Cancer researchers at Perth’s Telethon Institute for Child Health Research (TICHR) have developed a new test that can rapidly detect the loss of genes in cancer cells, paving the way for more targeted and effective treatments for patients.
Australian Cancer Technology (AustCancer, ASX:ACU) today announced that it has entered into a partnership agreement with the Institute to commercialise this novel technology and bring it to the market as quickly as possible.
Professor Ursula
Imaging damaged brain cells in living mice provides Alzheimer’s clues
Using recently developed techniques for imaging individual cells in living animals, a team led by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has watched as Alzheimer’s-like brain plaques damage mouse brain cells.
The results will be presented at 9 a.m. CT on Wednesday, Nov. 12, at the 33rd Annual Meeting of the Society for Neuroscience in New Orleans.
“This wor
Managing pain may one day be as easy as sticking on a Band-AidTM. Russian researchers at the company BIOFIL Ltd. in Sarov are developing a line of miniature transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) devices that work as a non-drug alternative to pain relief and are small enough for patients to use without hindering daily life.
TENS technology is an accepted (FDA approved) and effective way to handle acute or chronic pain associated with diseases affecting muscles and joints. There a
Researchers from Cardiff University have uncovered a molecular pathway that plays a pivotal role in the onset of arthritis. Their research, published this week in Arthritis Research & Therapy, could aid in the discovery of novel targets for arthritis drugs. The researchers found that inhibiting the molecule PKR could prevent two processes central to the onset of arthritis: the production and activation of enzymes that break down connective tissue; and the release from cartilage of one of its
Research News from British Journal of Surgery
Using key-hole surgery to remove a kidney from a healthy living donor means that donors require less pain relief after the operation, spend less time in hospital and return to work sooner than donors who give up a kidney by standard open surgery. Writing in the latest edition of the British Journal of Surgery, Dr Alexander Handschin, Dr Markus Weber, Professor Pierre-Alan Clavien and colleagues from Zurich, Switzerland, say that this metho
Advances in neurosurgery have opened the operating room door for an amazing array of highly invasive forms of brain surgery, but doctors and patients still face an incredibly important decision – whether to operate when life-saving surgery could irrevocably damage a patient’s ability to speak, read or even comprehend a simple conversation.
Now, researchers at Washington University in St. Louis are developing a painless, non-invasive imaging technique that surgeons here already are usin
Researchers at UH College of Pharmacy find neurological benefits in nicotine
Cigarettes might just hold the key to treating some serious neurological problems. Scientists at the University of Houston have unlocked one of the first doors, discovering that nicotine repairs damaged brain function. Karim Alkadhi, associate professor of pharmacology, and his team of researchers at the UH College of Pharmacy recently have established that nicotine has a beneficial effect and, in many cases,
A nicotine metabolite shows promise for improving memory and protecting brain cells from diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s without addiction and other side effects of nicotine, says a Medical College of Georgia researcher.
Laboratory studies also indicate the metabolite cotinine may be a safe treatment for the debilitating psychotic behavior of schizophrenics, Dr. Jerry J. Buccafusco, pharmacologist and director of the MCG Alzheimer’s Research Center, says in an abstract present
American Heart Association meeting report
A drug that stimulates bone marrow to produce stem cells helped regenerate damaged heart muscle in one of the first studies of its kind, according to a report presented at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2003.
The drug, granulocyte colony stimulating factor (G-CSF), treats some forms of cancer. It stimulates bone marrow to produce the different types of blood cells, including white blood cells that can become
American Heart Association meeting report
Heart valves engineered from patients’ own tissue may offer a new treatment for valvular heart disease, researchers reported today at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2003.
“Using this tissue-engineered valve overcomes many of the problems with mechanical or donor valves because it is a living structure from the patient’s own tissue, and so it does not cause an immunological reaction,” said Pascal M.
High levels of a protein called cytokine in the brains of infants could hold a clue to the cause of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), according to a study in the November 11 issue of Neurology, the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology. Researchers studied the brains of 27 infants. Nineteen died from SIDS, and eight died from other conditions. The team compared the level of various cytokines (a class of proteins involved in regulating the immune system) in the brains of
What would happen if you pitted Bart Simpson against his father Homer in a simple fitness test? You guessed it, Bart would come out of the test still standing, while Homer would be struggling for breath with his heart rate going through the roof. Young Scientist magazine, published by Institute of Physics Educational Publishing, is running a national investigation into school children’s activity levels. If Bart took part in this, he would have no problems. He obviously hasn’t been taking notes from h
While experts disagree on whether work tasks alone can be the exact cause of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSD) such as carpal tunnel syndrome, a new study by researchers at Temple University proves that a highly repetitive work task, a risk factor for WMSD, does in fact cause bone damage.
“Because multiple factors play a role in the development of WMSD, including work tasks, home activities, and medical conditions such as diabetes or heart disease, we studied work tasks alone to
Tumor size can predict the survival of a patient with the most common type of lung cancer, according to physician-scientists at NewYork Weill Cornell Medical Center. The study, which is the lead paper in this month’s Chest, emphasizes the need for further substaging in lung cancer and suggests the importance of early detection by CT scans.
The study evaluates the relationship between tumor size and five-year survival in patients with stage IA non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Research
Immune memory after smallpox vaccination persists for at least 50 years in immunized individuals, according to research conducted by scientists at the Emory Vaccine Center and Emory University School of Medicine. This is good news, since the findings, published in the Nov. 15 issue of the Journal of Immunology, suggest that individuals vaccinated against smallpox prior to the end of the smallpox vaccination program in 1972 may still retain at least some protection against smallpox.
Rafi Ahm
A small, portable device greatly increases the chance of surviving sudden cardiac death by restoring blood pressure better than conventional cardiopulmonary resuscitation, according to a Stanford University School of Medicine animal study. Following restoration of heart function, most of the animals in the Stanford study also showed no neurological damage, which commonly results from even a momentary blood flow interruption to the brain.
To model what happens during abrupt loss of heart fun
Feedback
