Health News

New Study Shows Promise In Using RNA Nanotechnology To Treat Cancers And Viral Infections

Date: Sep-06-2012
A new study by University of Kentucky researchers shows promise for developing ultrastable RNA nanoparticles that may help treat cancer and viral infections by regulating cell function and binding to cancers without harming surrounding tissue. The study, published in Nano Today, was carried out in the laboratory of Peixuan Guo, the William S. Farish Endowed Chair in Nanobiotechnology at the UK Markey Cancer Center, in collaboration with Dr. Mark Evers, director of the UK Markey Cancer Center...

New Genetic Clues To Why Most Bone Marrow Transplant Patients Develop Graft-Versus-Host Disease

Date: Sep-06-2012
A team of scientists led by a bone marrow transplant researcher at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center has shed new light on why most bone marrow transplant patients who receive tissue-matched cells from unrelated donors still suffer acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). The answer appears to lie in the discovery of previously undetected genetic differences in the DNA of patients and unrelated marrow donors. The laboratory-based study findings by Effie Petersdorf, M.D...

Rate Of Women With Pregnancy-Associated Cancer On The Increase

Date: Sep-06-2012
The rate of pregnancy-associated cancer is increasing and is only partially explained by the rise in older mothers suggests new research published today (5 September) in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. A large Australian study looked at 781,907 women who gave birth in New South Wales (NSW) between 1994 and 2008 which corresponds to 1,309,501 maternities. Women with pregnancy-associated cancer, where the initial diagnosis of cancer is made during pregnancy or within 12 months of delivery, are compared to women without cancer...

New Gene Variants Raise Risk Of Neuroblastoma, Influence Tumor Progression

Date: Sep-06-2012
Researchers have discovered two gene variants that raise the risk of the pediatric cancer neuroblastoma. Using automated technology to perform genome-wide association studies on DNA from thousands of subjects, the study broadens understanding of how gene changes may make a child susceptible to this early childhood cancer, as well as causing a tumor to progress. "We discovered common variants in the HACE1 and LIN28B genes that increase the risk of developing neuroblastoma...

Potential Drug For Deadly Brain Cancer Glioblastoma Multiforme Discovered

Date: Sep-06-2012
A*STAR scientists have identified a biomarker of the most lethal form of brain tumours in adults - glioblastoma multiforme. The scientists found that by targeting this biomarker and depleting it with a potential drug, they were able to prevent the progression and relapse of the brain tumour. This research was conducted by scientists at A*STAR's Institute of Medical Biology led by Dr Prabha Sampath, Principal Investigator, in collaboration with A*STAR's Bioinformatics Institute (BII), and clinical collaborators from Medical University of Graz, Austria, and National University of Singapore...

Try A Little Tenderness And Your Brain Will Tell

Date: Sep-06-2012
How would you respond if someone told you that you have a very dedicated son and that he got the scholarship he most wished? Or that the company you worked for made great profits and you will receive a good salary raise? While the former situation represents a positive affiliative experience the latter is a non-affiliative one, and that, according to a paper published in the Journal of Neuroscience, can make all the difference to the way your brain responds. Affiliative experiences are inherent to humans and other mammals...

'Fitness And Fatness': Not All Obese People Have The Same Prognosis

Date: Sep-06-2012
People can be obese but metabolically healthy and fit, with no greater risk of developing or dying from cardiovascular disease or cancer than normal weight people, according to the largest study ever to have investigated this, which is published online today (Wednesday) in the European Heart Journal [1]...

Hormone Therapy For Fruit Flies Means Better Pest Control

Date: Sep-06-2012
Released en masse, sterile Mexican fruit flies can undermine a wild population of the fruit-damaging pests so that fewer applications of insecticide are needed. But the irradiation used to sterilize the flies weakens them, hindering their ability to outcompete wild-type males for female mates. Now, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and collaborating scientists have devised a hormone therapy for making sterile flies "more macho," improving their chances of mating with female flies before their wild rivals do...

Introducing Decision Aids May Lower Surgery For Arthritis

Date: Sep-06-2012
After Group Health Cooperative introduced video-based "decision aids" for people with knee and hip arthritis, rates of knee and hip replacement surgeries dropped sharply: by 38 and 26 percent, respectively, over six months. The cost of caring for those patients also declined: by 12 percent to 21 percent, according to an article in the September Health Affairs. "Decision aids are balanced sources of information that clearly present the evidence-based pros and cons of treatment options for a health condition," explained study leader David E...

Large Review Finds Some Evidence For "Chemo Brain" In Breast Cancer Survivors, Moffitt Cancer Center Says

Date: Sep-06-2012
A large meta-analysis conducted by researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center has concluded that breast cancer patients treated with chemotherapy are at risk for mild cognitive deficits after treatment. The meta-analysis, or analytic review of previously published studies, found that study participants on average had mild impairments in verbal abilities (such as difficulty choosing words) and visuospatial abilities (such as getting lost more easily)...