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Research leads to new, better way to combat drug-resistant cancers

A team of researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital has developed a new platform that can rapidly identify effective drug combinations for lung cancer patients whose tumors have stopped responding to targeted therapy. The research, which was supported in part by the National Foundation for Cancer Research, is a critical milestone on the road to personalized medicine.

22 Jan 2015

Personalized approaches to treating intellectual disability

Scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute have produced an approach that protects animal models against a type of genetic disruption that causes intellectual disability, including serious memory impairments and altered anxiety levels.

22 Jan 2015

Researchers identify promising new target for developing better therapies for neuroblastoma kids

Researchers at the University of Michigan's C.S. Mott Children's Hospital have identified a promising new target for developing new therapies for kids with high-risk neuroblastoma, according to a new study published in Molecular Cancer Research.

22 Jan 2015

Study offers possible explanation for differences between synchronization patterns in autism

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has been studied for many years, but there are still more questions than answers. For example, some research into the brain functions of individuals on the autism spectrum have found a lack of synchronization between different parts of the brain that normally work in tandem. But other studies have found the exact opposite - over-synchronization in the brains of those with ASD.

22 Jan 2015

Genes that increase longevity may not increase healthy lifespan

A study of long-lived mutant C. elegans by scientists at the University of Massachusetts Medical School shows that the genetically altered worms spend a greater portion of their life in a frail state and exhibit less activity as they age then typical nematodes.

22 Jan 2015

Umbilical cord-derived stem cells from women with gestational diabetes show premature aging

Multipotent cells isolated from the human umbilical cord, called mesenchymal stromal cells (hUC-MSCs) have shown promise for use in cell therapy to treat a variety of human diseases. However, intriguing new evidence shows that hUC-MSCs isolated from women with gestational diabetes demonstrate premature aging, poorer cell growth, and altered metabolic function, as reported in an article in Stem Cells and Development, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers.

22 Jan 2015

Microscopic spheres of calcium phosphate linked to AMD development

Microscopic spheres of calcium phosphate have been linked to the development of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a major cause of blindness, by UCL-led research.

21 Jan 2015

Daily use of Pycnogenol may help improve overall cognitive function

New research delivers exciting news for those seeking natural ways to boost memory and mental performance. A study recently published in the Journal of Neurosurgical Sciences shows daily use of Pycnogenol (pic-noj-en-all), a natural plant extract from French maritime pine tree bark, may help improve attention span, memory, decision-making – including executive-level performance – and overall cognitive function.

21 Jan 2015

Walnuts may improve cognitive function

Eating walnuts may improve performance on cognitive function tests, including those for memory, concentration and information processing speed according to new research from the David Geffen School of Medicine at The University of California, Los Angeles, led by Dr. Lenore Arab. Cognitive function was consistently greater in adult participants that consumed walnuts, regardless of age, gender or ethnicity.

21 Jan 2015

Use of methadone drug to treat pain increases mortality risk

Outside the hospital, use of methadone to treat pain carries a 46 percent increased risk of death when compared to the equally effective but more costly alternative, morphine SR (sustained release).

21 Jan 2015

Penn researchers make breakthrough on novel anesthetics

Penn Medicine researchers, in a continuation of their groundbreaking work to better understand how anesthesia works in the body, have found the first new class of novel anesthetics since the 1970s. Their findings, published in February issue of Anesthesiology, detail the processes through which the group uncovered these compounds.

21 Jan 2015

VolitionRx initiates pilot study to assess effectiveness of NuQ assays for ovarian cancer

VolitionRx Limited, a life sciences company focused on developing blood-based diagnostic tests for a broad range of cancer types and other conditions, today announced it has signed an agreement to commence a pilot ovarian cancer study in collaboration with Singapore General Hospital.

21 Jan 2015

Pfizer, Avon Foundation for Women reveal Avon-Pfizer Metastatic Breast Cancer Grants Program recipients

Today, Pfizer Inc. and the Avon Foundation for Women are proud to announce the first-ever recipients of the Avon-Pfizer Metastatic Breast Cancer Grants Program: Identify-Amplify-Unify.

21 Jan 2015

Stomach ulcer bug H. pylori may reduce risk of developing multiple sclerosis

A West Australian team has found evidence that the stomach ulcer bacterium, Helicobacter pylori, is associated with a lower risk of multiple sclerosis (MS), bolstering evidence for the role of the ‘hygiene hypothesis’ in autoimmune disorders.

21 Jan 2015

New study finds link between dyspareunia and mode of delivery

Operative birth is associated with persisting pain during or after sexual intercourse, known as dyspareunia, suggests a new study published today (21 January) in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.

21 Jan 2015

Study: Mutated ATRX gene may serve as much-needed biomarker for rare neuroendocrine tumors

A somatic mutation in the ATRX gene has recently been shown as a potential molecular marker for aggressive brain tumors, such as gliomas, neuroblastomas and pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors. Now, for the first time, researchers at Penn's Abramson Cancer Center have found that the same mutated gene may serve as a much-needed biomarker for the pheochromocytomas and paragangliomas (PCC/PGL) that become malignant.

21 Jan 2015

Male stroke patients who live alone are at greater risk of premature death

Men who live alone have a considerably greater long-term risk of dying prematurely than other patients. This is shown in a doctoral thesis that followed 1,090 stroke cases in western Sweden.

21 Jan 2015

New experimental study shows immunotherapy can reduce acute effects of heroin

Immunotherapy could have a place in the treatment of substance abuse in the future. A specific antibody can reduce the acute effects of heroin, according to a new experimental study at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health.

21 Jan 2015

Bariatric surgery can improve obesity-related health problems in children, adolescents

Bariatric surgery--as a last resort when conservative interventions have failed--can improve liver disease and other obesity-related health problems in severely obese children and adolescents, according to a position paper in the Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition, official journal of the European Society for Paediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition and the North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition.

21 Jan 2015

Long years of diabetes research now ripe for reinterpretation

Years of diabetes research carried out on mice whose DNA had been altered with a human growth hormone gene is now ripe for reinterpretation after a new study by researchers at KU Leuven confirms that the gene had an unintended effect on the mice's insulin production, a key variable in diabetes research.

21 Jan 2015