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NIH awards LSUHSC $9 million grant to develop pneumonia vaccine

Dr. Judd Shellito, Chief of the Section of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans, has been awarded approximately $9 million in grant funding to develop a vaccine against Pneumocystis, an important cause of pneumonia in people with HIV infection. This potentially fatal illness is the most common serious opportunistic infection in people with HIV.

7 Oct 2011

Report on cancer survivorship statistics

Over the next decade, the population of cancer survivors over 65 years of age will increase by approximately 42 percent.

7 Oct 2011

Researchers develop mouse model to examine role of bone marrow-derived cells

Bone marrow-derived cells (BMDCs) participate in the growth and spread of tumors of the breast, brain, lung, and stomach. To examine the role of BMDCs, researchers developed a mouse model that could be used to track the migration of these cells while tumors formed and expanded.

7 Oct 2011

NO could improve recovery of critically ill patients in intensive care

The latest results from an expedition to Mount Everest that looked at the body's response to low oxygen levels suggest that drugs or procedures that promote the body's production of a chemical compound called nitric oxide (NO) could improve the recovery of critically ill patients in intensive care.

7 Oct 2011

Scientists discover new metabolic pathway which makes gliomas more aggressive

A research alliance of Heidelberg University Hospital and the German Cancer Research Center, jointly with colleagues of the Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research in Leipzig, have discovered a new metabolic pathway which makes malignant brain tumors (gliomas) more aggressive and weakens patients' immune systems.

7 Oct 2011

Strain echocardiography can help physicians detect early signs of cardiac toxicity in cancer patients

There is good news for cancer patients whose medical treatments put them at risk for future cardiac problems: using strain echocardiography can help physicians detect early signs of cardiac toxicity.

7 Oct 2011

First Edition: October 4, 2011

Today's news highlights include reports that the Supreme Court kicked off its new term by hearing a key Medicaid case that tests whether providers and patients can go to court to challenge decisions by cash-strapped states to reduce Medicaid payments.

4 Oct 2011

Clinical study: Higher radiation dose does not improve overall survival for NSCLC

A higher dose of radiation (74 Gy) does not improve overall survival for non-small cell lung cancer that has spread to the lymph nodes, compared to the standard radiation dose (60 Gy), according to an interim analysis of a late-breaking randomized study presented at the plenary session, October 3, 2011, at the 53rdAnnual Meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology.

4 Oct 2011

Lipomannan on TB bacterium's outer cell surface can block TNF production

The bacterium that causes tuberculosis has a unique molecule on its outer cell surface that blocks a key part of the body's defense. New research suggests this represents a novel mechanism in the microbe's evolving efforts to remain hidden from the human immune system.

4 Oct 2011

Three Penn labs receive NIH grant to speed translation of medical research into patient care

Three labs from the University of Pennsylvania have received $12.5 million from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as part of its $143.8 million national grant program to challenge the scientific status quo with innovative ideas that have the potential to speed the translation of medical research into improved health for the American public.

4 Oct 2011

More than three-quarters of cancer patients have vitamin D deficiency

More than three-quarters of cancer patients have insufficient levels of vitamin D (25-hydroxy-vitamin D) and the lowest levels are associated with more advanced cancer, according to a study presented on October 2, 2011, at the 53rd Annual Meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology.

4 Oct 2011

Lung immune cells orchestrate the body's repair response following flu infection

There's more than one way to mop up after a flu infection. Now, researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania report in Nature Immunology that a previously unrecognized population of lung immune cells orchestrate the body's repair response following flu infection.

4 Oct 2011

Virtual 18F-FDG PET/CT bronchoscopy may accurately detect NSCLC metastases

For patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) the accurate determination of the lymph node status before therapy is critical to develop an individualized treatment plan. Research from the October issue of the Journal of Nuclear Medicine highlights a new way for this information to be collected -- a virtual fly-through three-dimensional 18F-FDG PET/computed tomography (FDG-PET/CT) bronchoscopy that has high diagnostic accuracy for the detection of regional lymph node metastases.

4 Oct 2011

CCP announces eight new cancer research projects at BWH

The Campaign for Cancer Prevention (CCP) began in 2007 with the single goal of uniting those across the globe who care about preventing cancer. It has now grown to a more than 6 million member movement, becoming a leading initiative on the social media platform, Causes.com.

4 Oct 2011

Researchers identify new enzyme function that may protect against anemia

Researchers at St. Michael's Hospital have discovered a new function for an enzyme that may protect against organ injury and death from anemia.

4 Oct 2011

Radiation risk in cigarettes hidden by tobacco companies

A new study of historical documents revealed that tobacco companies knew that cigarettes contained a radioactive substance called polonium-210, but hid that knowledge from the public for over four decades.

2 Oct 2011

Third Annual Walk for Lupus Now! to take place in Richmond on Oct. 29

Purple passion will cap a month of pink ribbons—raising funds and awareness for people with lupus, a still-unknown disease. More than 1,000 people with lupus, their families, friends and co-workers dressed in purple will carry butterflies in the Third Annual Walk for Lupus Now! Richmond on Saturday, Oct. 29 at 3:00 p.m.

1 Oct 2011