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Specialised cancer centers may improve survival rates for patients

Survival rates for cancer patients may be improved by treatment in specialised cancer centers, according to Cochrane researchers. In a review of recent studies, they found that women diagnosed with gynaecological cancer lived longer when treated in specialist compared to non-specialist units.

15 Mar 2012

Scientists identify new compound that quickly kills HCC cells

Scientists have identified a new compound that rapidly kills hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells, the most common form of liver cancer and fifth most common cancer worldwide, while sparing healthy tissue.

15 Mar 2012

New rule ensuring equal access for ESRD patients receives DPC praise

Dialysis Patient Citizens (DPC), the nation's largest patient-led organization representing dialysis patients, applauded the Administration for taking steps to solidify a key provision that will ensure end stage renal disease (ESRD) patients have equal access to private coverage as Affordable Care Act reforms are implemented.

14 Mar 2012

Endoscopic transgastric necrosectomy associated with lower risk of major complications

In a small, preliminary trial, patients with infected necrotizing pancreatitis who received a less-invasive procedure, endoscopic transgastric necrosectomy, had an associated lower risk of major complications and death compared to patients who had surgical necrosectomy, according to a study in the March 14 issue of JAMA.

14 Mar 2012

Mutated ATRX gene associated with advanced-stage neuroblastoma

Certain mutations of the gene ATRX were associated with age at diagnosis in children and young adults with advanced-stage neuroblastoma, a cancer that grows in parts of the nervous system, according to a study in the March 14 issue of JAMA.

14 Mar 2012

Scientists grow rudimentary retina structure from blood cells

For the first time, scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have made early retina structures containing proliferating neuroretinal progenitor cells using induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells derived from human blood.

14 Mar 2012

New national effort to accelerate development of therapies for neurological diseases

The National Institute for Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) has selected Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and Weill Cornell Medical College to participate in a new national effort to accelerate the development of therapies for people with neurological diseases.

14 Mar 2012

CME conference on deep brain stimulation for movement disorders

CME Conference for physicians and health care professionals on deep brain stimulation for movement disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder and depression

14 Mar 2012

Potential new way to treat rare inherited metabolic disorders

A University of Michigan cell biologist and his colleagues have identified a potential drug that speeds up trash removal from the cell's recycling center, the lysosome.

14 Mar 2012

Wiki as an innovative new tool for developing individual asthma action plans

Imagine that you have asthma, and rather than give you a set of instructions about what to do if you have an attack, your doctor invites you to help write them?

14 Mar 2012

Varicose veins may be a simple cosmetic issue or a serious medical problem

With spring break shorts and swimsuit season coming up, many people will soon show off their legs for the first time in months, and for some, that also means deciding what to do about unsightly varicose veins. The bulging purple or blue lines may be simply a cosmetic issue, or they could be a sign of a serious medical problem, says Mayo Clinic vascular surgeon Peter Gloviczki, M.D.

14 Mar 2012

Researchers identify first gene mutation associated with chronic, often fatal form of neuroblastoma

Researchers have identified the first gene mutation associated with a chronic and often fatal form of neuroblastoma that typically strikes adolescents and young adults. The finding provides the first clue about the genetic basis of the long-recognized but poorly understood link between treatment outcome and age at diagnosis.

14 Mar 2012

Microbubbles and focused ultrasound help drugs enter the brain

One of the trickiest parts of treating brain conditions is the blood brain barrier, a blockade of cells that prevent both harmful toxins and helpful pharmaceuticals from getting to the body's control center. But, a technique published in JoVE, uses an MRI machine to guide the use of microbubbles and focused ultrasound to help drugs enter the brain, which may open new treatment avenues for devastating conditions like Alzheimer's and brain cancers.

14 Mar 2012

Researchers discover molecular mechanism responsible for low back pain

Italian researchers at the Catholic University of Sacred Heart in Rome found an important molecular mechanism responsible for low back pain and other acute vertebral problems like cervical axial pain, all due to aging and degeneration of the vertebral column.

14 Mar 2012

Warm weather may hinder cognitive performance in people with multiple sclerosis

Warm weather may hinder cognitive performance in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to results of a Kessler Foundation study e-published online ahead of print by Neurology. An accompanying editorial by Meier & Christodoulou, MS and heat: The smoke and the fire, details the study's unique aspects, ie, longitudinal followup in a cohort with apparently quiescent disease.

14 Mar 2012

Nuvilex discusses Cell-in-a-Box technology used for pancreatic cancer clinical trial

Nuvilex, Inc., an emerging biotechnology provider of cell and gene therapy solutions, discussed today the proprietary Cell-in-a-Box technology, being acquired from SG Austria, that was used for the pancreatic cancer clinical trial and may have an effect on downstream micro metastatic disease.

14 Mar 2012

African Americans in Georgia found to have poor survival rates from cancer

African Americans in Georgia, especially in rural areas, have drastically poorer survival rates from cancer. These disparities are much larger when compared to national data, according to the findings from a study recently published in the journal Cancer by a team of researchers in the University of Georgia College of Public Health.

14 Mar 2012

Gene simultaneously protects against and also promotes cancer growth

Can a gene simultaneously protect against cancer and favor its growth? Researchers at the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre have discovered a gene with this double-edged property and suspect there may be many more that share it. In the words of Oscar Fernandez Capetillo, head of the group responsible for the study, this gene "can be both Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, in that it can either protect us against the appearance of tumors or promote tumor growth".

14 Mar 2012

Developmental differences in brain network function found in children of parents with schizophrenia

A team of neuroscientists led by a Wayne State University School of Medicine professor has discovered stark developmental differences in brain network function in children of parents with schizophrenia when compared to those with no family history of mental illness.

14 Mar 2012

The two sides of pain

"Pain is both a curse and a blessing", says Jürgen Sandkühler, Head of the Department of Neurophysiology at the Centre for Brain Research at the MedUni Vienna ahead of the international "Brain Awareness Week", being held from the 12th to the 16th of March. On the one hand, pain has an important protective function for humans.

14 Mar 2012