Health News

Ancient Remedy Slows Prostate Tumor Cell Proliferation

Date: May-08-2012
An over-the-counter natural remedy derived from honeybee hives arrests the growth of prostate cancer cells and tumors in mice, according to a new paper from researchers at the University of Chicago Medicine. Caffeic acid phenethyl ester, or CAPE, is a compound isolated from honeybee hive propolis, the resin used by bees to patch up holes in hives. Propolis has been used for centuries as a natural remedy for conditions ranging from sore throats and allergies to burns and cancer. But the compound has not gained acceptance in the clinic due to scientific questions about its effect on cells. In a...

Study Examines Necessity Of Additional Imaging In PET/CT Oncologic Reports

Date: May-08-2012
Radiologists and nuclear medicine physicians recommended additional imaging about 30% of the time in oncologic PET/CT reports, with about half of those recommendations being unnecessary, a new study shows. The study, conducted at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, included 250 patients. The study found that there were 84 recommendations made for additional imaging. When study reviewers examined the patients' records, they concluded that 43 of those recommendations were unnecessary, said Atul Shinagare, MD, one of the authors of the study. No adverse patient outcome would have occurred by...

Researchers Search 'Junk' DNA For Colorectal Cancer Clues

Date: May-08-2012
Two researchers at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth have helped to identify switches that can turn on or off genes associated with colorectal cancer. The finding offers clues about the development of colorectal cancer and could - potentially - provide targets for new therapies. Jason Moore, Third Century Professor of genetics and the director of the Institute for Quantitative Biomedical Sciences, and Richard Cowper-Sal.lari, a graduate student in Moore's lab, were part of a team that included researchers from Case Western Reserve University and the Cleveland Clinic. The team...

Method Of Detecting Low-Level Exposure To Seafood Toxin In Marine Animals

Date: May-08-2012
NOAA scientists and their colleagues have discovered a biological marker in the blood of laboratory zebrafish and marine mammals that shows when they have been repeatedly exposed to low levels of domoic acid, which is potentially toxic at high levels. While little is known about how low-level exposure to domoic acid affects marine animals or humans, high-level exposure through eating contaminated seafood can be toxic, and can lead to amnesic shellfish poisoning, with symptoms such as seizures, short-term memory loss and, in rare cases, death. Domoic acid is produced by particular species of...

Fibroid Tumors Triggered By A Single Stem Cell Mutation

Date: May-08-2012
Fibroid uterine tumors affect an estimated 15 million women in the United States, causing irregular bleeding, anemia, pain and infertility. Despite the high prevalence of the tumors, which occur in 60 percent of women by age 45, the molecular cause has been unknown. New Northwestern Medicine preclinical research has for the first time identified the molecular trigger of the tumor - a single stem cell that develops a mutation, starts to grow uncontrollably and activates other cells to join its frenzied expansion. "It loses its way and goes wild," said Serdar Bulun, M.D., the chair of obstetrics...

HPV Vaccine Completion Rate Among Girls Is Poor, Getting Worse

Date: May-08-2012
The proportion of insured girls and young women completing the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine among those who initiated the series has dropped significantly - as much as 63 percent - since the vaccine was approved in 2006, according to new research from the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) in Galveston. The study, published in the current issue of Cancer, reveals the steepest decline in vaccine completion among girls and young women aged nine to 18 - the age group that derives the greatest benefit from the vaccine, which should be administered in three doses over six months. "The...

Some Forms Of Assisted Reproduction Increase Risk Of Birth Defects

Date: May-08-2012
A University of Adelaide study has identified the risk of major birth defects associated with different types of assisted reproductive technology. In the most comprehensive study of its kind in the world, researchers from the University's Robinson Institute have compared the risk of major birth defects for each of the reproductive therapies commonly available internationally, such as: IVF (in vitro fertilization), ICSI (intracytoplasmic sperm injection) and ovulation induction. They also compared the risk of birth defects after fresh and frozen embryo transfer. The results were published in...

Hypoxia Could Drive Cancer Growth

Date: May-08-2012
Low oxygen levels in cells may be a primary cause of uncontrollable tumor growth in some cancers, according to a new University of Georgia study. The authors' findings run counter to widely accepted beliefs that genetic mutations are responsible for cancer growth. If hypoxia, or low oxygen levels in cells, is proven to be a key driver of certain types of cancer, treatment plans for curing the malignant growth could change in significant ways, said Ying Xu, Regents-Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar and professor of bioinformatics and computational biology in the Franklin College of Arts...

New Muscular Dystrophy Treatment Approach Using Human Stem Cells Effective In Mouse Model

Date: May-08-2012
Researchers from the University of Minnesota's Lillehei Heart Institute have effectively treated muscular dystrophy in mice using human stem cells derived from a new process that - for the first time - makes the production of human muscle cells from stem cells efficient and effective. The research, published in Cell Stem Cell, outlines the strategy for the development of a rapidly dividing population of skeletal myogenic progenitor cells (muscle-forming cells) derived from induced pluripotent (iPS) cells. iPS cells have all of the potential of embryonic stem (ES) cells, but are derived by...

Identifying Drugs That Could Help Fight Broad Range Of Viruses

Date: May-08-2012
Results of a new study demonstrate the feasibility of a novel strategy in drug discovery: screening large numbers of existing drugs - often already approved for other uses - to see which ones activate genes that boost natural immunity. Using an automated, high-volume screening technique, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have identified a cancer drug that enhances an important natural response to viral infection in human cells. "Over many years of research, we have developed a good understanding of the human body's own mechanisms to fight viruses," says the...