Study evaluates immune response to telomerase tumor antigen as possible vaccine
Researchers at the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania have begun a Phase I clinical trial to evaluate the effectiveness of a telomerase peptide as a possible vaccine against breast cancer. The study will measure potential tumor cell shrinkage in patients after an immune response has been triggered to an antigen – the telomerase peptide – found in more than 90 percent of breast cancer
Although women normally have androgens – so-called “male” hormones – circulating in their bloodstreams, excessive levels can cause a variety of symptoms including acne, weight gain, excessive hair growth (hirsutism), menstrual dysfunction, and infertility.
Hirsutism – the growth of coarse hair in patterns similar to those of men – has long been considered the key marker for androgen excess. Physicians have had difficulty providing a firm diagnosis and identifying underlying causes, however,
As any new mother knows, getting a baby to sleep at night is an art, and perhaps using snippets from Shakespeare’s Hamlet may help. But the science of how babies sleep – and what their processes may have in common with their adult counterparts – could be a small step closer to being better understood.
Background
Sleep shows dramatic changes across early development. Quiet sleep (also known as non-rapid eye movement sleep [QS/NREMS]) increases in the course of the first year of life
Jet lag occurs when we travel across multiple time zones by air. Anyone who has experienced jet lag knows that it causes sleep disturbances and daytime sleepiness, and can impair performance after landing. A team of researchers has investigated the effects of slow release caffeine (SRC) and melatonin (Mlt) on recovery sleep and daytime sleepiness after a seven-time zone eastbound flight and found that both drugs have positive effects on some jet lag symptoms after an eastbound flight. They found that
UMHS, Altarum study finds sleep apnea disrupts sleep throughout night
Patients who snore or have other symptoms of sleep apnea often undergo testing in a sleep laboratory to measure the number of breathing pauses and arousals that occur while they slumber. But doctors find these tests do not effectively predict daytime consequences suspected to arise from sleep apnea, such as sleepiness in adults or hyperactivity in children.
Now, neurologists at the University of Michigan
A preliminary study suggests that persistent inflammation, as indicated by increased levels of C-reactive protein in the blood, is a risk factor for the development of colon cancer.
However, according to an editorial by Northwestern University researcher Boris Pasche, M.D., the link between chronic inflammation and colon cancer must be further explored before C-reactive protein is confirmed as a risk predictor.
The study and the editorial appear in the Feb. 4 issue of The Journal o
Downward trend likely to continue says international research team
Stomach cancer rates fell by half in the European Union between 1980 and 1999 and by 45% in Eastern Europe and 40% in Russia, according to research published (Tuesday 3 February) in Annals of Oncology[1].
Encouragingly, the downward trend is set to continue, at least for the near future according to researchers, because the fall is seen in younger and middle aged people as well as the elderly.
The rep
More research needed to identify those for whom benefit could outweigh risk of side effects
A new study has found that regular intake of aspirin does appear to be associated with a reduced risk of the type of colon polyps that can develop into cancer. However, since risk reduction was strongest with aspirin doses higher than those used to prevent cardiovascular disease, the researchers say further study is needed to determine for whom the benefits of such treatment would outweigh any
Ownership of genetic materials, environmental consequences in question as 21st Century bio-prospecting gets underway in Antarctica
Work should be stepped up on international agreements to oversee prospecting efforts in Antarctica by research institutions, universities and pharmaceutical companies to discover and stake ownership to promising organisms and compounds with genetic properties that make survival possible in extremely cold, arid and salty conditions, says a new UN University
Overweight individuals who adopt a low-fat diet in hopes of lessening their risk of heart disease and diabetes may be venturing down the wrong path, results of a new study headed by a nutritional researcher at the University at Buffalo have shown.
The study, published in the current (February) issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, showed that a moderate-fat diet might be a better choice. Christine L. Pelkman, Ph.D., assistant professor of nutrition in the UB School of Public
Views on wolves determined more by culture than individual encounters
Who’s afraid of the big bad wolf? The survey says: it largely depends on who you are and what you do, according to a study by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and the University of Wisconsin. Published in the December issue of the journal Conservation Biology, survey results among people who live with wolves in northern Wisconsin revealed that deeply rooted social identities and occupations are more powe
Study is among first to evaluate genetic susceptibility to neurodevelopmental problems in children with heart defects
Children with heart conditions who require surgery as infants may be more vulnerable to neurologic problems if they have a particular variety of a gene.
Researchers from the Cardiac Center and other divisions of The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia found that children carrying the epsilon2 version (APOE å2) of the apolipoprotein E gene were significan
Meta-analysis of 27 studies showed caregiver reports may be unreliable; visuospatial tests were the best predictors of driving skill
When cognitive skills start fading, how do we know when it’s time to stop driving? Although there is some consensus that individuals with moderate to severe dementia should not drive, it has been much harder to screen people with mild dementia, the earliest stage of the mental deterioration typical of Alzheimer’s disease. Researchers in Washing
Researchers at the University of Bradford are looking for a better understanding of how the body can fight-off heart disease – without needing drugs.
Senior lecturer Dr Khalid Naseem in the University’s Department of Biomedical Studies has secured two grants totalling almost £150,000 from the British Heart Foundation to fund two research posts.
Dr Naseem said: “Coronary heart disease is the greatest cause of death in industrialised nations and we are looking for a better understand
A blood test is often given during a medical checkup to reveal indicators of general health conditions. In a study reported in the most recent issue of the Journal of Periodontology (JOP), Japanese researchers found that a blood test may also reveal indicators of periodontal diseases.
Researchers examined and measured the oral health of 7,452 men and women, and tested their blood for 37 items used in general blood tests. Some of the items tested for in the blood include cholesterol and C-re
Early humans migrating from Africa carried small genetic differences like so much flotsam in an ocean current. Today’s studies give only a snapshot of where that genetic baggage came to rest without revealing the tides that brought it there. Now researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have devised a model for pinpointing where mutations first appeared, providing a new way to trace the migratory path of our earliest ancestors.
The study was led by Luca Cavalli-Sforza,
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