Health News

New breast cancer study: Results of the TARGIT-A clinical trial

Date: Dec-03-2013
A new clinical trial for breast cancer, published in The Lancet, shows that a single fraction of targeted intraoperative radiotherapy (TARGIT) delivered with the ZEISS INTRABEAM® at time of lumpectomy is non-inferior to traditional external beam radiation (EBRT) delivered over three to six weeks after breast conserving surgery, for a select group of patients."The most important benefit of TARGIT for a woman with breast cancer is that it allows her to complete her entire local treatment at the time of her operation, with lower toxicity to the breast, the heart and other organs.

Amplifying our vision of the infinitely small

Date: Dec-03-2013
Richard Martel and his research team at the Department of Chemistry of the Universite de Montreal have discovered a method to improve detection of the infinitely small. Their discovery is presented in the journal Nature Photonics."Raman scattering provides information on the ways molecules vibrate, which is equivalent to taking their fingerprint. It's a bit like a bar code," said the internationally renowned professor. "Raman signals are specific for each molecule and thus useful in identifying these molecules."Applications of the discovery: retail, banks, hospitals, etc.

Short-term energy deficits increase factors related to muscle degradation

Date: Dec-03-2013
New research in The FASEB Journal suggests that a high protein diet suppresses protein breakdown by slowing the activity of the ubiquitin proteasome system.Building upon the discovery that a high-protein diet reduces muscle loss when dieting, a new research report published online in The FASEB Journal now helps explain why. Protein consumption slows the ubiquitin proteasome system, which is primarily responsible for degrading skeletal muscle."Reductions in muscle mass are often an unintended consequence of weight loss, and can have negative health consequences," said Stefan M.

Study finds no increased risk of retinal detachment with use of certain antibiotics

Date: Dec-03-2013
In contrast to findings of a recent study, researchers in Denmark did not find an association between use of a class of antibiotics known as fluoroquinolones (such as ciprofloxacin) and an increased risk of retinal detachment, according to a study appearing in JAMA. Retinal detachment (a separation of the retina from its connection at the back of the eye) is an acute eye disorder that may lead to loss of vision despite prompt surgical intervention. A recent study found that use of fluoroquinolones was strongly associated with retinal detachment, reporting a 4.

Predicting outcome for cancer patients receiving high-dose IL-2 therapy

Date: Dec-03-2013
One of the most potent forms of immunotherapy for patients with metastatic melanoma and renal cell carcinoma is high-dose (HD) bolus IL-2 therapy. Approximately 15% of patients respond to HD IL-2 therapy, with almost 5% going into complete remission; however, use of HD IL-2 therapy is limited due to the toxic effects associated with treatment. Because HD IL-2-associated toxicity is severe, it would be beneficial for clinicians to determine if a patient would respond favorably to this treatment prior to side effect onset.

Hormone-replacement therapy may prevent age-related declines in cognitive functioning

Date: Dec-03-2013
Age-related cognitive decline and changes in the nervous system are closely linked, but up until recently, they were thought to result from the loss of neurons in areas such as the prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain important in working memory. A series of papers have shown that the "loss of neurons" concept is simply not true. Now, Mount Sinai scientists have begun to look elsewhere, focusing instead on synaptic health in the prefrontal cortex.

New approach for growing intestinal stem cells

Date: Dec-03-2013
Studying these cells could lead to new treatments for diseases ranging from gastrointestinal disease to diabetes.Researchers at MIT and Brigham and Women's Hospital have shown that they can grow unlimited quantities of intestinal stem cells, then stimulate them to develop into nearly pure populations of different types of mature intestinal cells. Using these cells, scientists could develop and test new drugs to treat diseases such as ulcerative colitis.

Light shed on inconsistencies between large pharmacogenomic studies

Date: Dec-03-2013
The importance of standardizing drug screening studiesA bioinformatics expert at the IRCM, Benjamin Haibe-Kains, recently published an article stressing the importance of standardizing drug screening studies in the prestigious scientific journal Nature. The study supports the need for further development and standardization to improve the reproducibility of drug screening studies, as they are important in identifying new therapeutic agents and their potential combinations with existing drugs. Dr.

Inhibition of antioxidants may be a viable chemotherapeutic option for lung cancer

Date: Dec-03-2013
Many cancers have adapted to cope with high levels of immune system-produced free radicals, also referred to as reactive oxygen species, by overproducing antioxidant proteins. One of these proteins, superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1), is overproduced in lung adenocarcinomas and has been implicated as a target for chemotherapy.In this issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, Navdeep Chandel and colleagues from Northwestern University report the effects of a SOD1 pharmacological inhibitor on non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells.

Tighter transfusion strategy recommended to treat anemia in patients with heart disease

Date: Dec-03-2013
Red blood cell (RBC) transfusions should be restricted to those individuals with severe anemia in patients with heart disease, the American College of Physicians (ACP) recommends in a new clinical practice guideline published in Annals of Internal Medicine, ACP's flagship journal.ACP also recommends against using erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs) in patients with mild to moderate anemia and congestive heart failure (CHF) or coronary artery disease (CHD) because the harms, including increased risks of thromboembolic events and stroke rates, outweigh the benefits.