicine Effective For Patient Care
  UC Davis Health System dermatologists, using videoconferencing technology known as telemedicine, have determined that live interactive consultations can improve clinical outcomes for patients because they usually involve beneficial changes in medical diagnosis and disease management that otherwise might not occur. The findings appear in the current issue of the Archives of Dermatology*, one of the JAMA/Archives journals, which was published this week…

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• Blood Clots After Hip Or Knee Replacement – Study Looks At Prevalence
  According to a study in the January 18 issue of JAMA, approximately 1 in every 100 patients undergoing knee replacement surgery, and 1 in every 200 patients undergoing hip replacement surgery who use current preventive medications for venous thromboembolism (VTE; a blood clot that develops within a vein that might become serious), will develop VTE before being discharged from hospital. In acute care hospitals, a crucial safety issue is postoperative VTE, which includes pulmonary embolism and deep vein thrombosis (DVT)…
• Obesity In Children – Virtually Unchanged In U.S.
  Two investigations being published by JAMA reveal that the prevalence of obesity in the United States has not changed considerably. Approximately 1 in 3 adults and 1 in 6 children and adolescents are obese according to data from 2009-2010. The data also revealed that the prevalence of obesity in certain demographics has increased. In order to determine obesity rates in the U.S., Katherine M. Flegal, Ph.D., Cynthia L. Ogden, Ph.D., M.R.P., and colleagues with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Hyattsville, Md…
• Malignant Melanoma Recurrence – How To Avoid It After Targeted Treatment
  According to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers at The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) have demonstrated how to prevent new cancers that can occur when malignant melanoma patients are treated with drugs known as BRAF inhibitors. In the past, doctors have observed that between 15 and 30% of patients who were treated with BRAF inhibitors, including the FDA-approved drug vemurafenib (Zelboraf), developed another type of skin cancer known as cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma, which required surgical removal…
• Drug Helps Maintain Platelet Inhibition And Anti-Clotting Levels Prior To Cardiac Surgery
  According to a study in the January 18 issue of JAMA, patients who stop using an antiplatelet agent, such as clopidogrel, before undergoing cardiac surgery to reduce their risk of bleeding and received intravenously the platelet inhibitor cangrelor, achieved a higher rate of maintenance of platelet inhibition than those who were given placebo. The researchers explained: “Thienopyridines (antiplatelet agents) are among the most widely prescribed medications, but their use can be complicated by the unanticipated need for surgery…
• Stopping Prostate Cancer Growth – Breakthrough
  A study by investigators at the Methodist Research Institute at Indiana University confirms that an all-natural, doctor-designed formula is effective in suppressing prostate cancer tumors. The study conducted on mice, used a human prostate cancer xenograft model. Results from the live animal study were presented by lead researcher, Dr. Daniel Sliva at the 16th World Congress on Advances in Oncology in Rhodes, Greece and at the 14th International Symposium on Molecular Medicine…
• The Upside Of "Gossip": Maintaining Social Order
  Gossip is often considered an undesirable, unattractive feature of society, amounting to idle chatter that undermines trust and damages reputations, but now a new study suggests it has an upside, it helps maintain social order by keeping bad behavior in check, and preventing exploitation. And it also lowers stress. You can read how researchers from the University of California, Berkeley, arrived at these findings in January’s online issue of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology…
• Painful Periods – Combined Oral Contraceptive Pill Helps
  Symptoms of painful menstrual periods are alleviated by taking the combined oral contraceptive pill, according to compelling evidence from a Scandinavian 30-year study which was reported in the journal Human Reproduction this week. Although previous studies pointed towards some kind of link between oral contraception and period pain relief, a 2009 Cochrane Collaboration review concluded that most of them had inconclusive or anecdotal evidence…
• Scriptaid Revives Breast Cancer Treatment Receptivity
  A study by researchers from the Sbarro Institute for Cancer Research and Molecular Medicine, reveals that despite the effectiveness of endocrine therapy for breast cancer, responsiveness to the treatment depends on expression of estrogen receptors in breast cancer cells. However, Dr. Laura Giacinti, lead investigator of the study reports on a new molecule, Scriptaid, which revives receptivity to the treatment in breast cancer cell lines that previously tested negative for the expression of estrogen receptors. The study appears in the Journal of Cellular Physiology. Dr…
• Mental Health – Experts Urge For Special UN Session
  A team of international health experts has made a call for the United Nations to hold a United Nations General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) to focus worldwide attention on neurological and mental disorders as well as substance use disorders as a central development issue, which need commitment to improve access to care, promote human rights, and reinforce evidence on effective prevention and treatment methods…
• Digital Exercise Beneficial For Cognitive Function Of Older Adults
  A new study, published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine’s February issue, reveals that virtual reality-enhanced exercise called “exergames,” which combine physical exercise with computer-simulated environments and interactive videogame features, can achieve a greater cognitive benefit for older adults than traditional exercise alone. The two-year study wanted to explore how interactive digital gaming can improve the health behaviors and outcomes for people aged 50 years and older…
