Medical Research Council (MRC) researchers have unlocked the mysteries of the nervous system responsible for proper formation and function of the gut. This new understanding has implications for treating Hirschsprung’s disease, a common disorder in newborns that requires corrective surgery in order for food to pass through the bowel and the colon.
The study shows that two important molecular switches work together to regulate the movement of crucially important cells, that will eventually b
Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center scientists have identified the cell likely to be responsible for the development of multiple myeloma, a cancer of the bone marrow that destroys bone tissue. The research, published in Blood online, suggests that therapies designed for long-term cure of the disease should target this stem cell, which, unlike other cells, can copy itself and differentiate into one or more specialized cell types.
In their studies to learn why multiple myeloma so often recurs
Clinical promise and clues to patient selection seen in initial clinical trial results
A technique already in use to freeze and kill benign breast masses also appears to kill small malignant breast tumors, new research from a clinical trial at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Centers shows.
And while the number of patients studied to date is small, the vast majority — seven of nine — had no residual cancer after their invasive tumors were frozen in a minimal
Certain forms of cancer occur more often in patients with type 1 diabetes compared with the general population in the corresponding sex and age groups. This has been shown in a new Swedish study from Karolinska Institutet.
The study, which has been published this week, is the first large-scale investigation of the risk of cancer among patients with type 1 (youth onset) diabetes. It included nearly 30,000 patients who had been treated at hospitals between 1965 and 1999. Of these, 355 received
From within the rich fabric of connecting tissue between cells, researchers of four institutions, led by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, have identified the action of anastellin, a natural agent that is showing promise blocking metastasis of cancer cells and enhancing wound healing.
That anastellin is derived from the cell adhesion protein fibronectin found in the extracellular matrix surrounding cells was known. Researchers at the Burnham Institute in California in Septembe
Hypertensive patients with coronary artery disease had similar outcomes when they took a beta-blocker therapy or a calcium antagonist-based therapy, according to a study in the December 3 issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).
According to background information in the article, despite conclusive evidence of the effectiveness of medications to treat high blood pressure in patients with hypertension in general, safety and efficacy of antihypertensive medications in
Patients with diabetes who received a solitary pancreas transplant appeared to have worse survival than patients on the transplant waiting list who received conventional therapy, according to a study in the December 3 issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).
According to background information in the article, pancreatic transplantation is a therapeutic option for patients with complicated diabetes mellitus. The American Diabetes Association supports the procedure for
Doppler ultrasound performed in early pregnancy can accurately identify embryonic congestive heart failure and subsequent risk of miscarriage, according to research being presented today at the 89th Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).
“The chances the pregnancy will continue are very high, about 95 percent, when Doppler ultrasound confirms normal embryonic heart function at six weeks,” said the study’s author Jason C. Birnholz, M.
Comprehensive Approach to HIV/AIDS Treatment and Prevention – New AIDS Medicine and Diagnostics Service – Simple Treatment Regimens Published – Training Tens of Thousands of People to Support AIDS Treatment and Prevention
The World Health Organization (WHO) and UNAIDS today release a detailed and concrete plan to reach the 3 by 5 target of providing antiretroviral treatment to three million people living with AIDS in developing countries and those in transition by the end of 2005. T
While women with breast cancer who have used hormone-replacement therapy are known to have better survival odds than those who’ve never taken hormones, the advantage is due, most likely, to more-frequent mammography screening rather than the effect of the hormones on tumor biology, according to new findings by researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.
“Most of the good prognostic factors that have been ascribed to HRT – such as smaller tumor size and earlier cancer stage a
Research published this week in BMC Psychiatry shows that people suffering from depression respond better to treatment if they have high levels of vitamin B12 in their blood
Researchers from the Kuopio University Hospital in Finland monitored 115 outpatients, suffering from depression, over a six-month period, and grouped them according to how well they responded to treatment: not at all; partially; or fully. By measuring the level of vitamin B12 in the patients’ blood when they fi
An artificial blood product developed by researchers at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University is showing great promise in ongoing clinical trials in Stockholm, Sweden – the first time that a blood substitute has ever been used successfully in humans. The Einstein researchers – whose work is supported by $2.2 million in grants from the National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Army — are also fine-tuning a powder version of the substitute that can be reconstituted for use as
Chemists at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have produced a molecule that selectively kills cancerous cells in a desired way and leaves healthy cells virtually untouched.
While encouraging, the findings don’t mean a new treatment is imminent. The basic laboratory experiments were done in microtiter dishes, where the compound was simply exposed to leukemia and lymphoma cells and healthy white blood cells from mice.
“It’s hard to say where this discovery may
Three-dimensional computed tomography (CT) colonography, also known as virtual colonoscopy, is more sensitive and less invasive than conventional colonoscopy in screening average-risk patients, according to research presented today at the 89th Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).
The new technology allows radiologists to obtain 3-D images from different angles, providing a “movie” of the interior of the colon without having to insert a
The same health risks that make morbidly obese patients eligible for gastric bypass surgery also leave them susceptible to complications during and after the surgery, a study of 335 patients shows.
The patients all had Roux-en-Y gastric bypass at the University Hospitals of Cleveland from 1998 to 2002. Roux-en-Y is the most popular surgery in the treatment of severely obese patients to help weight loss. It involves stapling the upper stomach to create a small pouch that is then attached to
A new magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technology reduces brain-imaging time from 20 minutes to three minutes while maintaining accuracy and decreasing patient discomfort, according to early research results presented at the 89th Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).
“The three-minute head scan is as good as the 20-minute version, and in some instances better because stroke patients may be distressed and move around,” said study co-autho
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