Health News
Date: Jun-22-2012
Pain caused by 2 different mechanisms Apply the ointment, light on, light off - that's how easy it is to cure various forms of non-melanoma skin cancer. However, the majority of patients suffer severe pain during the so-called photodynamic therapy. Why the treatment with ointment and red light can be so painful has now been uncovered by researchers from the RUB. They identified the ion channels involved and signalling molecules secreted by the cancer cells. "The results may provide a starting point for suppressing the pain", says Dr. Ben Novak of the Department of Animal Physiology...
Date: Jun-22-2012
Study results presented at the American Association for Cancer Research's Pancreatic Cancer: Progress and Challenges conference, strongly suggest that a diet high in fat and calories can hasten the development of pancreatic cancer in humans. "Our results showed that in mice, a diet high in fat and calories led to obesity and metabolic disturbances such as insulin resistance that are seen in obese humans. It also greatly enhanced pancreatic inflammation and pancreatic cancer development," said Guido Eibl, M.D...
Date: Jun-22-2012
Researchers studying the genetic roots of the most common malignant childhood brain tumor have discovered missteps in three of the four subtypes of the cancer that involve genes already targeted for drug development. The most significant gene alterations are linked to subtypes of medulloblastoma that currently have the best and worst prognosis. They were among 41 genes associated for the first time to medulloblastoma by the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital - Washington University Pediatric Cancer Genome Project...
Date: Jun-22-2012
Surgery to repair pelvic organ prolapse often carries a risk of incontinence. To avoid scheduling a second surgery, some women may opt to have a second procedure to reduce incontinence at the time of their prolapse repair surgery. A study funded by the National Institutes of Health has found that although the surgery - to support the urethra with a sling - reduces the rate of incontinence, it also carries the risk for such complications as difficulty emptying the bladder, urinary tract infection, bladder perforation, and bleeding...
Date: Jun-22-2012
Breast cancer is not a single disease, but a collection of diseases with dozens of different mutations that crop up with varying frequency across different breast cancer subtypes. Deeper exploration of the genetic changes that drive breast cancer is revealing new complexity in the leading cause of cancer death in women worldwide...
Date: Jun-22-2012
In a study of more than 18,000 patients having surgery for hip fracture, researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania found that the use of regional anesthesia versus general anesthesia, was associated with a significant reduction in major pulmonary complications and death. The new study will be published in the July issue of the journal Anesthesiology. "Hip fracture is a common and costly event among older adults," said lead study author Mark D...
Date: Jun-22-2012
Genetics play a significant role in determining which patients will suffer the most from the disturbing side effects of opiates, commonly prescribed painkillers for severe to moderate pain, according to a new Stanford University School of Medicine study, which pinpoints nausea, slowed breathing and potential for addiction as heritable traits...
Date: Jun-22-2012
A "brain pacemaker" called deep brain stimulation (DBS) remains an effective treatment for Parkinson's disease for at least three years, according to a study in the June 2012 online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. But while improvements in motor function remained stable, there were gradual declines in health-related quality of life and cognitive abilities. First author of the study is Frances M. Weaver, PhD, who has joint appointments at Edward Hines Jr. VA Hospital and Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine...
Date: Jun-22-2012
Biologists take a new approach to deciphering the roles of genes associated with autism. Fish cannot display symptoms of autism, schizophrenia or other human brain disorders. However, a team of MIT biologists has shown that zebrafish can be a useful tool for studying the genes that contribute to such disorders. Led by developmental biologist Hazel Sive, the researchers set out to explore a group of about two dozen genes known to be either missing or duplicated in about 1 percent of autistic patients...
Date: Jun-22-2012
A novel chemotherapeutic agent, the highly selective MEK1/2 inhibitor BAY 86-9766, may be a promising future treatment for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), according to preclinical results presented at the American Association for Cancer Research's Pancreatic Cancer: Progress and Challenges conference. "We showed in our endogenous mouse model that our novel chemotherapeutic agent leads to dramatic tumor shrinkage after only one week of treatment," said Nicole Teichmann, Ph.D., of the Klinikum rechts der Isar at the Technische Universität München in Munich, Germany...