A radiologist at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine has developed a new procedure to treat fractured vertebrae caused by spinal tumors, a procedure that may decrease the risk of complications, which are experienced by 5 to 10% of patients with malignant tumors of the spine.
Wade Wong, D.O.F.A.C.R, UCSD professor of radiology, and San Diego clinician Bassem Georgy, M.D., partially removed spinal tumors from 28 patients before repairing the spine
For men under the age 55 with localized prostate cancer, external beam radiation may be an effective alternative to both conservative and more invasive treatments, according to a new study. Published in the June 15, 2006 issue of CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, the study reveals that external beam radiation therapy is as effective in younger prostate cancer patients as it is in older patients with same stage, localized disease. The study is the first to investigate
Diffusion tensor imaging, a newly developed magnetic resonance imaging technique, could enable researchers to gain a better understanding of the effects of cannabis on the brain. In a preliminary study published today in the open access journal Harm Reduction Journal, researchers used diffusion tensor imaging to compare the brain tissue of young people who had used cannabis moderately as teenagers and young people who had not. The researchers failed to find any indication that damage to the d
Without the enzyme that “regenerates” telomeres (the ends of DNA), stem cells lose functionality and the organism rapidly ages, while it acquires cancer resistance. The finding, which has significant implications in cancer and aging research, was presented yesterday at the 2nd IFOM-IEO Campus Meeting on Cancer (May 5th – 8th, IFOM-IEO Campus, Milan, Italy) by Marìa A. Blasco, of the Spanish National Cancer Center (CNIO) in Madrid (Spain).
Our cells’ DNA has a sort of “tail”: the t
The spread of West Nile Virus appears to be triggered by a complex interaction of mosquitoes, nesting birds and specific weather patterns, scientists say, which leads to “amplification” of the virus within mosquito populations.
Researchers from Oregon State University and the University of Florida have identified how those factors mesh to create heightened risk of the West Nile Virus in southern Florida, and they hope to expand their studies to the rest of the nation.
Results of t
Activating the immune system by drugs without physician’s control is hazardous to health. S.F. Medvedev, Director of the Institute of Human Brain, Russian Academy of Sciences, recounted about that. According to him, if immunostimulant drugs are taken in case of any malaise, then, when intense work of the immune system is really needed for the organism, its reserves may fail.
I.D. Stolyarov, head of laboratory of neuroimmunology (Institute of Human Brain, Russian Academy of Sciences), belie
Both governments and the scientific community are mobilised to face the threat of a possible pandemic provoked by avian influenza. Whereas there is no need to alarm the population, we must design tools in order to fight influenza in case it develops. According to historical data and to the high genetic variability of influenza virus, the development of this pandemic is only a matter of time and that the appropriate circumstances are given.
The H5N1 virus, which affects the European fowl
Current interest in probiotics is motivated not only by the clinical data showing the efficacy of some probiotic bacteria, but also by the increasing antibiotic resistance of pathogenic bacteria (particularly in hospitals) and the rise of consumers’ demand for natural substitutes of drugs.
Among probiotic applications, reduction of diarrhea is probably the best-documented effect confirmed by recent meta-analyses. Research on Helicobacter pylori indicates that probiotics are unab
Clear gaps exist in countries affected by avian influenza
The Asia-Pacific region faces a number of challenges in preparing for an influenza pandemic, yet gaps and inconsistencies in plans across the continent could hinder an effective response to a pandemic, according to a new report1 presented today at the Lancet Asia Medical Forum 2006, Singapore.
Over 80% of human deaths from avian influenza (H5N1) recorded to date have occurred in South East Asia, 2 which sugg
Combined evaluation of transverse images–horizontal slices of a standing body–and multiplanar coronal reformats–vertical slices from head to foot–from CT scans give radiologists more information about the GI tract to better diagnose problems, according to a new study by researchers from Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, GA.
For the study, the researchers analyzed routine abdomen-pelvis CT studies from 50 patients. The researchers found that with simultaneous review of tr
A 15-year follow-up of women in a breast cancer trial has found that fenretinide[1] – a drug related to vitamin A – significantly cuts the risk of a second breast cancer among younger patients.
The Italian research team reporting the findings on-line today (Thursday 4 May) in Annals of Oncology[2], are sufficiently convinced of the drug’s protective potential to call for a trial to test its use as a preventive in pre-menopausal healthy women at high risk of the disease. They are now
People with Type 2 diabetes aged between 35 and 54 are over three times more likely to die than those without the condition according to research published today in the journal Diabetic Medicine. For people aged from 85 to 89, the increased risk of death for those with diabetes is over 50 per cent.
The research on 44,230 people with Type 2 diabetes also found that women with diabetes were more than twice as likely to die as their peers without the condition. For men, the increas
Different methods of cooking vegetables could vary their effects on dental erosion, a study by researchers at the University of Dundee has found.
A research team led by Dr Graham Chadwick in the School of Dentistry have investigated whether the method of cooking a popular vegetarian dish, Ratatouille, would have any impact on the acidity of the food, and therefore the potential for contributing to dental erosion.
Their research found that, however it is cooked, ratatouil
Middle-aged English people are healthier than their American counterparts, according to a collaborative study issued today by English and US researchers.
Americans aged between 55 and 64 suffer from diseases such as diabetes, high-blood pressure and lung cancer at rates up to twice those seen among similar aged people in England, reports the study, published on 3 May in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
By analysing a large representative sample of peopl
The Asia-Pacific region faces a number of challenges in preparing for an influenza pandemic, yet gaps and inconsistencies in plans across the continent could hinder an effective response to a pandemic, according to a new report presented today at the Lancet Asia Medical Forum 2006, Singapore.
Over 80% of human deaths from avian influenza (H5N1) recorded to date have occurred in South East Asia, which suggests that countries in the region could be the epicentre of the next human influenza
Young children who live near a major road are significantly more likely to have asthma than children who live only blocks away, according to a study that appears in the May 1 issue of Environmental Health Perspectives.
The study found that children living within 75 meters (about 82 yards) of a major road had a 50 percent greater risk of having had asthma symptoms in the past year than were children who lived more than 300 meters (about 328 yards) away. Higher traffic volumes o
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