Health News

Disease Mutations And The Parkin Protein

Date: Jun-04-2013
Researchers at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in the United Kingdom have determined the crystal structure of Parkin, a protein found in cells that when mutated can lead to a hereditary form of Parkinson's disease. The results, which are published in The EMBO Journal, define the position of many of the mutations linked to hereditary Parkinson's disease and explain how these alterations may affect the stability and function of the protein. The findings may in time reveal how the activity of Parkin is affected in patients with this rare but debilitating type of Parkinson's disease...

Advances In HIV Care And Increased Focus On LGBT Health Lead To Improvement In HIV Treatment Adherence And Outcomes

Date: Jun-04-2013
HIV-positive transgender people are just as likely to stay in care, take their medication and have similar outcomes as other men and women living with the disease, according to new research from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and published online May 30 in Clinical Infectious Diseases. The study - which looked at almost 37,000 patients at 13 HIV clinics from 2001 to 2011 in the US - suggests an encouraging shift from earlier work documenting poor retention in care and drug adherence in transgender people, a high risk group for HIV...

Reduction In Child Mortality And Improvements In Maternal Health

Date: Jun-04-2013
Rapid expansion of programs to prevent HIV transmission to babies and vaccinate children show how results can be achieved in relatively little time Some of the world's poorest countries have managed to cut maternal and young child mortality rates by half or more, according to a new report from Countdown to 2015. The report, Accountability for Maternal, Newborn and Child Survival, highlights successes in improving maternal health and reducing child mortality in some countries, while pointing out where progress has been lagging in others...

Europe In 2010: Concern Over The Health And Care Of Pregnant Women And Babies

Date: Jun-04-2013
The burden of mortality and morbidity in the perinatal period - pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum - remains a major concern in Europe. Over 5 million women deliver babies in European countries every year. A healthy pregnancy and infancy confers long-lasting benefits by preventing death and disability in childhood, and reducing risks of adult chronic diseases such as diabetes and hypertension...

Sorafenib Stops Tumor Growth And Provides The First Effective Treatment For Thyroid Cancer Patients Who Progress Following Standard Therapies

Date: Jun-04-2013
The kidney and liver cancer drug sorafenib holds metastatic thyroid cancer at bay for nearly twice as long as a placebo, according to results of a randomized phase III trial, which was presented by a researcher from the Abramson Cancer Center and the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania in a plenary session during the American Society of Clinical Oncology's annual meeting (Abstract #4)...

Long-Term Sex Partners Of People With HPV-Related Oral Cancers Not At Increased Risk Of Infection

Date: Jun-04-2013
Spouses and long-term partners of patients with mouth and throat cancers related to infection with the human papilloma virus (HPV) appear to have no increased prevalence of oral HPV infections, according to results of a multicenter, pilot study led by Johns Hopkins investigators. The study's results suggest that long-term couples need not change their sexual practices, say the scientists...

We Need More Breast Cancer Trials For Younger Patients Urge Experts

Date: Jun-03-2013
The poorer survival rates of younger breast cancer patients could be a result of insufficient clinical trials for this age group. This was a conclusion of a major new Cancer Research UK study published online recently in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute (JNCI). Senior author Dianna Eccles, who heads Cancer Research UK's Southampton Clinical Trials Unit, says in a statement: "This study adds to the evidence that breast cancer can behave very differently when diagnosed in younger women...

More Kids Poisoned With Adult Prescriptions

Date: Jun-03-2013
The volume of adults prescriptions in the USA has risen, and so too have rates of poisonings in children who accidentally took adult prescription drugs, says a study published in the journal Pediatrics (June 3rd issue). As background information, the authors, from Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, San Diego State University and the University of Colorado, explained that accidental ingestion of prescription drugs (non-therapeutic medication ingestion) continues to be a serious pediatric health problem in the USA...

Avastin Can Lengthen The Lives Of Advanced Cervical Cancer Patients

Date: Jun-03-2013
The addition of targeted therapy Avastin (bevacizumab) with chemotherapy can significantly lengthen the lives of women with advanced cervical cancer by close to 30%, according to research presented at the 2013 American Society of Clinical Oncology Congress. The finding is an important discovery in the fight against cervical cancer - the most common cancer in women under the age of 35. More than 3,000 women in the UK are diagnosed with cervical cancer annually, while 1,000 will die from it. Cervical cancer is normally treated with surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy...

New Anticancer Drug Shows Effect Against Melanoma

Date: Jun-03-2013
A new drug being tested in patients with advanced melanoma, the most dangerous form of skin cancer, has shown significant antitumor activity, according to preliminary results of a new study. The research, conducted by a team of experts from UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, led by Dr. Antoni Ribas, professor of medicine in the division of hematology-oncology, demonstrated that the novel drug comes with "very manageable side effects...