Food and Drug Administration policies prevent pharmaceutical manufacturers from informing patients about potentially fatal toxicities that occur with some cancer drugs — policies that should be revised immediately, according to Northwestern University researchers.
Andrew M. Evens, D.O., instructor in medicine, and Charles L. Bennett, M.D., professor of medicine, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, have called for an immediate revision of these FDA policies, par
Scientists funded by the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, part of the National Institutes of Health, reported today taking a major step forward in using saliva to detect oral cancer. As published in the current issue of Clinical Cancer Research, the scientists found they could measure for elevated levels of four distinct cancer-associated molecules in saliva and distinguish with 91 percent accuracy between healthy people and those diagnosed with oral squamous cell carcino
Pharmacogenomics, the study of genetic variability in the way individuals respond to medicines, has the potential to spark a major, technology-driven restructuring of the health care and pharmaceuticals industries, according to a commentary published in the current issue of Nature Medicine by faculty of the Indiana University Program in Pharmacogenomics, Ethics, and Public Policy.
Commentary co-authors Barbara Evans, Ph.D., J.D., David Flockhart, M.D., Ph.D.,and Eric Meslin, Ph.
Even light-to-moderate consumption increases risk if it occurs outside of meals
During this season to be jolly, when alcohol flows more freely than usual, a new study alerts drinkers that a habit of drinking outside of meals may be setting them up for high blood pressure. Research conducted at the University at Buffalo has shown that consuming alcohol mostly without food is a significant risk factor for developing hypertension. The effect was present even in people with light-to-
Just in time for the holidays, McGill researchers have identified a new way to reduce fat and cholesterol levels in the body. Their program, which combines consuming plant-derived sterols (or oils) with exercise, may benefit those who are at risk of coronary heart disease. These findings were recently published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
“Both consuming plant sterols and exercising have been shown to affect blood cholesterol levels on their own,” said senior au
Researchers at the University of Essex have found new biochemical indicators of cirrhosis in blood plasma which could help detect the disease in its early stages.
The findings of the project, which was led by Professor Paul Thornalley, of the Disease Mechanisms and Therapeutics Research Group in the Department of Biological Sciences, suggest these markers could be used to assess damage to the liver and the likelihood of developing cirrhosis which could have a significant effect
The risk of tuberculosis infection doubles within one year of HIV infection, according to a study published in the Jan. 15 issue of The Journal of Infectious Diseases, now available online. Scientists previously assumed that there was no increase in tuberculosis risk within the first few years of HIV infection. Pam Sonnenberg of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and colleagues were therefore surprised by the results of their research on the two infections, which they conducted in
Scientists in Southampton have developed non-invasive technology to measure the fluid pressure in the brain safely and painlessly which they hope will eventually reduce the need for a lumbar puncture. Collaborators in London now believe it could be a major advance in the diagnosis and treatment of conditions such as meningitis, head injury and sleeping disorders. It could even be used by astronauts in space.
At the Physiological Society meeting in London today (18 December), Dr Jea
Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas have shown that some long-term breast-cancer survivors may have innate mechanisms to keep breast cancer at bay.
Their findings, published in the December issue of Clinical Cancer Research and available online, show that one-third of the longtime disease-free patients in the study had circulating tumor cells (CTCs). The presence of CTCs is often associated with a higher risk of recurrence if they are found soon after a mastect
Results challenge public health service efforts to increase vaginal delivery
For a pregnant woman who already has had one cesarean delivery, an attempt at vaginal delivery is more dangerous for the baby than a second cesarean section, according to a research study at 19 academic health centers, including Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center.
The study, published in today’s New England Journal of Medicine, showed that vaginal birth after a cesarean section (VBAC
Ranitidine could become new treatment for cerebral ischemia
Ranitidine, a widely used substance used as an antihistaminic drug against gastric ulcers, may become a new treatment for cerebral ischemia caused by craneoencephalic infarcts or traumatisms, the third leading cause of deaths in industrialised countries. In experiments with a model of cerebral ischemia using rats, a team from the Institute of Neurosciences of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (Spain) has observed how th
Javier Ochoa Repáraz has developmed an acellular vaccine aginst Salmonella enteritidis.
This involves a world pandemia considered to be the most importante zoonosis or illness/infection transmissible salmonellosis by animals to humans under natural conditions. It is estimated that the incidence of acute worldwide is more than a thousand million cases per annum and causes three million deaths.
The project developed by Javier Ochoa at the University of Navarre Faculty of Sci
Regeneration of damaged hearts using blood stem cells now appears to be clinically promising, say Texas researchers who show that in mice, human stem cells use different methods to morph into two kinds of cells needed to restore heart function – cardiac muscle cells that contract the heart as well as the endothelial cells that line blood vessels found throughout the organ.
Using a sophisticated way of examining the “humanness” of mouse heart cells, researchers report in the December
Dutch research has shown that the development of permanent resistance by bacteria and fungi against antibiotics cannot be prevented in the longer-term. The only solution is to reduce the dependence on antibiotics by using these less.
The reduced effectiveness of antibiotics is not only an important issue for human health. For example, plants can have a gene inserted which enables them to secrete an antibiotic against fungi. Siemen Schoustra believes that the added value of these gen
Johns Hopkins scientists have discovered how one family of proteins repels growing nerves and keeps them properly on track during development. The finding, described in the Dec. 16 issue of Neuron, might provide a chance to overcome the proteins’ later role in preventing regrowth of injured nerves, the researchers say.
The proteins, known as chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans (CSPGs), have long been known to prevent nerve regeneration after injury by recruiting a stew of other prote
Could lead to novel approaches in the treatment of HIV infected individuals
CANVAC, the Canadian Network for Vaccines and Immunotherapeutics, is proud to announce the development of a new method to assess how well the thymus (an organ located at the base of the neck) works and the discovery of a functional abnormality of this organ in HIV-infected individuals.
The team of investigators led by Dr. Rafick-Pierre Sékaly, professor at Université de Montréal, scientist at the CH
Feedback
