Health News

The Uncertainties Of Pandemic Flu

Date: Jul-03-2012
A major collaboration between US research centers has highlighted three factors that could ultimately determine whether an outbreak of influenza becomes a serious epidemic that threatens national health. The research suggests that the numbers in current response plans could be out by a factor of two or more depending on the characteristics of the particular pandemic influenza...

Gene Therapy Drugs Topically Delivered Via Commercial Moisturizers For Skin Disease Treatment

Date: Jul-03-2012
"Getting under your skin" takes on a brave new meaning thanks to Northwestern University research that could transform gene regulation. A team led by a physician-scientist and a chemist - from the fields of dermatology and nanotechnology - is the first to demonstrate the use of commercial moisturizers to deliver gene regulation technology that has great potential for life-saving therapies for skin cancers. The topical delivery of gene regulation technology to cells deep in the skin is extremely difficult because of the formidable defenses skin provides for the body...

Discovery Of Lung Cancer Drug Resistance Secrets May Lead To New, More Powerful Precision Medicines That Thwart Resistance To Tarceva

Date: Jul-03-2012
People with lung cancer who are treated with the drug Tarceva face a daunting uncertainty: although their tumors may initially shrink, it's not a question of whether their cancer will return - it's a question of when. And for far too many, it happens far too soon. Now, a team of researchers at the University of California, San Francisco's Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center has discovered that a human protein called AXL drives resistance to Tarceva, which suggests that blocking the protein may prevent resistance to the cancer drug...

Men With Prostate Cancer Have Treatment Regret 52 Percent Higher If They Also Have Heart Disease

Date: Jul-03-2012
Prostate cancer patients with cardiovascular disease were 52 per cent more likely to regret their treatment choices than men without problems with their heart or veins, according to a study published in the July issue of the urology journal BJUI International. Research led by Harvard Medical School, USA, looked at 795 men with recurrent cancer in the Comprehensive Observational Multicenter Prostate Adenocarcinoma (COMPARE) registry...

Organ Regeneration Steps Closer With "3D Sugar Printing"

Date: Jul-03-2012
A team of bioengineers has taken a step closer to the day when it will be possible to regenerate new organs from patient's own cells.  The researchers have "printed" 3D patterns of blood vessel networks out of sugar that allow tissue to grow around them and then dissolve, leaving behind a hollowed-out "vascular architecture". Once the sugar dissolves, the hollowed-out blood vessel pattern can rapidly be perfused with nutrient-rich fluid and oxygen to stop the tissue cells from dying...

News From The Journal Of Clinical Investigation: July 2, 2012

Date: Jul-03-2012
CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE Gene variant reduces cholesterol by two mechanisms High levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol increases the risk for coronary heart disease. A variant in the human gene encoding the protein sortilin is associated with reduced plasma LDL levels and a decreased risk of heart attack. This variant results in markedly higher sortilin protein expression in liver. Dr. Daniel Rader and colleagues at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia have uncovered a two-pronged mechanism for the change in LDL observed...

Caloric Restriction Plus Physical Activity For Longevity

Date: Jul-03-2012
Fruit flies on dietary restriction (DR) need to be physically active in order to get the lifespan extending benefits that come from their Spartan diet. If the same axiom holds true in humans, those practicing caloric restriction in hopes of living longer need to make sure they eat enough to avoid fatigue. According to research at the Buck Institute, flies on DR shift their metabolism toward increasing fatty acid synthesis and breakdown, specifically in muscle tissue...

News From The Annals Of Internal Medicine: July 3, 2012

Date: Jul-03-2012
1. After First Heart Attack, Patients Likely to Return to the Hospital for Unrelated IssuesHeart Attack Comorbid Conditions and Treatment Complications Contribute to High Rehospitalization Rate  Each year nearly 785,000 people are hospitalized for a first heart attack. Treatment advances have contributed to improved survival rates, but rehospitalization in the first 30 days after discharge remains a common and costly problem...

Women With Fertility Problems Who Remain Childless At Higher Risk Of Hospitalization For Psychiatric Disorders

Date: Jul-03-2012
While many small studies have shown a relationship between infertility and psychological distress, reporting a high prevalence of anxiety, mood disorders and depressive symptoms, few have studied the psychological effect of childlessness on a large population basis. Now, based on the largest cohort of women with fertility problems compiled to date, Danish investigators have shown that women who remained childless after their first investigation for infertility had more hospitalisations for psychiatric disorders than women who had at least one child following their investigation...

Management Approach To Rheumatoid Arthritis Which Takes High Toll In Unemployment, Early Death

Date: Jul-03-2012
In the realm of deadly and disabling diseases, conditions such as cancer and Alzheimer's seem to attract the most media attention. But there are others that take a similarly high toll, and rheumatoid arthritis is one of them, Mayo Clinic researchers say. It is a common cause of disability: 1 of every 5 rheumatoid arthritis patients is unable to work two years after diagnosis, and within five years, that rises to one-third. Life expectancy drops by up to five years, they write in the July issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings in an article taking stock of current diagnosis and treatment approaches...