Health News

Publication demonstrates superior activity of ISA Pharmaceuticals' SLP® vaccines compared to whole protein vaccines

Date: Sep-06-2013
ISA Pharmaceuticals B.V., a clinical-stage immunotherapy company focusing on rationally designed therapeutic vaccines against cancer and persistent viral infections, has announced the publication of a peer-reviewed paper in the European Journal of Immunology.[1] The article describes a previously unknown mechanism that explains the excellent efficacy of ISA's Synthetic Long Peptide (SLP®) vaccines...

Biologists uncover details of how we squelch defective neurons

Date: Sep-06-2013
Biologists at the University of California, San Diego have identified a new component of the cellular mechanism by which humans and animals automatically check the quality of their nerve cells to assure they're working properly during development. In a paper published in this week's issue of the journal Neuron, the scientists report the discovery in the laboratory roundworm C. elegans of a "quality check" system for neurons that uses two proteins to squelch the signals from defective neurons and marks them for either repair or destruction...

New pooled analysis shows cangrelor demonstrates reduction in angiographic complications compared to oral clopidogrel

Date: Sep-06-2013
The Medicines Company (NASDAQ: MDCO) reported presentation and publication of a pooled analysis of three Phase III clinical trials of an investigational intravenous (IV) antiplatelet, cangrelor. The trials compared IV cangrelor to either oral clopidogrel or placebo for prevention of thrombotic (clotting) complications during and after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). The findings of the pooled CHAMPION program confirm the results of the CHAMPION PHOENIX trial presented and published in April 2013...

False descriptions easier to remember than false denials LSU psychologist discovers

Date: Sep-06-2013
What happens when you tell a lie? Set aside your ethical concerns for a moment - after all, lying is a habit we practice with astonishing dexterity and frequency, whether we realize it or not. What goes on in your brain when you willfully deceive someone? And what happens later, when you attempt to access the memory of your deceit? How you remember a lie may be impacted profoundly by how you lie, according to a new study by LSU Associate Professor Sean Lane and former graduate student Kathleen Vieria...

Brain depends on vision to hear University of Utah engineers show

Date: Sep-06-2013
University of Utah bioengineers discovered our understanding of language may depend more heavily on vision than previously thought: under the right conditions, what you see can override what you hear. These findings suggest artificial hearing devices and speech-recognition software could benefit from a camera, not just a microphone. "For the first time, we were able to link the auditory signal in the brain to what a person said they heard when what they actually heard was something different...

Study shows that people who undergo cataract surgery to correct visual impairment live longer

Date: Sep-06-2013
People with cataract-related vision loss who have had cataract surgery to improve their sight are living longer than those with visual impairment who chose not to have the procedure, according to an Australian cohort study published this month in Ophthalmology, the journal of the American Academy of Ophthalmology. After comparing the two groups, the researchers found a 40 percent lower long-term mortality risk in those who had the surgery...

Psychological effects of genetic testing for risk of weight gain

Date: Sep-06-2013
Obesity gene testing does not put people off weight loss and may help to reduce self-blame, according to a new study by researchers from the Health Behaviour Research Centre at UCL (University College London). Previous studies have shown that genes play a role in a person's risk of becoming overweight. One gene, called FTO, has been found to have the biggest influence so far. FTO has two variants, one associated with greater risk of weight gain (A) and one associated with lower risk (T). One in two people carries at least one copy of the A variant...

Scientists link a protein to initial tumor growth in several cancers

Date: Sep-06-2013
A team led by scientists from The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have shown that a protein once thought to inhibit the growth of tumors is instead required for initial tumor growth. The findings could point to a new approach to cancer treatment. The study was published this week as the cover article of the journal Science Signaling. The focus of the study was angiomotin, a protein that coordinates cell migration, especially during the start of new blood vessel growth and proliferation of other cell types...

New pathway in blood vessel inflammation and disease discovered - Kruppel-like factors as master regulators of vascular health

Date: Sep-06-2013
Case Western Reserve researchers have identified a genetic factor that blocks the blood vessel inflammation that can lead to heart attacks, strokes and other potentially life-threatening events. The breakthrough involving Kruppel-like factor (KLF) 15 is the latest in a string of discoveries from the laboratory of professor of medicine Mukesh K. Jain, MD, FAHA, that involves a remarkable genetic family. Kruppel-like factors appear to play prominent roles in everything from cardiac health and obesity to metabolism and childhood muscular dystrophy...

Chemotherapy helps elderly patients with small cell lung cancer

Date: Sep-06-2013
Although numerous randomized clinical trials have demonstrated a benefit of chemotherapy for patients with small-cell lung cancer (SCLC), these trials have predominantly compared different chemotherapy regimens rather than comparing chemotherapy to best supportive care. Some of them included chest radiation or prophylactic cranial irradiation. Moreover, many trials excluded elderly patients. A recent retrospective study looked at the benefit of chemotherapy on survival of elderly patients with SCLC in the community...