Those at risk because of family history may soon obtain tests to detect the genetic error before symptoms emerge A new genetic defect that predisposes people to acute myeloid leukemia and myelodysplasia has been discovered. The mutations were found in the GATA2 gene. Among its several regulatory roles, the gene acts...
Richmond, Va. (September 1, 2011) –It is widely known that mutations in the breast cancer susceptibility 1 (BRCA1) gene significantly increase the chance of developing breast and ovarian cancers, but the mechanisms at play are not fully understood. Now, researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center have shown that...
Since HIV infection rates began to rise again around 2000, researchers have been grasping for answers on what could be causing this change, especially in the homosexual community. The rising numbers are a stark contrast to the 1990's, when infection rates dropped due to increased awareness of the virus. A...
NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. – Researchers at Rutgers University and the University of Texas at Austin have reported a discovery that could help scientists develop drugs to fight seasonal influenza epidemics caused by the common influenza B strain. Their discovery also helps explain how influenza B is limited to humans, and why...
SEATTLE – For the first time, researchers at Seattle Cancer Care Alliance have demonstrated the feasibility of using serial positron emission tomography (PET) scans, using a special estrogen-containing isotope, to confirm the relative effectiveness of estrogen-blocking and estrogen-depleting therapy in patients with metastatic breast cancer. The results of the research...
Injections of pegloticase, a modified porcine enzyme, can produce significant and sustained clinical improvements in 2 out of 5 patients with chronic gout that is resistant to conventional therapies, researchers report in the August 17, 2011, issue of JAMA. In two controlled clinical trials, pegloticase rapidly lowered high levels of uric...
Investigators from the Boston University's Slone Epidemiology Center have reported findings that may shed light on why African American women have a disproportionately higher risk of developing more aggressive and difficult-to-treat breast cancers, specifically estrogen and progesterone receptor negative (ER-/PR-) cancers. The study, which appears online in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers &...
A study conducted by VHIO researchers confirms that a lack of vitamin D increases the aggressiveness of colon cancer The indication that vitamin D and its derivatives have a protective effect against various types of cancer is not new. In the field of colon cancer, numerous experimental and epidemiological studies show...
Depending on the total dosage of zinc and the composition of lozenges, zinc lozenges may shorten the duration of common cold episodes by up to 40%, says Dr. Harri Hemila from the University of Helsinki. For treating the common cold, zinc lozenges are dissolved slowly in the mouth. Interest in zinc...
An outbreak strain of Clostridium difficile, a bacterium that causes diarrhea and sometimes life-threatening inflammation of the colon, is common in Chicago-area acute care hospitals, an investigation published in the September issue of Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology suggests. In response to Illinois Department of Public Health reports of rising rates...
August 11, 2011 (Aurora, CO)--In an article published online this week in Nature Genetics, a University of Colorado Cancer Center team in partnership with universities in China and Denmark. Recognizing the genetic mutations that make bladder cancer cells different than their healthy neighbors may allow early genetic screenings for cancer and...
Published online on Aug. 7, 2011, the journal Nature Medicine reports that non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs including ibuprofen reduce the severity of postpartum breast cancers in animal models. “We caution patients and providers that because a mother’s body is undergoing radical changes during this time, we can’t yet speak to the...
Boston, MA – A new study by Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) researchers finds a strong association between the consumption of red meat—particularly when the meat is processed—and an increased risk of type 2 diabetes. The study also shows that replacing red meat with healthier proteins, such as low-fat...
An international team of scientists has identified 29 new genetic variants linked to multiple sclerosis, providing key insights into the biology of an important and very debilitating neurological disease. Multiple sclerosis (MS), one of the most common neurological conditions among young adults, affects around 2.5 million individuals worldwide. It is a...
Columbia University Medical Center researchers have shown that new, or "de novo," protein-altering mutations—genetic errors that are present in patients but not in their parents—play a role in more than 50 percent of "sporadic" —i.e., not hereditary—cases of schizophrenia. The findings will be published online on August 7, 2011, in...
