Health News

Masquerading as neurons enables breast cancer cells to spread to the brain

Date: Jan-17-2014
Often, several years can pass between the time a breast cancer patient successfully goes into remission and a related brain tumor develops. During that time, the breast cancer cells somehow hide, escaping detection as they grow and develop. Now City of Hope researchers have found out how.Breast cancer cells disguise themselves as neurons, becoming "cellular chameleons," the scientists found. This allows them to slip undetected into the brain and, from there, develop into tumors.The discovery is being heralded as "a tremendous advance in breast cancer research.

Daclatasvir and sofosbuvir combo offer safe and simpler treatment for hepatitis C

Date: Jan-17-2014
Efforts to cure hepatitis C, the liver-damaging infectious disease that has for years killed more Americans than HIV/AIDS, are about to get simpler and more effective, according to new research at Johns Hopkins and elsewhere.In a study to be reported in the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers say combination treatments involving a pair of experimental, oral antiviral drugs, daclatasvir and sofosbuvir, were safe and highly effective in the treatment of hepatitis C.

Progesterone treatment for hot flashes and night sweats found to be safe for women's cardiovascular health

Date: Jan-17-2014
Treatment with progesterone, a naturally occurring hormone that has been shown to alleviate severe hot flashes and night sweats in post-menopausal women, poses little or no cardiovascular risk, according to a new study by the University of British Columbia and Vancouver Coastal Health.The findings, published in PLOS ONE, help to dispel a major impediment to widespread use of progesterone as a treatment for hot flashes and night sweats, said lead author Dr. Jerilynn C. Prior, a professor of endocrinology and the head of Centre for Menstrual Cycle and Ovulation Research.

Study suggests that fast food is not the major cause of rising childhood obesity rates

Date: Jan-17-2014
For several years, many have been quick to attribute rising fast-food consumption as the major factor causing rapid increases in childhood obesity. However a new study found that fast-food consumption is simply a byproduct of a much bigger problem: poor all-day-long dietary habits that originate in children's homes.The study, titled "The association of fast food consumption with poor dietary outcomes and obesity among children: is it the fast food or the remainder of diet?

Advancements in diabetes-induced blindness research

Date: Jan-17-2014
Corneal blindness affects more than 5 million individuals, many of whom suffer from diabetesInvestigators at the Cedars-Sinai Regenerative Medicine Institute have identified new molecular abnormalities in the diabetic cornea that could contribute to eye problems in affected patients. With this new knowledge, investigators aim to accelerate the process of healing and repair in damaged corneas to ultimately reverse the effects of diabetes-induced eye complications.

The importance of fiber in the prevention of diabetes and obesity

Date: Jan-17-2014
Scientists have known for the past twenty years that a fiber-rich diet protects the organism against obesity and diabetes but the mechanisms involved have so far eluded them. A French-Swedish team including researchers from CNRS, Inserm and the Universite Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (Unite Inserm 855 "Nutrition et Cerveau") has succeeded in elucidating this mechanism, which involves the intestinal flora and the ability of the intestine to produce glucose between meals.

Higher socioeconomic status has been associated with a more satisfying sex life

Date: Jan-17-2014
An analysis based on the first Spanish National Sexual Health Survey, carried out in 2009, confirms that socioeconomic factors affect sexual satisfaction. People with a lower economic status claim to be less sexually satisfied, particularly women.Investigators at the Barcelona Public Health Agency (ASPB) have analysed the influence of various socioeconomic factors on the results of the first Spanish National Sexual Health Survey, carried out in 2009 by the Centre for Sociological Research.

Metabolic damage caused by high calorie diet reversed by multi-hormone

Date: Jan-17-2014
A single molecule, which acts equally on the receptors of the metabolic hormones glucagon and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) improves body weight and diabetes through restored function of the anti-obesity hormone leptin. This was discovered by an international team comprising scientists from the Helmholtz Center Munich, Germany, Indiana University and the San Diego-based biotech company Ambrx.

Smart gels deliver medicine on demand

Date: Jan-17-2014
Researchers at the University of Delaware have developed a "smart" hydrogel that can deliver medicine on demand, in response to mechanical force.Over the past few decades, smart hydrogels have been created that respond to pH, temperature, DNA, light and other stimuli."The idea of a smart hydrogel that can release medicine over time is not new," said Xinqiao Jia, UD professor of materials science and engineering and biomedical engineering.

'Precision medicine' successfully targets advanced form of leukaemia with skin cancer drug

Date: Jan-17-2014
A team of scientists from the University of Leicester has demonstrated a novel treatment for Hairy Cell Leukaemia (HCL), a rare type of blood cancer, using a drug administered to combat skin cancer.The research, which is published in the New England Journal of Medicine, indicates Vemurafenib, a BRAF inhibitor that has been approved as a treatment for advanced melanomas, is also successful in treating leukaemia. The study shows the treatment, which can be taken orally, cleared the malignant cells from the patient's blood and led to a complete clinical recovery in a number of days.