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TACC supercomputers help researchers understand DNA bending and repair mechanisms
Date: Aug-20-2013Results from computer simulations show that it is energetically less expensive to bend mismatch-containing, defective DNA (G:T, C:C, C:T, G:A, G:G, T:T, A:A, A+:C) vs. non-defective DNA (containing A:T or G:C base pairs). DNA repair mechanisms likely take advantage of this feature to detect defective DNA based on an increased bending propensity. The biological information that makes us unique is encoded in our DNA. DNA damage is a natural biological occurrence that happens every time cells divide and multiply. External factors such as overexposure to sunlight can also damage DNA...
Treatment-resistant lymphomas 'reprogrammed' to respond to cancer drugs
Date: Aug-20-2013A phase I clinical trial showed diffuse, large B-cell lymphomas (DLBCLs) resistant to chemotherapy can be reprogrammed to respond to treatment using the drug azacitidine, according to a study published in Cancer Discovery, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. Patients whose lymphomas recur after initial chemotherapy are treated with a combination of approaches, including high-dose chemotherapy followed by a stem cell transplant...
Twice as many people think cancer is a death sentence in the UK compared to the US
Date: Aug-20-2013The Lilly PACE initiative today launched the results of a survey of cancer patients, their carers and the general public around current perceptions of cancer care. The survey, conducted in six countries across the globe, showed that in the UK although the majority of people (73%)[1] are satisfied with recent progress in the fight against cancer, half of them (42%)1 still feel a diagnosis of cancer is a death sentence. This was double the percentage reported by American survey respondents, suggesting people in the UK have lower expectations of cancer treatment...
Sensor attached to a construction worker's helmet can detect the onset of carbon monoxide poisoning
Date: Aug-20-2013Research calling for the use of a wearable computing system installed in a helmet to protect construction workers from carbon monoxide poisoning, a serious lethal threat in this industry, has garnered the Virginia Tech investigators a Best Paper Award from a prestigious scientific and engineering community. This award will be presented at the August 17-21, 2013 Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) Conference on Automation Science and Engineering. Carbon monoxide poisoning is a significant problem for construction workers in both residential and industrial settings...
Chemical engineers find that arrays of carbon nanotubes can detect flaws in drugs and help improve production
Date: Aug-20-2013MIT chemical engineers have discovered that arrays of billions of nanoscale sensors have unique properties that could help pharmaceutical companies produce drugs - especially those based on antibodies - more safely and efficiently. Using these sensors, the researchers were able to characterize variations in the binding strength of antibody drugs, which hold promise for treating cancer and other diseases. They also used the sensors to monitor the structure of antibody molecules, including whether they contain a chain of sugars that interferes with proper function...
New Risk Score Predicts 10-Year Dementia Risk for Type 2 Diabetes Patients
Date: Aug-20-2013Researchers at Kaiser Permanente and the University Medical Centre Utrecht in the Netherlands have created the first risk score that predicts the 10-year individualized dementia risk for patients with type 2 diabetes, as reported in the inaugural issue of Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology. The researchers developed and validated the Diabetes-Specific Dementia Risk Score by examining data from nearly 30,000 patients with type 2 diabetes aged 60 and older over a 10-year period...
Study shows potential for new treatment strategy with effects of Parkinson's-disease mutation reversed in cells
Date: Aug-20-2013UC San Francisco scientists working in the lab used a chemical found in an anti-wrinkle cream to prevent the death of nerve cells damaged by mutations that cause an inherited form of Parkinson's disease. A similar approach might ward off cell death in the brains of people afflicted with Parkinson's disease, the team suggested in a study reported online in the journal Cell...
What is urethritis? What causes urethritis?
Date: Aug-19-2013Urethritis is the inflammation and swelling of the urethra - the narrow tube that carries urine from the bladder out of the body. Urethritis is caused by either a bacterium or a virus - it is classed as either gonococcal urethritis which is caused by Neisseria gonorrhoeae, or non-gonococcal urethritis (NGU), caused by Chlamydia trachomatis - one of the most common sexually transmitted diseases affecting both men and women. The most common viral causes of urethritis are herpes simplex virus and cytomegalovirus...
Expanded role for pharmacists in Canada is an opportunity to offer better patient care
Date: Aug-19-2013The newly expanded role of pharmacists in Canada to help manage the health of patients can benefit both patients and physicians, according to an article in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). The article, written by a physician and a pharmacist, summarizes the opportunities for collaborative care and how physicians can work with pharmacists. Pharmacists in Canada have recently been given broader responsibilities, including in some provinces, prescribing privileges, ability to order and interpret laboratory tests, and ability to vaccinate and inject medications...
Physician continuity after patients leave hospital for heart failure can help survival rates
Date: Aug-19-2013Patients with heart failure who see a physician in the first month after leaving hospital are more likely to survive than those who do not see a doctor, reports a new study in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). The effect is slightly more pronounced in patients who see their regular physician rather than an unfamiliar physician. In the United States and Canada, more than $20 billion is spent every year on patients who are readmitted to hospital within 30 days after discharge...
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