Building on their earlier work, Johns Hopkins researchers have discovered that an apparently nontoxic cellular “energy blocker” can eradicate large liver tumors grown in rats. Six months to more than a year after treatment was stopped, the rats are still cancer free.
While the results are dramatic, clinical trials with the chemical, 3-bromopyruvate, are likely some years away, says the study’s leader, Young Ko, Ph.D., assistant professor of radiology and biological chemistry.
The evolution of resistance to currently prescribed HIV-1 protease inhibitors is devastating to patients and is surprising given the way these drugs work. Protease inhibitors are all small-molecule, competitive, active-site inhibitors–low molecular weight compounds that fit squarely in the center of the active site of HIV-1 protease and prevent protein processing that is essential to the replication of the virus. It would seem as though mutations occurring in the protease that prevent drug bindin
The malaria vaccine reported today to reduce life-threatening cases of the parasitic disease among children in Mozambique is based on the pioneering research of Drs. Ruth and Victor Nussenzweig and their colleagues at NYU School of Medicine.
Ruth Nussenzweig, Doc en Med, Ph.D., the C.V. Starr Professor of Medical and Molecular Parasitology, and her husband, Victor Nussenzweig, M.D., Ph.D., the Hermann M. Biggs Professor of Preventive Medicine, have devoted decades of research
Waiting 30 seconds to two minutes after birth to cut the umbilical cord of a premature baby appears to lessen chances of bleeding in the newborn’s brain and reduce the need for transfusions, according to a new review of research.
Standard practice for preterm babies is to cut the cord as soon as possible, often within 10 to 15 seconds. A systematic review finds that delaying the clamping rather than doing it immediately also reduces anemia and increases blood pressure and blood v
The active, younger population of Liverpool, who suffer from arthritis or chronic injury can now benefit from knee replacement surgery much earlier in life due to the latest implant technology, called Oxinium™, which has recently been made available to everyone in the UK after 11 years of tests.
Mrs Linda Wood, a 49 year-old voluntary playgroup leader from Liverpool, received one of the first Oxinium knee implants in the UK, after suffering with increasing chronic pain in her left
People with diabetes mellitus have three to four times the risk of developing liver cancer, and more than twice the risk of developing pancreatic cancer than non-diabetic individuals, according to research presented today at the Third Annual Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research Meeting in Seattle.
Marie-Claude Rousseau, lead author on the study, compared 3,288 men diagnosed with 12 different cancer types to 509 healthy individuals, in order to determine whether those reporting
Rapid and chronic tolerance appear to operate via different neurobiological mechanisms and genes
Alcohol tolerance both promotes and facilitates the increasing consumption of alcohol. New research uses fruitflies to examine the mechanistic and genetic underpinnings of different forms of tolerance. Findings suggest that rapid and chronic tolerance are partially distinct in mechanistic terms, as well as genetically distinguishable, from one another. “Alcohol
Following nutritional guidelines and not losing weight too fast key to prevention
Mayo Clinic researchers have found a significant number of patients who undergo “stomach stapling” or gastric bypass surgery for weight reduction develop peripheral neuropathy, damage to any of the body’s nerves outside of the brain and spinal cord. The development of nerve damage is associated with malnutrition, and so the researchers contend may be largely preventable with proper nutritio
Similar recommendations issued from the CDC based on benefits of early diagnosis
The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation today issued a recommendation for the implementation of routine cystic fibrosis (CF) screening in all newborns. In addition, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a recommendation in its October 15 Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) Reports and Recommendations that all states should consider routine screening for CF in all newborns. CF Fo
Muscle wasting is associated with aging and a serious consequence of different diseases, including cancer and diabetes. Researchers at Joslin Diabetes Center, with the assistance of other collaborating researchers, have discovered an important biochemical pathway for muscle wasting–as well as a potential target for drug therapy. The study will be published in the Oct. 15 issue of the journal Cell.
Muscle wasting is a hallmark of a number of diseases, including cancer, bacteri
Review of agents used for the eye finds multiple adverse reactions
An estimated 42 percent of Americans use herbal medicines or nutritional supplements. Many people taking these products and their physicians are unaware of the adverse reactions they can cause. An Oregon Health & Science University researcher reviewed reported cases of ocular side effects associated with these products. His findings are published in the American Journal of Ophthalmology this month.
The
Women who give birth after 40 run a greater risk of experiencing pregnancy complications than younger women. Moreover, there is an increased risk of the child dying in the womb or in close connection with delivery. This is shown in a study carried out by the Sahlgrenska Academy at Göteborg University in Sweden.
Women in Sweden, as in many other countries, are giving birth later and later in life. Today the average age of the mother at the birth of the first child is 29, and it
You might want to toss those iron-fortified vitamins, because absent a diagnosed deficiency too much of a good thing can be bad.
Dietary iron imbalances either way spell trouble for healthy cells, triggering a chain of cellular events in the brain that increases the odds of developing Parkinson’s disease, a degenerative condition affecting movement and balance in more than 1 million Americans each year. But excessive iron levels are worse — much worse.
The finding
Burn victims may soon have face restored with minimal scarring in a single procedure
Hundreds of thousands of people are burned in fires each year with many suffering from facial burns as a result. These burn victims not only have severe physical scars, but deep emotional scars, too. A team of plastic surgeons has successfully combined several reconstructive techniques to help burn victims regain some sense of self without undergoing multiple painful procedures and huge scarring
A new approach to controlling blood cholesterol levels that is already being investigated to prevent cardiovascular disease also may be a potential treatment for Alzheimer’s disease. In their report in the October 14 issue of Neuron, researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) show that blocking a pathway that controls the distribution of cholesterol in cells dramatically reduces the number of amyloid plaques in the brains of transgenic mice. Some of the treated mice were much
Life goals an important focus for successful treatment
Details from a large-scale survey focusing on treatment goals for schizophrenia shed new light on what physicians and people with schizophrenia feel is important for long-term quality care, according to Ronald J. Diamond, M.D., co-author of the study.
“When we treat people with any kind of chronic illness, especially schizophrenia, it’s important that we listen to their life goals, what they want out of treatment and wh
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