LEXINGTON, Ky. (August 1, 2011) — A groundbreaking new study published in the journal, Health Affairs, suggests that increases in public health spending result in healthier people, especially in communities with fewer resources. The study was co-authored by Glen P. Mays, the new F. Douglas Scutchfield Endowed Professor in Health Services...
August 4 2011 Newswise — Wearing compression stockings may be a simple low-tech way to improve obstructive sleep apnea in patients with chronic venous insufficiency, according to French researchers. ”We found that in patients with chronic venous insufficiency, compression stockings reduced daytime fluid accumulation in the legs, which in turn reduced the...
Researchers have found a way to turn mouse embryonic stem cells into sperm. This finding, reported in the journal Cell in a special online release on August 4th, opens up new avenues for infertility research and treatment. A Kyoto University team has coaxed mouse embryonic stem cells into sperm precursors,...
Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center scientists have completed a comprehensive map of genetic mutations occurring in the second-most common form of brain cancer, oligodendroglioma. The findings, reported in the Aug. 4 issue of Science, also appear to reveal the biological cause of the tumors, they say. To create the map, the...
Poorly controlled asthma more than doubles healthcare costs associated with the disease and threatens educational achievement through a dramatic increase in school absence, according to researchers at National Jewish Health. The research team reported in the August 2011 issue of The Archives of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology that children with...
ORLANDO, Fla. — August 3, 2011 — In their lifetime, women have more than a 12 percent risk of being diagnosed with breast cancer. 1 This week, research on novel approaches to breast cancer treatment is being presented at the Era of Hope (EOH) conference, a scientific meeting hosted by...
ORLANDO, Fla. — August 3, 2011 — During pregnancy, women are counseled to refrain from consuming certain types of foods, beverages and medications in order to avoid jeopardizing the health and development of the fetus. In fact, the American Pregnancy Association has a list of a dozen items they recommend...
ORLANDO, Fla. — August 3, 2011 — Research into new methods to prevent and slow metastatic breast cancer will be presented this week at the Era of Hope conference, a scientific meeting hosted by the Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program (BCRP). Approximately 6 percent of women with breast...
For Immediate Release – August 3, 2011 – (Toronto) – Twenty-five percent of people who were hospitalized for depression were readmitted or visited an emergency room again for depression within 30 days of discharge, according to a new study by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH). The results...
New Rochelle, NY, August 3, 2011—Positive activity interventions (PAIs) offer a safe, low-cost, and self-administered approach to managing depression and may offer hope to individuals with depressive disorders who do not respond or have access to adequate medical therapy, according to a comprehensive review article in The Journal of Alternative...
A relatively simple and inexpensive method may be used to determine whether a lung cancer patient is a candidate for crizotinib therapy, according to research published in the August issue of the Journal of Thoracic Oncology, the official monthly journal of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer...
August 1 20100 PHILADELPHIA—Taking a leukemia chemotherapy drug may help breast cancer patients who don't respond to tamoxifen overcome resistance to the widely-used drug, new research from the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson suggests. Interestingly, researchers found that taxoxifen combined with dasatinib, a protein-tyrosine kinase inhibitor, reverses the chemo-resistance caused by cancer-associated...
PITTSBURGH—Autism is a mysterious developmental disease because it often leaves complex abilities intact while impairing seemingly elementary ones. For example, it is well documented that autistic children often have difficulty correctly using pronouns, sometimes referring to themselves as "you" instead of "I." A new brain imaging study published in the journal...
Reston, Va.–Two new studies published in the August issue of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine (JNM) provide insight intothe potential of positron emission tomography (PET) to differentiate between types of dementia and to identify pharmaceuticals to slow the progress of dementia. With proposed National Institute on Aging (NIA) and the...
Alexandria, VA — Tobacco related disease is a primary source of mortality for African American men. Recent studies suggest that "alternative" tobacco products may have supplanted cigarettes as the most common products used by young African Americans, according to new research published in the August 2011 issue of Otolaryngology –...