Health News

Peptide treatment delivered through nasal passageways to treat depression

Date: Mar-26-2014
A nasal spray that delivers a peptide to treat depression holds promise as a potential alternative therapeutic approach, research from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) shows.The study, led by CAMH's Dr. Fang Liu, is published online in Neuropsychopharmacology.In a previous study published in Nature Medicine in 2010, Dr. Liu developed a protein peptide that provided a highly targeted approach to treating depression that she hopes will have minimal side effects.

First treat tumors with radiotherapy to directly kill cancer cells, making immunotherapy more effective

Date: Mar-26-2014
Radiation therapy fights cancer in more ways than one. Not only does it force cancer cells to self-destruct, but several studies demonstrate that it also activates the immune system to attack tumor cells. This activation can be used to boost current immunotherapies, such as anti-tumor vaccines, to produce better clinical results. What's less clear, however, is exactly how to combine the two therapies to get the best bang for the therapeutic buck.

New technology sheds light on protein interactions, points to better lung cancer therapy

Date: Mar-26-2014
Scientists have a better way to study human proteins - large molecules that are part of every cell in the body - thanks to a new technology developed by University of Toronto researchers. The technology tracks a class of proteins called membrane proteins as they interact with other proteins to either maintain health or contribute to disease.Membrane proteins make up about one third of all proteins in the human body, and their malfunction is associated with more than 500 diseases.

Oncologists differ widely on offering cancer gene testing, study finds

Date: Mar-26-2014
Many cancer researchers believe that cutting-edge advances in genomics will pave the way for personalized or "precision" cancer medicine for all patients in the near future. A new study by researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, however, suggest that not all doctors are ready to embrace tests that look for hundreds of DNA changes in patients' tumor samples, while others plan to offer this type of cancer gene testing to most of their patients. The findings are published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

Minorities would benefit from increased awareness about skin cancer

Date: Mar-26-2014
More awareness about skin cancer is needed for minorities because they believe they are at low risk of developing it, says Henry Ford Hospital dermatologist Diane Jackson-Richards, M.D.Research has shown that minorities are diagnosed at a more advanced stage of skin cancer and have lower chances of survival than Caucasians. Squamous cell carcinoma is the most common skin cancer among African Americans and Asian Indians, and the second most common skin cancer in Hispanics, East Asians and Caucasians, according to the Skin Cancer Foundation.

Body fat reduced, aging slowed by deletion of FAT10 gene in mice

Date: Mar-26-2014
A single gene appears to play a crucial role in coordinating the immune system and metabolism, and deleting the gene in mice reduces body fat and extends lifespan, according to new research by scientists at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center (USDA HNRCA) on Aging at Tufts University and Yale University School of Medicine. Their results are reported online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

'Glue' holding together skin cells & other epithelial tissue more active than realized

Date: Mar-26-2014
The strong mechanical attachments - the "glue" - that hold together the cells of the skin and the other epithelial tissues of the body are the adherens junctions.These junctions are responsible for maintaining the shape and integrity of the sheets of epithelial cells that line such body cavities as the digestive tract, as well as the surfaces of structures such as the heart. Defects in the proteins of these attachments have been implicated as potential contributors to the development and spread of cancer.

New measures for curbing lifetime heart disease risk

Date: Mar-26-2014
Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death worldwide, and the World Health Organization estimates that by 2013, over 23 million people will die each year from the condition. In an effort to lower risks, new recommendations for preventing the disease have been drawn up by 11 professional societies and charitable organizations in the UK.These recommendations have been published in the journal Heart.According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), cardiovascular disease (CVD) resulted in nearly 600,000 deaths in the US in 2010.

Children's physical activity influenced by their mothers

Date: Mar-26-2014
Parents are strong influences in the lives of young children, with patterns of behaviour established in the early years laying the foundation for future choices. A new study suggests that, when it comes to levels of physical activity, it is mothers who set (or don't set) the pace.An analysis of the physical activity levels of more than 500 mothers and pre-schoolers, assessed using activity monitors to produce accurate data, found that the amount of activity that a mother and her child did each day was closely related.

Scientific breakthrough could lead to new ovarian cancer treatments

Date: Mar-26-2014
The cause of a rare type of ovarian cancer that most often strikes girls and young women has been uncovered by an international research team led by the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen), according to a study published online by the renowned scientific journal, Nature Genetics.By applying its groundbreaking work in genomics, TGen led a study that included Mayo Clinic, Johns Hopkins University, St.