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Decoding genomes from 25,000 cancer samples

The International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC) today set out its bold plan to decode the genomes from 25,000 cancer samples and create a resource of freely available data that will help cancer researchers around the world. The publication outlines research design and projects as well as the important ethical framework for this science.

15 Apr 2010

EU Joint Programming initiative to tackle neurodegenerative diseases

Leading researchers from across Europe will gather today in Stockholm to develop a European-wide research strategy to tackle neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Disease.

15 Apr 2010

Working memory maintenance linked with synchronisation of neurons

A research project of the Neuroscience Center of the University of Helsinki sheds light on the neuronal mechanisms sustaining memory traces of visual stimuli in the human brain. The results show that the maintenance of working memory is associated with synchronisation of neurons, which facilitates communication between different parts of the brain. On the basis of interaction between the brain areas, it was even possible to predict the subject's individual working memory capacity.

15 Apr 2010

Study: Atorvastatin may slow down MS progression

A UCSF-led study examining the impact of statins on the progression of multiple sclerosis found a lower incidence of new brain lesions in patients taking the cholesterol-lowering drug in the early stages of the disease as compared to a placebo.

15 Apr 2010

Ibuprofen demonstrates efficacy over acetaminophen for treatment of pain and fever

Cumberland Pharmaceuticals Inc. today announced results from a meta-analysis comparing the efficacy and safety of ibuprofen and acetaminophen, which was published in the March edition of the peer-reviewed journal The Annals of Pharmacotherapy. The publication notes that in a majority of evaluated studies ibuprofen demonstrated superior efficacy compared to acetaminophen for the treatment of pain and fever, and found no significant safety differences between the drugs.

15 Apr 2010

Cancer patients continue to be affected by FN as a result of chemotherapy: Survey

Thirty percent of patients surveyed experienced an infection as a result of chemotherapy, 45 percent of which were associated with neutropenia or febrile neutropenia according to findings from a pan-European patient and nurse survey presented today at the 7th Annual European Oncology Nursing Society Spring Convention.

15 Apr 2010

GE and U.S. Army to evaluate deployed soldiers for TBI and PTSD symptoms

As part of GE's continuing efforts to support U.S. troops, GE Global Research, the technology development arm of the General Electric Company, is engaged in a two-year research study with the U.S. Army to evaluate soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan for traumatic brain injuries (TBI) and post-traumatic stress disorders (PTSD).

15 Apr 2010

Gene causing progressive form of hair loss identified

A team of investigators from Columbia, Rockefeller and Stanford Universities has identified a new gene involved in hair growth, as reported in a paper in the April 15 issue of Nature. This discovery may affect future research and treatments for male pattern baldness and other forms of hair loss.

15 Apr 2010

MDA awards over $21M in grants for advancing critical neuromuscular research

Forty-two medical researchers and their labs have been awarded more than $21 million in grants by the Muscular Dystrophy Association to advance critical neuromuscular research in 2010. Many of the grants are multi-year awards to be dispersed over the next three years.

15 Apr 2010

Medication and behaviour therapy help children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Medication and behavioural interventions help children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) better maintain attention and self control by normalising activity in the same brain systems, according to researchers at The University of Nottingham.

15 Apr 2010

New investigational treatment may help prevent involuntary outbursts in MS and ALS patients

Pseudobulbar affect (PBA) is a neurologic condition of involuntary, sudden and frequent episodes of laughing or crying and is quite common in patients with underlying neurologic diseases or injuries, especially those with multiple sclerosis (MS) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

15 Apr 2010

Tobacco policies reduce exposure to secondhand smoke: The Cochrane Library

In countries and states that have introduced policies that restrict smoking in public, people have less exposure to secondhand smoke. There is also a reduction in the number of people who have heart attacks, as well as an improvement in other indicators of health. These findings are reported in a new review published in the April issue of The Cochrane Library.

15 Apr 2010

Gene defect promotes aggressive forms of ovarian cancer

CANCER RESEARCH UK scientists have discovered how mistakes in a key gene drive the early stages of aggressive ovarian cancers. This could improve diagnosis of aggressive forms of the disease and lead to new treatments, according to a study published in the Journal of Pathology this month.

15 Apr 2010

Scientists uncover new genes responsible for cancer, deafness

From deep within the genomes of organisms as diverse as plants, worms and yeast, scientists have uncovered new genes responsible for causing human diseases such as cancer and deafness.

15 Apr 2010

Genzyme presents 4-year follow-up data from Phase 2 MS trial at neurology meeting

Genzyme Corporation today reported four-year follow-up data from its completed Phase 2 multiple sclerosis (MS) trial showing an estimated 71 percent of alemtuzumab treated patients remain free of clinically-active disease as much as three years after most patients received their last course of the investigational compound. The data were presented at the American Academy of Neurology annual meeting.

15 Apr 2010

GBS cases reduce following 2009 H1N1 vaccination: Research study

A new study finds that reports of a neurologic disease called Guillain-Barré syndrome have been low after 2009 H1N1 vaccination, according to a research study that will be presented as part of the late-breaking science program at the American Academy of Neurology's 62nd Annual Meeting in Toronto, April 10 - 17, 2010.

15 Apr 2010

Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, AACR awarded four Innovative Grants for pancreatic cancer research

The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network and the American Association for Cancer Research awarded four Innovative Grants; three Career Development Awards; one Pathway to Leadership Grant; and one Fellowship Award to outstanding researchers for their innovative research proposals which have the potential to lead to medical breakthroughs in the treatment of pancreatic cancer.

15 Apr 2010

Genomic component playing key role in promoting breast cancer progression discovered

Life Technologies Corporation today announced that its scientists have teamed with researchers from Stanford University School of Medicine, and other institutions to discover a genomic component that plays a key role in promoting breast cancer progression. A study published today in the journal Nature details how levels of a specific kind of non-coding RNA molecule in primary breast tumors regulate metastasis and tumor invasiveness and may be an important target for cancer diagnosis and therapy.

15 Apr 2010

Artificial pancreas system succeeds in maintaining near-normal glucose levels

An artificial pancreas system that closely mimics the body's blood sugar control mechanism was able to maintain near-normal glucose levels without causing hypoglycemia in a small group of patients. The system, combining a blood glucose monitor and insulin pump technology with software that directs administration of insulin and the blood-sugar-raising hormone glucagon, was developed at Boston University.

15 Apr 2010

Patients with RLS using rotigotine achieve sustained improvements

New data presented at the 62nd American Academy of Neurology annual meeting in Toronto, Canada, showed that patients with moderate to severe Restless Legs Syndrome using rotigotine achieved sustained improvements in symptoms over 5 years of treatment.

15 Apr 2010