• UK Government’s NHS Reforms – Anyone Understand Them? Professor Asks
  Even though Professor Martin McKee, from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, has 25 years of experience in researching health systems, including writing more than 30 books and 500 academic papers, he states in a personal view published on bmj.com today that he still does not understand the government’s plan for the NHS, saying: “I have tried very hard, as have some of my cleverer colleagues, but no matter how hard we try, we always end up concluding that the bill means something quite different from what the secretary of state says it does…
• Tamiflu’s Effectiveness Remains Uncertain – Roche Still Not Releasing Vital Trial Data
  Two years ago, pharmaceutical giant, Roche, promised the BMJ to release key Tamiflu trial data for an independent investigation. However, Roche refuses to provide full access to all its data. According to a new report by the Cochrane Collaboration, Roche’s refusal to provide access leaves critical concerns about how the drug works unresolved. A BMJ investigation, published at the same time as the report, also voices serious concerns regarding drug data access, the drug approval process and the use of ghostwriters in drug trials…
• Vitamin D Doesn’t Help Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
  Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is characterized by diseases such as Bronchitis and Emphysema, where breathing becomes more difficult as the airways are inflamed, blocked with mucus and ultimately permanently damaged. The problem is usually caused by cigarette smoking, although exposure to industrial chemicals, pollutants or smoke inhalation may also be involved…
• Clinical Outsourcing World Europe 2012, 7-8 February, Earls Court Conference Centre – London
  Driving development through strategic outsourcingRegister NOW for the Clinical Outsourcing World conference to hear from the industry’s BEST Outsourcing professionals including representatives from: GSK, Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Eli Lilly, Novartis, Almirall, Merck Research Laboratories and many more! Pharma & Biotech delegates- register NOW for only £250+vat! Please note this offer is only available for Pharma & Biotech companies but we also have great prices for other delegates! Attend Clinical Outsourcing World Europe 2012 to learn about the right models to incorporate …
• Senior Professor Asks If Anyone Understands The Government’s NHS Reforms
  Despite 25 years of experience researching health systems, including writing over 30 books and 500 academic papers, Professor Martin McKee from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine says he still can’t understand the government’s plan for the NHS. In a Personal View published on bmj.com, he writes: “I have tried very hard, as have some of my cleverer colleagues, but no matter how hard we try, we always end up concluding that the bill means something quite different from what the secretary of state says it does…
• Anatomically Designed Seat Developed For Wheelchairs Encourages User Movement
  Empa engineers, together with the firm ‘r going’, have succeeded in developing an ergonomic seat for electric wheelchairs which encourages the user to move around frequently. True to the motto ‘life is movement’ the aim is to enhance the freedom of movement of wheelchair users with a range of disabilities. Today’s office workplaces are designed to be as ergonomic as possible. Even so, after hours of hunching over a desk it does you good to stand up, stretch your legs and relax your back. Spending a whole day in practically the same cramped position is a very tiring proposition…
• Researchers Elucidate Mechanism By Which Immune Cells Destroy Cancer Cells
  In the treatment of large tumors, how effective is adoptive T cell therapy in comparison to drug-based cancer treatment? To answer this question, Dr. Kathleen Anders and Professor Thomas Blankenstein of the Max Delbruck Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch and researchers of the Beckman Research Institute of the City of Hope Cancer Center in Duarte, California, USA designed and carried out a study comparing the two methods. Based on a mouse cancer model, the researchers elucidated the mechanisms of the two different treatments…
• Solving The Parkinson’s Conundrum: Biologists A Step Closer
  Research by a team in the University’s Department of Biology found evidence that movement disorders, including tremor and slowness of movement (bradykinesia), associated with Parkinson’s disease (PD) may be due to a defect in energy production in the nervous system. The advance may help to identify young adults who may be susceptible to the disease. Parkinson’s, the second most common form of neurodegenerative disease, principally affects people aged over 60, but some forms – known as juvenile PD – usually start in the 30-40 age group…
• Why People Mispredict Their Behavior In Embarrassing Situations
  Whether it’s investing in stocks, bungee jumping or public speaking, why do we often plan to take risks but then “chicken out” when the moment of truth arrives? In a new paper* in the Journal of Behavioral Decision Making, scientists from the University of Colorado Boulder and Carnegie Mellon University argue that this “illusion of courage” is one example of an “empathy gap” – that is, our inability to imagine how we will behave in future emotional situations…
• New Drug For Advanced Colorectal Cancer Shows Promise In Trial
  An experimental drug for advanced colorectal cancer that available treatments have failed to halt, has shown promise in a clinical trial, says Bayer HealthCare, the company that makes it. The results of the phase III trial show that compared to placebo, regorafenib slowed tumor growth and extended survival. In a statement released yesterday, Bayer announced that the Phase III CORRECT (Colorectal cancer treated with regorafenib or placebo after failure of standard therapy) trial “met its primary endpoint, showing statistically significant improvement in overall survival …

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