Health News

Hope For New Therapies For Liver Cancer Following Development Of Mouse Model

Date: Jul-09-2012
Researchers have created the first mouse model demonstrating the role of a cancer promoting gene, Astrocyte elevated gene-1 (AEG-1), in hepatocellular carcinoma, or liver cancer. The mouse model represents a critical step in understanding the molecular mechanisms of liver cancer progression and could lead to novel therapies for the disease. Insights from the mouse model were recently published in the journal Hepatology by a team of researchers led by Devanand Sarkar, M.B.B.S., Ph.D...

Leukemia And Myelodysplasia Patients May Benefit From Rabbit Antibodies

Date: Jul-09-2012
Researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) Massey Cancer Center's Bone Marrow Transplant Program have demonstrated that the use of antibodies derived from rabbits can improve the survival and relapse outcomes of leukemia and myelodysplasia patients receiving a stem cell transplant from an unrelated donor. Recently published in the journal Bone Marrow Transplantation, a study led by Amir Toor, M.D...

Discovery Has Potential To Prevent Metastasis In Prostate And Other Cancers

Date: Jul-09-2012
Prostate cancer doesn't kill in the prostate - it's the disease's metastasis to other tissues that can be fatal. A University of Colorado Cancer Center study published this week in the Journal of Biological Chemistry shows that prostate cancer cells containing the protein SPDEF continue to grow at the same pace as their SPDEF- cousins, but that these SPDEF+ cells are unable to survive at possible sites of metastasis...

Finding Right Meditation Technique Key To User Satisfaction

Date: Jul-09-2012
New to meditation and already thinking about quitting? You may have simply chosen the wrong method. A new study published online in EXPLORE: The Journal of Science and Healing highlights the importance of ensuring that new meditators select methods with which they are most comfortable, rather than those that are most popular. If they do, they are likely to stick with it, says Adam Burke, the author of the study. If not, there is a higher chance they may abandon meditation altogether, losing out on its myriad personal and medical benefits...

Synthetic Protein EP67 Helps Kick-Start The Immune System, Preventing The Flu

Date: Jul-09-2012
San Diego State University researchers at the Donald P. Shiley BioScience Center may have found the secret to helping the immune system fight off the flu before it gets you sick. A new study published in the Public Library of Science journal PLoS ONE, finds that EP67, a powerful synthetic protein, is able to activate the innate immune system within just two hours of being administered. Prior to this study, EP67 had been primarily used as an adjuvant for vaccines, something added to the vaccine to help activate the immune response. But Joy Phillips, Ph.D...

Concerns About Drive-Thru Flu Clinics Dispelled

Date: Jul-09-2012
Critics have pointed to fainting risks and subsequent auto accidents as reasons for concern when using drive-thru influenza immunization clinics, according to Ruth Carrico, PhD, RN, FSHEA, CIC, associate professor, division of infectious diseases, University of Louisville School of Medicine. A review conducted by Carrico and UofL faculty W. Paul McKinney, MD, FACP, Timothy Wiemkan, PhD, MPH, CIC and John Myers, PhD, MSPH found these fears to be unfounded...

'Traffic Policeman' Protein Directs Crucial Step In Cell Division

Date: Jul-09-2012
A traffic policeman standing at a busy intersection directing the flow of vehicles may be a rare sight these days, but a similar scene appears to still frequently play out in our cells. A protein called Lem4 directs a crucial step of cell division by preventing the progress of one molecule while waving another through, scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, Germany, have found. The study is published online in Cell. For an embryo to grow or a tissue to regenerate, its cells must divide...

DNA Turns On And Off Leading To Jekyll And Hyde Bacteria

Date: Jul-09-2012
Living in the guts of worms are seemingly innocuous bacteria that contribute to their survival. With a flip of a switch, however, these same bacteria transform from harmless microbes into deadly insecticides. In Science, Michigan State University researchers led a study that revealed how a bacteria flips a DNA switch to go from an upstanding community member in the gut microbiome to deadly killer in insect blood...

Researchers Use Zebrafish To Provide Insights Into Causes And Treatment Of Human Diseases

Date: Jul-09-2012
Zebrafish, popular as aquarium fish, now have an important place in research labs as a model organism for studying human diseases. At the 2012 International Zebrafish Development Conference, held in Madison, Wisconsin, numerous presentations highlighted the utility of the zebrafish for examining the basic biological mechanisms underlying human disorders and identifying potential treatment approaches for an impressive array of organ and systemic diseases...

Concerns About Medicines For End-Of-Life Dementia Patients

Date: Jul-09-2012
A new report launched in Dublin on Friday (6 July 2012) finds considerable uncertainty and variation in the medicines doctors say they would prescribe for patients with dementia at the end of life when presented with clinical scenarios. The all-Ireland research report finds evidence that GPs and hospital physicians indicate they would continue with dementia medications and statins and actively prescribe antibiotics when there is limited evidence of benefits to patients with dementia at end of life...