Health News

No association between age-related macular degeneration, Alzheimer disease, dementia

Date: Nov-15-2013
A study of patients in England with the eye disease age-related macular degeneration (AMD) found no association between having AMD and subsequently developing dementia or Alzheimer disease (AD), according to a report published by JAMA Ophthalmology, a JAMA Network publication. AMD and AD are diseases strongly associated with advancing age. They share environmental risk factors, including cigarette smoking, high blood pressure and high cholesterol and other features such as the depositing of plaques in the brain.

IntelligentMDx receives FDA clearance for IMDx C. difficile for Abbott m2000 assay

Date: Nov-15-2013
IntelligentMDx has announced that it has received FDA clearance for the IMDx C. difficile for Abbott m2000 assay which detects nucleic acids encoding the toxin A gene and toxin B gene sequences of toxigenic strains of Clostridium difficile in human liquid or soft stool specimens collected from patients suspected of having Clostridium difficile associated disease. This is the third test from IMDx to receive FDA clearance within three months for use on Abbott's fully-automated m2000 system and follows clearances of the IMDx VanR for Abbott m2000 and IMDx Flu A/B and RSV for Abbott m2000 assays.

FDA approves Imbruvica for rare blood cancer

Date: Nov-15-2013
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Imbruvica (ibrutinib) to treat patients with mantle cell lymphoma (MCL), a rare and aggressive type of blood cancer.MCL is a rare form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma and represents about 6 percent of all non-Hodgkin lymphoma cases in the United States. By the time MCL is diagnosed, it usually has already spread to the lymph nodes, bone marrow and other organs.Imbruvica is intended for patients with MCL who have received at least one prior therapy. It works by inhibiting the enzyme needed by the cancer to multiply and spread.

Rapid testing to diagnose influenza leads to more appropriate care in the ED

Date: Nov-15-2013
When patients in the emergency department (ED) are diagnosed with influenza by means of a rapid test, they get fewer unnecessary antibiotics, are prescribed antiviral medications more frequently, and have fewer additional lab tests compared to patients diagnosed with influenza without testing, according to a new study. Published online in the Journal of the Pediatrics Infectious Diseases Society, the findings suggest that diagnosing influenza with a rapid diagnostic test leads to more appropriate, specific, and efficient care.

Potential therapy for some cancers, rheumatoid arthritis following identification of common molecule

Date: Nov-15-2013
A molecule that helps cells stick together is significantly over-produced in two very different diseases - rheumatoid arthritis and a variety of cancers, including breast and brain tumors, concludes a new study. The scientists who made the discovery also found candidate drugs to inhibit the molecule, cadherin-11, one of which is already in a clinical trial.The study, published in Oncotarget, was led by investigators at Georgetown University Medical Center, and included collaborators from Harvard and Columbia Universities, Mayo Clinic and Queen's University in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Gene linked to common intellectual disability

Date: Nov-15-2013
University of Adelaide researchers have taken a step forward in unravelling the causes of a commonly inherited intellectual disability, finding that a genetic mutation leads to a reduction in certain proteins in the brain.ARX is among the top four types of intellectual disability linked to the X-chromosome in males. So far, 115 families, including many large Australian families, have been discovered to carry an ARX (Aristaless related homeobox) mutation that gives rise to intellectual disability.

Could buffaloberry be the next super fruit?

Date: Nov-15-2013
New research has uncovered an underutilized berry that could be the new super fruit, the buffaloberry. A new study in the Journal of Food Science, published by the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT), found that buffaloberries contain large amounts of lycopene and a related acidic compound, methyl-lycopenoate, which are important antioxidants and nutrients beneficial for human health.New research has uncovered an underutilized berry that could be the new super fruit, the buffaloberry.

Finding that deletion of any single gene provokes mutations elsewhere in the genome will affect cancer genetics

Date: Nov-15-2013
Johns Hopkins researchers report that the deletion of any single gene in yeast cells puts pressure on the organism's genome to compensate, leading to a mutation in another gene. Their discovery, which is likely applicable to human genetics because of the way DNA is conserved across species, could have significant consequences for the way genetic analysis is done in cancer and other areas of research, they say.Summarized in a report to be published on Nov.

Researchers test bandaging for breast cancer-related swollen arm

Date: Nov-15-2013
As a complication of treatment, breast cancer patients may develop swelling in the arm, called lymphedema, which can last a long time.But there's no difference if simple compression bandages or a complicated daily lymphatic massage are used as treatment, McMaster University researchers have found."In the future, patients who receive or can only afford elastic sleeves and gloves should be comforted knowing that their care has not been compromised," said Dr. Ian Dayes, associate professor of oncology for the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine and principal investigator of the study.

Geranylgeraniol suppresses the viability of human prostate cancer cells and HMG CoA reductase

Date: Nov-15-2013
Researchers at Texas Woman's University have shown that a diterpene geranylgeraniol found in linseed oil, Cedrela toona wood oil, sucupira branca fruit oil and more recently, annatto seed oil, suppressed the viability of human DU145 prostate carcinoma cells via cell cycle arrest at the G1 phase and the initiation of apoptosis. This finding, reported in the November 2013 issue of Experimental Biology and Medicine, supplies recent evidence supporting the tumor-suppressive potential of dietary isoprenoids, a class of phytochemicals encompassing ~55,000 mevalonate-derived secondary metabolites.