Tumor size may not be an accurate method of predicting lymph node involvement and disease progression in some breast cancers, according to investigators at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC). Their findings show that some types of breast tumors do not “play by the rules” and possibly, are more dangerous than previously believed.
“We have identified a group of breast cancer tumors that don’t conform to previous observations made in the general population of
That cup of coffee in the morning does more than wake you up. It can also help you feel less pain during your morning workout.
That’s what researchers at the University of Georgia have found in a recent study exploring why muscles hurt during exercise. The research group previously learned that aspirin, though commonly used to treat muscle pain, did not reduce muscle pain produced by vigorous exercise.
“Muscle contractions produce a host of biochemicals that can stimul
Scientists have long held the prevailing view that during HIV infection the depletion of T cells is the result of direct HIV virus–mediated killing. In the September 15 issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, Marc Hellerstein and colleagues at the University of California in Berkeley report that it is the chronic activation of the host immune system in response to HIV infection that primarily contributes to T cell loss.
A series of influential studies published in the mid-1990s descr
A team of researchers, led by Serge Przedborski, at Columbia University in New York, have demonstrated that infusion of D-beta-hydroxybutyrate (D-beta-HB) to mice suffering from Parkinson disease restored impaired brain function and protected against neurodegeneration and motor skill abnormalities. D-beta-HB, already utilized in the treatment of epilepsy, may represent a cheap and easy way to treat Parkinson disease.
Parkinson disease is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder afte
One of the nation’s most respected treatment centers for thoracic aortic disorders has launched a Web site that provides information on virtually every aspect of the subject, including aortic aneurysm and aortic dissection, the catastrophic bleeding that reportedly took the life of actor John Ritter last week. “I have been told by patients that this is the most helpful site on the Web. I hope we will be able to help many patients who have been unable to find reliable information on the
A research team at The Hospital for Sick Children (HSC) and the University of Toronto (U of T), led by Dr. Peter Dirks, has identified for the first time a cancer stem cell in both malignant and benign brain tumours. This discovery may change how brain tumours are studied and how this deadly condition is treated in the future. This research is reported in the September 15, 2003 issue of the scientific journal Cancer Research.
“The discovery of a cancer stem cell for brain tumours means that
Finding suggests possible treatment approach for highly lethal disease
Scientists at UCSF and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) have found strong evidence that a cell signaling pathway active in embryonic development plays a crucial role in pancreatic cancer. The finding provides the first model of the development and growth of pancreatic cancer and suggests a clear route for treatment of this lethal malignancy. The research is being posted online today by the journal Nature, prior
The latest epidemiological assessment for the global effect of smoking on deaths worldwide is detailed in this week’s issue of THE LANCET. Smoking-related deaths for the year 2000 were as high in developing countries than in industrialised areas of the world, with 84% of such deaths in developing countries being among male smokers.
To strengthen the scientific evidence for national and global tobacco control efforts, a consistent method is needed to estimate the health effects of smoking acr
Within a tumor, chaos reigns: Nutrients are scarce, and healthy tissue is muscled out by cancerous tissue so aggressive that the tumor even sacrifices parts of itself to continue its relentless expansion.
It’s in this rough-and-tumble environment, controlled by a dizzying array of molecular signals, that researchers at the James P. Wilmot Cancer Center are grappling with a conundrum: Starve a tumor of oxygen, and the tumor should die – but without oxygen, pretty much all of today’
New approach may provide new way to diagnose, classify and treat diseases
UCLA researchers found a distinction in the gene expression of leprosy that accurately classified two different clinical forms of the disease. This is one of the first studies of its kind where genetic profiling distinguished between disease types, possibly leading to new ways to diagnose and treat all types of diseases.
The new UCLA study, published Sept. 12 in the journal Science, also identified gen
In the Sept. 13 issue of The Lancet, Johns Hopkins and Ugandan researchers report final results of a study showing that a safe, simple and inexpensive treatment reduces transmission of HIV from mothers to babies during childbirth and the first few weeks of life, offering a good chance to curb the spread of HIV.
In their study of more than 600 women in Uganda, giving one dose of nevirapine, a common HIV-fighting drug, to HIV-positive mothers during labor, and one dose to their newborns, redu
One of the great frustrations of modern medicine is the creeping ability of pathogenic microbes to develop resistance to the antibiotics we throw at them.
More and more, microbes are able to eliminate, modify and sequester the toxic molecules that make up the arsenal of antibiotics that humans use to treat infection, making once-miraculous drugs increasingly impotent. Now, adding to the mix of devices dangerous microbes deploy to evade destruction by antibiotics, scientists have disc
Dryness in the mouth is not an agreeable sensation and much less so if the condition becomes an illness. Effectively, there are illnesses related to lack of saliva, as is the case of the sicca-sicca disease and the Goujerot-Sjögren syndrome.
The research regarding these uncommon illnesses began to be important in 1976 when new functions of the molecule ATP (adenine triphosphate) were discovered. In that year it was found that the ATP molecule and its derivative controlled a number of biologi
Total lymphocyte count and hemoglobin concentration lowers at onset of the disease
People with HIV and their physicians could have a less expensive tool to track the progression from HIV infection to AIDS. According to researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, a decline in the total lymphocyte counts (TLC) and hemoglobin (Hgb) concentration in the blood may be used to monitor a patient’s disease status. Currently, HIV RNA and CD4+ cells in the blood ar
Research News in the British Journal of Surgery
11 September 2003: Laser light can be delivered in a controlled and predictable manner to destroy tumours. By inserting fibre optic cables through needles, doctors can direct the powerful laser light onto liver tumours – killing the cells and thus eliminating the need for major surgery. A review of recent research shows that this ‘interstitial laser thermotherapy’ (ITL) can be a safe and effective way of removing tumours and improving ov
The humble yeast can teach us vital lessons in coping with stress, according to researchers from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne.
Speaking tomorrow, Thursday 11 September 2003, at the Society for General Microbiology’s meeting at UMIST in Manchester, Dr Jan Quinn will explain how she and colleagues have tracked stress responses in yeast to give a new understanding of how cells cope with oxidative stress.
Reactive oxygen chemicals occur naturally through respiration (breathing
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