Health News

Melanoma patients increase sun exposure after diagnosis

Date: Oct-02-2013
Researchers have discovered that patients with melanoma throw caution to the wind in the 3 years following their diagnoses and increase the amount of time they spend in the sun. According to the American Academy of Family Physicians, cutaneous malignant melanoma (CMM) is a potentially lethal skin cancer. Although it is fairly rare among skin cancers, comprising only 3-5% of diagnoses, it is responsible for approximately 75% of skin cancer deaths. CMM results when the melanocytes, or pigment-producing cells that determine skin color, undergo a malignant transformation...

Government shutdown delays NIH trials and impairs CDC

Date: Oct-02-2013
As the shock of the federal government shutdown has given way to cold, hard statistics, health and medical organizations - such as the NIH and CDC - are taking stock of what the shutdown means for the health of the American people. It is now a common sight on any government website: "Due to a lapse in funding, the US federal government has shut down." But one look at what is affected by the shutdown on the US government's official web portal reveals that many services vital for the wellbeing of the population are furloughed, along with the employees who monitor them. Dr...

Mutant protein blocks HIV infection

Date: Oct-02-2013
Scientists from the University of Cambridge in the UK have discovered a mutant form of an immune protein is able to block infection and spread of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in immune cells. Their findings could lead to new ways to fight HIV by offering a new target for drug developers. A report on the study appears in the latest online issue of the journal Retrovirology...

Centipede venom molecule may combat pain

Date: Oct-02-2013
A team of scientists from Australia and China has found a molecule in centipede venom that could form the basis of a new drug to kill pain as effectively as morphine. The discovery brings new hope to millions of people whose lives are blighted because of chronic pain. Their findings are published in this week's online issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, PNAS. One in five people is thought to suffer from chronic pain, defined as pain that lasts for more than 6 months...

Investigational lung cancer treatment shows strong anti-tumour activity in brain mestastases

Date: Oct-02-2013
ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: ARIA) has announced updated clinical results on its investigational tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI), AP26113, in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) from an ongoing Phase 1/2 trial. These study results show robust anti-tumor activity of AP26113 in patients with TKI-naïve and crizotinib-resistant anaplastic lymphoma kinase positive (ALK+) NSCLC, including in patients with brain metastases after crizotinib treatment. Crizotinib is the currently available first-generation ALK inhibitor...

Cimzia® (certolizumab pegol) approved by the U.S. FDA for treatment of adult patients with active psoriatic arthritis

Date: Oct-02-2013
UCB has announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Cimzia® (certolizumab pegol) for the treatment of adult patients with active psoriatic arthritis (PsA). "The FDA's approval of Cimzia® for the treatment of active PsA provides an additional, effective treatment option for those living with the condition. Psoriatic arthritis brings with it a heavy disease burden that often strikes during the prime years of life, impacting health-related quality of life and physical function," said Dr. Philip J...

More research urged to compare and validate genomic tests for patients with early breast cancer

Date: Oct-02-2013
The European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) has welcomed preliminary clinical trial results that suggest genomic testing could allow many patients with early breast cancer to safely avoid chemotherapy. The new trial results[1], reported at the European Cancer Congress 2013 this week, illustrate that more research is urgently needed to compare and validate the growing number of genomic tests becoming available in oncology, ESMO says...

Real-world patient trial confirms benefits of using Deplin® in management of depression

Date: Oct-02-2013
Clinical data previously reported in the American Journal of Psychiatry supported the benefits of the prescription medical food Deplin® (L-methylfolate) as an adjunct to antidepressants in a controlled trial of patients inadequately responding to Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs). Now, a study conducted to measure the real-world impact on 554 patients has found that those taking L-methylfolate reported a decrease in depression symptoms and approximately half achieved remission...

Cracking AMD's genetic code - rare gene identified

Date: Oct-02-2013
Scientists working on the genetics of age-related macular degeneration (AMD - the commonest cause of blindness in Europe and North America) have identified a new rare gene variant that predisposes people to the condition.  Professor John Yates, Prof Tony Moore and Dr Valentina Cipriani from the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) Biomedical Research Centre at Moorfields Eye Hospital and UCL Institute of Ophthalmology were part of an international group of researchers involved in the a study of over 2,000 patients with the disorder...

New research offers hope for parents of picky eaters

Date: Oct-02-2013
An intervention developed by UCL psychologists significantly increases consumption of fruit and vegetables commonly disliked among picky young children, new research has found. The research, published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, showed that in a randomised controlled trial involving 450 young children, a new method of taste exposure significantly increased the proportion of children willing to try new foods and to continue eating them...