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New radiation technique to treat cancer that has spread to the brain prevents hair loss

Patients whose cancer has spread to the brain can avoid typical hair loss (alopecia) when treated with newer radiation techniques, thereby improving their quality of life while still controlling their cancer, according to a study presented October 16, 2005, at the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology's 47th Annual Meeting in Denver.

16 Oct 2005

Gene therapy may prevent the damaging effects of radiation

Gene therapy could be used as an agent to protect normal tissues, including the esophagus and lung, from damage during a second administration of radiation therapy for non-small cell lung cancer, according to an animal study presented by University of Pittsburgh researchers at the 47th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ASTRO) in Denver.

16 Oct 2005

High blood pressure is higher in many Asian countries than in Australia

A new study on risk factors in cardiovascular disease in Asia has found that blood pressure is more strongly related to coronary heart disease and stroke in Asia, as compared with Western countries such as Australia and New Zealand.

16 Oct 2005

Computer-assisted instruction offers the potential to overcome knowledge barriers and improve screening rates

Even patients with minimal education and no computer skills can be successfully educated about health topics using computers, according to new research at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center.

16 Oct 2005

Possible explanation for the higher incidence of lung cancer in African Americans

Faulty cell cycle "checkpoints" that fail to respond to DNA damage effectively may contribute to the high incidence of lung cancer in African-Americans, say researchers at Georgetown University's Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center and the National Cancer Institute (NCI).

16 Oct 2005

Isotretinoin-related birth defects

Isotretinoin (also known as Accutane) is a drug used to treat severe acne, but it can cause birth defects when taken by pregnant women. Because of these risks, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Roche Pharmaceuticals (Accutane's manufacturer) developed a voluntary pregnancy prevention program (PPP) in 1988 to try and prevent conception in women taking the drug.

16 Oct 2005

Family history of alcohol dependency does not relate to age of first drink

Having a first alcoholic drink at the early age of 12, 13 or 14 might be influenced more by a child's tendency to do things like lie, steal or skip school than by a family history of alcohol dependency, according to findings by University of Iowa and other investigators.

16 Oct 2005

Cell phones speed heart attack treatment

A Michigan hospital has cut in half the time it takes to begin life-saving treatment of heart attack patients by using cell phones to transmit electrocardiograms (ECGs) from the field

16 Oct 2005

Largest known series of data examining the sequencing of tamoxifen and radiation

Fox Chase Cancer Center researchers say the sequence of tamoxifen and radiation following lumpectomy for early-stage breast cancer patients does not affect disease control, survival or complication rates, but administering tamoxifen concurrently with radiation has negative cosmetic results.

16 Oct 2005

Combining alcoholics anonymous and treatment works best

Most clinical studies examine individuals either during or immediately following treatment. A study in the October issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research tracks individuals for 16 years who have first acknowledged their alcohol-use problems and then chosen Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), treatment, or both.

13 Oct 2005

PCBs found widely in the environment and absorbed in the diet - may damage sperm

Research by an European Union-supported international team of scientists has shown that polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) - synthetic organic chemicals found widely in the environment and absorbed in the diet - may damage sperm.

13 Oct 2005

Gel made from a patient's own blood reduces pain and may improve wound healing

The study, published in the September issue of the Annals of Otology, Rhinology and Laryngology, found that patients who received platelet gel reported an easier recovery than patients who received traditional packing to stop bleeding.

13 Oct 2005

Moderate drinking has effects on blood coagulation, primarily as a "blood thinner"

Population studies have shown that moderate drinkers tend to have lower rates of heart disease but higher rates of bleeding-type strokes than abstainers. A potential mediator of these two contrasting effects of alcohol may be platelet function.

13 Oct 2005

Canadian adolescents and complementary or alternative medical treatment

While the study does not look at the effectiveness of these treatments, "what's concerning is that young people across the country have different levels of access to alternative therapies as publicly-funded services," says Dr. McColl. "There are noticeable differences in access and utilization based on education, income and geographic location."

13 Oct 2005

No shred of evidence that HIV-positive men who lose fat in their legs reciprocally gain fat in their bellies

There is no syndrome that causes increased belly fat and decreased facial and limb fat among HIV-positive men who take antiretroviral drugs, according to a study by researchers at the San Francisco VA Medical Center and the University of California, San Francisco.

13 Oct 2005

Russian moonshine contributes to very high death rate among Russians

Heavy alcohol consumption contributes to numerous problems in Russia, not the least of which is a very high death rate.

13 Oct 2005

Infants and adolescents vaccinated against hepatitis B are protected for over 10 years after immunisation

...concludes a study in this week’s issue of The Lancet. The authors state that booster doses of vaccine do not seem necessary to ensure long-term protection.

13 Oct 2005

Bacille Calmette Guerin (BCG) vaccination can protect children from tuberculosis infection as well as active TB disease

There are about 10 million cases of TB globally each year and 1 in 3 people are infected with the TB bacterium. BCG is the most widely used vaccine worldwide, but its mechanism of protection is poorly understood. It is thought to prevent progression of infection to active TB but whether it protects against the acquisition of infection itself has not been investigated in humans.

13 Oct 2005

Whooping cough vaccine 90 percent effective

A vaccine to protect adults and adolescents against illness due to Bordetella pertussis infection--or whooping cough--has proved more than 90 percent effective in a national, large-scale clinical study, according to research results published in this week's issue of The New England Journal of Medicine.

12 Oct 2005

Why breast black cancer patients experience lower survival rates than other women

Black women with stage I or II breast cancer are more likely than their counterparts of other races to abandon chemotherapy before completing their full course of treatment, according to a recent Columbia University Medical Center study.

12 Oct 2005

Drug Trial News

New radiation technique to treat cancer that has spread to the brain prevents hair loss

Gene therapy may prevent the damaging effects of radiation

High blood pressure is higher in many Asian countries than in Australia

Computer-assisted instruction offers the potential to overcome knowledge barriers and improve screening rates

Possible explanation for the higher incidence of lung cancer in African Americans

Isotretinoin-related birth defects

Family history of alcohol dependency does not relate to age of first drink

Cell phones speed heart attack treatment

Largest known series of data examining the sequencing of tamoxifen and radiation

Combining alcoholics anonymous and treatment works best

PCBs found widely in the environment and absorbed in the diet - may damage sperm

Gel made from a patient's own blood reduces pain and may improve wound healing

Moderate drinking has effects on blood coagulation, primarily as a "blood thinner"

Canadian adolescents and complementary or alternative medical treatment

No shred of evidence that HIV-positive men who lose fat in their legs reciprocally gain fat in their bellies

Russian moonshine contributes to very high death rate among Russians

Infants and adolescents vaccinated against hepatitis B are protected for over 10 years after immunisation

Bacille Calmette Guerin (BCG) vaccination can protect children from tuberculosis infection as well as active TB disease

Whooping cough vaccine 90 percent effective

Why breast black cancer patients experience lower survival rates than other women

Redefining control and consistency in anaerobic microbiome workflows

AI in Healthcare: How generative tools are transforming clinical practice

The future of automation: Machine learning–driven hepatocyte and organoid counting

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