Health News

Many Solid Tumors Carry Genetic Changes Targeted By Existing Compounds

Date: Jun-03-2013
Nearly two-thirds of solid tumors carry at least one mutation that may be targeted, or medicated, by an existing compound, according to new findings from researchers Fox Chase Cancer Center that will be presented at the 49th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology on June 3. The results suggest that it may one day become commonplace for doctors to sequence tumors before deciding on a treatment regimen. "Extended sequencing of a patient's tumor is not something that's routinely done now," says study author Patrick Boland, MD, a hematology/oncology fellow at Fox Chase...

Discovery Of Possible Key To Cause Of Cushing Disease

Date: Jun-03-2013
Cushing disease is a life-threatening disorder most commonly triggered by tumors, often benign, in the pituitary glands, resulting in excess production of adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH). The condition is marked by progressive weight gain, excessive fatty tissue deposits and a rounding of facial features, known as "moon face," and can lead to diabetes, hypertension, osteoporosis, obesity and psychological disturbances. Cushing disease, which is more common in women than men, is also associated with a three- to four-fold increase in the risk of premature death...

Protein Prevents Immune Cell Suicide

Date: Jun-03-2013
A protein called c-FLIP-R is critical to immune cell survival: If this molecule is missing, the cells kill themselves - and are thus no longer able to perform their job fighting off invaders. Now, scientists at the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) Braunschweig and at the Otto von Guericke University (OvGU) Magdeburg have published their findings in the renowned European Journal of Immunology. Apoptosis, programmed cell death, is a kind of cellular suicide program. If something triggers it, the cells perish in a controlled manner...

Healthy Habits Linked To Reduced Memory Loss

Date: Jun-03-2013
People with healthy habits are at a reduced risk of memory complaints, according to a new study carried out by UCLA researchers. The researchers analyzed the link between healthy behaviors and memory throughout adult life. A national poll, which included a total of 18,552 people, was conducted by UCLA researchers and the Gallup organization. The participants were asked questions about their memory as well as their lifestyle...

More Sugary Fruit Juice Consumed By Minority Children Than Their White Peers

Date: Jun-03-2013
While there has been a steep decline in kids' consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages in California, African-American and Latino children may be replacing soda with 100 percent fruit juice while their white peers are not, according to a new study from UC San Francisco. The study was the first to compare trends of sugar-sweetened beverages and 100 percent juice consumption in California...

Medication Compliance In Rheumatoid Arthritis

Date: Jun-03-2013
A new study conducted in an ethnically diverse and predominantly low income population found that only one-fifth of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients had an overall adherence rate to prescribed oral medications at 80% or greater. Findings published in Arthritis & Rheumatism, a journal of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR), indicate that less than two thirds of medication regimens for non-biologic disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) were correctly followed by RA patients. According to ACR estimates, more than one million U.S...

In Mouse Models, New Agent Inhibits HCV Replication

Date: Jun-03-2013
Treatments against hepatitis C virus have only been partially successful. A major problem is that antivirals generate drug resistance. Now Seong-Wook Lee of Dankook University, Yongin, Republic of Korea and his collaborators have developed agents that bind to the business end of a critical protein, disabling it so successfully that no resistance has arisen. The research is published in the June 2013 issue of the Journal of Virology. The target protein for the new agents is the NS5B replicase protein, which is the central catalytic enzyme in HCV replication...

Robotic Single-Site Hysterectomy Performed By Johns Hopkins Surgeons

Date: Jun-03-2013
Two Johns Hopkins gynecologic surgeons are among the first in the nation to perform a robotic hysterectomy using a single, small incision. Amanda Nickles Fader, M.D., associate professor of gynecologic oncology and director of the Kelly Gynecologic Oncology Service and the Minimally Invasive Surgery Center in the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics; and Stacey Scheib, M.D...

Point-Of-Care Health Care And Medical Sensors The Focus Of Worldwide Lecture Tour

Date: Jun-03-2013
NJIT Distinguished Professor and electrical engineer Atam Dhawan hits the lecture trail again this summer as a distinguished speaker for an IEEE life sciences lecture series. His focus will be how "Point of Care Healthcare" can reduce illness, improve the quality of life, and stop spiraling healthcare costs. Dhawan, who will stop at conferences in Japan, Colombia and Croatia, tells audiences about the following. If you aren't already using a "wearable" sensor - whether it's a watch that reads your blood pressure or a temperature strip for your child's forehead - you soon will be...

Poll Suggests Healthy Lifestyle Choices May Lead To Fewer Memory Complaints

Date: Jun-03-2013
Research has shown that healthy behaviors are associated with a lower risk of Alzheimer's disease and dementia, but less is known about the potential link between positive lifestyle choices and milder memory complaints, especially those that occur earlier in life and could be the first indicators of later problems.  To examine the impact of these lifestyle choices on memory throughout adult life, UCLA researchers and the Gallup organization collaborated on a nationwide poll of more than 18,500 individuals between the ages of 18 and 99...